Katie Carver was the grand-prize winner in the 2011 Tennessee Strawberry Festival Pie & Cake Contest in Dayton, Tenn., with Frozen Strawberry Perfection. Carver will defend her title next month.TO ENTERWhat: Tennessee Strawberry Festival Pie & Cake Contest.When: Wednesday, May 9.Eligible cooks: Open to anyone.Entry forms: Applicants must register in advance. To receive an entry form, email acurtis@firstbankonline.com.To enter: Deliver finished dessert with recipe to Pooh’s Place, 1371 Market St. in Dayton, Tenn., between 3:30 and 4:30 p.m. May 9.Judging: 5 p.m. May 9. Winners announced at Centennial Park Stage.Tasting: Free public tasting of the desserts at the conclusion of judging.
Katie Carver had never entered a cooking contest before she thought up an original dessert for last year’s Tennessee Strawberry Festival Pie & Cake Contest in Dayton.
“I just made it up,” said Carver, 25. “I just took different things I liked and tasted them to see if they would go together. I did it on a whim to see how it would turn out … and I guess it turned out pretty good.”
Carver’s creation, Frozen Strawberry Perfection, is a small dessert that’s big on flavor with its layers of cake, ice cream, fresh strawberries and strawberry preserves.
Carver said she grew up in Augusta, Ga., but a visit to her grandmother’s home in Dayton, Tenn., the week of Strawberry Festival was an annual family vacation.