Earlier this month, the Canola Growers hosted a Canola Bake-off at Red River College. Every spring, the Manitoba Canola Grower hosts this competition and honours the 1st and 2nd prize RRC Baking students with scholarships. This year, we were able to add a third place prize thanks to Chef MJ Feeke, winner of this year’s Canola Award of Excellence, who gifted her $150 award for a third place prize in the bake-off.
Six students competed in the bake-off, with two entries each. The judges consisted of Ellen, Jenn, Chef MJ and Judy Fowler, a Food Stylist we work closely with, and myself. We were looking for creativity, taste, presentation, and use of canola in the recipes. Tasting and contemplating over the 12 entries was a treat all on its own. The entries ranged from one extreme to the other and the desserts bursted with creativity. In the end the judges chose four desserts and the decision was such a tough one, two entries tied for first place!
Here are the winners…
1st Place: It was a tie between the Sticky Toffee Pudding by Kimberly Cowan and the South African Seed Bread made by Jana Badenhorst.
Kimberly’s inspiration for sticky toffee pudding came from trying it at a restaurant two years ago . “I was at my work Christmas Party and one person ordered it, then another one did, and by the end of the evening we had almost all ordered it because it was SO GOOD” Kimberly says. She started researching the recipe even before she even began the baking program at Red River. “When I heard about the Canola Bake Off, I knew that was the recipe I wanted to make” she recalls. She tried the recipe with canola oil, and came up with the recipe she used for the bake off. She credits her instructors at RRC for helping her “the chefs here at Red River were also very helpful with tips like, putting the baking soda in with the dates as they are simmering and softening, and baking the pudding in a water bath for the first few minutes to keep it nice and moist”.
Originally from South Africa, Jana didn’t have to look far for her baking inspiration. “Seed bread is something that has always been around in South Africa, so when we moved to Canada we decided to start making our own” she says. She explains the recipe she tried at first had molasses in it, which gave it an almost tinny taste, so she substituted brown sugar instead. She found canola oil to work the best out of other fats in this recipe “canola oil works well for this recipe because it suits the flavor profile of the seeds very nicely” she explains. Jana tells us seed bread isn’t really eaten as a dessert because it is so filling. Most commonly it is served with meals, eaten as a quick breakfast, or for afternoon tea. Because it is so versatile, it goes well with either sweet or savoury toppings (or a mix of both), so it can be enjoyed as either a meal, side dish,or snack.
2nd Place: Fanta Slices by Angelina Schwarz
Angeline confesses she loves Fanta and decided to try something new with this recipe. The cake has includes orange Fanta in it, is topped with a sour cream icing and slices of fruit, giving it a light, sweet and savoury taste in your mouth -just as a dessert is supposed to.
3rd Place: Mazapan Donuts by Beth Abrams
Beth impressed us with her Mazapan donuts – the first donut entry in this competition ever! Inspired by her Mexican background, Beth coated her donut in a crumbly mixture of crushed Mazapan De La Rosa confections (pictured above) and Maria’s cookies. They turned out to be key ingredients that gave her donuts an edge that kept her in the competition. Cutting in half for the presentation was a good reminder that this would make a good treat to share and anything in moderation is ok -even donuts!
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