Anisor Fernandez was never, as she puts it, “into baking.”
“When I did bake, it was almost always from a box of cake mix,” Fernandez said.
Yet six years ago, she tried baking from scratch a themed cake for her older daughter’s first birthday.
“It was absolutely horrible,” Fernandez laughed. “It was huge, lopsided and cracked. It eventually collapsed.”
But Fernandez found she enjoyed the process of making a specialty cake enough to keep at it. By watching television shows and videos on baking cakes, as well as following cake experts on social media, her skills began to improve, and so did her confidence.
Fernandez can now put the failed birthday cake behind her and proudly show off the medals and trophies she was awarded at “That Takes the Cake,” a national contest held March 31 to April 2 in Round Rock, Texas.
Fernandez entered the Master’s Professional level in sculpted cakes and special techniques in the competition. She received two first place medals and two first place trophies for her themed cakes, both reflections of her Louisiana roots.
In the special techniques category, Fernandez’s “Blue Crab” won first place and was ranked platinum with a score of 99 out of 100.
In the sculpted cake category of 'That Takes the Cake' contest, Fernandez’s 'Cajun Baba Yaga House' won first place and ranked platinum with a perfect score of 100.
And in the sculpted cake category, Fernandez’s “Cajun Baba Yaga House” won first place and ranked platinum with a perfect score of 100. It was the first time in the history of the competition that a contestant earned a perfect score.
“I was and I’m still overwhelmed,” said Fernandez, who lives in Marrero with her husband, Michael, and their two daughters. “Everyone at the show, from people in the competition as well as others just coming to see the displays, kept telling me how great both cakes were and that I was going to win. I didn’t want to get my hopes up because I didn’t expect this to happen.”
“That Takes the Cake,” a sugar art show and cake competition, is a multifaceted event that brings sugar enthusiasts of all skill levels together from all over the country. About 200 competitors brought decorated cakes and sugar arts of all forms to enter into the judged competition.
Kyla Myers is past president of the competition.
“Anisor's level of detail simply blew the judges away,” Myers said. “Her work was stunning, a marvel of perfection. And you could hear the buzz about it throughout the show.”
Six months before the contest, Fernandez said she began several sketches of how she envisioned her entries for the contest.
“I am originally from Grand Bayou in lower Plaquemine,” Fernandez said. “As I was sketching, I kept coming back to where I grew up, and I thought the crab and the house would be representative of my life on the bayou. I kept adding different elements to each sketch until I had what I wanted.”
Fernandez added that she used an app to keep track of the time she spent on each cake.
It took 125 hours for Anisor Fernandez to complete the highly detailed, award-winning bayou scene in cake.
“For the house, it took 125 hours to complete and for the crab, it took me 28 hours,” she said.
After transporting the cakes by car for the nine-hour drive to the event, she set the cakes up at the Round Rock Sports Center for the contest. Fernandez said she became so nervous, she lost her voice.
“I was trembling,” she said. “I was worried about leaving the cakes overnight at the center. And then I started thinking ‘what if this happens’ or ‘what about that.’ Next thing I know, I lose my voice. All these people are congratulating me, asking me questions and I couldn’t utter a word to anyone.”
Saying she was “super happy” about winning the contest, Fernandez plans to enter other cake events in the future.
The house cake may be destined for even more glory.
"At the competition one of the judges reached out to me and asked if I would be interested in having it on display at an art show in Atlanta," Fernandez said. "So maybe it will end up over that way for a while if I'm lucky, but for now it's in my home studio."
She has some advice for those interested in developing their baking skills.
“Challenge yourself, be unique and creative,” Fernandez said. “Try as many techniques and mediums as possible. At some point, you will figure out what you are good at and that will keep you going.
“And I don’t even have one box of cake mix in my house anymore.”
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