Tag: Minnesota State Fair

Mocha Cake & Cupcakes

Mocha Cake & Cupcakes: If you want to be a blue ribbon baker, bake this Minnesota State Fair 1st place winning recipe. The batter has both freshly brewed coffee and espresso powder in it, plus cocoa powder. As a result, the cake’s flavor is out of this world. The thick, rich and creamy buttercream frosting is phenomenal as well.

Dahna Jacobson, a repeat winner in multiple divisions, absolutely loves this mocha cake recipe, originally a cupcake recipe from the Brown-Eyed-Baker. She adapted it into a layer cake.

The mocha chocolate cake immediately became Dahna’s go-to recipe and she went on to win multiple Minnesota State Fair ribbons with it, including one in 2023. Ten years in – 2014 was her first year competing – and she already has 12 ribbons total, including 3 blue ribbons, mostly for various cakes, but also quick breads. Dahna keeps photo boxes celebrating her achievements, like this one.

About her state fair baking experiences, Dahna shared, “I’m most proud of my first ribbon because I entered a single cake that year and really didn’t expect to win. I had never entered any baking competitions prior. Also, my first blue ribbon has a funny story. When I arrived at the fairgrounds, my white cake had shifted and was smushed on the side… I rushed home and made a fresh batch of buttercream and re-frosted the cake and it ended up winning first place!

TV News Appearance

We invited Dahna to showcase this favorite mocha cake recipe of hers on KARE 11 News (NBC-Minneapolis St Paul), live at the fairgrounds. Here’s a link to her appearance. Find it here.

This mocha cake & cupcakes recipe makes one double layer cake, 32 cupcakes, or about 64 miniature-sized cupcakes. You simply adjust the pans and baking times for the different versions.

Put this is the must-make pile for your next home-baking adventure. It’s a winner!

-Cyndi

p.s. Love the buttercream? Try these, also cupcakes, or type in “buttercream” as a search option for numerous more options.

Blue Ribbon Foodies at the Minnesota State Fair

Blue Ribbon Foodies at the Minnesota State Fair: The Blue Ribbon Group took over the Creative Activities Building’s Cambria Kitchen at the Minnesota State Fair on August 25, 2024. As a result, we shared many tastings and great baking tips all day long. If you caught our demonstrations and complementary tastings and want the recipes, you are in the right place. Here is what we featured and the links to each recipe.

Nutty Honey & Seed Tarts

This is an all-time favorite we have many in many forms. It originally won “best pie” in one of our contests at the Wisconsin State Fair.

Hummingbird Cake

This is a specialty cake created by our fellow Blue Ribbon Foodie, Jackie Thesing @SweetGirlTreatsMN.

Salted Nut Roll Bars

This is an original creation for our baking friends everywhere, especially ones who like homemade versions of great candy bars.

Almond & Banana Snacking Cake

You can’t go wrong with any type of banana bread. This one is thick and thoroughly delightful. It comes from Ryan Ceresnak with @TheNerdyBakerMN.

Lemon Coconut Balls

The perfect citrus sweet treat you can make with or without macadamia nuts. Heather Pfeiffer won a blue ribbon for this cookie at last year’s Minnesota State Fair (2024).

Homemade Honey Nut Granola

Fun fact: this recipe earned a teenager his first food-related blue ribbon win! (Yay Lars!) You sweeten it with honey. As a result, it’s not overly sweet, which lets the nuts and oats shine. We served this on top of yoghurt for fairgoers and it was a total hit! You will want to make a double or triple batch of this!

Zucchini Bread Mini Muffins

Another winning creation, from another recipe shared by blue ribbon baker Heather Pfeiffer.

It was a fun scene and we hope you enjoyed all the deliciousness!

Please follow us social media: Blue Ribbon Foodies on Instagram and Facebook. And we hope to see you at next year’s Minnesota State Fair, which runs August 21 through Labor Day, September 1, 2025! Blue Ribbon Foodies at the Minnesota State Fair is bound to return in some way or another. Until then, keep on baking!

This post was updated Sept 4, 2024 with recipe images.

Zucchini Bread Mini Muffins

Zucchini Bread Mini Muffins: you make these delightful treats with classic quick bread ingredients. The zucchini and vegetable oil give the muffins a terrific texture, a quality also helped also by using both baking soda and baking powder. The hint of cinnamon is delicious, as are the walnuts. They give a delightful chewiness to the muffins. If you are not into nuts, simply leave them out!

These zucchini bread mini muffins are a delight to eat and make. You can make them into regular size muffins or a loaf, and with or without walnuts. Your choice! Whatever way you make this winning recipe, you will love it!

The recipe comes from Heather Pfeiffer, who used the recipe and placed second for zucchini bread at the 2023 Minnesota State Fair. It was featured in recipe demos and tastings at the 2024 Minnesota State Fair, hosted by the Blue Ribbon Group in the Creative Activities Building’s Cambria Kitchen. Heather’s main tip with the recipe is to drain but not squeeze the grated zucchini before mixing it in. Don’t miss Heather’s blue ribbon winning cookies, also on this site here. And if you love quick breads, this one is a must try too!

Enjoy!

-Cyndi

Lemon Coconut Balls

Lemon Coconut Balls: a blue ribbon winning recipe at the 2023 Minnesota State Fair.

These are another must bake cookie. Delightfully easy and deliciously perfect. You can make these lemon coconut balls with or without macadamia nuts.

Recipe contest goes to Heather Pfeiffer, pictured here with Blue Ribbon Group founder, Cyndi Harles.

Heather has won numerous ribbons at the fair. We invited her to showcase these cookies at our demo day event at the state fair. They were a huge hit!

Find all the recipes we featured in the Creative Activities Building, Cambria Kitchen, here.

2024 “Top 30 State Fairs” List

New: 2024 “Top 30 State Fairs” List

Do you love state fairs like we do? Check out our new 2024 “Top 30 State Fairs” list. This second annual compilation is based exclusively on two factors: per day attendance numbers (total 2023 attendance divided by total days open) and their baking competitions (history of past Blue Ribbon Group special contests). Our other criteria? They have to take place the second half of the year, the Blue Ribbon Group official state fair season.

Attendances ranged from 27K to 153K for per day averages (based on top 30 list). That is A LOT of people through the gates each day. All take place in the second half of the year, with the majority happening in August and September. The State Fair of Texas has the highest total attendance – 2.5 million – but since it’s spread out over twice as many days as Minnesota and others, it lands in the 4^th “best state fair” spot.

Top 30 State Fairs List - Best State Fairs

Big E Fair Added for 1st Time: Lands in Top 10

New to our “Top 30 State Fairs” list is the Big E, the biggest fair in Massachusetts. I lands in the # 8 spot. The Big E is considered America’s only multi-state fair and is the largest in the whole NE region. As a result, we count the Big E as a state fair. It represents all of New England with entertainment, unique foods, competitions, and more. Per research, the Big E’s Massachusetts State Exhibition Hall literally pays homage to all six New England states: Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. We have had many cookie contests at the Big E in years past. Welcome to our best state fair list Big E!

The other biggest changes with our list:

Attendance leapt at many of the fairs, especially at Kentucky (up 14 percent) and at Wisconsin, Ohio, and New York, among others
Total attendance for all 30 top fairs jumped from 22.2 million fairgoers to 23.5 million
We narrowed the top 30 list to only have official state – or multi-state – fairs.
At the same time, we added 20 runner-up best fairs, an Honorable Mention list.

2024 Honorable Mention U.S. Fairs:

For the first time, we also compiled an “honorable mention list” of sorts, to include the largest county and regional fairs we have worked with over the years. This gives our list greater/deeper representation of the entire country. Six land on the West Coast. Six land in the Northeast. The rest span the entire continental U.S.

Daily average attendance numbers range from 94K to 10K per day, which is how they are ranked here.

Since 2006, Blue Ribbon Group has managed special recipe contests at large state, county and regional fairs. Find a collection of winning recipes at BlueRibbonGroup.net and featured on BlueRibbonFoodies on Instagram and Facebook.

2024 Minnesota State Fair Blue Ribbon Special Contests

2024 Minnesota State Fair Special Contests To Feature New Fresh Salsa, Nutty Cookie, Mighty Muffin Recipe Contests

Minneapolis-St Paul, MN – July 22, 2024 – With over 75 baking and cooking categories at the Minnesota State Fair this year, home cooks and bakers will have many ways to win in the kitchen, including $1,000 in prizes in Blue Ribbon Group special contests and awards. The annual and much beloved tradition of blue ribbon baking and cooking returns!

There’s a new Fresh Salsa contest thanks to Bushel Boy Farms, a Nutty Cookie contest from the Blue Ribbon Group, and a Mighty Muffin contest from 3 Cricketeers. The general/classic baking categories (divided into “classes”), range from 28 types of bread and 21 types of cookies, to 12 different kinds of cakes, and 3 pie flavors, plus international and gluten-free baking divisions. Let the games, er… Minnesota State Fair Blue Ribbon Special Contests BEGIN!

Register by Tue July 30, 2024, 4:30pm; All Special Contests & All Baking Categories Take Place Sat Aug 17, 2024

Rally time is now! Look for these new special contests, each with $100 to $200 for first place, plus runner-up prizes and special awards. Registration is now open. It closes Tue , 2024, 4:30pm CT. Open to Minnesota residents only. All contests happen Sat August 17, 2024, drop off 9:30am to 1pm, Creative Activities Building. Winners announced Thu August 22, 2024. Having trouble finding what you need to participate? Drop us a line here.

Bushel Boy Farms “Fresh Salsa Recipe Rally”

Make a fresh-tasting, crowd-pleasing salsa with premium, locally grown Bushel Boy Farms tomatoes as the star ingredient. Bushel Boy’s tomatoes are grown right here in Owatonna, Minnesota at their high-tech greenhouses and picked at perfect ripeness. Combine them with other ingredients for a masterful and award-winning homemade salsa (refrigerated, not processed/canned). Present with your favorite chips for dipping. $350 in prizes await the top 3 winners, plus bonus prizes for canned salsas (Class 1245 & 1246). Find recipe inspiration @BushelBoyFarms on Instagram & Facebook.

Join Bushel Boy Farms to celebrate opening day of the fair, Thu August 22, 2024. They will take over the Cambria Kitchen to showcase fresh tomato creations and salsa contest winners, plus offer complimentary samples and other giveaways throughout the day.

Blue Ribbon Group “Nutty Cookie Contest”

Come compete in the “Nutty Cookie Contest” from the Blue Ribbon Group. We want a creative variety of nut-centric winning cookies. Make your tasty treats with your favorite nuts, from peanuts and pistachios to almonds and cashews. Any nut goes and any type tracks. They can be classic or creative: think biscotti, nut clusters, butter pecan shortbread, monster cookies, and more. Wow the judges with your outstanding cookie, how it looks and what they experience biting into it. A unique mix of cookies will win. Prizes are $200, $100 and $50 for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place, respectively. Find inspiration @BlueRibbonFoodies on Instagram & Facebook.

Join us Sun August 25 at the fair for our Nutty Tarts & Treats event (Cambria Kitchen, Creative Activities Building). In the meantime, find a fantastic sample recipe to make here.

Mighty Muffin Recipe Contest

Make your 3 Cricketeers Mighty Muffin entry with 3C’s Pure Cricket Powder (1/4 cup or more) and additional ingredients known to give you power and energy, such as nuts, seeds, oatmeal, peanut butter, and chocolate. Awards: $100 (1st Place), $75 (2nd Place), $50 (3rd Place). Find their online store at 3 Cricketeers. Use code StateFair2024 for free shipping on your first order. Share your creative process by posting on Facebook or Instagram. Tag #3cricketeers

Join 3 Cricketeers on Fri August 23 for a day of demos and free tastings (Cambria Kitchen, Creative Activities Building).

Special thanks to our prize partner and all-around amazing baking company:

Key Contest Dates to Remember

Competitors Register by Tue July 30, 2024, 4:30pm
Drop Off Day Sat Aug 17, 20, 9:30am to 1pm
View Winner Displays & Recipe Demos Aug 22 to Sep 2 in Creative Activities Building

First Time Participant or Need a Refresher?

All registration goes through the Minnesota State Fair competition department. Registration is free! Once you’re signed up, there is no obligation if you later can’t participate. Go to the Competitions/Creative Activities/Baked Products section at MNStateFair.org to sign up (under the Participants tab).

Minnesota State Fair Blue Ribbon Special Contests: Quick-start tips:

Find all baking rules, regs, open classes, and cool special contests here and be sure to download the Creative Activities/Baked Goods Premium Book Section. Jump to pages 12-14 for the special contests, page by page.
Sign up for the Competition Department email list here and be sure to choose “Creative Activities” as your email list.
Create your online account here (then be sure your registration clears and is confirmed by email).
For step-by-step guidance: go here (for a written tutorial) or here (for a video) For FAQ (frequently asked questions) go here.

Minnesota State Fair Blue Ribbon Special Contests: Resources are aplenty, but if you still have questions, never hesitate to ask. The state fair competition office can be reached 651-288-4417 or competition@mnstatefair.org. We are available too, at statefairteam@blueribbongroup.net.

Best Chocolate Orange Cupcakes

For holiday baking – or any time of year – these “Best Chocolate Orange Cupcakes” are a sure-fire favorite. Seriously. Total crowd pleaser!

The batter has vegetable oil and buttermilk in it, creating a rich, fudgy cupcake that practically glows.

Best Chocolate Orange Cupcakes - Mid Frosting

With a thick citrus buttercream frosting and festive chocolate orange section on top, you get an eye-catching dessert everyone will love.

Decorated Best Chocolate Orange Cupcakes

Baker Tips:

Use a high-quality cocoa powder for a rich chocolate flavor to the cupcake. We used a combo of Dutch cocoa powder and black cocoa and loved the results.
Stock up on Terry’s Chocolate Oranges when you find them. They’re seasonal and can be hard to find
Because the orange extract goes in both the batter and the frosting, use a high-quality brand for a natural tasting citrus flavor. We like these citrus oils from the King Arthur Baking Company. Fresh juice and zest is key also.

Winner at Minnesota State Fair

These best chocolate orange cupcakes are an award-winning creation from Colleen Jensen.

She had a big win with them at the 2022 Minnesota State Fair. Out of 75 entries, these placed third, bested only by this show-stopper winning cake (1st Place) and a Mexican Hot Chocolate Cake (2nd place) we hope to make at some point. That’s essentially a second runner up or a “bronze medal” Olympic win. =)

Colleen titled her contest entry “Merry’s Chocolate Orange Cupcakes.” The name is a play on the “merry” holidays and the popular Terry’s brand that makes the festive candy that the cupcakes feature.

Terry’s Chocolate Oranges are quite an experience. Gifting them to family and friends is a long-time tradition in the U.K. The whack/crack way of opening the candy is delightful.

If you don’t have first-hand knowledge of the “tap it and unwrap it” process, be sure try it out soon.

These Chocolate Orange Cupcakes are a “must-bake” for anyone who loves chocolate or citrus sweet treats. Enjoy!

-Cyndi

Splenda Raspberry Chocolate Cheesecake Pie

This Splenda Raspberry Chocolate Cheesecake Pie won first place in the Splenda Magic Baker “Low-To-No Sugar Showdown” at the 2023 Minnesota State Fair. The recipe comes from Barb Lutz.

To get started, decide if you’ll make your own crust or buy a premade one. You’ll want a 9-inch round pie plate or slightly larger. You do two bakes. The first one is the raspberry/crust layer. The second layer – for which you lower the heat – is the chocolate cheesecake layer made with cream cheese, eggs, Splenda Magic Baker, dark chocolate baking bar, and sour cream. Once that’s baked, while the Splenda Raspberry Chocolate Cheesecake Pie is still hot, you spread a sour cream layer/sweetener layer that soaks into the chocolate layer. After it’s chilled, you finish it with fresh raspberries and a chocolate drizzle.

You are going to delight in making and eating this award-winning chocolate dessert. Enjoy!

-Cyndi

Healthy Power Bars

These Healthy Power Bars come from Amy Ellenberger, who won the new UnitedHealthcare “Healthy Cookie Contest” at the 2023 Minnesota State Fair.

Amy’s Healthy Power Bars are made with raw whole cashews, oats, almonds, sunflower seeds, and chia seeds. She sweetens them with maple syrup, raisins, and Medjool dates. They have a chewy, crunchy texture you are absolutely going to love.

Good-For-You Ingredients

Healthy Power Bars

Congratulations to Amy!

Healthy Power Bars

Learn more about Amy in this Star Tribune feature story. If you want another healthy cookie option, try these!

Gluten-Free Fig Newtons

Gluten-Free Fig Newtons: Joan Kinsley won “best gluten-free cookie” at the Minnesota State Fair with this recipe.

They have very few ingredients but still taste complex. They truly pack a lot of flavor in every bite.

The natural sweetness of the figs, augmented by maple syrup, bake for a sweet, but not overly so, treat. Joan’s Gluten-Free Fig Newtons taste best made the day prior to eating them. When doing so, they soften perfectly.

The recipe makes 16 cookies. You are going to want a double batch of these!

Joan has won multiple ribbons, including a blue ribbon for best sandwich cookie in the same year. It also went on to win best overall cookie, aka “sweepstakes” winner.

Yay Joan! Yay Everyone! Get baking and make these!

Cyndi