Kelly's cake one of state's best
By Eileen M. Carlton
Rachel Kelly, of Purcellville, began her journey to fame and a $100 fortune at the Loudoun County Fair, the first stop for those who want to compete in Virginia's Best Pound Cake Contest.
The next step was finals at the State Fair of Virginia in Richmond in October, where she competed with 47 other fair winners in the event sponsored by the Virginia Egg Council. After three hours of tasting, touching, crumbling and inhaling, the Fort Lee Culinary Team made its decision. The three best pound cakes were submitted by Kelly, who won third place; Elizabeth Cunningham of Midland, who came in second and took home $250; and Peggy Logan of Chester, who came in first and went home with $400.
Kelly credits her imagination for the win.
"I made it up," she said. "I took the basic pound cake recipe, which calls for a pound of butter, a pound of sugar, a pound of flour and a pound of eggs. Then I add to that and take away from that. I made about 10 test cakes until it was like the one that was simplest. It's really good and really moist. And when you cut into it, you can really smell the apples.
Kelly described herself as self-taught and an avid reader of cookbooks.
Her testers were her domestic partner Warren Henslee, her 10-year-old son Patrick and her 18-year-old son Corey.
Not only does Kelly bake a good pound cake, she can do quantity when the occasion calls for it. When Corey called from the Army National Guard boot camp in Jackson, S.C., and asked her if she would mind baking something for his friends, she readily agreed. Then she discovered that his "friends" were the 60 men in his platoon.
"I made six pound cakes with each one having 10 big slices, and four catering trays of brownies," Kelly said. "I was up until like three or four in the morning."
Patrick, Kelly said, is her lucky charm and accompanied her to Richmond for the contest. He was convinced, given the number of times the judges came back to his mother's cake, that she would take first place. Even though she did not, he beat her to the stage and was proudly waiting to hand her the ribbon and the check.
Kelly readily admits she is basically a cake fan.
"I really like making cakes and I'm reading books to teach me how to decorate cakes. That and pies, tortes, fruit tarts. I really like to do that," she said, adding, "I'm not a big cookie fan."
Kelly also has one ambition.
"I am trying to be the next Iron Chef America like Paula Deen from Georgia."
Contact the writer at ecarlton@timespapers.com.