Baking cake is not a specialty of mine. For some reason, my cakes are never as successful as my bread.
Which means this article will not provide you with a foolproof cake technique, other than to suggest that box cakes are much better than you think they’re going to be and often in fact are much moister than a from-scratch version.
I like to believe that baking from scratch doesn’t matter, and that the Sharon Historical Society’s annual Let Them Eat Cake fundraising auction is less about how your cake tastes (although it should taste delicious, obviously) and more about how it looks.
“Clever” is not usually a word we associate with the word “cake,” but for the Sharon Historical Society, it seems to me that often the cakes that attract the most attention are those with a catchy cake title that matches a clever design.
Myra Plescia, who is the historical society and museum’s projects manager, offered some hints at how to make a successful entry in the annual cake fundraiser: “In general, well-decorated cakes with visual appeal can generate some high bids.”
But, she adds: “Cakes from bakers with generous family members who are willing to bid can also do very well.”
The fundraising Let Them Eat Cake evening is generally fun and social, albeit with an edge: “The bidding can get quite competitive,” Plescia warned (or promised, depending on how you look at it).
Last year, professional cake baker Elizabeth Mayhew from Millbrook, N.Y., contributed one of her exquisitely decorated cakes (if you want to see samples of her work, visit her Instagram page @elizabethmayhew).
Mayhew’s “Strawberry Fields Forever” brought in $1,550 in the in-person auction last summer. That is not a typo — her cake did in fact sell for more than a thousand dollars. And it was only the fourth-highest income producer! (Mayhew also auctioned off the promise of a cake decorated to the bidder’s specifications, for $800 in the online auction).
Sharon, Conn., resident Rebecca Baum actually produced the two top sellers at the in-person auction: The All-American Cheesecake, which sold for $2,100; and the Brown Sugar Bundt Cake, which sold for $1,600.
The third highest bid fetcher was the Citrus Poppy Seed Layer Cake with Lemon Glaze by Anthony Bellomo, the celebrated owner of Orangerie Garden in Millbrook, N.Y. (it sold for $1,600).
As you read the names of these winning cakes, it will perhaps make you doubt my idea that a clever cake can attract large bids. The entries listed above clearly won because they were lovely and promised to be delicious, not because they had funny names.
But I return to my original statement, which is that I am not a great baker of cakes. Therefore, if I were to enter a cake into the auction, I would have to count on sheer gimmick to get me into the top ranks of moneymakers.
You might wonder why I’m even thinking about this, and the answer is that any bakers in the area who are proud of their pastry prowess are invited to bake and donate to the cake auction. That means you!
Cakes must be delivered to the Sharon Historical Society & Museum on the Green in Sharon on Friday, July 1, in the afternoon.
The auction and cocktail party will be that same evening from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Of course you don’t need to be a baker to help the Sharon Historical Society raise funds for its important and interesting work. It is extremely helpful if you bid on one or more of the cakes, and if you purchase tickets to the July 1 event. They are $45 in advance or $55 at the door. For more information, go to https://sharonhist.org/let-them-eat-cake-2022.
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The Millerton News
Hot-tub style approach with a sledge-hammer assist at the lake.
While the chill of recent weeks has driven many Northwest Corner residents inside and their energy bills up, others have taken advantage of the extended cold by practicing some of our region’s most treasured — and increasingly rare — pastimes: ice sports.
I am one of those who goes out rather than in when the mercury drops: a one-time Peewee and Bantam league hockey player turned pond hockey enthusiast turned general ice lover. In the winter, my 12 year-old hockey skates never leave my trunk, on the chance I’ll pass some gleaming stretch of black ice on a roadside pond.
Last winter, when ice was hard to come by, was a massive disappointment for me, as it was for the other ice-obsessed among us. I was delighted, then, when I arrived at Lake Wononscopomuc on a comparatively balmy (26°F) Saturday afternoon to find recreators strolling, skating, fishing and fat-biking across the frozen expanse of its surface.
Grabbing my camera and stepping out onto the ice with the intention of chatting with some of the merry-makers, I gauged the uneven — but passable — surface below my feet and decided to run to the car and switch my boots with skates.
The going was rough at times, contending with intermittent snow layers and slush crusts, but even so the skates were vastly more efficient than my boots as I made my way from group to group.
I stopped to chat with David Bain, who was just starting to set up his fishing station after getting a late start. I asked him the depth under the hole he had just drilled, and he said it was about five feet, despite being 200 yards from shore on the deepest natural lake in Connecticut.
He explained that he had situated himself over a weed bed, and was hoping to catch some brown trout lurking off its shelf. A Norfolk resident, he said he was glad the ice was back after a season or two without it. He said the last time he had fished out on Wononscopomuc’s ice – 2023, he reckoned — he had caught two sizeable brown trout (about 10 and 8 pounds) within 15 minutes of each other at a spot just yards away from this one. I wished him luck for a similar outcome, and skated off to some distant figures hunkered over their ice drills.
I found Kyle Carso of Glastonbury and Andy Sabetta of Berlin, who are long time fishing friends, huddling over their holes as they hoped for a bite. They had been moving around the lake since 7 a.m., and had only pulled up a couple of perch so far, Carso said. Echoing Bain, Carso told me that Wononscopomuc is known for big brown trout though, and the duo had proof: Sabetta had caught a 14-pounder in June.
Carso said he was grateful for the ice conditions this season, which have been difficult to come by in several recent years. He said the ice was generally solid, about eight inches in most places, but encouraged caution as they had found some variability in the holes they drilled, with some spots thinner than others.
Brothers Eamon and John McNiff, who I found with beers in hand just offshore of Eamon’s lakefront property, similarly urged caution for those looking to explore the ice. He said that the frozen lake provides a valuable wealth of recreation, made more special by its seasonal transience – “as long as you’re being smart about it.” With the right caution, though, he said time spent on the ice is “magical.”
The kids get to skate around the lake – close to shore, he specified – and for the adults? “There’s nothing better than an ice beer.”
His brother John had just fat biked — essentially a mountain bike with huge, deeply treaded tires for traction on snow and ice — across the lake from his own property on the other side. Upon arriving at Eamon’s house, he slipped out and sprawled on the ice, pulling a muscle in the process. He said he was better now, though, enjoying a “recuperation beer” provided by his brother.
My final stop of the afternoon found a different type of cold-weather health practice — hanging out hot-tub style in a sledge-hammered hole in the ice. Danny Tieger and Tyler Spofford, both local to the area, are avid cold water swimmers they explained, and try to submerge themselves a few times a week during the winter months.
Tieger said that taking regular cold dips has been transformational after starting about five years ago: “It changed my relationship with my health and brain.”
The two stayed in the water, with apparent calm, for a remarkably long time. Spofford said that once you get over the shock, the water can actually feel a bit warmer than the air, because it actually is at about 34°F compared to the air temperature in the mid 20s.
As they finally climbed out and did some post-dip exercises, I looked out over the lake, dim silhouettes of anglers and fat bikers speckling the white expanse in the soft blue light of the late afternoon. Pulling off my skates for the day with numb and fumbling fingers, I felt grateful for the ice and the unique joy it brings to an oft-maligned season.
With cold weather growing less consistent with each passing winter, days like these can feel a little melancholic and fragile, as if those of us who take to the ice are salvaging for something already almost in the past. Perhaps we are, but it comforted me to be in good company as I scanned the lake’s surface for the last few hold-outs as the clock neared five. If it freezes, we will come.
Any lake ice recreation is inherently dangerous as the ice can be inconsistent. Anyone venturing out onto the ice must consult experts before doing so and follow town guidance.
Emma Brockett, Josalyn Cipkas and Tiffany Oltjenbruns in rehearsal for “From All Angles.”
Garet Wierdsma and her northern Connecticut-based dance company, Garet&Co, will return to Norfolk for their third annual appearance with Dance Workshops on the next three Sundays, followed by two performances of “From All Angles” in Battelle Chapel on Saturday, Feb. 22 at 7 p.m., and Sunday, Feb. 23, at 4 p.m.
In “From All Angles,” audience members will witness Garet&Co translate three of the works presented at their fall show, “Can’t Keep Friends,” danced in the round, where viewers can witness each piece from a new angle.
Additionally, Garet&Co will be premiering two new works, including a site-specific work made for the beautiful Battelle Chapel performance space. Notably, Garet&Co will be reprising an excerpt of their preeminent piece, “and sometimes I wish” for this show.
On Saturday, Feb. 22, audience members will enjoy a post-show reception followed by a Q & A session.
On Sunday, Feb. 23, audience members will enjoy a pre-show performance with dancers performing installation work.
Garet&Co offers several classes in the performance space at Battell Chapel during their residence, including:
Intermediate/Advanced Technique: this Sunday, Feb. 2, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Intermediate/Advanced Contemporary Phrase Work: Sunday, Feb. 16, 12:30 to 2 p.m.
Beginners’ Contemporary: Saturday, Feb. 23, 1 to 2 p.m. (please join this class prior to the Sunday show for a special discounted package of class + show tickets)
Intermediate/Advanced Contemporary: Saturday, Feb. 23, 2 to 3 p.m. (please join this class prior to the Sunday show for a special discounted package of class + show tickets)
Garet Wierdsma expressed her excitement: “This year, we are bringing more dancers and more pieces than ever before, plus we are adding special elements that will keep audiences on their toes. We can’t wait to share this show with everyone!”
Evie Sondag, Jessica Winter, and Kyleigh Olivier in rehearsal for “From All Angles.”Elias Olsen
