A Curious Contest: Bake a Crab-Looking Cake, Win Stays in S. Oregon Coast's Coos Bay Area

Published 04/30/23 at 4:52 AM
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff

(Coos Bay, Oregon) - Crab cakes are for crabs and sweet cakes are for bakers. Or at least that's the way it's supposed to be. Unless you're considering what's going on in one south Oregon coast area. (Photos above courtesy Oregon's Adventure Coast)

The triad of towns known as the Coos Bay Area - North Bend, Coos Bay and Charleston - have come up with a unique way of combining the two. And it's all in the name of getting a free stay in this dynamic region. It's at once goofy and cool: you bake a sweet cake in the shape of a crab, and if you win, you get a vacation there, essentially a prize that allows you to enjoy the town and its beaches.

They are not talking about crab cakes: they are talking about cakes in the shape of a crab – a representation of those crawly, crustacean things in the ocean. The Coos Bay area's tourism group, Oregon's Adventure Coast, Is hosting what's called the Claw-Some Crab Cake Bake-Off.

Picture the Great English Baking Show combined with the southern Oregon coast town. Essentially, you bake some new and whimsical creation, showing off your baking skills, and then you take a picture and video of your culinary masterpiece.

This is the first installment of what they hope to be an annual thing, said Oregon's Adventure Coast executive director Janice Langlinais.

“This is our first Annual Claw-Some Crab Cake Bake Off,” Langlinais told Oregon Coast Beach Connection. “We are looking forward to seeing all the crabby-themed cakes all the very creative bakers out there will come up with. Amateurs and professional Bakers are encouraged to enter.”

Basically, you do this from your home. You don't have to drive to the Coos Bay Area, cake in hand or maybe melting in the back of your car. You simply have to show it show it off digitally.

Again, Oregon's Adventure Coast reminds you this is a baking contest. It's not about crab cakes. Putting seafood into a real cake? Yuck. You're using all the usual ingredients of one of those big, sweet, round confectionery delights, made up of flour eggs flavorings and some sort of icing. It's not a crab dish - it's a bakery thing. Aside from that the sky is the limits. Let your creative flag fly. Come up with something wild and kooky. In fact, that will help you get the free stay.

Who can enter? Anyone who is capable of baking. Kids and adults of any age range can participate, both experienced and inexperienced. There is an amateur category and a professional category. You can also work with a team, however the prize will only be given to one individual, Oregon's Adventure Coast to said.

For the amateur category, you have kids age 10 to 17, then adults age 18 and over. In the professional category, you have a section for those training, such as in culinary schools; and those who are professional bakers.

The judging criteria involves looking for the most creative interpretation that utilizes a crab in some way, a good Oregon coast twist to the whole thing, and overall creativity.

Other rules include: they cannot take physical cakes, only photos and videos. Each entry must include a video of someone taking a bite and cutting the cake. That's to make sure it is actually edible. You'll also have to list what you put in this truly sweet thang.

"Appearance and creativity are paramount, but understanding the ingredients used will also be considered," they said.

Prizes will be given to both the amateur and professional categories. The first prize winner in both gets a trip for two to the Coos Bay area, which includes a two-night stay, meal vouchers and more swag from Oregon's Adventure Coast. Second and third place winners in both categories will get goody baskets filled with the treats of the area.

You click on the link here to enter and see the full rules. Enter by June 30. Winners are announced in July and prizes given shortly after that.

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Photos below courtesy Oregon's Adventure Coast

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Andre' GW Hagestedt is editor, owner and primary photographer / videographer of Oregon Coast Beach Connection, an online publication that sees over 1 million pageviews per month. He is also author of several books about the coast.

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