ENCINITAS — Have you ever dreamed of competing on the hit television show “Cake Wars?” Encinitas local Monika Stout lived that dream by not only competing on the show, but also by taking home top prize from the Food Network hit series.
Before winning “Cake Wars,” Stout took an adult education cake-decorating class at La Costa Canyon High School 14 years ago to create birthday cakes for her children Kelsey and Griffin. However, she didn’t know this would soon become a passion.
“I just thought I could make cakes for my kid’s birthdays, but once I made my first cake, I knew I was meant to do this,” Stout said.
Eventually, Stout wanted to challenge herself by competing on “Cake Wars.”
“I wanted a challenge and to prove to myself that even if you’ve never been to culinary school, you can still succeed in the cake world,” said Stout.
The show consists of two rounds, on the second and final round, a winner is chosen. Contestants have to choose at least two of the ingredients given for their cakes. The contestants are given 75 minutes for the first round and four hours for the second round to bake and decorate the cakes. The judges rate the cakes on taste and design, then one team is eliminated based on the judge’s decision.
Stout and her good friend/assistant, Louise Pass, made a pizza cake which contained a tomato spice cake with a mascarpone caramel buttercream sprinkled with candied pepperonis with cayenne pepper and covered in dark chocolate ganache.
For the second and final round, Stout and Pass created a Ninja Turtle cake with a mocha dark chocolate with butterscotch swiss meringue buttercream sprinkled with candied pecans and covered in dark chocolate ganache.
“For taste the Round One Pizza Cake is definitely my favorite. Who would think having pepperoni and cayenne pepper in a cake would work, but it does. It is delicious. I’ve even added it to my flavor choices (for my business) so people can taste it for themselves,” Stout said.
Interestingly enough, the competition is filmed in one day. Stout and Pass competed on the show in the summer of 2016, while the show recently aired in January of 2017.
“It was crazy, stressful and a ton of fun. I took a good friend as my assistant. She is a wonderful cake artist in her own right plus she keeps me calm and makes me laugh, so she was the perfect person to help me. We went into it to have fun. Winning was just the icing on the cake,” said Stout.
Stout has lived in Encinitas with her husband Kevin for 31 years. In 2004 Stout had been diagnosed with breast cancer and finished treatment in 2005. Stout volunteered with a team to raise money for San Diego Susan G. Komen in 2008. As captain, her team, Walk Now Wine Later, raised the highest fund with $176,000.
Fans eager to try Stout’s unique cakes can order through her website/business trulyscrumptiouscakes.com or by calling her at (760) 803-0869. Customers can pick up these custom made cakes in Encinitas or the orders can be delivered throughout San Diego County.
