Victorian Agricultural Shows Limited represents one hundred and fifteen country shows and ten agricultural field days stretching the length and breadth of Victoria and into border societies in South Australia and New South Wales. VAS Ltd is a member based, not for profit organisation that is dedicated to supporting excellence in Victorian agriculture.

It’s that time of year again when home cooks butter their cake tins, heat up their ovens, soak their fruit and mix their batter and bake fruit cakes. In fact during the 2010-11 Show season over 1500 fruit cakes were cooked as part of the Victorian Agricultural Shows Fruit Cake competitions.

Country shows and fruit cakes go hand in hand. For over 125 year home cooks have battled it out for the title of best fruit cake maker in the district. Local winners go on to a Group Final, with the eleven best cakes coming to the Royal Melbourne Show in September for the State title.

At the 2010 Royal Melbourne Show the winner of the Victorian Agricultural Shows Rich Fruit Cake Competition was Alice Hurst representing the South Western Group. Alice initially won at the Warrnambool Show. Phoebe Altmann, representing the Wimmera Group, was awarded winner of the VAS Junior Boiled Fruit Cake Competition.

Once the bastion of women, the Fruit Cake competitions are now a keenly contested event with many men competing against women, husband against wife, neighbour against neighbour, friend against foe, all wanting the Fruit Cake Crown.

As the competition heated up so too the quality of cakes rose and rose, so that the differences between cakes became smaller and smaller, making it increasingly difficult to adjudge the best cake.

Enter the square-tin rule of 2011-12 and beyond. Starting with the Wentworth Show on August 27th all cakes entered into the Vas Rich Fruit Cake Competition must be cooked in a 20 cm square cake tin.

I’m reliably informed that it is infinitely harder to produce a perfect square cake.

Who can tell?

The proof, as we here in VAS-land say, is in the cake.

Happy Baking!

For more information on VAS Cooking Competitions contact Catharine Redden at the VAS Ltd. office, Melbourne Showground, phone 03 9281 7467, e-mail catharine.redden@rasv.com.au. Or find us on the web at www.vicagshows.com.au, on facebook by searching for ‘Victorian Agricultural Shows’ or follow VAS on twitter @VicAgShows.