Kelso High’s Cake Wars Brings Layers Of Learning, Frosting, & Fierce Competition (Photo) - 11/13/26
PHOTO OP: Students piping intricate details by hand, final cake designs, judges delivering verdicts.
Before the frosting flies, the mashed potatoes come out.
That’s how Kelso High School Culinary II students will begin Cake Wars, a weeklong baking and decorating challenge November 16–20 that turns a “client’s” cake request into an edible exam. First up: practicing piping techniques with mashed potatoes. By Friday, students will be putting the finishing touches on cakes ready for a panel of staff judges.
Students will receive a “client” request and must figure out how to bring someone else’s vision to life while handling every step themselves: baking, filling, stacking, applying a crumb coat to seal in loose crumbs, and adding a smooth final layer of frosting. Then comes the detail work—all piping is done by hand.
Culinary teacher Carri Smith introduced Cake Wars in Culinary II and Cupcake Wars in Culinary I when she took over the classes three years ago. Both competitions offer a fun finale to baking units while challenging students to put their learning to work. Cake Wars raises the difficulty with more complex construction and decorating.
“I think these competitions are a great way to make learning fun while still having students apply real baking, decorating, teamwork, and problem-solving skills,” Smith said.
The challenge unfolds one layer at a time:
- Monday: Choose designs and practice piping with mashed potatoes.
- Tuesday: Bake cakes and freeze them.
- Wednesday: Make frosting, fill, stack, and crumb-coat cakes.
- Thursday: Apply the final coat and color frosting for decorating.
- Friday: Pipe on the designs and present finished cakes to staff judges during the last 25–30 minutes of class.
Judges will taste and score the cakes on flavor, appearance/design, and execution. Presenting to people outside the classroom gives students a taste of the expectations they could encounter in the culinary industry.
And once the judging ends? Students get to take the creations home—making this one school competition with a particularly sweet finish.
MEDIA OP: Friday, November 20, 3rd and 4th periods (10:20-11:30 and 12:05-1:15). Email [email protected] for access.
About Kelso School District
Kelso School District has a goal of 100% (bit.ly/ksd-100) of students graduating high school and having post-secondary plans for college, career, trades, or military. Our mission is to prepare every student for living, learning, and achieving success as a citizen of our changing world.
