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The Columbus Dispatch
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Crew’s annual ’Shoe bake-off fattens scholarship
By Regina Garcia Cano
The deliciously detailed replica of the ’Shoe, baked each year to raise
money for scholarships, was gobbled up by fans leaving the game, but not
before plenty of praise was heaped upon it.
“It’s awesome; it’s over the top,” said Lauren Dannemiller of Akron. “It
looks so good. You can smell all that icing.”
Dannemiller was one of hundreds of Buckeye fans who took photos of the
stadium cake. Plenty of “cools,” “greats” and “OMGs” complimented the
eight-layer cake.
“I want this to be my birthday cake,” said Jonathan Yenser, who at 12
considers himself a hard-core Buckeye fan. “It’s big, huge, and took a lot
of work.”
The Ohio Stadium Cake Crew assembled and decorated their creation with
plastic figures of players, coach Jim Tressel, Brutus Buckeye and OSU
President E. Gordon Gee. In the stands, thousands of fans were made of
scarlet and gray icing dots — with just a few blue ones thrown in for Penn
State supporters.
The nine-member cake team collected donations from passers-by before, during
and after the game. The crew also sold numbered prints of stadium sketches
for $10.
“Fans are very generous, especially if we win,” said Mark Tucker, who carved
the 27 sheet cakes that formed the ’Shoe.
The cake was cut into about 1,000 pieces. Regardless of donation, everyone
who stopped by the tent at St. John Arena got a piece, Penn State fans
included.
For eight days, Kim and Mark Tucker transformed their Dublin home into a
bakery where they gathered with relatives and friends — no pastry chef in
sight — to build the stadium. The recipe: 90 cake mixes, 264 eggs, 120
pounds of powdered sugar, 30 pounds of shortening, 24 ounces of vanilla
extract, 11/2 gallons of milk and a gallon of oil.
A grocery store donated the ingredients.
The 20-year-old baking tradition started as a dare between two of the crew
members who are Ohio State alumni. The crew established the Stadium Cake
Scholarship Fund through an OSU endowment in 1999. Six students received
need-based scholarships through the fund this year.
Transporting the creation is no piece of cake. It took eight people to carry
it to a van and then into the tent.
The confectionary masterpiece showed Tressel’s players scoring a touchdown.
According to the cake’s scoreboard, the Buckeyes won the game 27-7.
Ohio State has won 18 of the 20 games during which the cake has been
displayed.
“We’re a good-luck omen, or at least we like to think so,” Mark Tucker said.
Mark Tucker of Dublin adds the south stands to the baked replica of Ohio
Stadium. The cake is used to fund a scholarship program. (Dispatch photo by
Jonathan Quilter)
MorraLee Holzapfel of the cake crew slices a section of stands for
passers-by after yesterday’s game. A Buckeye fan’s ultimate dream cake
— all 400 pounds of it — sweetened the 38-14 victory over Penn State
yesterday. (Dispatch photo by Brooke LaValley)
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