107.7 The Bronc hosts epic battle of cupcakes
By Hannah Newman
The battle for Rider’s best baker took place March 7 in Daly Dining Hall, where 107.7 The Bronc hosted “Dessert Wars: Cupcake Fight Bake-Off Battle.” This bake-off allowed students from around campus to show off their skills in the kitchen and offer the Rider community a chance to expand their palettes and try original cupcakes recipes from their peers.
The competition gave student bakers an opportunity to enter their most creative baking ideas and allow the Rider community to judge their peer’s skills in the kitchen and crown them as this semester’s edition of “Dessert Wars.”
Every contestant who submitted a recipe was granted a pair of tickets to the 2023 Trenton Thunder Baseball game at Arm & Hammer Park or a 30-minute jump pass to Sky Zone Trampoline Park in Hamilton.
The winner of the competition received a $300 Visa gift card, a Coca-Cola Trek bike, a Sky Zone Trampoline Party for 10, an all-access salon week to the Tanning Zone, an embroidered chef’s coat, at-home baking kit and more.
This year’s top three finalists were senior elementary education major Aylssa Jefremow, junior English literature major Marissa Harding, and senior biology major Sanjana Butala.
Harding’s cupcake flavor was campfire s’mores, the idea sparked as a result of her love of marshmallows and the absence of the ingredient in many different desserts.
Harding said, “I came up with this idea because of my love for summertime and marshmallows. I can never find a dessert with marshmallows in it anymore, so I decided to craft my own.”
Cookies and cream flavored batter was created by Jefremow who took her admiration for Oreos and combined it with her love for baking.
Jefremow said, “I have been really loving Oreos lately and I thought it would be fun to merge them into a cupcake. Baking is one of my favorite hobbies so I am beyond excited to share these delicious cupcakes with the student body.”
Butala offered a Rabdi filled cupcake with saffron cream cheese frosting. Rabdi is known as an Indian milk-based sweet dish with cardamom powder and dry fruits.
Butala said, “Rabdi is a traditional Indian dessert made of saffron, cardamom sugar and milk. So I decided to make a cupcake that would complement these flavors. I was really excited about everyone’s response to this unconventional dessert.”
Students filled Daly Dining Hall to get their first taste of the contestants’ one of a kind creations during a two hour time span before the winner was announced.
Harding was announced the winner of the Bake-off Battle and received a roaring applause from Daly’s in exchange for her scrumptious baking.
“I want to thank everyone who tried out our cupcakes and voted for us. My favorite part about this had to just be baking with my co-chief Bridget,” said Harding.