I recently attended The Great Cincinnati Bake-Off 2025! Imagine a magical place where you can experience an endless amount of sweets, get ideas for the holidays, samples products you’ve never heard of, and watch 50 bakers compete for the famed “Golden Rolling Pin”. Such a place exists and it was so fun I wanted to share some pictures and ideas with you all!
The holidays will be here before you know it but this year, it doesn’t have to be stressful. All it takes is some early planning and you’ll impress anyone with your baking and/or food presentation skills.
1.) Snack Charcuterie Board
I’m usually not a fan of a charcuterie board but this looks so fun and easy. Think of your favorite snacks: cookies, crackers, etc. and adding in fruit (sweet and dried), cheese cubes and all on top of paper runner so you can have a beyond easy clean-up. This is a great idea especially if you have a lot of young ones running around or if it’s more of a “munchy” kind of night with friends.
2.) Popsicle Cake Pops
These were so good and incredibly easy to make. Just make some cake (either boxed or from scratch), roll them up into long-shaped balls, stick in a Popsicle stick and dip in chocolate. I’m a big fan of Ghirardelli chocolate wafers. They come in all types of flavors and you can find them here: https://amzn.to/4nGZPZ0. #Ad
Dip in chocolate on parchment paper, let dry and then drizzle or decorate however you’d like. They will be a hit because of how easily they transport, you don’t have to sit down to enjoy with a plate and who doesn’t love cake AND chocolate?!
3.) Spider toppers
Never thought of using a mold, then topping a dish with it for the holidays. I like how they used a chocolate spider topper on top of a cake. I found some spider and spider web molds here that would be fun to use: https://amzn.to/4o9Y7iC. #Ad
Think of any type of mold you could find: holiday wreath, snowman, star Jewish star and how it could elevate any holiday dish. Have fun with it and your guests will certainly enjoy the extra thought put into your dish.
4.) Skeletons
This goes along with cake toppers but I just wanted to show how funny and cool these little skeletons looked buried in this cake. Some people are so creative!
5.) Vanilla Extract
This was just a tip I wanted to share – with baking season nearly in full force, it’s important to know which type of vanilla extract is best suited for your sweets. Rodelle had a table filled with a variety of vanilla extracts so of course I had to grab my favorite. See if you can guess by the descriptions below:
Pure Vanilla Extract – no added sugar and contains pure Madagascar vanilla. A great all-purpose vanilla.
Reserve Vanilla Extract – a rich, nutty flavor that is aged in barrels. Provides a warm, nostalgic flavor with an elevated boost of vanilla to your array of sweets.
Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Extract – floral and sweet vanilla tones. The high level of vanillin creates a stronger vanilla flavor than other extracts. If you want bold, you want this one. (This is the one I grabbed for myself)
Not all vanilla extracts are created the same so do your research. Make sure you’ve got the right vanilla foundation for your baked goods this holiday. The right vanilla extract can make or break your recipe.
Hopefully you enjoyed this post where I just wanted to share a few findings from my experience at The Great Cincinnati Bake-Off 2025! In my next post, I’ll show you how to make this easy and savory appetizer dish that will have your guests grabbing more than one! Until next time, remember to cook and bake fearlessly!
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