When Briana Snyder entered her homemade cake in the Kentucky State Fair last year, she had no idea she’d opted for one of the historic event’s most esteemed and cut-throat culinary categories.
The “Your Favorite Cake, Any Kind,” contest just sounded fun, because the parameters seemed limitless. Unlike other categories calling specifically for a spice, fruit, pound, angel food, bundt, or pumpkin cake, Snyder could create anything she wanted.
It was Snyder’s first time competing at the fair, a step up from a couple of local baking contests she’d won in Shelbyville, where she’s lived for six years.
The native of Charlestown, Ind., grew up baking alongside her mother, but didn’t grow up attending the fair. So, seeing her lavender blueberry creation on display in 2024 marked one of just a few trips to the Kentucky State Fair in her lifetime. It felt pretty sweet to see her concoction behind glass as thousands of people passed by, even though her cake didn’t crack the contest’s top three.
Since then, Snyder has learned the lore surrounding “Your Favorite Cake, Any Kind.” She figured out the category is known as the “big shebang” and earning first, second, or third place equals “a big deal.” The highly-revered category, one of more than 200 under the culinary umbrella at the fair, has been around for several decades and puts home cooks to the test: Cakes must be layered, completely made from scratch, and a detailed recipe must be provided.
Knowing all of this, Snyder went for round two at the 2025 Kentucky State Fair.
Briana Snyder’s “I like s’mores a latte” cake, center, took first place and the blue ribbon at the 2025 Kentucky State Fair. At left, Rita Wooldridge took second place with her Limoncello cake with lemon curd filling and buttercream frosting. At right, the turtle cake from fourteen-year-old Kendra Jackson took third place in the “Your Favorite Cake” division at the 2025 Kentucky State Fair.
More: Here are the past 5 ‘Your Favorite Cake’ winners, recipes from the Kentucky State Fair
En route to dropping off her cake earlier this week, Snyder tried not to let any nerves sweat her. She did give the cake a pep talk, saying, “Please, don’t melt.”
The mom of four and full-time logistics coordinator heard the “Your Favorite Cake” winner would be notified by phone, so, on Tuesday, she looked out for the hopeful buzz.
While waiting for a call that may or may not come, Snyder told her husband, “I know I probably won’t win, but what if I do? Wouldn’t that be crazy?”
“I was just hoping to get top three and I wanted to see my cake in the case again,” Snyder, 39, told the Courier Journal. “That’s the only expectation I had.”
Then, her phone lit up. She didn’t recognize the number, so she missed the call at first. On the second try, a Kentucky State Fair representative relayed the good news.
In response, Snyder started screaming.
“My husband probably thought I was dying, but I was just excited,” she said.
Briana Snyder of Shelbyville won the 2025 “Your Favorite Cake, Any Kind,” contest at the Kentucky State Fair.
More: Why the simple pineapple whip is still a favorite: Your 2025 Kentucky State Fair food guide
The excitement still beamed from Snyder’s upbeat voice when she answered another unfamiliar number from The Courier Journal.
“It’s so wild,” she said. “It’s still disbelief at this point.”
As someone who mostly bakes for family birthdays and as a hobby, Snyder said she counts the win as “affirmation that I am as good as I think.”
“I know my stuff tastes good,” she said. “But I know this is very stiff competition.”
As her cake’s name suggests, Snyder’s “I Like S’mores A Latte” combines chocolate cake, graham cracker crust, marshmallow meringue, and chocolate espresso buttercream to create what judge Janet Johnson called a “texture explosion.”
And, texture is no joke to the judges. For this category, texture makes up 45% of the total criteria, with flavor accounting for 25%. The rest of the pie is left to “suitability” with 20% and general appearance merely counting for 10%.
More: Cheetos corn dog and ostrich burgers: new foods to try the 2025 Kentucky State Fair
Johnson and fellow judge Liz Buckner, both with the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service, tasted about 30 cakes duking it out in the “Your Favorite Cake, Any Kind” category on the morning of Aug. 12.
Upon seeing this year’s field of desserts with ingredients like mango, pistachios, peanut butter, one topped with chocolate horses and another called “A Date With A Pineapple,” the longtime fair experts worked through some “tough competition.”
“We always know that this particular category is going to be one of the most difficult categories, simply because people are putting their best efforts forward,” Johnson said. “And there’s not a cake in that category that you and I wouldn’t enjoy with a lovely meal. But, then you have to get into what makes it more of a superlative cake.”
With that in mind, they whittled the spread to 10 or 15 cakes, then five or six, then the final three. There were a few more taste tests and recipe readings before crowing the blue ribbon champion.
“I think it boils down to the basic criteria where you have your flavor, texture, appearance,” Buckner told the Courier Journal. “We can never get away from the basics.”
“Something that catches your eye is part of what you look for,” Johnson added. “At the end of the day, when you cut into those cakes, you are looking for the flavors and you’re looking for textures.”
Along with Snyder’s winning cake, those skills could be seen with the second place entry, created by multi-year competitor Rita Woolridge of Shepherdsville. Her “Limoncello Cake” was decorated beautifully with soft hues of yellow and green swirly florals at the base, against a white backdrop of Italian buttercream frosting. The top shined with two big, blooming tulip-looking flowers that were, of course, edible.
And third place went to 14-year-old Kendra Jackson’s “Turtle Cake,” which also employed the use of espresso and cool drizzly designs.
More: The World’s Championship Horse Show at Kentucky State Fair brings top riders to Louisville
After hearing about her win, Snyder reminisced about why she usually bakes: To make others happy. Just as an avid gift giver might consult someone’s favorite brands, she memorizes favorite flavors for each cake recipient.
“It’s just the effort, thought and care that goes into it,” she said. “Every cake is a labor of love.”
Snyder plans to visit the Kentucky State Fair, which runs from Aug. 14-24, this weekend and bring along her husband, kids, and parents. Together, they’ll again look for her cake in the case and this time, she’ll see a blue ribbon next to it.
“It’s beyond my wildest dreams,” she said.
And she’s already dreaming about entering the contest next year.
“I make a bunch of cakes, anyway,” she said. “What’s one more?”
Reach food and dining reporter Amanda Hancock at ahancock@courier-journal.com.
2025 Kentucky State Fair Your Favorite Cake winnerI Like S’Mores A Latte recipe
Briana Snyder’s “I like s’mores a latte” cake which took the blue ribbon in the “Your Favorite Cake” division at the 2025 Kentucky State Fair.
Provided by winner Briana Snyder
Cake
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Graham Cracker Crust
Marshmallow Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Marshmallow flavored extract
1 1/2 pounds room temperature butter
Chocolate Espresso Buttercream
1 pound room temperature butter
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
Chocolate Hot Fudge
Chocolate Espresso Ganache
1 cup milk chocolate chips
Instructions
Graham Cracker Crust
Melt the butter in a bowl and then add crushed Graham crackers until you get a dough-like consistency.
Divide in half and spread evenly in the bottom of two pans
Cake
Add flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt to a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Whisk through to combine, or using your paddle attachment, stir through flour mixture until combined well.
Add milk, butter, eggs, and vanilla to flour mixture and mix together on medium speed until well combined.
Distribute cake batter evenly between the two prepared cake pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center of the chocolate cake comes out clean.
Marshmallow Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Combine egg whites and granulated sugar in your mixing bowl
Place bowl over pot with 1-inch boiling water (do not let bowl touch the water) and whisk until the temperature of the mixture reaches 160 degrees on a candy thermometer (about 3-5 minutes)
Place bowl on mixer and with whisk attachment, beat on high until hard peaks form and the bowl has cooled (approx. 10 minutes)
Add in butter 1 Tablespoon at a time
Add in marshmallow flavoring a little at a time to taste preference
Chocolate Espresso Buttercream
With paddle attachment, beat softened butter on high until smooth and white (about 15-20 minutes), scraping the sides half way though to ensure fully smooth
Add in powdered sugar and beat on high until fully incorporated
Add in cocoa powder and coffee emulsion (to taste) and mix in with spoon until fully incorporated and smooth
Chocolate Hot Fudge
Combine the sugar, cream, cocoa and butter in a small saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring, until the butter melts and everything is well combined (approx. 2-3 minutes)
Transfer to mason jar and store in the refrigerator to cool
Chocolate Espresso Ganache
Put chocolate chips in a bowl and set to the side
Bring heavy cream to boil in small saucepan over high heat
Add heavy cream to chocolate chips and let sit for 3 minutes
Stir until smooth and then add in coffee emulsion to taste
Layer the cake
Layer cake with crust, marshmallow icing, chocolate espresso icing, hot fudge. Then top with second cake, do thin crumb layer with chocolate espresso icing, then final layer of marshmallow icing. Drizzle cake with chocolate espresso ganache. Garnish with crushed graham crackers and chocolate chips.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: 2025 Kentucky State Fair Your Favorite Cake blue ribbon winner, recipe
Dining and Cooking