Huckleberry Bake-Off
Heidi Desch / Whitefish Pilot Amy Reiger plans to enter the seventh annual Huckleberry Days Bake-Off Contest on Saturday. She placed in the competition the last two years with her entries of huckleberry cupcakes.
Amy Reiger entered these lemon cupcakes with huckleberry buttercream frosting in the 2014 Huckleberry Days Bake-Off Contest.
Amy Reiger entered these cornbread cupcakes with lemon and huckleberry buttercream frosting in last year’s Huckleberry Bake-Off Contest.
The huckleberry — it’s a smallish berry that ranges in color from red to deep purple and only grows in the wild. The flavor is uniquely intense, both sweet and tart.
The berry is revered in Montana, and while it can be eaten right from the bush, its incorporation into baked goods lifts the berry to another level of enjoyment.
The huckleberry will be celebrated in Whitefish this weekend during the annual Huckleberry Days Arts Festival. At the center of that celebration is the seventh annual Huckleberry Days Bake-Off Contest on Saturday. Two veterans to the competition will once again enter their best creations in the contest, which is split into adult and youth divisions.
Joey Meyer headed out into the woods with her family last weekend to pick some last minute berries. She was looking for the smaller variety of huckleberries, saying they were essential to her creation for this year’s bake-off.
“I have two different ideas for this year, but I don’t want to give it away,” she said.
Meyer has entered the competition multiple times. First when she was working at the Remington as part of a commercial division that is no longer included in the contest. Then a few years ago she began entering the competition herself. Last year she placed first with her Frost Kissed Huckleberry Cake and in 2011 she took second for her Chocolate Huckleberry Truffle Cheesecake.
“I love cooking and baking,” she said. “And I love huckleberries.”
Her entries become a family affair. Her husband and children help with the huckleberry picking — she can tell you where in the Flathead Valley to find which variety of huckleberry. Her older grandchildren throw out ideas for what to make, while the younger grandchildren help with the mixing and assembly of the final dessert.
Meyer expects to be baking until the early morning hours before the competition perfecting her creation. Last year she made her huckleberry cake prior to the competition for a friend’s birthday, but most of the time the rareness of the huckleberry keeps her from doing too many test runs.
“It’s really a fun, family thing to do,” she says.
Amy Reiger entered the competition for the first time a few years ago inspired by a co-worker who had entered. She has been baking most of her life, learning from her mother and grandmother.
“I love to make cupcakes,” she said. “Cupcakes are special because you usually make them for a special occasion. They’re often flavors you wouldn’t eat all the time. Also, cupcakes don’t need as many huckleberries.”
Last year she placed second for her Huckleberry Honey Buttercream Cupcake and the year before she placed third for her Huckleberry Lemonade Cupcake. In last year’s Flathead County Republican Women’s Chocolate Extravaganza she took best in show for her Winter Bliss Cupcakes.
For the Huckleberry Bake-Off, Reiger usually finds a blueberry recipe to adapt for huckleberries. She pulls recipes before the competition and then usually makes two different cupcakes beforehand so she has a back-up to select for her entry. She once found a buttercream frosting recipe that called for dried huckleberries, but didn’t have any, so she created her own huckleberry syrup as a substitute.
She made huckleberry cupcakes for her sister’s birthday one year before the competition, but doesn’t like to use too many huckleberries prior to the competition.
“I usually hope they turn out for the best,” she said. “I enjoy the competition because I like to find out what people like and I like to share my baking with people.”
For the bake-off, entries are judged on appearance, texture, taste and originality. All entries must contain huckleberries and be homemade.
Cash prizes of $100 for first place, $50 for second and $25 for third will be awarded, along with ribbons and bragging rights.
Entries should be brought to Depot Park on Saturday between 9:30 – 10:30 a.m., accompanied by $5 entry fee and an entry form. Entry forms and rules are available online at www.whitefishchamber.org or at the Whitefish Chamber of Commerce office located at 307 Spokane Ave, #103 in Whitefish. For more information call 862-3501 or email businessmanager@whitefishchamber.org.