Ceres, a Greek agricultural fraternity on campus, hosted Ceres Sweets, a baking contest, last week in order to raise money for the American Cancer Society, which is the charity that the organization donates to.

In order for organizations to participate in the competition, they were first required to submit a $50 entry fee. Then they were asked to cook a baked good that, in some way, represented their organization. After the baked good was created, participants emailed their recipe card and a picture of whoever helped.         

The participating organizations dropped off the baked goods on Feb. 26, where they were consumed and judged by members of Ceres.

The winner received a $75 donation to their philanthropy and got their photo and recipe posted on the fraternity and sorority life website.

“We judged based on execution, relevance to the organization and tastiness, of course,” Devon Hartwig, junior philosophy major and philanthropy chair, said. “After voting, we decided that the winner would be Zeta Tau Alpha’s ‘Zlammin’ Strawberry Royale,’ a delicious strawberry cake. Upon discussion, we decided that their cake was ‘the bomb’ and was absolutely scrumptious. Also, we thought that their story of why the cake represented them was interesting and unique to their organization.”

Zeta Tau Alpha explained that strawberries, to them, are a symbol of sisterhood and provided an important background story.

“We would like to thank all of those who participated for their hard work and contributing to a fun night of treat tasting and an important cause. Most importantly, we would like to congratulate the women of Zeta Tau Alpha,” Hartwig added.

Zlammin’ Strawberry Royale recipe

Ingredients:
1 box Betty Crocker strawberry cake mix
1 cup of water
½ cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
3 cups freshly cut strawberries
16 oz. Betty Crocker rich & creamy white frosting

Directions:
1.    Preheat oven to 350°F.
2.    Mix cake mix, water, vegetable oil and eggs in a large bowl.
3.    Spray bottom of two 8-inch round pans with non-stick spray.
4.    Pour equal amounts of batter into each pan.
5.    Put in oven for 24 minutes.
6.    Take out of oven when done and let cool in pans for 10 minutes. Take out of pans and let cool completely before frosting.
7.    Frost bottom cake layer on top. Layer the freshly cut strawberries. Place second cake layer on top. Finish frosting entire cake, including the sides.
8.    Garnish with extra whole strawberries.