Hartford Revives Election Cake Tradition with Star-Spangled Winner

A four-layer red, white and blue cake topped with a frosting bald eagle won the fifth annual Election Cake Bake-Off at Connecticut's Old State House in Hartford on Oct. 26.

Sophia Grestini and her daughter, of Amy's Cakes LLC in Cheshire, CT, baked the winning confection. It alternated lemon blueberry and traditional spiced sponge layers, and carried election-day symbols: an "I voted" pin, a ballot box and an American flag, all rendered in sugar. Handcrafted fondant figures of a donkey and an elephant — the two major parties — stood on the second tier. The prize: the title of official Connecticut Election Cake of 2026, plus a commission to bake the Old State House birthday cake in 2027.

Where does election cake come from?

The dessert predates the republic's birthday parties by a wide margin. Election cake first appeared in Hartford in 1771, when the Northeast was still a cluster of 13 colonies. Connecticut was a pioneer in early self-government and one of the few regions where colonists could elect their own officials.

"It was definitely something that Connecticut, as a colony and then later as a state, celebrated and really felt attached to," Nicole Sousa, events and outreach manager at the Old State House, told Morning Edition.

Election day was joyous then — parties, parades, community-wide celebrations, often involving cake. But the eighteenth-century version looked nothing like today's showpieces. It resembled a tough fruit cake, often soaked in alcohol, and it was enormous. Sousa said the recipes called for:

• 30 quarts of flour
• 10 pounds of butter
• 14 pounds of sugar
• 12 pounds of raisins
• three dozen eggs
• over a quart of wine or brandy

The massive cakes fed huge crowds of celebrating voters. Writer Amelia Simmons later published a scaled-down version in American Cookery, widely recognized as the first American cookbook.

What does the contest change for voters?

Not the mechanics of voting — the mood around it. The bake-off challenged professional pastry chefs and bakers to create a non-partisan, election-themed cake that inspires voters and celebrates American democracy. A panel of judges scored entries on presentation, creativity and taste.

The competitors take it seriously. "They're in it to win it for sure," Sousa said. "But they're also in it for the love of Election Day, the love of baking and the love of the idea of election cakes."

Sousa said the winning cake was delicious, but the bakers clearly had fun making it — and that's the point. She called the event joyous.

"That's what we're trying to do with the election cake contest — we're trying to bring that joy back to Election Day," Sousa said. "It should be fun, it should be a way to show that you're contributing to your country and part of your community."

More than 250 years after Hartford bakers first fired their ovens for election day, the tradition has a 2026 titleholder and a birthday-cake commission already on the calendar for 2027.