# Connecticut bakers are bringing joy back to election day, one cake at a time

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/connecticut-bakers-are-bringing-joy-back-to-election-day-one-cake-at-a-time/
- Published: 2026-11-03T22:28:33+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-03T23:39:34+00:00
- Original publisher: NPR (publisher lean: Left)
- Original article: https://www.npr.org/2026/11/03/nx-s1-6026494/election-cake-bake-off-hartford-connecticut
- Topics: Elections, Politics

## Key points

- A Cheshire baker won Hartford’s fifth annual Election Cake Bake-Off.
- The winning cake featured lemon-blueberry and spiced sponge layers beneath patriotic decorations.
- Organisers are reviving a centuries-old Connecticut election celebration.

## Summary

A cake crowned at Connecticut’s Old State House has given Hartford a sweet way to mark election day. At the venue’s fifth annual Election Cake Bake-Off on 24 October, bakers presented non-partisan designs celebrating voting. Sophia Grestini of Amy’s Cakes in Cheshire won with a tiered red, white and blue cake made with alternating lemon-blueberry and spiced sponge layers. Its decorations included a ballot box, figures of a donkey and elephant, and a bald eagle sculpted from frosting. Grestini will make the Old State House’s birthday cake in 2027.

The event draws on a Connecticut custom dating to the colonial era, when election celebrations brought people together for parades, gatherings and large, fruit-rich cakes. Visitors to this year’s free bake-off could taste cakes and take part in family activities, while judges assessed the entries for taste, creativity and presentation. Organisers say the aim is to make civic participation feel communal and enjoyable. The contest took place ahead of the 3 November election; it was a celebration of voting, rather than part of the ballot itself.

## Coverage

- [NPR: Connecticut bakers are bringing joy back to election day, one cake at a time](https://www.npr.org/2026/11/03/nx-s1-6026494/election-cake-bake-off-hartford-connecticut)
- [MetroHartford Alliance: Let Them Eat Cake! CT’s Old State House Hosts Fifth Annual Election Cake Bake Off](https://metrohartford.squarespace.com/newsroom/let-them-eat-cake-cts-old-state-house-hosts-fifth-annual-election-cake-bake-off)
- [Patch: Old State House Names Election Cake Winner, See Who Won](https://patch.com/connecticut/hartford/amp/35114711/old-state-house-names-election-cake-winner-see-who-won)

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.