Two-time taste-test winner Tessa Hines stood behind her first-place creation as passersby took samples of her chocolate cheesecake brownies.
At six years old, the kindergartner is a baking competition veteran.
Chocolate lovers came from around the area to the Minnetrista Cultural Center's Cantina Room on Sunday to sample sugary confections entered in the 5th annual "All Things Chocolate" baking competition sponsored by Indiana Public Radio.
Hines began baking at the age of three, Dianne Hines, her grandmother, said.
Baking skills run in the Hines family: Tessa Hines' older sisters - Rachel, 10, and Heather, 14 - also learned the art of creating home-baked goods from their grandmother in their early years. At this year's competition, Rachel Hines won first place in the "Other" category with her "chocolate lush," a layered delicacy of chocolate mousse and whipped cream.
"All Things Chocolate," developed from a Valentine's Day essay writing contest to raise money for IPR seven years ago. Carol Trimmer, IPR Outreach Coordinator in charge of "All Things Chocolate" said she wanted to go a different direction to boost publicity and thought a baking contest would be timely for February.
Since then it has expanded from a small church basement gathering in 2002 to an event that attracts about 250 patrons and more than 50 entries annually.
"It's usually really popular," Trimmer said. "People love to come to taste the variety of sweets that entrants come up with every year."
Public tastings began at 3 p.m., and patrons paid five dollars for the opportunity to taste 10 dishes.
While the event was all fun and tasting for patrons, "All Things Chocolate" is a baking competition for local residents.
Eighteen judges including professional chefs and restaurateurs from the community divided into teams of three to rate dishes on the basis of presentation, texture and overall appeal in a "blind tasting" process.
Entries were pre-registered and submitted in a variety of categories and divisions. Professionals, amateurs and youths competed in categories for cakes, cookies, brownies and candies, among others. An "Other" category was added to include sauces and ethnic dishes, Trimmer said. Winners were awarded blue ribbons, engraved photo frames and bragging rights for the year.
"It's always fun to talk to people and try other things," Roxanne Rodenberger, Muncie resident and competitor, said.
Categories were no matter to patrons, however, who tried dishes ranging from traditional chocolate-dipped sugar cookies to more inventive desserts like Froggy Mint Pie - a mint mousse and chocolate chip concoction.
The entrants were as diverse as the dishes they brought.
Rodenberger entered three dishes and took first place in the "Other" category for her chocolate truffle with whipped vanilla mascarpone.
"I've been baking for as long as I can remember to relieve stress," she said. "I take pride in seeing the end product."
Though she has come back to the competition for three years, Rodenberger said she was surprised her recipe did so well.
"I didn't do any test runs," she said. "This is the first time ever I've made [the truffles].
Kirk Robey, a Hartford City, Ind. native, is also an experienced dessert artist, but his journey to involvement in culinary contests came later in life. Robey spent years giving out homemade candies as gifts to friends and family. This year he showcased his expertise in candy-making with a box of truffles with such flavors as Kahlua, apricot and rum.
"I thought to myself, 'How can I show them off?'" Robey said. "Then I thought about a box of chocolates."
Robey's box of chocolates earned him a first-place ribbon.
Competitors were not the only returners to the event. Ball State University seniors Andy Blough and Laurel O'Donnell opted to join fellow locals in chocolate taste-testing for a second year. Although disappointed in the smaller selection of sumptuous treats compared to last year's spread, they still enjoyed the chance to walk around and try new combinations, they said.
"[I look for] the right combination," O'Donnell said.
Judging and critiquing aside, some said the biggest problem was determining what to try - and how to finish it.
"What I don't eat, [Laurel] does," O'Donnell said.
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