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As a child, Yummy Crumb Bakery owner Addrea Groff would watch internationally-known baker Buddy Valastro create spectacular pieces of edible art on his TV show “Cake Boss.”

“I remember being a kid watching that show and thinking, ‘Wow, how do they make cakes like that?'” Groff said. “Now when I look at things, I could imagine that I make cakes that people say, ‘Wow, how did she make that?'”

And now, Groff could have the opportunity to meet Valastro — and be featured in a two-page spread in “Bake from Scratch” magazine, as well as take home a $10,000 prize.

She’s in the running for the title of “Greatest Baker” in an online voting competition presented by Valastro. Voters can cast one free vote per 24 hours, but voters can also “buy” more votes to cast by making a donation to the Andrew McDonough B+ (Be Positive) Foundation, which is the largest provider of financial assistance to families of children with cancer in the United States.

Groff was scrolling through Instagram one day when she stumbled upon a post from a previous winner of the competition. She said she was thinking about entering when her husband, Tom, gave her a little push.

“He’s such an encouraging, supportive partner and he said, ‘You should apply for that, you’ll win,'” Groff said.

So Groff applied to enter the contest and was accepted. Voting began earlier this week and as of Friday evening, Groff was in first place in her group.

There are several rounds of voting in this contest, Groff said. This first round, the group stage, is active until 9 p.m. Dec. 7. The group will be narrowed down through voting each week until each group has a finalist — who then goes up against the finalists from the other groups until there’s one grand prize winner.

To vote for Groff, visit https://greatestbaker.com/2023/addrea-groff.

It is unclear how many groups are in the contest, but there are 50 total bakers in Groff’s group. According to the contest’s website, the grand prize winner is expected to be announced in early February.

Groff has found quick success with her Yummy Crumb Bakery, which she opened in April 2022 at 11 N. 11th St. She had been a home baker for most of her life and for many years baked custom orders, but soon realized her kitchen at home just couldn’t keep up. She and her husband purchased a vacant building on North 11th Street and remodeled the storefronts that now are home to the bakery and the Green Dragon Bookshop.

“I had been baking from home and was outgrowing my space,” she said. “And so my husband is really the one that convinced me to open a storefront, because I just wasn’t that brave, but he really encouraged it.”

In the last year and a half, Yummy Crumb has amassed quite a following online and at the storefront. While the bakery isn’t open regular hours, Groff does schedule “pop up” sales events on select Saturdays. Customers line up down the block for the opportunity to purchase the fresh-baked treats. They can also skip the line and pre-order on Groff’s website, www.yummycrumbbakery.com.

“It’s been great,” Groff said of opening the business. “I have a lot of repeat customers, a lot of new customers and the community has just really been so receptive and supportive of this endeavor.”

One of the most popular items at the bakery are Groff’s browned butter chocolate chip cookies.

“Those are like the fan favorite,” Groff said. “People just go gaga over them.”

As a baker, Groff’s favorite dessert to make are French macarons, a meringue and almond flour soft cookie sandwich known for a ruffled ring around the bottom of the cookie called the “crown” or “foot.”

“They’re so cute and they are tricky little things,” she said. “So when they come out and they have their perfect little feet and they taste good, I think they’re just so satisfying for me to make.”

Much of Groff’s work is filling custom design cake orders for special events. Recently, she completed a baby shower cake that had a forest theme and topped with a bear. Her favorite part, she said, is when the customers come to pick up their orders.

“That keeps me going, you know, just people’s happy reactions when they see their treats or their cakes and it fills my cup,” she said. “I feel like I’m sharing my love through food.”

Winning the “Greatest Baker” contest would be “huge,” Groff said.

“It would just be so cool for people to see Fort Dodge on the map with a bakery that has the ‘Greatest Baker,’ and that Fort Dodge has a lot to offer,” she said.

On her contest profile page, Groff wrote that if she were to win the grand prize, she plans to use the $10,000 to add a mobile unit to her business or upgrade the equipment in the bakery shop.