Professional cake decorators are gearing up for the 5th annual Ultimate Cake Decorating Competition, taking place Nov. 13 at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn. Sponsored by the Upper Midwest Bakery Association, the contest is open to decorators from member retail bakeries, cake shops and in-store bakeries throughout the upper Midwest.

This year’s themes are “Celebrating Our Winter Wonderland” and “My Royal Wedding.“ Decorators will compete in a timed competition before a live audience at the Mall of America.

In the birthday cake competition, decorators will decorate a cake and 24 matching cupcakes during a 90-minute period. They will have the option of doing a sheet cake or a sculpted cake using their choice of icing. All work will be done on site.

The wedding cake competition will have two-person teams competing to do a 5-tier or larger wedding cake with their choice of icing to represent “My Royal Wedding Cake.”

Cake decorators will have a chance to compete for the $500 per person top prize in each category plus cash and gifts for second and third places. Decorators can compete in one or both categories.

The registration deadline is Oct. 8, 2011. Entrants will be chosen based on their portfolio. Entry forms are available at uppermidwestbakery.net or from local bakery distributors.