Cathy Spandel and the other four finalists in Dairy Queen's international Iron Tip cake decorating competition stood poised and ready with their icing bags to meet the final challenge. When it was over, Spandel, the celebrated cake decorator at the Dairy Queen located at 7720 149th St. in Apple Valley, was crowned the DQ Iron Tip master cake decorator.

The competition, held recently in San Antonio, Texas, challenged Spandel and the other finalists to decorate three different cakes in order to measure skills including speed and creativity. One of Spandel's cakes that won over the judges featured her original, free-hand design with a true San Antonio-flavored theme: the Alamo.

"This is a great honor and I am elated to have won the ‘Iron Tip' cake decorator title," said Spandel. "I know I speak for my fellow Dairy Queen cake decorators when I say that we take great pride in the appearance of our cakes. We want them to look as delicious as they taste. Decorating cakes is my passion, and to be recognized for doing what I love to do truly is the icing on the cake."

Spandel won a $1,000 cash prize, an "Iron Tip" gold medallion and a cake charm bracelet. Second-place winner Julie Garcia of South Bend, Ind., received $500, a medallion and a charm bracelet, and third-place winner Regina Ehrbar of Bay Village, Ohio, was awarded $250, a medallion and a charm bracelet. Elise Greiner of Pittsburgh, Pa., and Helen Marsolais of Oakville in Ontario, Canada, tied for fourth place. Each received $100, a medallion and a charm bracelet.

Patterned after the Iron Chef competition on Food Network, the "Iron Tip" challenge drew entry submissions of more than 2,400 photos of the best cakes made by 406 Dairy Queen decorators from around the world. Preliminary entries were judged on color scheme, placement of decorations, cake borders, decorative writing and overall appearance. The five finalists were invited to San Antonio for the ultimate contest.

"All of us at Dairy Queen are very proud of Cathy for taking the top honors in our first-ever Iron Tip competition," said Bob Hynick, vice president of concept support services for American Dairy Queen Corp. "Cathy's talent, pride in her work and determination won her the Iron Tip title. With so many amazing entries from Dairy Queen cake decorators from all over the world, this was a stiff competition and a difficult decision for the judges. This is exciting news for Dairy Queen fans because there are so many incredible cake decorators out there in our restaurants."