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American Morning

Kids' Baking Contest Winner Tastes Victory

Aired June 19, 2001 - 11:52   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Some of the country's most creative young cooks have been busy in the kitchen. They've been taking part in the Pillsbury Kids' Bake-Off Contest National Finals.

Joining us now, from Orlando, Florida, is the new national winner. She's 11 years old. She's Christine Latta from Indiana. Her creation?: flaky apple pecan tort.

Congratulation to you, Christine, and thanks for joining us.

CHRISTINE LATTA, KIDS' BAKE-OFF WINNER: Thank you.

KAGAN: Did you just find out a little bit ago that you won?

LATTA: Yes.

KAGAN: And what was your reaction?

LATTA: I was very surprised, excited and happy.

KAGAN: And we're happy for you.

Tell us a little bit about this creation; flaky apple pecan tort. What are some of the main ingredients that go into it?

LATTA: I have Pillsbury pie crest, apples, Pillsbury frosting, and pecans and spices.

KAGAN: I've got to say that looking at it, Christine, it looks delicious.

LATTA: Thank you.

KAGAN: Is it kind of like an apple caramelly kind of thing?

LATTA: Yes.

KAGAN: Yes, I love that kind of stuff.

Did you make up this recipe yourself?

LATTA: Yes.

KAGAN: How did you think of it? LATTA: I wanted it to taste like caramel apples.

KAGAN: So that was your inspiration. Take it take a lot of practice, a lot of tries, some things that didn't work?

LATTA: Yes.

KAGAN: What were some of the ones that didn't work? What did you have to figure out?

LATTA: I had to prebake the crust one time because it was too soggy without being prebaked. Then I changed the amount of spices to make it taste sweeter. And then I changed the bake time.

KAGAN: Until you hit perfection, at least according to the Pillsbury judges.

Any help from your mom or dad? Do you come from a family of cooks?

LATTA: My mom, she taught me how to cook.

KAGAN: So she's a good cook too.

LATTA: Yes.

KAGAN: Do you cook other things, or are you just good at this apple pecan tort?

LATTA: I like to cook deserts, like cookies.

KAGAN: Besides this, what is your favorite?

LATTA: I like peanut butter cookies.

KAGAN: We would get along just fine, Christine. You like some of my favorites, too.

The Pillsbury people are also giving us the nutritional information about this. This is not low cal, Christine.

LATTA: No, it isn't.

KAGAN: It has 670 calories for a single serving.

LATTA: Yes.

KAGAN: And 380 of those calories are from fat. So we would consider this is a special treat, wouldn't we?

LATTA: Yes.

KAGAN: What do you get for winning?

LATTA: I got $25,000.

KAGAN: $25,000?

LATTA: Yes.

KAGAN: That's a lot of money.

LATTA: Yes.

KAGAN: What are you going to do with that?

LATTA: I want a loft bed for my room, and then I'm going to put the rest in the bank for college.

KAGAN: Very good idea, for college -- maybe for cooking school. Are you thinking about being a chef when you grow up?

LATTA: Maybe.

KAGAN: Maybe.

What grade are you going into in the fall?

LATTA: Sixth.

KAGAN: And what school?

LATTA: Clay Junior High, in Carmel.

KAGAN: In Carmel, Indiana.

Very good. Congratulations once again.

LATTA: Thank you.

KAGAN: Good thing you're keeping that high-calorie stuff away from us here at CNN, because it would just -- you know.

Congratulations, that's just great. Once again, a flaky apple pecan tort from Christine Latta. She is the winner of the Kids' Bake- Off Contest National Finals, sponsored by the Pillsbury people.

And if you want Christine's recipe, you can go to our Web site.

Christine, thank you.

LATTA: Thank you.

KAGAN: Congratulations.

There is that Web site for you. You can go to it. It includes the mouth-watering winning recipes as well as recipes for the other entries. The home page is enough alone to get that stomach growling: kidsbakeoff.com.

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