Summer Cupcake Caper -- Final Results

For those of you that might recall, the week that the entries for the cupcakes were due was the exact same week that Shannon from Rocks in my Dryer had her huge, HUGE Dog Days of Summer Giveaway. It was soooo much fun, but it totally trumped the cupcake contest.

As a result, everything was delayed, and we only received 5 entries. But -- worry not -- we had a great time baking, tasting (see hunter above), and judging. I personally do not want to see another cupcake until at least September. And really -- every one's a winner. What could be better?!?

I just wanted to take a moment to thank the guest judges... my Trendy Church Friend, who is a loving wife, mom of 2, church secretary, and Pampered Chef Consultant, and has a schedule so full, that I'm surprised she was able to squeeze all this in! She's simply amazing. And... Shalee, from Shalee's Place... who is also a loving wife, mom of 2, has a full time job, and loves to cook (she can make a mean Mac 'N Cheese, by the way!). Thank you, ladies ... your input was valuable, and without you, I couldn't have done it!

So without further delay, the winners are:

First Place
Coming in first place with the "Most Scrumptious-est Cupcake" ... Cupcakes of Perfection, submitted by Rohanknitter's from Weathertop Farm. She submitted, what truly was, a cupcake of perfection. It was a very moist, very delicious and dark chocolate cupcake with am amazing semi-dark chocolate-syrup-based frosting that had the perfect consistency. It was deeeelish, hands down. Everyone that tasted them immediately said, "this has GOT to be the winner." It was a simple, decadent cupcake that completely stole the show ... or, in my Trendy Friend's words ... "took the cake!"

Second Place
The second place cupcake ... the "Most-likely to be enjoyed by adults" cupcake was ... the Coconut Raspberry Cupcakes, submitted by Carrie (I don't have a link to a blog yet). They were really, really scrumptious, with a special hidden surprise ... a ribbon of raspberry jam in the middle of the cupcake. I've done this before with strawberry jam, and knew it would be a great hit!! We would all have been happier without the coconut, which is odd, really, because we all like coconut (all the judges). It's just strange chewing on leftover flakes of coconut after you've bit into a really nice and tasty cupcake! The final decorated cupcake was simply adorable, as she decorated it like a flower! And I personally am not a fan of Crisco/Shortening - based frostings, but this one was very good. And ... Carrie did an AWESOME job decorating her cupcakes!

Third Place
The third place cupcake was ... Mema's Strawberry Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting, submitted by Jana at Quick, Before I Get Sidetrack'd. We all thought that the cupcake itself was very moist, and very sweet (she used a box of strawberry jello -- genius!), but again, we agreed that we could all do without the coconut, and were left wondering why it was included inside a cupcake that wasn't a coconut cupcake? What did it add? Especially with chunks of strawberries to chew on! I must say, though, that I was a bit disappointed with the strawberry frosting because it was too runny, almost glaze-consistency, and way too sweet, which is why in general, we preferred it with the cream cheese frosting, which by the way, was delicious. (I would suggest using strawberry jam in the strawberry frosting instead of the strawberries, as it would produce a firmer frosting). All-around, it was very, very good.

The prize for the cupcake that was "Most Likely to be Enjoyed by Children" was tied between Momo Monkey Cupcakes, submitted by Robin at My Pursuit Of... and Surprise Cupcake Cones, submitted by Tarrah, at My Blue Eye'd Babies:

The Momo Monkey Cupcakes were chocolate cupcakes with chocolate chips, but had a special twist that I KNOW my son personally adored ... mashed banana. While the cupcake was moist and dense, I personally was not crazy about the heavy banana taste. And again, I am not a big fan of shortening-based frosting, but my son loved them, and they are so cute when decorated like a monkey, although in my opinion, they were enjoyed just as well without the decoration! One judge was even impressed with the ease of the batter, and that there was fruit within the dessert! Sneaky!

The Surprise Cupcake Cones had a very delicious cupcake "batter" but the baked cake itself came out a bit dry and hard. They are simply adorable when completely decorated, but required a lot of work, and I could see that I was loosing my "stay-power" after only getting half-way done with them. I gave them to a neighbor who has three kids, and they were thrilled with them. I would suggest under-baking the cupcakes from what the recipe calls for so they don't dry out. Also, I found that they were quite time consuming, but even so, they are something I would do for a special occasion (birthday, summer party, etc). The look on a kid's face when they are handed one of these is far more rewarding than you can imagine!!!

There you have it! If you are interested in any of the recipes for the cupcakes mentioned above, you can click on this link -- CupcakeContestRecipes.pdf -- and then go to the second box (the first one is just advertisements for Google, etc.), and click on "DOWNLOAD FILE" in order to download the pdf file to your computer.

Congratulations, ladies! The prizes will be mailed off to you as soon as I collect all your addresses, and I'll post a picture of all the prizes after you receive them (so as not to spoil the "visual" surprise!).