2011 Ice Cream Cupcake Contest Judging Update

Update 7/1: Jessie has announced the winner!

For those who haven't been stalking the judges' blogs to see who they voted for in the 2011 Ice Cream Cupcake Contest, here are the links to to the posts with their votes: Baking Bites, Bakers Royale, and Cakespy.

As a testament to how incredible our entries were this year (check them all out if you haven't yet), there was no entry that was unanimously selected by all three judges.  However, you'll notice that the S’mores Cupcake Ice Cream Sandwiches by Stephanie of 52 Kitchen Adventures as well as the Honey Hazelnut Cupcake with Gianduja Gelato by Vivian of Vivian Macaron each received votes from Nicole (Baking Bites) and Naomi (Bakers Royale) - making them the strongest contenders.  Since Jessie (Cakespy) didn't choose either of them, we decided that she should have the tie-breaking vote to determine the contest winner.

Chocolate Hummus - So Decadent That You Can Use It In Place of Chocolate Frosting

Chocolate hummus is so decadent - like a rich chocolate mousse - that unless you tell your tasters it's hummus, they'll never know.  Case in point: While I slathered chocolate hummus all over pita (probably too much of it because it's "healthy"), I also used it to frost chocolate cupcakes.  Friends and family unknowingly tasted the chocolate hummus frosted cupcakes (they were only told that it was a chocolate cupcake), and not a single soul gave me a sidelong "what are you feeding me" glance.  I asked for feedback and I got comments like, "What do you want me to tell you?  It's just a really good chocolate cupcake with chocolate frosting."  Without knowing it, they gave me the exact feedback that I wanted to hear.  

Lemon Ice Box Pie Cupcakes with Lavender Benne Seed Shortbread Crust

Lemon ice box pie is the lemon version of key lime pie - with a small but important twist. On a hot, sticky Southern summer day, lemon ice box pie always beats out its key lime cousin because lemon ice box pie is served frozen!  I made my lemon ice box pie as jumbo cupcakes, ripe for sharing on the porch swing with a tall glass of sweet tea.

Rather than the traditional graham cracker crust, these lemon ice box pie cupcakes have a lavender benne seed shortbread crust.  The lavender is almost undetectable unless you are looking for it.  However, it adds a complex floral note that makes the cupcakes seem extra-special - even if you can't put your finger on why.

I topped the lemon ice box pie cupcakes with the biggest blackberries that I've ever seen and some lemon basil picked right off of the plant.  Think of the top of your lemon ice box pie cupcakes as a palette.  There's tons of room up there for whatever fresh fruit you can find!  If you are still looking for that perfect July 4th cupcake, lemon ice box cupcakes topped with red raspberries and blueberries would surely fit the bill. 

My favorite quote about these cupcakes came from my new friend, Amy, who said, "These are stooopid!"  You have to imagine her saying it with long Southern drawl on the "oooo" and you must realize that calling them "stooopid" was her utmost compliment!

Benne Seeds - Is There a Conspiracy?

While traveling around Charleston, South Carolina in search of a Charleston-themed cupcake recipe to bake in my HomeAway vacation rental home (get the back story in my initial Charleston post), I noticed that the tourist markets all carried benne seed wafers.  "Now, there's a unique product.  I must use benne seeds in my Charleston cupcakes!"

One vendor was offering free benne seed wafer samples (I NEVER turn down a free sample). As I inhaled the benne seed wafer sample, I asked the obvious question:

What are Benne Seeds?

2011 Ice Cream Cupcake Contest Entries

Was it the promise of winning a collection of cookbooks, could it be a sign of the increasing popularity of cupcakes (don't listen to those all-hype media stories about cupcakes being on the way out), or perhaps it was the excitement about this year's fabulous blogger judges Nicole Weston from Baking Bites, Jessie Oleson from CakeSpy, and Naomi Robinson from Bakers Royale? Whatever the reason, Bethany and Tina from Scoopalicious and I received 60 ice cream cupcake contest entries (double the number we received last year)!  As usual, the entries were well thought out, hunger-inducing, and visually appealing. 

Below, you will find each entry along with a brief description and a link to either the blog post about the entry or the Facebook page where the entrant provided the recipe.  If you've got some time (hours), check them all out now!  Otherwise, we encourage you to bookmark this page and return for inspiration the next time you want a unique and icy cool cupcake. 

A note to our entrants:  The judges are working on selecting their favorites now and they will decide upon a winner by the end of the month.

HomeAway - Living and Baking in a Rental Home in Charleston, South Carolina

There's something different about vacationing in a rental home instead of a hotel.  You know you are a tourist, but when you return to your house at the end of the day, wave "hello" to the neighbors taking out the trash, and grab a drink from the refrigerator that you bought at the corner store, you somehow feel like more of a temporary resident than an interloper.

Until recently, I had no idea how easy it was to find rental vacation homes.  I thought that you had to be part of one of those clubs that gives you a free condo stay and then sucks you into an expensive lifetime membership.  It turns out that you can find properties all over the world by using HomeAway (the link there is to the British site, there is also a U.S. site that you can use).  These properties vary in size and price, but I've found that they are comparably priced to (if not cheaper than) a hotel stay.  Full disclosure: HomeAway subsidized my vacation rental in exchange for a review.  Thanks to everyone at HomeAway for introducing me (and subsequently all of you) to a fun way to travel!  

While vacations are typically about eating out, one of my favorite parts of my recent vacation to Charleston, South Carolina was developing a Charleston-themed cupcake in the kitchen of the HomeAway property shown above.  This challenge forced me to study dessert menus all around town, seeking out Charleston's specialties.  Gathering ideas and supplies provided a handy excuse to interact with locals in different ways than I otherwise would have and to get a "taste" of the city that I might have otherwise missed.

Tips for Baking in Someone Else's Kitchen

Biko Cupcakes with Mango Sorbet - Gluten-Free Filipino Dessert

Biko is a new dessert to me, and unless you are Filipino, it's probably new to you as well.  Biko is a coconut sticky rice cake.  When I say rice cake, please, please don't picture those flavorless Styrofoam-like "desserts" enjoyed by dieters all over America. Biko cupcakes are like eating a bowl of brown sugar-topped coconut-flavored oatmeal in cupcake form. Enjoy them warm out of the oven for breakfast or top them with mango sorbet and latik (read my post about latik if that word means nothing to you) as a sweet end to a home-cooked meal. 

Latik - Cooking Magic with Coconut Milk

Although I still marvel at sugar turning to sweet, sticky caramel, egg whites tripling in size to become fluffy meringue, and heavy whipping cream turning into pipable clouds of frosting, I've seen these kitchen tricks so many times that I need to stop and remind myself to not take them for granted.  But, when I first saw a photo of latik a couple of weeks ago, I may as well have been at a David Copperfield show.  "Coconut milk can turn into that?"  I marveled.  I had no idea!  

Latik, a Filipino dessert topping, is made by cooking down coconut milk or coconut cream (the more solid stuff on the top of a can of coconut milk) for hours until it separates into fried coconut curds (latik) and coconut oil.  It's like putting coconut milk into a magic hat, saying abra cadabra, and pulling out a toasted cross between brown sugar and shredded baker's coconut. 

Latik is ideal for sprinkling on ice cream (in the image above, I topped Caio Bella Mango Sorbet with latik) or cupcakes to give them a shot of rich coconut flavor.  Also, you can use the byproduct (the coconut oil) for cooking or baking.

Latik may not be something that you'll make every day, but if like me you love exploring new feats of culinary wonderment, it's worth making at least once.

Coconut Sticky Rice with Almonds and Raisins

Coconut sticky rice made with coconut milk and brown sugar is the oatmeal of Asia - simple, satisfying and sweet.  Coconut sticky rice is not, however, what I planned to make.

You know those people who tell you that to be successful you should give everything 110% effort?  Regardless of my math-related pet peeve that 110% effort is impossible, I hold that success can and often does come with 100% fun and only 50% effort.  I call it the Full Fun Partial Effort Rule (FFPER).  One of the most popular posts on this blog is my raw cookie dough recipe. I made the cookie dough recipe because cookie dough is FUN and I didn't need that extra 50% effort required for baking.  This coconut sticky rice is another example of the power of FFPER.  

I set out to make biko cupcakes.  Biko is a Filipino dessert consisting of coconut sticky rice topped with coconut cream and brown sugar, then baked and cut into squares.  While I did end up with biko cupcakes, I couldn't help but stop halfway through the process and eat a big bowl of the pre-baked coconut sticky rice - throwing in some almonds and raisins for added fun (I could have added different things, but that would have required a store trip - extra effort).  The biko cupcakes were definitely worth waiting for, but if you can't wait, the not-so-showy coconut sticky rice is a treat in its own right that I'd be proud to serve for breakfast, snack time, or dessert.

Reminder: Ice Cream Cupcake Contest Deadline is June 15

The deadline for the 2011 Ice Cream Cupcake Contest, June 15, is rapidly approaching.  If you haven't entered yet, there's still time to get your entry in.  Don't forget that you are competing to win an entire library of cookbooks!  I listed the prizes again at the end of this post just to give you some more motivation to get baking!


Get all of the details about the contest on the original contest post and check out some of the amazing entries that have already come in on Cupcake Project's Facebook page.

Roasted Onions Filled with Savory Bread Pudding

I often get requests for healthy cupcakes.  I'm guessing that these stuffing-filled onions weren't what you had in mind, but you can think of them as edible cups with savory cake.  Stuffed onions are a fun item to bring to a Summer potluck.  They're easy to prepare, visually pleasing, and a fun novelty. Not a single person at the block party I took them to had ever consumed a stuffed onion before, and everyone was looking forward to this post so they could get the recipe - "Hi, neighbors!"  

You can serve these stuffed onions whole, but that would be a bit too much onion for each person.  I'd recommend bringing them to the table whole (you've got to show them off!) and then cutting them into wedges.