A couple of weekends ago, I was lucky enough to attend the Homefries U: Back to School Weekend in lovely Palm Springs. With a group of 30 Joy and Tracy fans from all over the country, it was bound to be a creative learning extravaganza full of good food, drink, and new friends.

I stepped into the brightly lit ballroom and surveyed the scene. The tables that ringed the room were brightly colored, some with cupcakes piled higher than my head. Banners hung on the wall above many of the tables to lure taste testers from across the [...]]]>

Vegan Acai Jungleberry Bliss Cupcakes, by Stephanie Sparkles

I stepped into the brightly lit ballroom and surveyed the scene. The tables that ringed the room were brightly colored, some with cupcakes piled higher than my head. Banners hung on the wall above many of the tables to lure taste testers from across the room. Lines were forming everywhere and I headed to the least populated area of the room to begin my work as a judge.

Would you believe that I tasted 32 cupcakes in 2 hours? I took my assignment seriously, determined to give each bakery a fair chance in the contest. There were quite a few bakeries that hadn’t competed last year and I was excited to taste a whole new set of cupcake creations! The ballot was divided into two sections: best traditional and best original, with a third voting category for best overall.

The cupcake that caught my eye upon first review of the ballot was the Nanaimo bar cupcake. Alas, STK did not make it to the challenge and I was left to dream about how I could create my own Nanaimo bar cupcake.

Pineapple Right Side Up cupcakes, by Fairy Cakes Bakery

Many of the bakeries incorporated fruit into their cupcakes, with mixed results. Some of these were downright inedible with a flavor that overpowered the cupcake or a frosting that just didn’t cut it. The only one that stood out from the crowd was the Pineapple Right Side Up cupcake from Fairy Cakes Bakery. Fairy Cakes was one of my favorites from last year, and I was a little disappointed that they had only entered one cupcake flavor this year. The Pineapple Right Side Up cupcake won my vote for best original!

Some of my other favorites from the best original contenders were:

Cookies N' Cream cupcakes, by The Cake Mamas

Cookies N’ Cream cupcakes by The Cake Mamas. Not-too-sweet cake with just the perfect amount of cookie crumbs, topped with fluffy frosting!

Sweet Picnic Chevre cupcakes, by Stephanie Sparkles

Sweet Picnic Chevre cupcakes, by Stephanie Sparkles. Surprisingly, goat cheese tastes great in cupcake form! These cupcakes packed an intense amount of flavor with vanilla cake, fig preserves, chevre frosting, and a slice of pear to top it all off.

Candied Sweet Potato cupcakes, by Friandise Pastries

Does anybody want to venture a guess on how many of these Candied Sweet Potato cupcakes by Friandise Pastries equal one serving of vegetables? They definitely get points for originality but weren’t worthy of an award.

D&D Root Beer Float cupcakes, by Double D Cupcakes

Double D Cupcakes included a chocolate straw on their D&D Root Beer Float cupcakes! I can’t speak to their tastiness since I don’t like root beer, but The Boyfriend gave them a good review.

Clockwise, from top: Breakfast at Tiffany's cupcake by Sugar Babies Cupcakery, S'mores cupcake by Magnolia, PB and J cupcake by Sugar Babies cupcakery, and Orange cupcake by Magnolia

The best traditional category wasn’t nearly as spectacular, with only a couple of flavors worth mentioning. Sugar Babies Cupcakery brought some style to the competition with their gorgeous Breakfast at Tiffany’s cupcake. The perfectly moist vanilla cake is topped with a sparkly swirl of blue frosting and dotted with pearls. Divine!

Cake Pop disguised their cake pops as cupcakes. They are super adorable, but the drawback to cake pops is that they don’t have a pile of frosting on top!

The Cake Shop - my vote for best traditional and best overall

The perfect red velvet cupcake can be elusive. Just a bit more food coloring than necessary and you’ve got a radioactive red mess on your hands with a strong taste of chemical coloring. It’s equally as easy to create a beautifully red but tragically flavorless cupcake. As a New England girl, I can’t speak to what a traditional southern red velvet cake should be but I do know that a tasty, subtly red cake is hard to come by.

With four different red velvet cupcakes (and one pink velvet) on the ballot, there was plenty of room for disaster. But after one bite of The Cake Shop’s red velvet cupcake, I knew it was a winner. They earned my vote for best traditional and best overall.

All in all, this year’s crop of cupcakes was far less impressive than last year’s. On the plus side, that made for easier judging and a more subdued sugar high. Perhaps the bakeries are just trying too hard to come up with the newest original combination. Bakeries take note: I’d rather gorge myself on a well-executed simple flavored cupcake than one that tries to pack four different flavors into one tiny package.

I’d like to thank Drink:Eat:Play for inviting me to judge the challenge, and I’m looking forward to next year!

As much as I’d love for my cupcake picks to be the official winners, there were hundreds of other votes as well. Here are the official results:

Best Traditional
1st Place: Red Velvet, by My Delight Cupcakery
2nd Place: Bridal White Cake, by Hansen’s Cakes
3rd Place: Chocolate Zin, by Double D Cupcakes

Best Original
1st Place: Late Night Breakfast, by My Delight Cupcakery
2nd Place: Josephine, by Jus Minis
3rd Place: Candied Sweet Potato, by Friandise Pastries

Best Overall
1st Place: Late Night Breakfast, by My Delight Cupcakery
2nd Place: Candied Sweet Potato, by Friandise Pastries
3rd Place: Josephine, by Jus Minis

Isn’t it amazing how you can sometimes find a peaceful moment in the midst of a crowded room? Despite the din of hundreds of chattering food bloggers and the long lines winding from each booth at the street food fare pavilion, I found myself relaxed. As I wound my way around the room [...]]]>

Isn’t it amazing how you can sometimes find a peaceful moment in the midst of a crowded room? Despite the din of hundreds of chattering food bloggers and the long lines winding from each booth at the street food fare pavilion, I found myself relaxed. As I wound my way around the room consuming complimentary food and alcohol, I soaked in the excitement of the first night in a weekend full of food events.

It’s daunting to show up alone at an event with hundreds of other people, many of whom seem to already be acquainted. I learned quickly that it’s not too difficult to strike up a conversation when you know that you’ve got at least a couple things in common with everyone in the room, namely a love of food and blogging. While waiting for the bus that would carry us to the pavilion, I met Sarah. We made sure to document a scene that soon became all too familiar: bloggers taking photos.

It is to be expected that the lines move just a little slower as bloggers stop to photograph plates of food before removing them from the table. I was instantly drawn to the wood-fired pizza oven outside the glass doors and the gorgeous rustic pizzas that Pizza Politana was turning out. I hovered around the table as I waited for the next vegetarian pizza to be presented.

Nothing compares to a fresh-out-of-the-wood-fired-oven pizza. Though, organic ice cream certainly comes close. I left the pavilion with a full belly and a hunger for the next day of the festival.

The photography workshop allowed me to practice shooting well-lit food. What a luxury to be able to move the lights instead of moving the plate to the counter with the most light, and craning my body to shoot the photo from the best angle! I came away inspired to work out a new lighting strategy for my kitchen.

Since I don’t get out much, the gala dinner was impressive. Four courses of food, complete with four complementary wines, dazzled my taste buds. The hall echoed with conversation and laughter. The meal stretched for hours and the conversation never slowed.

My stomach felt permanently full, but I managed to bring myself to Sunday brunch. The buffet tables were piled high with parfaits, salad, fruit, and a variety of hot breakfast treats. Upon arrival, the bloggers went to work with their cameras before digging in.

The atmosphere in the room was subdued as we all enjoyed our last meal together and took photos of our new friends before parting. Bloggers trickled out in small groups to head back to reality.

We will no longer have every meal catered and a bag full of sample sized snacks should we get a mid-afternoon craving. Damaris captured what we were all feeling when she said: “I’m sad to go home because I’ll have to cook”.

It took me a few days to recover from all the food. But my head is full of new ideas and new flavors to explore. I tried new foods, met lots of friendly bloggers, learned some photography tricks, and reflected on my goals for Simple Math Bakery. I’m already dreaming about next year’s festival.

Let’s talk about cookies and bread. I’m hoping that these two simple favorites can help to fight hunger in our country. Bread is the most basic of food, recognized all over the world as a staple. And cookies, well, everyone loves cookies! I’ve chosen to donate cookies and bread for the first annual [...]]]>

Let’s talk about cookies and bread. I’m hoping that these two simple favorites can help to fight hunger in our country. Bread is the most basic of food, recognized all over the world as a staple. And cookies, well, everyone loves cookies! I’ve chosen to donate cookies and bread for the first annual National Food Bloggers Bake Sale.

The bake sale is taking place tomorrow, in many different locations! Gaby from What’s Gaby Cooking has organized (what I’m assuming is) the largest bake sale ever. Food bloggers from all over the country are baking their favorite treats. Trust me, you won’t want to miss this!

Since I plan to bake 6 loaves of sourdough today, I had to plan ahead to create the necessary volume of sourdough starter! I call this process “sourdough mitosis”.

The weather is getting warmer, so I decided to make cookies with a “summery” feel. This ice cream cone cookie cutter is just perfect! Except that those tiny little sections meant to stamp the ice cream cone design won’t let go of the dough. Hint: use lots of flour. Lots.

The cuteness factor of the finished cookies was definitely worth all the fuss while cutting them. And now I’m craving ice cream…no, cookies…ah, I can’t decide! Perhaps I’ll just have a cupcake.

All of the proceeds from the sale are donated to Share Our Strength, a non-profit organization that is striving to eliminate childhood hunger in America. Take some time to visit their website. The statistics on hunger are staggering.

I believe strongly that we can all make a difference in the fight against hunger, and it’s so simple to help. Buy a few extra cans of food at the store, and donate them to a local food pantry. Spend some time volunteering (it’s free)! Donate baked goods to a local bake sale, or support my bake sale team with a donation.

If you’re in Los Angeles, stop by our bake sale tomorrow to meet some fantastic food bloggers. And if you’re in another part of the country, find a food blogger bake sale near you!

Bacon on a cupcake. Bacon in a cupcake. Bacon was definitely a recurring theme at this year’s Los Angeles Cupcake Challenge. It’s an interesting combination, but I’ve decided that I like to keep my bacon separate from my cupcakes.

The mission of the challenge is to find [...]]]>

Renaissance Hotel's Maple and Bacon Cupcake

Bacon on a cupcake. Bacon in a cupcake. Bacon was definitely a recurring theme at this year’s Los Angeles Cupcake Challenge. It’s an interesting combination, but I’ve decided that I like to keep my bacon separate from my cupcakes.

The mission of the challenge is to find the best cupcake in LA. Not too long into the event, I realized that there was a second, more important challenge for me and all the other attendees: sample 40 mini cupcakes.

40 mini cupcakes? Why, surely that can’t be too difficult. They look so small. But let me tell you, everyone in that room left with at least one box full of cupcakes that they just couldn’t eat (myself included). Want to see some of my favorite cupcakes?

Cupcakes Couture set up a beautiful display for their unique cupcakes. Strawberry Shortcake and Sunday Mimosa Cupcakes. How divine!

Two Parts Sugar was one part naughty and one part nice. I’ll take one of each, please!

Ugh, this one is so blurry. But hey, it's hard to shoot photos in front of an angry cupcake mob pushing their way towards the chocolate strawberry cupcakes!

Charmed Cupcakes brought a little Mardi Gras flavor to the party. Street lamps, masks, feathers, and all!

Their blueberry cupcakes are delicious! I love the musical note decoration on top.

Blueberry Cupcake from Charmed Cupcakes

Hansen’s Cakes makes a delicious wedding cupcake. They are super sweet and have a beautiful light texture. I do know this: if I ever get married, I want my wedding to taste like this!

Wedding Cupcakes from Hansen's Cakes

Urban Sweets Bakery presented some amazing spiced apple cupcakes! I just can’t resist apple cupcakes.

Spiced Apple Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Frosting from Urban Sweets Bakery

The voting was divided into two categories: “Best Traditional” and “Best Original”. The bakeries went to great lengths to come up with some original flavor combinations. Layers Cupcakes presented a selection of tea-infused cupcakes. I’m pretty sure that makes them healthier.

Back: Chocolate Coconut, Fall Spice from Layers Cupcakes. Front: Red Velvet from Southern Girl Desserts, Breakfast Cupcake from My Delight Cupcakery.

When you taste this many cupcakes within a few hours, it’s pretty obvious which ones outrank the others. In order to get through all 40, I had to limit myself to one bite from each cupcake. This rule was broken for a few of my favorite cupcakes, though. And which ones were my favorites? First, the contenders:

Click to Enlarge

I think that Big Man Bakes knew I was coming. He prepared red velvet and carrot cupcakes. Two of my favorite flavors. Out of all the red velvet cupcakes at the challenge, his were the best. They were not too sweet, and had a beautiful deep red color. I don’t like my red velvet cupcakes to be “radioactive” red as a result of too much artificial color.

Red Velvet and Carrot Cupcakes from Big Man Bakes

Big Man’s bakery is very appropriately named. He’s a big guy with an extraordinary talent for baking! I voted for his red velvet cupcake for Best Traditional.

My vote for Best Original went to Fairy Cakes Bakery for their Pumpkin White Chocolate cupcake. The perfect amount of spice with a touch of white chocolate. Yum!

Pumpkin White Chocolate Cupcakes from Fairy Cakes Bakery

I love that Fairy Cakes Bakery uses real ingredients, and no shortening. This is my personal baking philosophy as well. I have a huge amount of respect for any bakery that takes the time to use real ingredients, and it definitely produces a superior cupcake.

Kerena Mendez, Fairy Cakes Bakery

The results are in! And the winners are:

Best Traditional:
1st Place – Red Velvet, by Big Man Bakes
2nd Place – Sweet and Salty Vanilla, by Blue Cupcake
3rd Place – Red Velvet, by Southern Girl Desserts

Best Original:
1st Place – Breakfast Cake, by My Delight Cupcakery
2nd Place – Caramel Banana, by Jus Minis
3rd Place – Chocolate Covered Strawberry, by Two Parts Sugar

Best Overall:
1st Place – Caramel Banana, by Jus Minis
2nd Place – Breakfast Cake, by My Delight Cupcakery
3rd Place – Chocolate Covered Strawberry, by Two Parts Sugar

I attended this event as part of the Foodbuzz Foodie Correspondent Program. Thank you to Foodbuzz and Drink:Eat:Play for sponsoring me!

So, do you think you could polish off all of these cupcakes within 3 hours?