Just after we got back from a vacation, during which we ate with little discretion, I had the opportunity to be a taste testing panelist for the Meet the Baker/Cupcake Rumble at Junk to Jazz. The baker to meet was Ady Abreu of Ady Cakes, the recent Cupcake Wars champ.
We panelists were in great company. It was Ady, Tania of Ama Photography, Bernadette Bresnahan of Residential & Commercial Murals, Jessica’s son, and yours truly.
With the eager panelists in their chairs and 8 contestants who had baked their hearts out we were ready to get the tasting started. Before we did we had a bit of tea thanks to Gerri Segarra of the The GGS Hat and Gloves Tea Room who had a beautiful tea time display.
This pretty in pink cupcake was presented on sweet green plaid napkins and I have to say it was refreshing that the icing was not piled a mile high… something simple and chic about a smooth icing. Thought it was sweet. It was a lemon cupcake with a raspberry tea infused icing.
In the photo to the left is a tres leches cake with a caramel filling and a buttercream frosting. To the right is a chocolate & earl grey tea cake with an orange buttercream and chocolate ganche.
I don’t have photos of al the cupcakes… come on I was busy tasting! The next one was a chocolate cupcake with a coffee buttercream frosting with a coco & cinnamon dusting. mmmm
Oddly, I do not have a photo of the winning cupcake. It was the first one we tasted. It was a rich, fluffy chocolate cake with a smooth, light raspberry frosting but as your fork broke the icing and into the cake there was a silky, sweet raspberry filling…oh my heavens… it was amazing. I only took 2 bites and guarded the rest of that cupcake with many threats. I needed to bring it home for some special Phoebe time. Really, I just wanted to share it with Dan.
This was the after photo. You can see there is a green cupcake. It was a Mountain Dew cupcake with a marshmallow-like icing that was surprising and popular with some of the judges. There was also a savory cupcake, created by a local gal who has been taking cooking classes for the past 3 years. It was a buttermilk and chive cake with a lightly sweetened mascarpone topping with a few bits of bacon!
I think that covers the cupcakes. We had a great time. The winner will have her cupcake featured at Ady’s shop. Make sure to check out Ady Cakes to find out when you can stop in to sample it for yourself.
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