OC Cupcake Classic: The Judges

It's definitely cupcake season! During the past month, I have eaten cupcakes at some kind of event every weekend. Good thing my I've upped my triathlon training or I would be gaining some serious pounds.

A few months ago I was asked to be a judge at the OC Fair's OC Cupcake Classic. Of course I was thrilled because I LOVE the food. So much good food in one place! Saturday was the big event. Unfortunately my husband was out of town, but my brothers and friend were there to support me and take pictures.

The OC Cupcake Classic is a cupcake competition that is open to everyone. There are three categories to enter: Professional, Amateur, and Youth.

You can't have a cupcake competition without some judges. So I'll start my coverage of the event with the introduction of the judges:

First: me, the Cupcake Activist. You all know me.

Next, one of my favorite Orange County cupcake bakers, Monica Serratos. Monica is the owner of Two Parts Sugar, but you might recognize her from the hit Food Network show "Cupcake Wars." Monica was a contestant on the pilot episode that aired in December. I know Monica from all of the cupcake events we've attended together. Not only is she super sweet, but she makes a delicious raspberry red velvet!

Photo: Angry Julie

Another well-known judge was Nancy Luna, writer of the Fast Food Maven blog for the OC Register. Nancy's column reports on restaurant trends, culture, and trends. I've been featured in her column several times. Although we've corresponded many times, this was my first time meeting her.


The last judge was Babette Pepaj, founder of Bake Space, a social network for foodies. Bakers can swap recipes on the website and build friendships, based on their shared love of food.

Photo: Angry Julie

I had a great time getting to know these ladies and sharing our love of cupcakes. I felt honored to be judging with such big names in the food world. More details about the event coming tomorrow...

LA Cupcake Challenge: The Competitors, Part Four

Here's the last of the competitors from the LA Cupcake Challenge!

Speakeasy Sweets 

33: Irish Car Bomb
34: Amaretto Sour
www.speakeasysweets.com
Twitter: @speakeasysweets
Comment: All of their cupcakes are cocktail-infused.

 

Sweet E's

11: Chocolate Vanilla Swirl

36: Double Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

www.sweetesbakeshop.com

Twitter: @SweetEsBakeShop

Comment: Recognize this woman? She was on the pilot of The Food Network's Cupcake Wars a few months ago. I felt like I was meeting a celebrity! Loved the frosting on these cupcakes.

  

  

Tavern Restaurant

12: Vanilla

37: Salted Caramel

www.tavernla.com

Comment: These cucpakes were made by the pastry chefs at Tavern Restaurant in LA. They were beautifully presented.

  

  

The Cake Shop

13: Red Velvet

38: Orange Cranberry

(Can't find info on them and I lost their business card. Email me if you have info.)

Comment: The chocolate ganache on top of the red velvet was a nice twist from the usual. The frosting was a good consistency on both cupcakes.

  

  

Two Parts Sugar

14: Vanilla Throwback

39: Chocolate Covered Strawberry

www.twopartssugar.com

Twitter: @twopartssugar

Comment: The Chocolate Covered Strawberry was one of my favorites. Reminded me of a strawberry cream See's chocolate, with chocolate cake attached. I also thought their booth was well put together, with a fun theme.

  

  

  

Urban Sweets

40: Spiced Apple with Brown Sugar

www.urbansweetsbakery.com

Twitter: @urbansweets

Comment: Apples are one of my favorite foods. It's always fun to see them in cupcakes, which doesn't happen very often. Good combo of flavors.

 

Did you check out the other competitors? Group One, Group Two, Group Three 

More importantly, did you see who won? Find the results of the LA Cupcake Challenge here.

LA Cupcake Challenge Results

 

(Nichelle from Cupcakes Take the Cake and me)

Got the official results last night from the 2010 LA Cupcake Challenge. Here they are:

Best Traditional

1st: Big Man Bakes - Red Velvet

2nd: Blue Cupcake - Sweet and Salty Vanilla

3rd: Southern Girl Desserts - Red Velvet

Best Original

1st: My Delight Cupcakery - Breakfast Cake

2nd: Jus Minis - Caramel Banana

3rd: Two Parts Sugar - Chocolate Covered Strawberry

Best Overall

1st: Jus Minis - Caramel Banana

2nd: My Delight Cupcakery - Breakfast Cake

3rd: Two Parts Sugar - Chocolate Covered Strawberry

My Picks

Best Traditional Winner: 
Blue Cupcake - Sweet and Salty Vanilla

Best Traditional Runner-up: 
Big Man Bakes - Red Velvet

Best Original Winner: 
Blue Cupcake - Pumpkin

Best Original Runner-Up: 
Fairy Cakes - Pumpkin White Chocolate

Best Overall Winner: 
Blue Cupcake - Pumpkin

Best Overall Runner-up: 
Fairy Cakes - Pumpkin White Chocolate

I was blown away by Blue Cupcake's cupcakes! I am a sucker for cupcakes with filling (caramel in the Vanilla and pumpkin mousse in the Pumpkin). I  loved the sweet and salty combination that both of them had (salted vanilla buttercream on the Vanilla and pumpkin seeds on the Pumpkin). Blue Cupcake also had a very cute display. Congratulations to them for their 2nd place win on Best Traditional.

Big Man Bakes had some of the moistest cupcakes I've ever tasted. The "Big Man" told me that he worked for months perfecting his Red Velvet before he began selling it. He didn't want to sell an inferior cupcake. I admire that. 

Fairy Cakes was a close second place for me. Not sure why the two pumpkin cupcakes were my favorite of the day, but both were done just right. Fairy Cakes' Pumpkin cupcake was the first one I tried that day and was one of the few I was still thinking about after I left. I've read a few blogs over the past couple of days proclaiming their loved for Fairy Cakes' Pumpkin cupcake also. Great job! 

You can find more photos on the LA Cupcake Challenge flickr pool.

LOST Cupcakes from Two Parts Sugar

Kelly from Just Spotted and According to Kelly invited my husband and I over for a LOST party last night. I'm glad that we have friends that are as obsessed with LOST as we are.

Kelly sure knows how to throw a party! Check out the Dharma Intiative food that she provided. Love it!


But even better than the Dharma food were the LOST cupcakes from Two Parts Sugar. I had to restrain myself from eating one until LOST officially started at 9:00pm. But after eating one, I didn't want to stop there!

These cupcakes were Two Parts Sugar's famous raspberry red velvet. Now I remember why Two Parts Sugar won second place in the LA Cupcake Challenge last year. Yum!

Super Bowl Giveaway from Two Parts Sugar!

Who doesn't like a good giveaway? Especially when it involves winning cupcakes!

You remember Two Parts Sugar, right? Monica, the owner of Two Parts Sugar, was a contestant on "Cupcake Wars" on the Food Network last month. Well, Two Parts Sugar is teaming up with Kitchen Couture and Sugar Cat Studio to do a Super Bowl Giveaway. What can you win?

2 dozen gourmet cupcakes , complete with

custom-made Super Bowl decorations

from Two Parts Sugar

"Sporty Couture" apron from Kitchen Couture

24 custom cupcake wrappers from Sugar Cat Studio

I really want to win this giveaway, but you have a chance to win too. Go to Two Parts Sugar's blog and enter the contest. Good luck!

Food Network to air "Cupcake Wars" on December 27

The Food Network will be airing a show called "Cupcake Wars" on December 27th at 10:00pm ET/PT. "Cupcake Wars" is a cupcake competition between four cupcake makers to have their treats presented at the Alma Awards.

Not only am I excited because this is a show about cupcakes, but one of my favorite Orange County cupcake ladies is a part of this show! Monica from Two Parts Sugar auditioned for this show about three months ago. Monica blogged a little bit about her audition back in September, but was not allowed to tell any juicy details. Make sure you check out "Cupcake Wars" to see how well she does and to drool at all of the cupcake creations.

Don't forget to set your DVR and catch "Cupcake Wars" at one of these airtimes:

December 27 10:00pm ET/PT
December 28 1:00am ET/PT
January 2 4:00pm ET/PT

LA Cupcake Challenge Results

Unfortunately, something came up at the last moment and I was unable to make it to the LA Cupcake Challenge. I heard it was a great time. Next year for sure! Here are the results:

Best Traditional:
1st - SusieCakes Red Velvet
2nd - Two Parts Sugar Raspberry Red Velvet
3rd - Blue Cupcake Chocolate

Best Original:
1st - Polkatots Dulce de Leche
2nd - Sugar Jones Blackberries and Cream
3rd - Sugar Jones Sweet Potato Pie

Best Overall:
1st - Polkatots Dulce de Leche
2nd - Sugar Jones Blackberries and Cream
3rd - Sugar Jones Casanova's Kiss

Two Parts Sugar Raspberry Red Velvet

I have tried Two Parts Sugar's Raspberry Red Velvet and it was very good. I'm so happy to hear that they received second place in the Best Traditional category. They started their cupcake business over a year ago, so they are fairly new in the cupcake scene. I'm glad that they are receiving the recognition they deserve for their yummy cupcakes.

SusieCakes Red Velvet

As much as I love SusieCakes, I have yet to try one of their red velvet cupcakes. Since they placed first in the Best Traidtional, I guess I better give the red velvet a try!

I'm so happy to see that some of my favorite cupcake bakery's received top honors at the competition. Congratulations to them! Keep baking great cupcakes and I will keep eating them!

Two Parts Sugar

One of the greatest benefits of being the Cupcake Activist is being able to eat cupcakes frequently. I call it "research." A few weeks ago I was contacted by Monica Serratos, the owner of a new cupcake company in Mission Viejo called Two Parts Sugar. She asked me to try some of her cupcakes. Of course, I was thrilled!


On Christmas morning I received a special gift--two dozen mini cupcakes! I can honestly say this was my yummiest present! My family and I snacked on the cupcakes for Christmas brunch.

One of my favorite characteristics of Two Parts Sugar's cupcakes are the unique flavors. The red velvet I tried wasn't just a plain red velvet, it was raspberry red velvet. I love trying out new flavors! I also ate a chocolate and vanilla bean cupcake. The cake was moist on all of them and the frosting was delicious, not too heavy but perfect for these mini cupcakes. My family and I give Two Parts Sugar a thumbs up!

Two Parts Sugar is a made-to-order cupcake company. Their cupcakes are $30 for one dozen normal-size cupcakes or two dozen mini cupcakes. They offer free delivery within a 15-mile radius from Mission Viejo. They also bake special occasion cakes. Check out their website and blog for more details.