Giveaway: 101 Gourmet Series Cookbooks

Wendy Paul's bestselling 101 Gourmet Series has simplified the task of creating gourmet desserts for every occasion! 101 Gourmet Cupcakes and 101 Gourmet Cookies have taken the home baking world by storm. The addition of her newest cookbook, 101 Gourmet Cake Bites, completes the perfect cookbook trifecta.

I got my hands on a copy of 101 Gourmet Cupcakes two years ago and I love it! All of the recipes in this cookbook are based off a store-bought cake mix. Perfect for a busy person like me.

In honor of the release of 101 Gourmet Cake Bites, I'm giving away the whole series!

Here's how to enter: [Please leave separate comment for each entry]

LIKE 101 Gourmet Series on Facebook - leave a comment "I want to win the 101 Gourmet Series from Cupcake Activist http://www.cupcakeactivist.com

Extra entries:

1. Follow Wendy Paul on Twitter and tweet: I want to win @reasonstobake 101 Gourmet Series from @CupcakeActivist
2. Follow Cupcake Activist on Twitter @CupcakeActivist
3. Follow Cupcake Activist on Facebook

**Winner will be chosen at random and will receive all three books in the 101 Gourmet Series. Contest ends at midnight PST on 9/16/11. US residents only.

If you can't wait to see if you're the winner, you can purchase all of the cookbooks on Amazon.com. Each cookbook is approximately $13.

"Breakfast of Champions" Cupcake

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I Heart Cuppycakes recently posted a recipe for a Breakfast of Champions cupcake. Although this cupcake doesn't have any actual cake in it, it still looks delicious. This protein-packed cupcake is made out of bacon, eggs, cheddar cheese, cream cheese, salsa, and bread. You can find the full recipe here.

Cupcake Camp OC 2011: The Judges

The 2nd annual Cupcake Camp OC is only a few days away and I'm so excited! Not only do I get to taste the best cupcakes in Orange County, I get to hang out with some awesome people too.

I was asked to judge again this year and I'm honored to be judging alongside some amazing people. Here are the other judges:

Annette Starbuck, founder of Goodie Girls Cupcakes and winner of Cupcake Wars.

Stefanie Gaxiola, aka "Red Velvet Stefanie" and "Platinum Blonde Chef." She also appeared on an episode of Cupcake Wars.

Jason Iehl and Kim Nelson, editors of Saturday Night Foodies and food connoisseurs. I've judged with Jason and Kim at several other cupcake events. They are fun and know their food.

You can read more about the judges here.

Review: Lovely Confections

A few weeks ago my husband flew to Denver to race the Leadville Trail 100. It's a 100-mile mountain bike race that climbs up to 12,400 feet elevation. It's a monster of a bike race, maybe one I'd even like to do someday (I'm crazy like that!). Of course I gave him an assignment to bring home some cupcakes. He succeeded.

Per a suggestion from Saturday Night Foodies, Lovely Confections Bakery was the place to go. It is located in downtown Denver, on the way to the airport, so my husband didn't have to go out of his way.

Of course my husband couldn't just pick up cupcakes for me. He tried them out himself. He wouldn't tell me if he liked his or not until after I tasted mine. Thanks for making my review completely unbiased.

I contacted Lovely Confections by Twitter beforehand to let them know my husband was stopping by. They did a great job of making sure my cupcakes were airplane-proof. These babies made it all the way home in one piece.

Delivery to my kitchen. I wish I had a cupcake courier for every cupcake shop.

The three cupcakes from Lovely Confections that I tried were Red Velvet, Bees Knees, and Chocolate Salted Caramel.

Red Velvet: I always use red velvet as a standard for a new cupcake place. Lovely Confections passes the red velvet test. The cake had a decent moistness and wasn't bright red, so I knew it was a true red velvet cake. The cream cheese frosting was tangy, as it should be. Proportion of frosting to cake was 1:3, which meant there was a lot of frosting. I didn't mind.

Bees Knees: This lavender cake also had decent moistness. At first I was a little put-off by the flavor because I normally associate lavender with soap. After a few more bites, I began to enjoy the cupcake how it was meant to be. The honey lemon frosting was "buttery good." I think I wrote this because of the strong butter taste, which is a good thing. The frosting had a good, thick consistency.

Chocolate Salted Caramel: My favorite of the three! The chocolate cake was very moist, although I could have enjoyed a heavier chocolate flavor. The salted caramel frosting was excellent! It tasted just how I imagine a Werther's would taste as a frosting. The frosting really made this cupcake great.

Lovely Confections has my recommendation for anyone living in or visiting the Denver area. Their organic, local, natural cupcakes are high quality and taste delicious. Their regular-size cupcakes are $3 and their minis are $1.50.

Lovely Confections
1489 Steele St., Unit C
Denver, CO 80206
720-524-7770
Facebook: Lovely Confections
Twitter: @Cupcakes_Denver

Will Run For Chocolate

If you know me, then you know that I love triathlon and sweets. So of course this new race appealed to me: Hot Chocolate 15/5k.

What makes this running race different than any other race? Well, the post-race party has chocolate fondue and hot chocolate from Ghirardelli! I always indulge on sweets after a race, so now I don't have to go searching for any.

This race series takes place in 8 cities, so there's a good chance that there will be one near you. The 15k race is $65 and the 5k is $45. I can't wait to run for chocolate next year! Who's with me?

Hot Chocolate 15k
Facebook: Hot Chocolate 15k & 5k
Twitter: HotChocolate15k