Buzzing Around in the Springtime (Lemon Honey Cupcakes)

Spring is officially here! FINALLY! So long Winter! And good riddance! Don’t let the door hit you in the you-know-what on the way out! I feel like we’ve been waiting forever for sunshine and warmer weather. And these past couple weeks have been gorgeous. Blue skies. Warm weather. Absolute perfection. Well, except for those couple days of gloom and doom rain. But hey. I’ll take rain over snow any day. After getting clobbered by 4 different storms that dumped almost 2 feet of snow (if not more… I kind of lost track after awhile) all within a couple weeks, I’ll be happy if I don’t see snow for another 8 months at least. But this is Ohio. You never put away your winter coat here. Mother Nature is slightly schizophrenic here. You never really know what you’re going to get at any given time. And as they say, if you don’t like it, wait 5 minutes. It might be different. So I’m going to enjoy my sunshine and 60s while it’s here, and dream of a time in the very near future when little flowers start popping up all over and all the little bugs start buzzing around again.

Pictures of Cupcake Camp Columbus 3!

Another successful Cupcake Camp Columbus is in the books!

While I'm working on a post about the festivities, why don't you enjoy some yummy photos of all the delicious cupcakes! I've posted them on my Facebook page, so check them out! Oh, and why don't you become a fan while you're there? You know you want to.

It's BAAAACK!

Cupcake Camp Columbus is making its triumphant return to the North Market!

For the 3rd time in less than a year, Cupcake Camp Columbus is on! Clear your calendars on Sunday, March 14th from 1pm to 3pm, cause you'll wanna be here. Seriously. 40 different cupcakes? And a whole category of alcoholic treats? What's not to love? There's even a Cupcake Crush competition--think hotdog eating contest. With cupcakes. It should be an Olympic sport, cause it takes some serious determination. At just $10 for all you can eat cupcakes, it's a steal! And all the proceeds go to the Mid-Ohio Food Bank. Stuff yourself silly and do some good! Buy your tickets in person at Surly Girl Saloon (and say hi to Carmen. She's one of the organizers! And have a tasty cupcake while you're there! The Red Velvet is awesome.) or buy them online from the North Market! There's only 100 tickets available, so get them quick! They sell out every time, cause we love our cupcakes here in Columbus.

Want to be part of the fun? There's still room in some of the categories for bakers! Head over to cupcakecampcolumbus.com to register your treats! But hurry, because they're filling up fast!


UPDATE: This just in from The North Market twitter: Not only is registration completely full with 34 bakers and 45 cupcake flavors, but all 100 tickets have sold out!! That was insanely quick. Hope you got yours already!

The Details:
Where: The North Market, in the Dispatch Kitchen (2nd floor)
Address: 59 Spruce Street, Columbus, OH 43215 (See map below)
When: Sunday, March 14th from 1-3 PM
Tickets: $10 - Available at Surly Girl Saloon or purchase online, proceeds benefiting Mid-Ohio Food Bank
Cupcake Categories: St. Patrick's Day, Bailey's Irish Cream/Bushmills Irish Whiskey, North Market Inspiration, Spring Theme, and Vegan
Find out more at: Cupcake Camp Columbus, The North Market, on Facebook, or follow on Twitter - @CupcakeCampCBUS



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Big Thanks! to Kiesha, Carmen, and Mary Martineau of The North Market for setting this all up again!

Still not convinced? Check out how much fun the original and the Revenge were!
Hope to see you there!! :)

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Cinnamon Rum Frosting

It’s been nearly a month since Cupcake Camp, and I realized I still hadn’t put up anything about my Pumpkin Spice and Cinnamon Rum Cupcakes! Talk about serious slacking. I’m kind of disappointed in myself for not getting this up sooner, because of the two cupcakes I made for Camp, these were by far my favorite. (I actually had time to taste them! And eat quite a few…) Although Cupcake Camp is long past, and Halloween has come and gone, pumpkin season is still in full swing, so I’m not too terribly late!

Wild Blueberry and Gouda Cupcakes (Taste of Pure Imagination)

My mother, like so many other moms, always told me, “Never take candy from strangers.” I know it was for my own safety, so I didn’t get kidnapped or anything, but I hate to break it to you Mom—I didn’t listen. And not to throw salt in an open wound, but not only did I take candy from a stranger, I did it in a tattoo shop, of all places. In my own defense, I was merely there for moral support, not for myself (I’m terrified of needles, a big baby when it comes to pain, and too indecisive to have something done to me at 20 that I’ll have to still look at when I’m 90). And the man who gave it to me looked nice enough, plus—it was chocolate. I can’t turn down chocolate, no matter who it’s from! Especially when it’s the best chocolate I’ve ever had. According to the stranger, the chocolate covered apricot I was enjoying came from the “adorable little woman” from the chocolate place in the North Market. It’s been about 7 years now since I went against my mom’s advice, and for the past 7 years I’ve been going to that adorable little woman, whom we now affectionately call YiaYia, the Greek word for Grandmother, at Pure Imagination Chocolatier, for all my chocolate indulgences.

Revenge of Cupcake Camp Columbus

It’s been a bit over a week since Cupcake Camp, and I think I’ve finally gotten over my self-induced sugar coma. I’ve been meaning to sit down and write about my experience, but I could do little more than lay on the couch in pajama pants (with an elastic waistband) and groan unintelligibly. As it is now, the details are a bit fuzzy, lost in the haze of a serious sugar overdose, but I’ll try my best to remember as much as possible about that glorious frosting filled day. And forgive me if I have to resort to pictures to remember it all.

Like Cupcakes? Perfect!

Want to eat lots and lots of cupcakes? Are you planning on being in or around Columbus, Ohio on Saturday, October 10th? Then you've got to get yourself some tickets and get to CupcakeCamp Columbus!

That's right. It's baaaaaack! And this time it's bigger than ever! Just $10 gets you in the door to eat 39 different cupcakes! Yeah. 39. (And all proceeds go to the Mid Ohio Food Bank! So not only do you get to eat tons of cupcakes, but you're helping people too!) So get yourself to the North Market, or buy your tickets online for a chance to stuff yourself full of delicious sugary treats! And a chance to meet The Busty Baker! I know you all wanna do that right? Well, if not, you can at least meet Kiesha of 52 Weeks of Baking! Cause she's the super cool person that set this whole thing up! So what are you waiting for?? Get your tickets and get here! It's gonna be awesome!

The details:
Where: The North Market, in the Dispatch Kitchen (2nd floor)
Address: 59 Spruce Street, Columbus, OH 43215 (See map below)
When: Saturday, October 10th from 1-3 PM
Tickets: $10 - Available at The North Market, or purchase online
Find out more at: Cupcake Camp Columbus, on Facebook, or follow on Twitter - @CupcakeCampCBUS



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Never been to Cupcake Camp? Check out how fun the last one was!

An awesome thanks to Kiesha for being the coolest person I know putting this all together, and an big thanks to Clinton Reno for the amazingly cool poster!

French Toast and Bacon Cupcakes

French Toast Cupcakes
Adapted from 125 Best Cupcake Recipes by Julie Hasson
Makes 14

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and then cooled
2 eggs
1 tsp maple extract
1/2 cup milk
10-12 slices bacon


1. Preheat oven to 350F and line baking pan with paper liners.

2. Cook bacon in batches by prefered method until browned, but still slightly flexible. Soak up any extra oil on paper towels and set aside to cool. Once bacon is cooled enough to handle, cut a couple slices of bacon into inch-long pieces. This will be the decoration on top of the cupcake, so make as many as you think you'll need. Set aside. Chop or tear the remaining bacon into tiny pieces. Set aside.

3. In a small bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.

4. In a large bowl, whisk together butter, sugar and eggs until smooth. Whisk in maple extract. Alternately whisk in flour mixture and milk, making three additions of flour mix and two of milk, beating until smooth. Fold in small bacon pieces. Mix until evenly distributed throughout batter.

5. Scoop batter into prepared pan and bake 20-25 minutes until golden brown and tops spring back when lightly touched. Let cool in pan on a rack for 10 minutes, then remove from pan and cool completely.

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Maple Buttercream
Adapted from 125 Best Cupcake Recipes by Julie Hasson
Makes enough to frost 2 dozen cupcakes

2 cups confectioner's sugar
3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup (I used some pure Maple syrup made right here in Ohio!)
1/2 teaspoon maple extract
Pinch of salt

1. In a bowl with an electric mixer, beat butter until light and fluffy. Add maple syrup, maple extract, and salt, and beat until well combined. Add confectioner's sugar, half cup at a time, and beat until smooth and fluffy, about 5 minutes.

2. Frost or pipe onto cooled cupcakes. Top with inch-long bacon pieces.

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Baking with Bacon? Who thought that was a good idea? Really. Who came up with it? Who sat there and thought, you know what? Bacon would be amazing in this dessert. I'd love to know who it was, because I totally want to shake their hand and give them a great big pat on the back. I never thought I'd make bacon with anything other than eggs and toast, or maybe pancakes or waffles. I certainly didn't think I'd ever mix bacon with cupcakes. But thanks to the genius that came up with the Best Use of Bacon category at Cupcake Camp (not sure if it was Kiesha, Carmen, or another brilliant mind), I gave it a shot. And it was amazing. Seriously. Amazing. Okay, maybe not like mind-blowing, I-have-to-sit-down kind of amazing. But still pretty awesome. And apparently I wasn't the only one that thought so.

When Kiesha first talked about organizing Cupcake Camp, I was really excited. I totally wanted to be a part of it. Then she told me the categories I could compete in if I so chose. Most Creative Decoration, Best Vegan, Best Use of Alcohol, and Best Use of Bacon. Crap. What was I going to do with those?? After deciding at first to try the Decoration category, I changed my mind. If I'm going to enter into a competition, I'm going to pick the one that's going to make me work the hardest to get it right. I went for Bacon because, honestly, what the hell can I do with bacon and a cupcake?

I was so excited to tell Boyfriend about the Bacon category. I thought he, of all people, would be the most excited about it! Sadly, he didn't show as much enthusiasm as I thought he would.. He was intrigued, but not the "OMG That's AWESOME!" that I thought he would be.. Maybe my delivery was off. But he was still up to helping me figure out what to do. His initial suggestion was to bake the cupcake into a bacon cup. Like a slab on Canadian Bacon stuffed into a cupcake pan, with the cupcake poured into it and baked. Interesting concept, and done very well with eggs on the cover of Gale Gand's Brunch book, but logistically I don't know that cupcakes would work. (Plus the idea of it slightly disgusts me. Sorry!) So onto more brainstorming. I started thinking, what do I like to eat bacon with? Eggs. Scrambled Egg Cupcake? Ew. That's out. What else? I eat it with pancakes and waffles.. and French Toast. With lots of syrup. Wait a minute. French Toast and Syrup... I could make a cupcake that tastes like French Toast and top it with a frosting that tastes like syrup. And I could throw bacon in it! I think I'm onto something here!

My first test run of the cupcakes was a raving success! The only complaint? Needs more bacon! The cupcake I thought I would agonize over, reworking and refining the recipe to find the perfect balance of flavors came out nearly perfect on the first try. Now to figure out the frosting; I had 2 maple buttercream recipes to decide between. The first was a Martha Stewart recipe. I've never gone wrong with Martha, so I figured it would be okay. Looking at the recipe, I immediately spotted a slight problem. It takes 6 egg yolks. And the only thing that cooks these yolks is the 2 cups of maple syrup you boil and mix in. And that's it. Other than the butter, there's no other ingredients. I worried about making these to take to a cupcake event where they'll sit out for a couple hours. What if the syrup didn't cook the yolks? What if I make everyone sick!? I decided against Martha's recipe and went with the recipe I found in the the same book I found my French Toast Cupcake recipe in. No eggs, and no boiling involved. And it came out fantastic. I had my combination!

When baking day came, I had to triple the recipe to make the 3 dozen I was required to bring. This meant cooking an entire package of bacon! (And using an entire roll of paper towels while cooking them.. and now my microwave smells like bacon every time I use it.) It wasn't until after I cooked and chopped up all the bacon that I realized I hadn't left any to top my cupcakes with. That meant another grocery store run later for a whole new package of bacon. Story of my life. I had originally thought to make candied bacon as my topper, but after wasting 4 pieces in a bubbling, sticky mess the morning of the Camp, I decided to forgo the candied bacon and stick with regular. There just wasn't enough time to mess with potential disasters. I was already sort of freaking out about the frosting after running out of Strawberry Buttercream for my Neapolitans. I was worried I'd have to whip up some more, and I was running out of time. Luckily, the double batch I'd made was more than enough, so I could relax a little.

Bringing the cupcakes to Camp, I noticed I wasn't the only one who thought to try Bacon cupcakes. I was up against 4 other bakers in the category! Who knew bacon was so popular! With flavors like Pretentious Pork and The Elvis, I was in trouble. And another Maple Bacon flavor?? I'd never stand a chance in the competition! They all looked so good! After eating my way through 15 of the flavors featured at Cupcake Camp, it was time to hand out the prizes. I held my breath as the winner of the Best Use of Bacon was announced. (You'd think I was up for an Oscar with how nervous I was!) And the winner is... Me! I won! Yay! I couldn't believe it! The judges picked me! (I really don't think I've ever won anything in my life, so it's still amazing to me!) I was so excited to claim my $50 gift certificate to Sassafras Bakery that I forgot I had promised Boyfriend I'd yell "Yay Bacon!" if I won. Oh well. Maybe next time.

So Bacon in a cupcake actually works! One of the judges--the owner of Sassafras Bakery!--told me after the event that she voted for me because my cupcakes hit all the senses. I have to say I kind of agree. Maybe I'm just a little biased, but I thought they looked pretty! And smelled really good. Very maple-y. The taste was pretty awesome too! Sweet maple flavor with a hint of spice from the cinnamon, and a blast of saltiness from the bacon. Mmm. But I guess that's not really all the senses.. Maybe the wrapper felt nice and soft when you held it in your hand? And if you listen closely, you might be able to hear the bacon sizzling in the pan (or microwave..)? Ah, who cares about touch and hearing! They're not important!

The moral of the story? Always push yourself to try something new. Who would have thought I'd ever make a Bacon flavored cupcake? And who would have thought other people would like it? Enough to award me a prize. I certainly didn't know. But I gave it a shot, and worked hard to make it the best I could, and look where it got me! So, challenge yourself. Everyday. You never know when or how you'll be rewarded.

See more about Cupcake Camp and get the recipe for my Neapolitans!

Neapolitan Cupcakes

Neapolitan Cupcakes
From How To Eat a Cupcake and Martha Stewart

Vanilla Cupcakes
Makes 12

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup whole milk

Chocolate Cupcakes
Makes 12

Follow instructions for Vanilla Cupcakes below, but reduce flour to 1 1/4 cups, and add 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder. Whisk into dry ingredients.


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare 2 standard 12-cup muffin pans with paper liners. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

2. With an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition; add vanilla, and mix until combined. On low speed, beat in half the flour mixture, followed by milk; end with remaining flour mixture. Mix just until incorporated (do not overmix).

3. Fill muffin cups with 3 tablespoons of each batter, side by side. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of a cupcake comes out clean, 17 to 19 minutes. Cool cupcakes in pan, 5 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

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Strawberry Buttercream
Adapted from 125 Best Cupcake Recipes by Julie Hasson
Makes enough to frost about 16 cupcakes

2 cups confectioner's sugar
3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup strawberry puree
1/2 teaspoon strawberry extract
Pinch of Salt
8-12 fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced, for decoration

1. In a bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter until it is light and fluffy. Add strawberry puree, strawberry extract, and salt until well combined. Add sugar, a half cup at a time, and beat until frosting comes together and is light and fluffy, 5 to 7 minutes.

2. Spread or pipe frosting over cooled cupcakes. Top each with a sliced strawberry.

*Note: This only made enough to frost about 2/3 of my 2 dozen cupcakes. I had to make a batch and a half to frost them all.

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When I started thinking about recipes for Cupcake Camp, I was stumped. This wasn't just about me wanting to bake on a whim like I usually do. This involved planning and testing for perfect execution. The French Toast and Bacon Cupcake idea came rather quickly, so right away I had one of my two flavors down. What could I do for the other? Since I was taking myself completely out of my comfort zone with the bacon, I wanted something simple, yet unique for my other flavor. Something that I could just throw together and not have to really think about, so I could put all of my concentration into my over-the-top flavor. But not too simple, to the point of being boring and amateur. I was taking these to give to real bakers and cupcake lovers. I wanted to be taken seriously. I kicked around ideas with Boyfriend, but nothing stuck. I asked around on Twitter. Got a few really good ideas for things to make later, but nothing struck me as the one. So I asked around at work. As one of my coworkers was headed up the escalator, he shouted "Neapolitan!" Neapolitan? Hmm. Vanilla, Chocolate, and Strawberry. Simple flavors. Good combination. Safe, yet unique. This could work. I think I've got my flavor! Now to figure out how to put it together..

Searching the web for the perfect combination of Strawberry, Chocolate, and Vanilla, I came across a recipe for Neapolitan Cupcakes on How to Eat a Cupcake. I love this blog! I think she's awesome, and I'm totally ready to live vicariously through her as she works on opening her own bakery. And her recipe for Neapolitans? From Martha Stewart. This has to be the best recipe EVER! I made sure to bookmark it and continued my search. I wanted to do a layered cupcake rather than a split because they were possibly going to cut the cupcakes at the Camp, as small as quarters. That meant possibly leaving out a whole flavor! So I set my sights on the best recipes of each flavor I could find. I decided to try to be ambitious and do a triple layered cupcake. It would be so pretty!

With recipes in hand, I set out for my first test. I was going to do a layer of chocolate across the bottom, vanilla in the middle, and strawberry on top! I crossed my fingers as they went into the oven. First attempt = the most spectacular baking fail I've ever had. The middle vanilla layer was now the top layer. The top strawberry layer had sunken into the middle, and was a disgusting brownish pink color. When I finally bit into it to taste test it--HORRIBLE! The strawberry layer wasn't even cooked, and the whole thing was completely inedible. So much for Round 1. Maybe three layers is too many. Maybe I'll just stick with 2.

Round 2 didn't go a whole lot better. The bottom layer, again, baked up over my top layer. I wasn't getting that beautiful, perfect division I was longing for. Maybe I'd just give up and try the split after all. Round 3: Trying for the split, and trying out a new recipe. What I did taste of the Round 2 mess was dry and crumbly. I wanted a soft, moist cake, so Round 3 was tested with a recipe using sour cream for both the Vanilla and the Chocolate flavors. Crossing my fingers again. And again--fail. The batters were too soft, and flavors bled into each other. This was supposed to be my safe, thoughtless flavor so I could concentrate on Bacon! The Bacon test went perfectly, and here I am, 3 Neapolitan tries later, and still not even close to something worth showing off to anyone but the trash can. I needed a thick batter that would hold up, in the split format for the perfect look.

So here I am. Back to the very first recipe I found when searching for Neapolitans: How to Eat a Cupcake's Martha recipe. And Round 4? Came out exactly how I wanted. Why did I not try this recipe first? How could I have possibly ignored both HTEAC and Martha?? I'm so ashamed. But at least I had my recipe finally. I decided to throw together a Strawberry Buttercream really quickly just to taste the combination together. I adapted the Maple Buttercream I was using for my Bacon Cupcakes, adding strawberry puree and extract instead of the maple flavoring.. and whaddya know? It's pretty good! Score! Got my frosting on the first try at least! My simple, thoughtless, throw-together recipe was finally in order, weeks later.

I baked my cupcakes the night before the Camp (they came out perfectly!) and frosted the morning of. I sliced up fresh strawberries to go on top, and packed them up to head off to the event. Time to put my baking to the test, and hand them over to the cupcake loving masses. Everyone there seemed to enjoy them! By the end of the event, they had vanished, so I'm assuming that's a good thing. Looking at the pictures from other attendees of the Camp on Flickr, I noticed a few of the to-go boxes had 1 or more Neapolitans in it, so I'm feeling pretty confident that at least a couple people liked them! Yay!

I've learned my lesson. If you find a recipe you think is the best recipe in the world, try that one first. Don't just save it and forget about it, because more than likely, that is the best recipe in the world. Could have saved myself weeks of trouble.. And entire boxes of butter. Well now that I know, I'll totally be making these again!

See how the rest of Cupcake Camp went, and check out the French Toast and Bacon Cupcakes!

It's a Major Award!

A few months ago I'd never even heard of Cupcake Camp. I had no idea there was such a thing until I saw Kiesha (52 Weeks of Baking) post on her Facebook page about organizing an event here in town. Cupcake Camp? Is that some kind of amazing, sugary, delicious summer camp? Sign me up! Immediately! Sadly, it's not that kind of camp. But who cares? It's cupcakes! All you can eat cupcakes! And most importantly, it's a chance to share my baking with an audience other than Boyfriend, my friends, my family, and my coworkers. While they all seem to enjoy my baking, maybe it's time to test the waters outside my circle. See what people who don't actually know me think of my baking. See if I'm actually cut out for this, or if everyone I know is just humoring my silly obsession. There's even categories to compete in! I could win prizes for my baking! I signed up to attend almost immediately. I'm in. My first real baking event with other real bakers. People who know what they're doing. And my first chance to show the world what I can do. What did I get myself into?

(Oh. And who am I kidding? All you can eat cupcakes is the most important part.)

So if it's not the most awesome summer camp on Earth, then what is Cupcake Camp? According to the website set up by the original founders of the very first Cupcake Camp, "CupcakeCamp is an ad-hoc gathering born from the desire for people to share and eat cupcakes in an open environment." Okay. Only slightly vague. Looking into it, I realized it's based on the BarCamp events that have taken place around the world, only with cupcakes, not computers. Never heard of BarCamp either? Yeah. You're not alone. I had to consult Wikipedia and Boyfriend to have that one explained to me. Basically, from what I gathered, it's people with common interests (such as computers and programming, or baking and cupcakes) coming together to show off what they've done and what they know with others in a public setting (such as a conference center, a hotel, or an awesome restaurant/bar), usually "camping out" all day and even overnight. Hence the "camp" part. It's basically a big nerd party! (And I mean "nerd" in the kindest way, because I consider myself one too.) So coming together to eat cupcakes with other cupcake bakers and connoisseurs? Bring. It. On!

For this particular Cupcake Camp, bakers were allowed to submit 2 unique flavors of cupcakes. They were also able to enter their flavors into categories for judging. You could enter in Most Creative Decoration, Best Vegan, Best Use of Alcohol, and my personal favorite, for the sheer absurdity of it, Best Use of Bacon. At first, I was hesitant to enter in the judging. Although it would be fun, I didn't know what on Earth I could possibly make that would fit in the categories. I don't drink so I don't even know what alcohol would work well in baking, I've never tried vegan baking, and what in the world could I do with bacon?? I resigned myself to entering in the decoration category even though it's not my strongest skill. But the more I thought about it, and the more I tossed around ideas with Boyfriend the Muse, I decided, if I'm going to put myself out there and let complete strangers eat and judge my cupcakes, I'm going to put myself WAY out there, and go with something that will take me so far out of my comfort zone that I have no choice but to step up my game and make something truly amazing. That's right. I entered cupcakes into the Best Use of Bacon category.

Weeks of testing recipes for cupcakes and frostings, I had my two entries. French Toast and Bacon Cupcakes with Maple Buttercream for judging, and Neapolitan Cupcakes for just eating! Things were touch and go for awhile leading up to the event. Between recipes not living up to the concepts I had in mind, to struggling to find someone to cover my shift at work, I had doubts I would even make it to the Camp. But, in the end, everything started falling into place. A coworker offered to cover part of my shift, even though it meant working close to 11 hours straight, and that's not including the opening shift she was working at her other job. I'm eternally grateful for that!! You have no idea! The managers even let me take the remaining hours I had that day completely off so I was able to finish everything up and not have to rush around like crazy the morning of the event. Even my recipes came together beautifully in the end. I don't know how or why, but the stars finally aligned in my favor, and I'm so glad! I was seriously stressing out for awhile!

Saturday afternoon, I packed up the cupcakes, and Boyfriend and I loaded up the car and headed out. We even got there like 20 minutes early and had to wait in the car until it was time to go in! Amazing! I'm NEVER early to anything. I'll be late to my own funeral when the time comes. And somehow we also scored the best parking spot possible, mere feet from the door of the Surly Girl Saloon, where the Camp was held. Apparently, Fate had smiled upon me, making it a truly miraculous day. Meanwhile, Mother Nature was smiting me with her wind. I swear, and my mother will attest to it, we've never tried to do anything even remotely important in my family that it hasn't been completely blustery with gale force winds wreaking havoc on whatever it is we are trying to do. I attempted to make myself presentable in public by taking the time to actually do my hair. The wind immediately un-did it for me, and I ended up in a ponytail, like always. The wind threatened to slam car doors shut as we were loading cupcakes. It even threatened to upturn boxes as we were walking. At one point, the lid of the top box I was carrying flew open and smacked me straight in the face. Me = Not a happy Camper. Boyfriend joked that it was about to turn into a slo-mo movie sequence: with the lid obscuring my view, I stumble blindly into the path of the oncoming jogger who slams into me. Cupcakes fly through the air, and rain down upon me in a shower of frosting. I stand dumbfounded, coated in frosting, with bacon in my hair, mere feet from the door of the party, while the restaurant patrons all point and laugh as silent tears streak down my sugary face. Luckily, that didn't happen, and we arrived unharmed, cupcakes intact.

Mad props to Surly Girl. The set-up was awesome! The parlor where it was held looked so cool. Once all the cupcakes were set out after the bakers arrived, it looked even more amazing! The event was split into 2 identical sessions to accommodate more people, since there was limited space, and turn outs from both sessions seemed really good. I attended the first session with Boyfriend. We ended up trying about 15 of the 21 cupcakes that were presented. Not whole ones. We split them. And even splitting them, we didn't eat all of what we had on some of them. There were just too many. But they were tasty! There were some really amazing ones. I loved the Crepes Suzette and the Chocolate Stout with Bailey's Irish Cream Frosting. (Mmm. How I love you Irish Cream. That's why I don't drink. I think I would love some of it a little too much.) After testing 15 cupcakes, I had the biggest sugar buzz ever! And I was afraid Boyfriend was going to have to roll me to the car later. There was no way I could try the other 6 during the second round that we missed the first time, so Boyfriend and I skipped Round 2 and walked around the Short North area of town for about an hour, and made it back in time for the winners of the judging to be announced.


It was a landslide victory for the Green Tea and Lavender cupcakes in the Best Vegan category--they were the only entry. (I have to confess, I didn't try these because Green Tea makes me gag, but they looked beautiful.) The Most Creatively Decorated went to The Homer Cupcakes-- topped with delicious TimBits donut holes. The Best Use of Alcohol went to the Irish Car Bombs. Incredibly tasty. And the Best Use of Bacon? Guess who won that one. That's right. Me! I won! I actually won! (I'm still in shock..) There were 5 cupcakes within the category. I was up against Maple Bacon, Dark Chocolate Bacon with Salted Buttercream, Pretentious Pork, and The Elvis, a peanut butter/bacon combination. I still can't believe I won. I really, honestly, didn't think I would. I thought the other bakers would have combinations and recipes that were so much better than what I was haphazardly throwing together. I still think some of them did. But for whatever reason, the judges liked mine, so I'm really excited! I won a $50 gift certificate to Sassafras Bakery in town, and I've already seen so many things I want just perusing the website! I also won a t-shirt with the Cupcake Camp logo on it, with "Bacon is the New Black" under it. And it's pink! The t-shirt is still being printed, so I don't have it yet, but it's going to be really cool when I get it! I did get a really cool brown t-shirt with the logo on it just for being a baker though!

As for my Neapolitan Cupcakes.. I guess they went over pretty well too. At the end of each session, we were allowed to take home whatever we could fit in to-go boxes. By the time each session was over, the Neapolitan platter was empty. I'll take that as a good sign! Overall, I had a great time. Thanks for Kiesha and Carmen for organizing it! The event was successful enough that the planning of another in the fall has started already, so I'm looking forward to that! I have 4 to 5 months to start coming up with the best recipes I can find! I know one will be some sort of chocolate inspired flavor, but I haven't quite figure out what yet. The other flavor is up in the air right now, but I'm sure I'll have narrowed it down by the time the next one rolls around. I just hope there's not another Bacon category. After 3 packages of bacon, I never want to cook another piece again. And it'll be a long while before I can even think about looking at another piece! Plus, I'm not sure I can come up with anything else to defend my title of Reigning Bacon Champ. So let's let this one go down in the record books, and all marvel in my Major Award, shall we?

It's a Major Award! I won it!
"You say you won it?"
Yeah, mind power, Swede; mind power.

Check out the recipes for Neapolitan Cupcakes and French Toast and Bacon Cupcakes!

*Picture of ticket courtesy of the Cupcake Camp Facebook Event page and be sure to check out the Cupcake Camp Flickr Page for some really great photos of the event and all the beautiful tasty cupcakes! There's even a candid shot of me and Boyfriend in there!