Our day at the challenge!
So, we just got back from the LA Cupcake Challenge and what a whirl wind! First, I have to say, and I speak for all of us hear in the Two Parts Sugar kitchen, we really felt like we were a bit out of our element going into this competition. We just launched our website in January, so we are rather new to the scene. Regardless, I really feel as though we fit right in and we got plenty of positive feed back!
Before I get into the details of the competition, I want to share with you a little bit of our journey leading up to the “big day”. First, I had been scowering the internet trying to find a competition we could enter. I found the LA Cupcake Challenge a while back and would google it every once in a while to see when it would pop up again. Unfortunately, I found out about it on Cupcakes Take the Cake and I thought it was too late. I went to the cupcake challenge website, found the contact info and called the man in charge. He explained to me that the event was booked, but someone might drop out, thus leaving a spot open for us. He asked that I forward him a copy of our logo, so that he would have it on hand for the site in case something opened up. So, I sent the logo ASAP, along with a short explanation about how much we’d love and appreciate him getting us in. My pleading did the trick. March 5 we were informed we were IN!
So, I’ll try and keep this brief. My sister (the chef) and my husband (the hero) accompanied me to the event. We took our signature raspberry red velvet and created a white chocolate macadamia nut cupcake just for the challenge. We made a stand by hand which included sawing, sanding, priming and painting! It was important to us that our whole display was unique. We didn’t want the same round or square stands you see everywhere. Then, we printed toppers and using a hand punch, cut out 2,000 circle paper toppers. Next was glueing two of each (one side was our logo, the other side the flavor) to a toothpick. Two words: long and tedious. It was well worth it though. Who wants someone to walk away from there booth, take a bite of their delicious cupcake and mistaken it for another companies….not me! Then there was the decorative display. We wanted something simple and fresh that would lend a visual to the flavors of the cupcakes. We made a small sack out of burlap, hand painted the Mauna Lao logo on it and filled the bag with shelled macadamia nuts. It was then placed on a palm leaf and adorned with tropical flowers. For the raspberry side of things, we simply laid a basket atop some leaves and had the fresh raspberries spilling out. We were thrilled with the finished product.
So, the day arrives and we’re basking in the essence of cupcake greatness. We set up and the cupcake consumers came piling in. We got lots of great feed back from everyone, and met some really great people. We were lucky enough to have been interviewed by a few different people, lots of people took pictures, and we had a blast all around. The only negative thing I can say about the event was towards the end, some people got a little greedy with the cupcakes. With the purchase of your ticket, you are entitle d to try one of each cupcake. There were some people who began asking for boxes left over from the competitors. At first., I thought, ya that’s cool, how are they going to try all these cupcakes with those tiny plates? The plates were maybe 4″ round. Then it dawned on me as the event began to wind down. People began to take them to go. Hey, I’ll tell you, I am not one to let a cupcake go to waste, if there’s extra when the event is over, by all means, have at it. But, in this case, the event was not over, people were coming and grabbing cupcakes to take home before everyone had a chance to try them all. I must have had a least a dozen people come up to our table and missed out on our raspberry red velvet because others felt the need to help themselves. Now, you have to understand, while yes this is a fun event, there is a purpose behind it. All of these bakeries entered with one goal, to win! By depriving any of the ticket holders (voters) a cupcake from anyones table is a potential vote being taken away. I’m not kiding, there were people with bakery boxes maybe 2 feet by 18″ full with mini cupcakes…that’s a heck of a lot of cupcakes! We did go with the intention of having people taste our cupcakes, so, we were more than happy when people requested seconds (or thirds), and happily obliged.
Now, I followed the rules and waited until the end to taste the competition’s entries. My husband and sister tried some first and then directed me to the “good stuff”! Among my favorites were Hotcakes Bakes strawberry….YUM! It was perfect. The cupcake was not to heavy, not to light, it was so moist and the icing delicious. I also enjoyed the pina colada cupcake from Fairy Cakes, I love anything coconut. I have to say it was a bit more frosting than I prefer, and if not given the flavor I would’ve guessed coconut, the pineapple flavor did not have a huge presence. but it was good. I have to be honest though…those were the only ones I ate. Wait…I did say I had three right? I confess…I ate two of the strawberry ones from Hotcakes Bakes! I’m sure they were all fabulous, but the nausea (morning sickness) was kicking in. I really want to commend all the bakeries who entered. From the cupcakes to the display, everything looked awesome.
We are truly grateful to have been a part of this event and can’t wait for next year! Check back with us soon to find out the results! It may be a day or two before the scores are tallied. Thanks again to everyone who has supported us up until this point, we appreciate you all!
