Cupcake Competition - Rockland County

If you are artsy and crazy about cupcakes this 2012 cupcake competition is for you!  The deadline to enter is Wednesday, May 2, 2012. For further information and top download the application, click here.

Cupcake Challenge at the National Capital Area Cake Show!

These cute cupcakes were made by Chef Janet Ben-Ami, owner Hey! Cookie in Long Island.

"Tastes of the Seasons" is the theme for the 2012 Cupcake Challenge at the National Capital Area Cake Show. Prefer eating cupcakes? Cupcake lovers can purchase an admission ticket which includes tasting coupons for three mini cupcakes!

Cupcake Competition!

Photo courtesy of member Arleen Sotomayor.

Cupcake Fans and Icing Magicians,do you have what it takes to be 4 Girls Glocal Leadership [4GGL] ActivistBaker of the YEAR? 
...Make a Difference with your Icing~support 4GGL.org's mission to empower the worlds poorest girls.
4GGL.org, a 501(c)(3) organization, invites NY Cupcake Decorators and talented ICING Magicians to send them your entry today.

Have a chance to be a showcased ActivistBaker in 4GGl's upcoming
event for Sept 18th, 2011, be chosen to attend their event and showcase your BEST in 4GGL's Cupcake Festival, in Astoria Queens at the new Omonia Next Door's-GreenSky Ampitheatre in Astoria New York (home of the original Big Fat Greek Wedding Cake) -
You will be contributing your talents and raising funds and for this much needed
cause.

This year's theme is "4GGL GLocal acts to change our world
empowering the worlds poorest girls
Educate~ Equip~ Engage~ Empower~ Evaluate!

Contest ends August 30th. All winning participants will be contacted by Sept 3rd. For more information and to enter contact: geocolors1@gmail.com

http://www.razoo.com/...
Read about their cause: www.4GGL.org

Cupcake Competition for Bakers and Decorators!

These scrumptious cupcakes were made by member, Christina, owner Wonderfully Made Cakes.

Save the date! Diane Shavkin, cake decorator extraordinaire, cake show judge, and owner of The Magic Touch, is hosting a Cupcake Competition in upstate New York!

When: Saturday, September 17, 2011. 
Where:  St. Joachim's Church's McKinley Hall, 50 Liberty Street, Beacon, NY.

Divisions: (1)  Tasting Competition and (2) Decorative Competition.  Ages 4 and up will be eligible to enter.  There will be pre-registration called, "Attendee Registration" for all those who would like to enter and/or take classes, and General Admission for those who just want to see the show. All funds will go to the First Presbyterian Church for those in need.  The lunch food sales will be conducted by St. Joachim's members.

Information and forms for the "Cupcake Competition for Bakers and Decorators" will be posted in May.  
Any questions or suggestions, please contact Diane Shavkin, Event Coordinator, The Magic Touch.

Vote Online for America's Cupcake Queen 2011!

Are you crazy about your local cupcake bakery? Now is your chance to give them a shout  and vote for them to win the title of "America's Cupcake Queen 2011". Voting and bragging is done online at WhillyBermudezDotCom, on Facebook.

Silver Spoon Bakery Holds Cupcake Contest for Charity!

These cupcakes were designed by member Jeanette.

Silver Spoon Bakery, a bake shop that specializes in traditional and gluten-free treats is holding its first "Caring with Cupcakes" online contest to discover its next best cupcake. Name and design your cupcake flavors and if selected as the winner, Silver Spoon Bakery will donate a portion of the proceeds from the sale of your special cupcake to your favorite charity and feature your winning cupcake on Facebook!  To enter visit Silver Spoon Bakery website or Facebook page! The winner will be announced on April 30th!

$10,000 Cupcake Challenge!

Your creativity with cupcakery could win you $10,000 in the Jelly Belly $10,000 cupcake challenge. For more details and to enter visit The Jelly Belly $10,000 Cupcake Challenge.

Member Spotlight: Cathy Olate's Cupcakes Take the Cake!

Member Cathy Olate happened to stumble upon cake decorating as a job to help pay the rent. It soon became her passion, prompting her to embark upon a culinary arts degree in pastry and baking, an externship with Ron Ben Israel, and finally to open Jacy Cakes, LLC., with co-owner Josh Whitney.

Cathy takes great pleasure in perfecting the details of every cake she makes. It drives everything she does. She's crazy about cake and wouldn't want it any other way!

When Cathy heard about a "Cupcake vs. Cake" contest at NY Cake Convention, January 2010, her creative juices and humor really started to flow. She pictured an actual fight between cupcakes and cake and designed her "cupcake vs. cake" throwdown cake to reflect that vision.


Cupcakes try to attack a cake and tag their signature with an airbrush gun on the top tier. The face on the top tier is sad because it is getting a beat down from the cupcakes. The large cupcake on top has actually pushed the face partially "off" its tier!

The face on the bottom tier has an evil grin because as the biggest tier it was strong enough to sprout arms and fight back. That big, bad tier smooshes the icing of one cupcake and gives another cupcake a wedgie.

Cathy's original design featured more cupcakes climbing up to attack the cake, but she ultimately had to edit her design to allow herself enough time to finish this cake as well as take cake orders. Not a surprise that Cathy won First Prize for her creative, fun, and outstanding cake design.

Aren't these cupcakes amazingly creative? Lots of detail work here.
Delish cupcakes entered into the Cupcake/Cake throwdown.

Assorted cupcakes topped with fondant designs and dragees.

Happy Thanksgiving Day!

Photo courtesy of Iva, member NYC Cake Decorators Meetup

It's been a great year full of wonderful experiences and I am grateful for the members of NYC Cake Decorators Meetup, and the followers on NYC Cake Decorators Facebook, Twitter, and this blog. In behalf of NYC Cake Decorators Meetup, I wish you all a warm and wonderful Happy Thanksgiving Day!

If you still need ideas for your holiday dessert, try this scrumptious pumpkin cupcake recipe.

Ingredients for Pumpkin Cupcakes:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 2 eggs

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup canned pumpkin

Frosting

• 3 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 8-ounce package cream cheese
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 350º and line a 12-cup muffin tin with bake cups. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and salt. Set the mixture aside.

2. In a separate mixing bowl, stir together the oil and sugar. Whisk in the eggs and stir in the vanilla extract.

3. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and gently stir the mixture until well combined. Explain to your child that she should stir only until she can no longer see any pockets or streaks of flour.

4. Stir the pumpkin into the batter until it is thoroughly combined. Spoon the batter into the lined muffin tins. Bake for 20 minutes or until a knife inserted in the middle of one cupcake comes out clean. Let the cupcakes sit in the tin for 10 minutes and then remove to a rack to cool thoroughly.

5. Meanwhile, make the Cream Cheese Frosting. In a medium-size mixing bowl, beat together the confectioners' sugar, cream cheese, butter, and lemon juice until smooth.
   

6. Frost with a star tip or to make a more decorative design, frost smoothly with an off-set spatula and then hand-mold pumpkins from fondant or white candy clay colored with orange food gel. Makes 12 cupcakes.

Dina

Cutest Cupcake Ever!

Congrats to member Annette! Her cute little hedgehog cupcakes were selected as one of Martha Stewart's Top 20 cutest cupcakes for 2009. Visit Annette's blog Ladybug Luggage, to see her other fabulous cupcake and cookie designs. Annette will be teaching several of her cupcake techniques at NYC Cake Decorators "Best of the Best" Meetup (which will showcase talented members). Why not join the fun?

Cupcake Lovers Contest!

Cupcakes and cake were designed and decorated by member Stephanie H.

Hey, cupcake lovers! It's Spring and what a better time to decorate and eat cupcakes! To help us celebrate, upload your best Spring cupcake photos to the NYC Cake Decorators Spring Cupcake Contest Group Pool on Flickr from May 16, 2009 through June 20, 2009. (You have to join Flickr but membership is free). Make sure you include a way to contact you. NYC Cake Decorators will judge your entries. We are looking for happy and colorful cupcakes, whimsical cupcakes, and floral cupcakes. Grand Prize is a copy of "Cupcakes from the Cake Doctor" and First Prize is a Cupcake Pedestal Set. Both items are available from one of our current sponsors, Cake 'n Crumbs.

Good Luck!