29 March 2009

Let's Get Ready to Rumble!


It's been a C-R-A-Z-Y month here in the Little Miss Cupcake kitchen. But I am not complaining, keep those orders coming! I had to sit out this month from the Daring Bakers' challenge due to time constraints thought it really tempted me; the posts I have read from those who did participate mention it took anywhere from 6-10 hours to complete the recipe! I'll get around to it one of these days when I have a free moment.....



A few weeks back I was contacted by Helen Jackson, one of the creators of an online book called "The Lost Book" which is a collaborative adventure in storytelling. It’s taking place on the world wide web and anyone who visits the website can help decide where the story goes. At its heart is an animated web series. You can learn more about it by clicking here.



The main character of the series is a gal named Aileen who is accompanied by her canine sidekick named Watson. In Episode 3, which is currently in development, Aileen is headed to a place called Copper Beeches Cafe where she will eat a cupcake. The gang behind The Lost Book decided to make a competition open to bakers everywhere. The winning cupcake will be immortalised in the animation: they’ll create a computer model of it for Aileen to purchase in Copper Beeches Café. How cool is that?



Based on the storyline so far, I decided to submit 5 cupcakes for the challenge. Two were cupcakes I had made previously but I thought were fitting given a subplot involving Aileen and a police officer named Kyle who seem to be headed for romance one of these days.



The other three you see above need a bit of an explanation. The bone cupcake is for Watson who will certainly need to keep his energy up as he tracks criminal mastermind Otto Dafé. The wizard hat is symbolic of Aileen's next destination: Christchurch, NZ. A friend of mine who hails from there (Hi, Sarah!) tells me there is a local celebrity known as the Christchurch wizard and so this cupcake hides a clue. The colors are in sync with the NZ national flag too. Finally, as Christchurch is known for its botanic garden and sometimes called The Garden City, I figured a pretty flower cupcake, again hiding a clue, couldn't hurt!



**UPDATE** I'm pleased to announce that my Wizard Hat cupcake won as the runner-up. There's a chance it may be animated and included in Episode 3 alongside the winning cupcake from acupcakery!

It's also that time of the month when I humbly ask you to go and vote for me in Iron Cupcake : Earth at No One Puts Cupcake in a Corner. This month's challenge was Nuts & Seeds. I came up with 4 entrants for this one and to refresh your memory, here they are:

The Macadamia Nut Brittle Cupcake pop - vanilla cupcakes mashed with lots of caramel, vanilla buttercream and big morsels of Macadamia nuts. Dipped in bittersweet chocolate and drizzled with more chopped Macadamia nuts.



I Love You Honey Bunny carrot cake cupcake - a moist, rich cake stuffed with grated carrot, cinnamon, walnuts and ginger topped with a luscious cream cheese topping.



The Almond Joy : a coconut and almond cupcake topped with a rich milk chocolate buttercream, sprinkled with shredded coconut and a grilled almond.



And last but not least, a modification of one of my most popular cupcakes, the 4H Gouter : a Nutella-swirled vanilla cupcakes with a cocoa-hazelnut buttercream.



The Lost Book competition is being judged by London Cupcake Specialists, Crumbs & Doilies.
Iron Cupcake voting is open to the public until 12 noon central time on Friday, April 3rd, so get on over there and vote for me!

RELATED POSTS:
NUTS & SEEDS IRON CUPCAKE:EARTH NOW OPEN
CUPCAKE COMPETITION - MAGIC BONES
CUPCAKE COMPETITION - UNREQUITED LOVE

4 comments:

  1. I have voted! Btw, how in tarnation do you find the time to bake and deliver all these magnificent cupcakes with two young children around? I am in awe... and also very, very hungry.

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  2. Your fantastic "Christchurch Wizard" cupcake can now be seen in The Lost Book animation: watch episode 3.

    Thanks for creating something so amazing for our competition.

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