We Have a Winner!

Many congratulations to Katie from Pennsylvania for winning the Very Important Baker (VIB) package from CTTC and Duncan Hines Frosting Creations.

Giveaway: Duncan Hines Frosting Creations

What a yummy giveaway we have planned. It's with Duncan Hines and its new Frosting Creations line. I had a chance to sit down recently with Chef Joe (Chef Joe DiPaolo is the corporate pastry chef at Duncan Hines) and go over the new product line.

Flavors! There are twelve now, more expected as the line grows. Chef Joe said he's been working on this new line for two and a half years. Busy moms and dads (Chef Joe has a newborn at home, I heard) especially will love this line, as kids can participate in the flavor choices and the mixing/making of the frosting. Perfect for bake sales!

Chef Joe decorating mini cupcakes:

I tried the best-selling cotton candy (tastes just like cotton candy!) and the caramel, which had a milky, creamy cajeta/dulce de leche-like flavor. Heavy on the dairy notes.

While the new line is available at Wal-Mart now, it should be available everywhere baking products are sold soon. Flavor base will go for about $1.90 and the flavor packets should be approximately $1.00. You'll need to buy the flavor base and a flavor packet to make the frosting but it's self-explanatory and very simple. Chef Joe made a frosting kit for me in less than a minute.

We're giving away Duncan Hines Frosting Creations VIB (Very Important Baker) package for one lucky winner. The VIB box contains: two cake mixes (chocolate and vanilla), three frosting bases, twelve flavor packets and a recipe book!  The giveaway is only open to United States residents with a street address (no PO boxes or APO/FPO, sorry).

To enter, please tell us your favorite Duncan Hines Frosting Creations packet flavor (see list here) and leave a contact email address in the comment section, below. We will randomly select a winner on Monday, March 19, 2012 at 5:00 pm EST, and contact you via email. Products will be shipped from the company, not CTTC.

You can keep up with Duncan Hines on Facebook and Twitter too. Check back often as I hear that a recipe challenge with gifts and prizes will soon be posted.

Giveaway: Win A Jumbo Die-Cut Cupcake!

Jenny Holiday from Everyday Is A Holiday  and her friends came to one our first ever cupcake meetups way back in 2007, and she has been making art for years.  We are excited to do this giveaway of one of her jumbo die-cut cupcakes. These "JUMBO Chocolate frosted cupcake diecut" are inspired by vintage signage and advertisements you would've seen in old time diners and sweetshops. These are retro roomakers for sure. Each board is 1/2" thick and comes signed, dated, sealed for protection, and ready to hang. Totally heirloom quality! It measures 13" x 12". The cupcakes retail for $68, but you can win one for FREE.  Enter by Monday, February 20 at 6PM. U.S. Residents Only.  Use this form to enter.

Check out Jenny Holiday's shop and blog

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We Have a Winner!

 

 

 

 

Congratulations to Jade in North Carolina, who won our giveaway of The Complete Allergy-Free Comfort Food Cookbook, by Elizabeth Gordon.

;)

Giveaway: Cupcakes, Cookies And Pie, Oh My

We are so happy to do this cookbook giveaway for Karen Tack and Alan Richardson's third book, Cupcakes, Cookies & Pie, Oh My. We met Karen and Alan way back in 2007 at one of our first cupcake meetups, and seen them as they wow cupcake lovers with their creations. They will be joining us this summer on our Cupcake Cruise.

Enter to win via this form by February 14th at 6PM.
They are the creators of the high heel cupcakes.

Recipe and Giveaway (!): The Complete Allergy-Free Comfort Foods Cookbook

 I'm loving these vegan allergen-free frosting recipes from Elizabeth Gordon's new cookbook, The Complete Allergy-Free Comfort Foods Cookbook.  Every recipe is free of gluten, eggs, soy, nuts and dairy, perfect for those on a gluten-free diet, those who suffer from Celiac disease, or those who prefer a dairy-free diet.

The cookbook is beautiful (great paperstock and gorgeous images) to boot, and can be yours free of charge if you win our giveaway. Details follow the recipes, below.

 

Chocolate Ganache Frosting

10 ounces gluten-, dairy-, soy-, nut-, and egg-free semisweetchocolate chips

1 tablespoon Lyle’s Golden Syrup or corn syrup

1⁄3 cup well-shaken canned coconut milk

1⁄4 teaspoon espresso crystals

1 cup sifted confectioners’ sugar

1 tablespoon canola oil

Makes 11⁄2 cups

1. Place the chocolate chips, Lyle’s Golden Syrup or corn syrup, coconutmilk, and espresso crystals in a small saucepan. Stirring constantly, so as notto scorch the chocolate, melt the mixture over low heat.

2. When the chocolate is two-thirds of the way melted, remove fromthe heat and continue stirring until it is completely smooth. When the ganacheis completely smooth, beat in the confectioners’ sugar and canola oil with ahand mixer until a thick, smooth frosting has formed.

3. Leftovers may be stored, refrigerated, for up to 5 days. Let thefrosting stand at room temperature until it is soft enough to spread.

Supermarket Frosting

3⁄4cup organic palm fruit oil shortening

1⁄3cup powdered vanilla rice milk

5cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

1⁄4cup plus 1 tablespoon water

1⁄2teaspoon salt

1teaspoon vanilla extract

Makes 3 cups

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the organic palm fruit oil shorteningand the powdered vanilla rice milk until they are light and fluffy.

2. Stir in the confectioners’ sugar 1 cup at a time. The mixturewill be crumbly.

3. Slowly stir in the water, salt, and vanilla extract and thenbeat the frosting for 3 minutes on medium high.

4. Use the frosting immediately or store it in an airtightcontainer with plastic wrap pressed directly on top of it in the refrigerator for3 to 5 days or, in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw the frosting completelyand beat it again before using.

Recipes and images reprinted with permission.

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So...you want a copy don'tcha? I promise you do. Leave us an email address where we can contact you below, in the comment section, telling us about your allergy/food issues. We'll choose a winner at random on February 10, 2012 at 5:00 pm ET. The cookbook will be sent from the publisher and there are no shipping restrictions on this so all are welcome to enter!

Good luck.

;)

Reminder: Giveaway Ends Tomorrow

Don't forget, our Georgetown Cupcake giveaway ends tomorrow at 5:00 pm ET!!

Best of luck to you!

;)

Giveaway From Stay Calm Cupcakes

Want to give your sweetie something memorable this Valentine's Day? Want a "jarring" treat for yourself?! Then enter to win cupcakes in a jar from Stay Calm Cupcake. Enter this giveaway by Friday, February 3rd.

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Does Shipping Cupcakes Stack Up? Plus, a Giveaway: Georgetown Cupcake Sends You a Dozen!

Thank you Georgetown Cupcake for the shipping and the cupcakes -- and the Valentine's Day giveaway. 

I'd always been suspicious about how well shipping cupcakes works, even though I'd had a reliable experience before.

It arrived in fine condition, bright pink and happy-looking, very distinctive. Once you see this box you won't forget it anytime soon (check out these amazing shots of the boxes arriving for the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan during "Operation Cupcake"). When I opened the box there was a foil wrap around the cupcakes:

Inside that was a small gel-type pack of ice.

And a card, although it had no information abut the cupcakes inside. No names, flavors, ingredients, nor the name of the collection, which was a Valentine's Day special. That was kind of a bummer, not sure why it was overlooked.

The cupcakes arrived partially frozen, with sticks in them to keep them in place:

A tiny bit of movement showed but for the most part the cupcakes arrived looking great!

Flavors were:

Red velvet.

Strawberry Lava Fudge.

Chocolate squared.

(I looked them up.)

The red velvets were my favorite.





Yummy and sweet cream cheese frosting with a dense moist (but not oily or greasy) cake. My cupcake-tasting partners (in crime) felt the cupcakes had a slightly alkaline aftertaste but I didn't notice.

The strawberry lava fudge was exactly as advertised:






A lava-type cake with a sweet and gooey fudge center. The frosting is also very sugary, with a fruity strawberry taste. I thought I also might have tasted some raspberry but no one else agreed with me. *sigh*

Warning: this cupcake is messy! Gooey and drippy and best eaten with a fork or spoon. Also, the frosting had a tendency to separate. Maybe due to the fact there was so much of it?




The chocolate squared was so rich and dense and obviously made with quality ingredients.






My friend took one bite and said, "Are these made with Valrhona?" Wow. Impressive. Yes, they are.  We both agreed that the cake was just a vehicle for the frosting. So decadent. And really a grain-free taste, which I think is hard to achieve in a chocolate frosting.





I love how the cupcake wrappers were decorated on the bottom:



So cute.




The cupcakes are hard to remove from their container. It's best to remove them while they are still frozen, or you will have fingerprints all over your frosting:








As an aside, Senator Harry Reid received a similar box and regifted the treats to the press! Nice move, Senator Reid. Media people love cupcakes.



Georgetown Cupcake is home to TLC's show DC Cupcakes and they are expanding soon to NYC and Boston. Excellent shipping, quality ingredients, popular TV show, busy bakeries (4 by the end of the year) -- is there anything these women can't do?!



Anyway, Georgetown Cupcake and Cupcakes Take the Cake are giving away a dozen Valentine's Day cupcakes plus some cupcake merchandise, shipped directly to your home (USA lower 48 only due to shipping restrictions). To enter, leave an email address where CTTC can contact you below, in the comment section, on or before February 6, 2012 at 5:00 pm ET.  We will choose one winner at random and contact you via email, the gifts will be shipped from the cupcakery.



The small print:

"Georgetown Cupcake ships all of its cupcakes overnight via FedEx. Due to the FedEx shipping schedule, Georgetown Cupcake cannot ship cupcakes for arrival on Sundays or Mondays. Unfortunately, we cannot ship to P.O. Boxes, APO, or FPO addresses.We do not require signature upon receipt of any shipping order. However, due to the perishable nature of our product, it is best for someone to be present to receive the delivery.

Please be aware of any specific delivery policies at your shipping destination.Georgetown Cupcake cannot guarantee delivery if we are provided with an incorrect address, or for shipping delays resulting from inclement weather.Georgetown Cupcake will provide you with a FedEx tracking number via email once your order has shipped."

Best of luck to y'all!

;)

We Have a Winner!

Toni from Hawaii (who hopes to meet Rachel at the Hawaii cupcake meetup this week!) was, coincidentally, our winner for the Sweets on a Stick cookbook giveaway. Yay for Toni and congratulations!

Thanks to all who entered and keep your eyes peeled (ew!) for a few more giveaways happening this week, including a special one from Georgetown Cupcake.