Iron Cupcake December CHAMPION!

Last night was the Iron Cupcake SF grand finale of the year. Baker's were invited to bake their signature cupcake a.k.a. the cupcake they are known for- a very special treat because normally we have to bake something related to a theme or key ingredient. We were promised fabulous prizes and exciting announcements about the challenges coming in the new year. I had skipped a few of the more recent challenges but made it a point to attend this highly publicized annual extravaganza.

I arrived with little time to spare but fortunately got one of the prettier tiered trays which was very large and shiny. I baked my signature raspberry chocolate cupcake- my favorite cupcake on the planet and a recipe I can pretty much call my own: chocolate cake with a punchy raspberry filling, raspberry buttercream, and topped with a dark chocolate dipped raspberry. I named it "Chocolate Raspberry Rapture"- this photo does not capture much of the chocolate half of the raspberry, but you get the idea: I was positioned at #12 out of 16, not bad considering my tardiness. As soon as I was identified as a baker, the organizers told me I had to wear a santa hat and kindly let me pick my color- I chose an emerald blue* number and placed it on my head like a beret because let's face it, I have an enormous dome and that hat was not fitting properly.

My crew arrived shortly after I did and we had a good time chatting and laughing which helped to cut the nerves. I could tell I had some stiff competition.. I was surrounded by a bunch of bakers who brought the best of their best to the table.. and they were all easily identified with their Santa hats on:
Tasting was, as always, a TON of fun. A lot of people come up with cute ideas for decoration, and flavor ideas that never cease to surprise me. I liked the wreath decorations the best, and was most excited to try the chocolate fig and apple cupcake that shimmered curiously (front). Some girls even took the "signature" quite literally and piped their names with frosting and chocolate!:

However, after tasting, there was a clear winner, and my girls and I weren't shy about sharing our opinion!
Our opinions didn't matter much unless we voted. Brooke and Jean were on it when the text in polls opened:

I walked around to take some photos and realized I never took one of my display. I arrived in time to notice only my large display cupcake remained.. but all the minis had been gobbled up. Shortly after this photo, one of the girls in the background stole the large cupcake.. which was sad and a fabulous compliment all at once:

The polls closed and we all sat around and waited to hear the winners. I was nervous because although I knew mine was delicious, my last experience with text in voting didn't go so well.. I didn't place at all- a hard knock coming off a 3-in-a-row winning streak. But this time around, we were allowed to vote for three different winners, so I felt better that at least one of those three votes each person sent in included my cupcake. As the winners were announced one by one, my girls and I all started to get a little more anxious. Brooke had lowered herself into a nervous crouch and swayed to and fro while the 1st place prizes were announced. As soon as first place was announced and my name and cupcake number came out of the announcer's mouth, the girls all screamed like banshees and I noticed Brooke was steadily elevating her scream along with her stance. I tried to hand her my camera for photos but she was caught in the moment, so I let it ride and excitedly made my way up to the front of the room to collect my prizes. Cameras flashed and people congratulated me.. it was one of those moments that don't seem real and nothing you do is free of the cheese that comes along with winning a prize you worked so hard for. I posed with my winnings, which included a custom glass plate hand made by local artists. I was so excited to also win cash I couldn't resist trying to count it immediately:


But then I realized I needed to calm down so I took a more tame photo for the grandchildren to see someday:


It really has been a wonderful year for me and baking. Winning the final Iron Cupcake of 2010 was a huge boost and motivation for me. I cannot wait to set some new goals in 2011 and see them realized!!

Thanks for reading.. see you next year!

*a typo too hilarious to cut out.. i did indeed mean to write "sapphire blue"