The end result shows its heritage in the Mint Chocolate Cupcakes I’ve posted here before, and has spices and icing inspired by a recipe contributed by barkcreative on nibbledish.com.

I was really pleased with the result, which is more rich than sweet and best served with a cold glass of milk.

Ingredients:

• ½ cup shortening
• 1 cup + ¾ cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3 eggs, separated
• 2½ cups all-purpose flour
• ½ cup cocoa
• 2 tsp cayenne
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 1½ tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1⅓ cups cold water

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Cream the shortening with 1 cup of the sugar. Add vanilla and egg yolks, beating well. Sift in the dry ingredients alternately with the water, beating after each addition. In another bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form (points stay after pulling the beaters out of the bowl). Gradually beat the rest of the sugar into the egg whites. Fold the egg white mixture into the batter with a spatula or spoon. Blend well, but slowly and gently.

Fill about 24 cupcake papers to ¾ full. Bake at 350°F for about 15-20min or until a knife comes out clean from poking the middle of a cupcake. Let cool at least 15min before icing.

Icing

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup butter
• ¼ cup shortening
• ½ cup cream cheese
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 6 chocolate squares
• 4 cups icing sugar
• 2 tbsp milk
• 1 tsp kosher salt

Directions:

Beat together the butter, shortening, cream cheese and vanilla. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or the microwave on low power and mix in. Slowly beat in the sugar alternately with the milk, adding extra milk if you need to change the consistency. Sprinkle in the kosher salt and mix evenly. Spread on the cupcakes, or use a pastry bag and decorating tip for fancy effects.

Note: If you like, you can replace the butter and shortening with more cream cheese without affecting the flavour too much. However, I believe it gives a better consistency for decorating the way it is above.

If you’re crazy about decorating, you can also make little chili peppers with melted coloured merkens, painting them onto tin foil with toothpicks and then peeling them off carefully to top the cupcakes.

Related posts:

1. Mint Chocolate Cupcakes
2. Buttermilk Chocolate Layer Cake
3. Fudge Frosting

One of the biggest challenges of this event was transporting cupcakes. Katy (oh so intelligent) found some useful large cardboard boxes to bring our cupcakes in.. otherwise I would have had to use some old tupperware rectangular containers that aren’t tall enough for a decorated cupcake. When we arrived, I got a serious case of display-case envy looking around at some of the other bakers. I didn’t get a picture of my favourite one, but I did manage to find it at Home Hardware the next week – a collapsible container that can hold 24 cupcakes or a cake, with a removable stand. I’m very excited to use it!

We arrived fairly early to City Hall, and set up with amateur baker numbers 3 and 4. Our immediate neighbours hinted that the quality was bound to be pretty high, and those that followed after were of similar calibre. Not your typical cupcakes! Pictured below you can see the gorgeous gum paste autumn themed cupcakes on our left, and the imaginative coconut lime cupcakes by one of the rare male bakers on our right.

Wandering around a little, I found dozens of different flavours, no two exactly alike. You’d think that with 100+ bakers there might be some duplicates, but everyone had their own style. The closest I found to my own were some classy red velvet chocolate chili cupcakes with toasted marshmallow icing. I’ve never tried a red velvet cupcake, but they seem very popular these days.

Katy’s cupcake had a bit more competition, with about 4 other pumpkin-inspired flavours. We had a mini competition between hers and one other, but it was hard to declare a winner – both were amazing.

Those competing for best decorated really blew me away. I took lots of pictures (until my battery ran out), and asked a few of the bakers for some tips. Tamara (the autumn gum paste gal) talked about painting the leaves with sparkly powder available from baking supply stores like Artistic Cake Design. Jenny Burgesse of Geek Sweets had found chocolate molds for little skulls at Bulk Barn and painted them with gold sparkles. The folks at Pasticceria Gelateria Italianna (pictured above with the witch backdrop) gave me steps to follow to recreate their chocolate swirls: 1) spread tempered chocolate on parchment paper 2) use a cake comb to separate into long strips 3) roll the parchment paper and let it set 3) remove parchment paper carefully. Here are a few of my favourite designs..

I was happily surprised to see 4-cupcake boxes available as a fundraiser as I’d completely forgotten to provide a method to take home my loot and I wasn’t in the mood to eat many cupcakes after being up to my elbows in icing sugar the day before. It was really hard to limit my selection to four out of all the options, but I was very happy with the ones I chose. In reading order, they are “Death by Chocolate”, nanaimo bar (so clever!), gingerbread with spiced icing, and something amazing that combined aspects of angel food cake, peanut butter, chocolate, and amaretto.

Katy unfortunately had to leave before the judging was over, so when her cupcake won “Best Savoury” I called her to let her know I had her prize t-shirt. It took a bit of convincing to make her believe she won, but it sounded like it made her day. I don’t envy the judges, though, the competition was high and they all looked a little green by the end of it all.

All in all I had a wonderful time, and I hope to see Capital Cupcake Camp 3.0 next year. I already have a bunch of ideas floating around my head. I have also since made connections on twitter and following a bunch of the bakers I discovered, so I’m getting updates of their latest creations and recipes, exactly what I wanted to get out of it!

There were a few things I thought could’ve been improved.. I don’t know if it’s at all possible, but it would probably help to get a couple of groups of judges for different categories next time so that they’re not quite so overwhelmed and everything goes a little faster. All the cupcakes were long gone by the time the winners were announced. I might suggest also that bakers be encouraged to bring at least 24 cupcakes and optionally 12 or so extra just in case. Instead of tickets for four cupcakes, perhaps each taster could get a card with four spaces for bakers to write down their cupcake flavour and/or website as they give them out.. this would prevent reuse of tickets as well as allow bakers to advertise. This could even be done with standardized stickers that each baker is given by the organizers. Some complained that flavours ran out at different rates – maybe bakers could put out twelve at a time and wait for an hour between batches. What about providing standing tables so people could put down their drink and cupcakes and eat a little bit more leisurely?

There are lots of ways we could improve for next year, but truly I’d say the event was a great success. Big thanks to all the volunteers for making it happen, and to the sponsors for making it possible and providing milk to wash down the rich desserts.

Did you attend? What did you think, and how do you think it could be improved?

Here are a few posts by volunteers and bakers at Capital Cupcake Camp 2010.

The organizers:

• Kaitlin of HeartfulMouthful (mentions the winners!)
  
• Don of foodiePrints
• Katharine of girlabout Otown
• MediaStyle

A judge:

• The Twisted Chef (some seriously amazing recipes on this blog)
  

Others:

• Ming Wu Photography, a volunteer and friend of mine
• Vanilla Bean Baker, before and after, with pics of almost every cupcake
• Tracii Reardon, The Village Cake Lady
• Jenny Burgesse of Geek Sweets, with icing recipe
• Karen of Apartment 613
• April of Adorn Inc.
• Hilary Makes.. great pumpkin cupcakes!

If you’re reading this and you have a recipe up for your cupcake entry, please let me know!

No related posts.

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp butter/margarine
• 2-3 cloves garlic
• 1 medium onion
• Approx 1 lb of mushrooms
• 4 slices soft dark rye bread
• salt/pepper/dill to taste

• 3-5 packages Pillsbury Crescents (or similar)

Directions:

Filling: Chop all ingredients finely, or use a food processor. In a large frying pan, melt the butter and then fry onions and garlic over med-high heat until golden, then add mushroom/rye bread mix, and cook 10-15min, stirring often. Add spices once mostly cooked.

Pierogies: Put about 2tbsp of filling onto a single piece of crescent roll, and fold the edges over, pinching the dough closed. Place with the seam down on a non-stick (or parchment paper covered) cookie sheet. Repeat until filling or wrappers are used up. Bake according to the instructions of the crescent roll package.

Serve warm, or refrigerate and reheat. These work well as appetizers, potluck, a side for a soup, lunches, etcetera.

No related posts.

Ingredients:

Cupcakes:

• ½ cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 2 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• ¼ tsp nutmeg
• 4 eggs
• ½ cup milk
• ¾ cup canned pumpkin

Icing:

• ½ cup butter, softened
• ¼ cup shortening
• ⅓ cup brown sugar
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• 3 cups icing sugar
• 3 tbsp cream or milk

Directions:

Cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine all ingredients, and beat for 20 minutes. This is easiest in a food processor, but can also be done with a mixer in a bowl. Paper or grease 24 cupcake tins, and fill each to about ⅔ full. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean after being poked into the middle of one.

Icing: Whip together the butter and shortening until smooth. Add in the brown sugar and cinnamon, stirring thoroughly. Alternately add icing sugar and cream/milk. You can add a bit more or less of each depending on the consistency you would like. Spread or pipe onto the cupcakes after they have cooled.

Optional: Add pumpkin candies or other decoration for a more interesting presentation.

Related posts:

1. Carrot Cupcakes
2. Mint Chocolate Cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 eggs , separated
• 1 lemon rind, grated
• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 cup milk
• ½ cup poppyseeds

• 2 tbsp butter, softened
• 1¼ cups icing sugar
• 3 tbsp lemon juice
• 1½ tsp grated lemon rind (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 8″x4″ loaf pans. Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, then beat in egg yolks and lemon rind. Stir together flour, baking powder and salt. Add to butter mixture alternately with milk. Beat egg white until stiff, fold into batter along with poppyseeds. Pour into loaf pans. Bake for 1 hour, checking after 40min to see if it’s brown and a knife comes out clean.

Combine topping ingredients and drizzle over loaves after they have cooled.

Makes 2 loaves.

Variations: Use blueberries instead of poppyseeds, or leave off the topping for a lighter snack. For muffins, bake in muffin tins for about 15-20min.

Related posts:

1. Lemon Meringue Pie
2. Harvo

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped or crushed
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup grated parmesan cheese

• 4-5 servings of dry spaghetti (I measure this as a large handful or about half of a regular package – let me know if you have a foolproof way of measuring this!)

• 1-2 tbsp olive oil
• basil, thyme (~1 tsp dried or a small handful fresh)
• 1 large onion
• 1 handful mushrooms, sliced
• 2-3 carrots, chopped into half coins
• 1 bunch of broccoli, chopped into florets
• 1 tbsp soy sauce or red wine vinegar (optional)

Directions:

Pasta: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add pasta. Cook for 7-9 minutes or until it is soft enough to eat but still somewhat chewy.

Vegetables: In a large frying pan, heat the oil at medium-high until it pops when you drop water on it and then add the onion, mushrooms and herbs. Fry for a couple minutes, then add the carrots and brocolli. At this point you can add soy sauce or red wine vinegar to your taste, or add a little water to steam the broccoli with instead. Turn down the heat and stir every now and then until the other ingredients are ready.

Sauce: Follow the directions for Basic White Sauce, except fry the garlic in the butter for a minute before adding the flour and add the parmesan at the end. 

The order I usually do things in is: chop the vegetables, then heat the pasta water while starting the frying process. When the vegetables are all in the pan, I start the sauce, putting the pasta in to boil whenever the water is ready. If the pasta is ready too soon, you can drain it and leave it aside tossed with a little oil so it doesn’t stick.

Related posts:

1. Mom’s Lasagna
2. Kate’s Mexican Lasagna
3. Rainy Day Stew

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

½ cup sugar

1 tsp (rounded) baking soda

1 pinch salt (about ¼ tsp)

1 cup sultana raisins (or other dried fruit)

1 cup milk

2 tbsp Golden Syrup

Directions:

Mix dry ingredients and then add syrup and milk. Mix well. Bake in a greased loaf tin for 40min to an hour at 325°F or until the top is brown and a knife comes out clean after testing the middle of the loaf.

Note: I baked it at 350°F for 30min and then 300°F for 20min, but if you have a good oven it shouldn’t be that picky. See the picture of the recipe from my grandma Wynne Taylor for more details, including gas stove, electric stove, toaster oven, and her own old oven that had to be nursed along.

Related posts:

1. Lemon Poppyseed Loaf

I can still remember a time when I didn’t know how to make even this. I somehow read the recipe wrong and thought I had to cook just the butter and flour for 5 minutes (Don’t do this!! It ruins pots!!). Despite that, this is a really easy recipe to make – almost as easy as kraft dinner and tastes much better. This is a variation on Basic White Sauce.

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese

• 2 cups dry macaroni

Directions:

Fill a very large pot about ⅔ full with water. Bring to a boil. Add the macaroni, stir until boiling again, then turn down the heat to medium-high. If you leave the lid on, make sure it’s cracked open a bit so the pot doesn’t boil over. Cook for about 8 minutes, or more if it’s too chewy at that point. Drain the water, and set aside until the sauce is done.

While the pasta is cooking, melt the butter in a smaller saucepan. When it is fully melted, add the flour and quickly mix it in (I prefer to use a fork). A little at a time, add the milk while continuing to stir. As a general rule, add about half as much milk as there is already sauce in the pan, and make sure it is completely mixed before adding more. This will prevent lumps from forming. After all the milk has been added, continue heating and occasionally stirring until the sauce thickens. Once it starts to bubble at all, turn down the heat to minimum and add the cheese. Stir until the cheese has all melted. When the pasta is done, combine the sauce and macaroni in whichever pot can hold it all. Serve with raw or steamed veggies for a complete meal (corn, peas, carrots and brocolli are my favourites).

Serves 4.

Note: My sister recently taught me that for a single serving it works well enough to make this like you would kraft dinner. When the pasta is finished cooking, drain it and put it back in the same pot. Add each of the sauce ingredients, stirring well after each. The sauce turns out pretty much the same.

Variations: The easiest way to spice this up is to try different cheeses. In my opinion, you can’t go wrong with any of the hard cheeses (gruyere, emmental, parmesan, mozerella, etc). I also like to add nutmeg and/or white pepper for a little extra flavour. In the above picture, I used a rainbow mix of small pasta instead of just macaroni.

Related posts:

1. Basic White Sauce

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 cup milk

Directions:

In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. When it is fully melted, add the flour and quickly mix it in (I prefer to use a fork). A little at a time, add the milk while continuing to stir. As a general rule, add about half as much milk as there is already sauce in the pan, and make sure it is completely mixed before adding more. This will prevent lumps from forming. After all the milk has been added, continue heating and occasionally stirring until the sauce thickens. Once it starts to bubble at all, turn down the heat, or remove it from the stove.

Related posts:

1. Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients:

Crust:

• 1¼ cups graham cracker crumbs
• ¼ cup sugar
• 6 tbsp butter/margarine

Filling:

• 1½ cup sugar
• 3 tbsp corn starch
• 3 tbsp all purpose flour
• dash salt
• 1½ cups hot water

• 3 slightly beaten egg yolks (egg whites in meringue)
• 2 tbsp butter/margarine
• ½ tsp grated lemon rind
• ⅓ cup lemon juice

(above is about one lemon’s worth of rind and juice)

Meringue:

• 3 egg whites
• ½ tsp vanilla
• ¼ tsp cream of tartar
• 6 tbsp sugar

Directions:

Crust: Combine graham cracker crumbs and sugar with melted butter. Mix. Press into 9″ pie plate.

Filling: In a saucepan, mix sugar, cornstarch, flour and salt. Gradually add hot water, stirring constantly. Cook and stir over moderately high heat until mixture boils. Reduce heat. Cook and stir 2 minutes longer (8 minutes for creamier filling). Remove from heat.

Stir a moderate amount of hot mixture into eggs yolks, then return to hot mixture. Bring to boiling and cook 2 minutes (4 minutes for creamier filling), stirring constantly. Add butter and lemon rind. Slowly add lemon juice, mixing well. Pour into crust.

Meringue: Beat egg whites with vanilla and cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar, beating until stiff and glossy peaks form and all sugar is dissolved. Spread evenly over top of pie and bake at 350°F for 12-15min. Cool to let filling set before eating.

Note: For Lime Meringue Pie, use 1 1/2 tsp grated lime rind, 1/4 cup lime juice and 2 drops green food colouring.

Related posts:

1. Lemon Poppyseed Loaf