Contestants in the 6th Annual Ithaca Cupcake Baking Contest wowed the judges with their recipes, originality, craftsmanship, and creativity delivered in their photos, videos, and stories. Congratulations to winners of the Special Awards!
Yummiest Shark Fins Award
Lionel Bakum
Lights, Camera, Action! Award
Emily Rosato
It’s a Great Pumpkin Award
Henry Bowes
Sommelier Award
Heather Lee Williams
Necessity Is the Mother of Confection Award
Stacia Humby
Cupcakes Are Gorges Award
Eleanor Gabler
True to Yourself Award
Patti Meyers and Hudson
Cherry On Top Award
Shauna Defone
Apple of My Eye Award
Ann Phelan
It’s About Thyme Award
Takoda Warner
Chocolate Happiness Award
Holly Taylor
Lionel Bakum’s Pretty Darn Yummy Cupcakes
Emily Rosato’s Salted Caramel Chocolate Cupcakes
Henry Bowes’s Pumpkin Spiced Latte Cupcakes
Heather Lee Williams’s Partners in Wine Cupcakes
Stacia Humby’s Chocolate Cherry Almond Cupcakes
Eleanor Gabler’s Waterfall Cupcakes
Patti Meyers and Hudson’s Pillsbury Lemon Cupcakes
One of the judges in the 6th Annual Ithaca Cupcake Baking Contest commented that the entries were too beautiful to eat. That certainly goes for the seven cupcake submissions that received Honorable Mention awards.
Kudos and thanks to all 24 contestants—you are the best in every way!
Honorable Mention awardees are presented with $25 gift certificates from the Downtown Ithaca Alliance.
Honorable Mention
Aušra Milano
Effat Rahman
Kelly and Rosemary Rowland
Tamarynde Cacciotti
Debbie Barbash
Simon LeRoux
Annika Donlick
Aušra Milano’s Brown Butter Carrot Cupcakes: Brown butter carrot cake with cream cheese frosting and candied carrot roses
Effat Rahman’s Corpse Bride Cupcakes: Earl Grey-infused Victoria sponge cake filled with blueberry-lemon jam and topped with blue whipped cream, paper butterflies, paper flowers, and sugar pearls
Kelly and Rosemary Rowland’s Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter and Jelly Surprise Cupcakes: Rich dark chocolate cake coated with a thin layer of jam with peanut butter frosting and a miniature peanut butter cup buried inside
Tamarynde Cacciotti’s Crème Brûlée Cupcakes: Vanilla-flavored cake with sugar lace and handmade gum paste flowers
Debbie Barbash’s Tropical Paradise! Cupcakes: Vanilla-flavored cake topped with creamy mango frosting, sprinkled with coconut flakes and dry mango pieces
Simon LeRoux’s Vanilla Lavender Cupcakes: Vanilla and lavender-flavored, mushroom-shaped cake with a honey buttercream frosting and marzipan snails and spots
Annika Donlick’s Fall Harvest Double Chocolate Cupcakes: Chocolate cake with decadent chocolate frosting and homemade fondant hand-sculpted into pumpkins, apples, corn, and zucchini
Rachel Allison won 1st Place with her Finger Lakes Picnic Cupcakes in the 6th Annual Ithaca Cupcake Baking Contest organized by The Sophie Fund. Her intricately designed cupcakes, in the shape of a picnic basket packed with wine, cheese, salami, fruit, and a baguette, were inspired by her love of sharing charcuterie boards and local vintages with friends.
Rachel Allison with her Grand Prize-winning Cupcakes
“One of my best memories from this year was when a friend and mentor came to town, and we spent the day visiting different wineries on Keuka and Seneca Lake,” said Allison, who won 2nd Place and Honorable Mention in the 2020 and 2019 contests, respectively. “I baked a fresh loaf of bread that morning, and we had a picnic lunch, pairing different cheeses and charcuterie with the wines we picked up along the way!”
Allison’s chocolate coffee cupcakes were filled with salted caramel ganache, brown butter almond cake, and mascarpone mousse. The food products in the basket were made with white chocolate truffles (bread and cheese), cake balls/truffles (salami), vanilla candy (wine bottle), and caramelized white chocolate (cheese). The chocolate almond shortbread lid and cupcake basket are covered with chocolate buttercream basket weaving. The napkin and grapes are piped vanilla buttercream.
Rachel Allison’s Finger Lakes Picnic Cupcakes
May Cayzer won 2nd Place with her maple cupcakes affectionately inspired by, and designed to represent, her dog, Kiwi. The cupcakes depict Kiwi’s adorable face, but one of them shows her paw prints. “Any time she sees me, she starts jumping over a foot in the air,” Cayzer explained. “Her excitement never fails to put a smile on her face. Her two little paws jumping around waiting for me to come in and play with her are symbolic of the emotional support she provides.”
Cayzer used real maple syrup to magnify the cupcake flavor, and stuffed them with homemade “moist and decadent” maple filling. She topped the cupcakes with Swiss meringue buttercream frosting. She then used fondant to create Kiwi’s nose, eyes, ears, tongue, and paw prints.
May Cayzer’s Maple Cupcakes
The judges awarded Mary Sever-Schoonmaker 3rd Place with her “I Got My Fill on Blueberry Hill” Cupcakes. The two-in-one treats consisted of lemon cupcakes with fresh blueberry compote filling and fresh blueberry buttercream frosting, topped with miniature blueberry pies. “I was inspired to present this cupcake after reading that Sophie was active in Ithaca’s vibrant culinary scene,” Sever-Schoonmaker said. “The flavors of blueberry and lemon, coupled with the natural, bold color of the buttercream, seemed to fit that description to a tee.”
Mary Sever-Schoonmaker’s “I Got My Fill on Blueberry Hill” Cupcakes
Katy Holloway received the Youth Award for her Adventures in Candy Land Cupcakes. The judges were impressed with Holloway’s gluten-free red velvet cupcakes frosted with vanilla buttercream and topped with an array of candy decorations highlighted by a forest of Dum Dum lollipops. But they were also touched by the story behind her cupcakes, about how she and an elementary school friend used a second-hand Candy Land game to invent their own fairytales to make memories she treasures.
Katy Holloway’s Adventures in Candy Land Cupcakes
Best Story Award went to Milo Bakum, whose Pusheen Cupcakes were accompanied by an adventure story about Pusheen Cupcake, “the bravest in Cupcake Village.” With the help of a wizard, a blacksmith, and Pusheen Kit Kat, Pusheen Cupcake succeeded in defeating the Broccoli Army and conquering Brussels Sprout Castle. “And everybody lived happily ever after.”
Dina S. won the Best Video Award with her Ocean Cupcakes, which featured dazzling decorations of the deep blue sea in various stages from a hurricane to waves lapping on the beach. “Ever thought that it would be hard to turn something as beautiful as the ocean into food?” Dina asked. “Here in front of you have exactly that!”
Dina S.’s Ocean Cupcakes
This year’s contest, moved online due to continuing concerns about the Covid-19 coronavirus, drew cupcakes with diverse themes ranging from Upstate apple picking, Ithaca waterfalls, Finger Lakes wine country, fall harvest, sharks, Frodo and Bilbo, Tim Burton’s filmmaking, tropical Taiwan, Parisian desserts, and a certain pet snail named “Pippi Long-Stalking.” The spectrum of cupcake flavors included thyme, mango, coconut, almond, maple, pumpkin, carrot, lavender, honey, strawberry, peanut butter, Earl Grey tea, salted caramel, marshmallow, and Crème Brûlée, among others.
The event celebrated the 24 contestants who baked cupcakes and then shared photos, stories, and even some videos of their creations. The winners were announced at an online ceremony on October 23 hosted by The Mighty Mickie Quinn and featuring musical performances by Kenneth McLaurin & SingTrece, Nellia Mattson & Savannah Loiacono, and the Mozart Group Class at Ithaca Talent Education.
Kenneth McLaurin & SingTrece
Nellia Mattson & Savannah Loiacono
Mozart Group Class at Ithaca Talent Education
Judging the finalists were professionals from Ithaca’s great culinary community:
The contest is organized every year by The Sophie Fund, which was established in 2016 in memory of Cornell University art student Sophie Hack MacLeod to support mental health initiatives aiding young people. Sophie’s passion for baking cupcakes inspired the launch of the first Ithaca Cupcake Baking Contest in 2016. At the time of her death by suicide at age 23, Sophie was on a medical leave of absence from Cornell and active in Ithaca’s culinary scene.
Top Winners (receiving Downtown Ithaca Alliance gift cards accepted by more than 100 local shops and restaurants):
1st Place & Grand Prize ($250): Rachel Allison
2nd Place ($100+Gift Card from Rasa Spa): May Cayzer
3rd Place ($50): Mary Sever-Schoonmaker
Best Video Award ($100): Dina S.
Youth Award ($100): Katy Holloway
Best Story Award ($100): Milo Bakum
(The list of Honorable Mention and Special Award recipients will be posted soon!)
Join us Saturday October 23 @ 3 p.m. for the 6th Annual Ithaca Cupcake Baking Contest Awards Ceremony! You can watch the online event by clicking on this Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81811024207
The 2021 awards ceremony will celebrate all the amazing 24 contestants who entered the contest this year! They baked cupcakes and then shared photos, stories, and even some videos of their delicious creations!
The Mighty Mickie Quinn will present the awards and prizes to the winners. The ceremony will feature words from our community partners, and musical performances by Kenneth McLaurin & SingTrece, Nellia Mattson & Savannah Loiacono, and the Mozart Group Class at Ithaca Talent Education.
The contest finalists will be judged by our panel of VIP judges:
Every October, The Sophie Fund along with students from Cornell University and Ithaca College organize a “Cupcake Button” fundraising campaign during the cupcake contest to support a local nonprofit focused on community wellbeing.
This year, the campaign is raising funds for The Learning Web, an organization that supports our local youth making the sometimes difficult transition to adulthood.
If you would like to help us support The Learning Web, please click here to donate to our GoFundMe campaign:
The cupcake and frosting recipe are both favorites of mine from two different friends. Friends + chocolate = just what you need in the year 2021 (and let’s be honest—2020 and probably 2022). The frosting recipe is especially close to my heart, as my best friend’s mother used to make me chocolate cake with this frosting for my birthday each year. It’s a very old recipe from a Hershey’s chocolate baking book, and I was amazed at the specificity of the recipe. There is a direction within the recipe that requires you to simmer cream and sugar for exactly six minutes—I loved that! So combining food recipes I love from friends I love seems to me the perfect combination for baking and sharing.
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