The Homegrown Happy Valley Cupcake Challenge
If you haven’t noticed, we’re kind of excited about Sugar on Top, the new cupcake cafe opening soon around the corner from Rita’s at 121 1/2 Beaver Avenue. (Read our recent post about the shop here.) So we’ve come up with a fun contest that will help promote the shop. Here’s how it works:
We challenge our readers to create the “Homegrown Happy Valley Cupcake,” a sweet or savory creation that showcases one or more local ingredients. Don’t worry about an actual recipe–just come up with the flavor combinations.
Post your ideas on our Web site or Facebook page. Shaunda Lohse, the owner of Sugar on Top, will pick her favorite and sell them for a limited time in her shop. The winner receives a dozen Sugar on Top cupcakes of his or her choice and bragging rights.
Get your creative juices flowing–and stop in Shaunda’s shop for inspiration!
This entry was posted on Friday, April 9th, 2010 at 3:17 pm and is filed under Food. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
April 9th, 2010 at 3:31 pm
Lavender cupcake with lemon cream icing, YUM!
April 14th, 2010 at 1:47 am
Sweet Orchard:
An apple cake (perhaps apple butter, or even apple butter filling?), warmly spiced and sweetened with maple syrup instead of sugar and browned butter to add depth of flavor. There’s a lovely couple who own an array of apples and always have wedges to taste the different kids at State College’s downtown Farmer’s Market… their NSA apple butter’s delicious too.
The frosting whipped frosting (or meringue, but buttercream’s too heavy) with maple, that’s not too sweet on top Garnish with a twist of apple peel as the garnish (waste not!) Graham crumbles as an edging on the frosting could be cute, but not exactly local.
Apples are amazingly versatile… there’s so many different kinds which can affect how to flavor this. This could even be changed depending on the apples used - eg, Green Orchard would be a sweet-sour cupcake, Golden Orchard for a Golden Delicious - I’d talk to the farmer’s market for their opinion. =) Honey Crisp apples are amazing raw.
Local produce involved: apples, maple, dairy. Added bonus of no refined sugars necessary. Sorry it’s so elaborate for such a little cake.
April 14th, 2010 at 10:22 pm
2. Honey Peach Cobbler!
3. A Wine cupcake!
Yellow cake with local grape (or blackberry) preserves filling and a flat layer on top, over Merlot frosting. Presentation idea was to have a thin concave layer of frosting to ‘cup’ the preserve spread topping, making it a little like a goblet of red wine, along with the filling. Maybe pipe around the edge for a bigger ‘rim’ of frosting.
I honestly am ignorant in what’s local to State College, but I’m going from what I’ve seen at the farmer’s market… a caramel corn cupcake would be interesting. I have no idea how though. Run with it. =)
April 15th, 2010 at 7:19 am
sweet corn cake with blueberries and a honey glaze
April 15th, 2010 at 7:23 am
or sweet corn with blueberries and a maple glaze
April 16th, 2010 at 10:21 pm
Apple streusel. Coconut cream pie. This one really isn’t local…an Elvis-inspired flavor with peanut butter and banana?
May 6th, 2010 at 5:22 pm
Honey vanilla with fresh raspberry center with whipped cream frosting.
May 8th, 2010 at 12:34 pm
Sweet Orchard:
An apple spiced cake (using apple butter, or even apple butter filling?), sweetened with maple syrup instead of sugar and browned butter. State Collehge’s Farmer’s Market has No Sugar Added apple butter that’s delicious too. Whipped maple frosting (or meringue) on top Garnish with a twist of apple peel as the garnish. Graham crumbles as an edging on the frosting could be cute.
This could even change flavor depending on the apples used - eg, Green Orchard would be a sweet-sour cupcake, Golden Orchard for a Golden Delicious - I’d talk to the farmer’s market for their opinion. =) Added bonus of no refined sugars necessary. Sorry it’s so elaborate for such a little cake. =)
May 21st, 2010 at 6:30 pm
Rhubarb cupcake with strawberry icing!