The Alphabet of Abbie - C is for... Cupcakes!

CUPCAKES!

I love cupcakes! It's something about their versatility in flavour and appearance, their cute size, the icing and the prettiness of it all! When it comes to cupcakes, what's not to love!? I came across something rather brilliant the other day... the Iron Cupcake competition. Originally a monthly bake-off in the USA where like-minded baking enthusiasts came together with their mutual love of cupcakes and battled for the coveted 1st, 2nd and 3rd prizes for best cupcake. Each month there is a theme or ingredient as a starting point for the cupcake bakers. I recently discovered that the concept has travelled across to pond to us in Britain and a monthly Iron Cupcake competition in held in Leeds. Below are some of the yummy looking entrants to the last Leeds-based Iron Cupcake contest!

1st prize - Raspberry Fizz Cupcakes
Raspberry and champagne cupcakes with white chocolate and coconut, dulche de leche ganache and a vanilla bean topping.

2nd prize - Mixed Summer Berries Cupcake
This delightful looking cupcake had a raspberry ripple style cake base, with a mixed fruit coulis centre, topped with fresh currants, strawberries and a drizzle of summer berry juice. Delish!

3rd prize - Summer Fruit Basket
Strawberry and almond sponge cake, with marshmallow icing topping and summer berries, all sat in a sugar syrup basket.

Twirly Swirly Berry Bun
Vanilla and raspberry sponge filled with coulis with a vanilla topping finished with a chocolate covered strawberry and a sprinkling of pretty edible gold glitter.

Tayberry and Raspberry cupcakes
Tayberry and raspberry flavoured sponge cake base, with a tayberry and white chocolate mousse, drizzled with chocolate and topped with a rasberry.

Starwberry pavlova cupcakes
Strawberry and meringue sponge with strawberry buttercream and a cute little sprinkling of meringue to finish it all off.

Berry and white chocolate cupcakes
Berry and white chocolate sponge cake base with marhsmallow buttercream and topped with a strawberry.

Very berry good cupcakes
Strawberry sponge cake, topped with strawberry icing, a fresh chocolate dipped strawberry and an adorable teeny tiny meringue!

Eton mess cupcake
Vanilla and strawberry puree sponge cake base, topped with buttercream, finished with meringue pieces and a huge juicy fresh strawberry.

Strawberry Fields
Chocolate sponge with strawberry cream mousse, chocolate fudge ganache and a strawberry buttercream icing.

Black forest cupcake
Chocolate and brandy sponge base, filled with a cherry conserve, topped with a morello cherry buttercream, cherry and white chocolate heart.