Tuesday August 2nd, 2011:
Ahh! We so SOO excited to announce that [desi]gn cakes & cupcakes will be competing on:
CUPCAKE WARS on The Food Network on August 9th, 2011 @ 8pm!
Tune in & set your DVR’s as you DO NOT want to miss Alicia & I, as we go to WAR!
If you haven’t seen our audition video; you can view it here: http://youtu.be/OGFvFjmpZHE
Thank you from the bottom of our Cupcake Hearts for joining us on our journey & for your continued support!
special thanks to our AMAZING family, friends, & J. Valdez (our WONDERFUL audition video director & producer) for everything sacrificed to help us achieve our dreams!
Tuesday August 9th, 2011:
This crazy dream was actually our reality. Cupcake Wars aired, and it was intense, fun, exciting, and so emotional to watch!
Just a little bit before: Alicia (my cousin) and I traveled to The Food Network Kitchens and the Studio of Cupcake Wars. When we arrived, we went to WAR! We competed against 3 other bakeries, from across the US.
The event: the 2011 ESPY Awards in LA, California.
Round 1: We were asked to create a cupcake using 3 ingredients from the inspiration table. Ingredients included Oat Bran, Spinach, Orange, Almonds, Blueberry, Sports Drinks, and Dark Chocolate.
We decided to make a Power cupcake, using Blueberry, Almond, & Oat Bran.
Here is how it went: an Almond Cake, filled with a Blueberry & Agave Compote, and topped with a Blueberry Cream Cheese, and garnished with an Oat Bran & Brown Sugar Crumble, and a fresh Blueberry.
The judges said we had a little too much almond, but they loved it.
Round 2 (YAY): We were then asked to create 2 cupcakes that represented the ESPY Awards through their taste as well as their decorations.
Here is what we did: a Pre Game Cupcake (PB & Presley) which is a fresh banana cake topped with a Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting. We then had a Fan Favorite Cupcake (Churro) which was a cinnamon cake, filled with a fresh caramel drizzle, frosted with a vanilla Buttercream, sprinkled with cinnamon & sugar, and garnished with a cinnamon-sugar crisp. Our last cupcake was a Final Score Cupcake (ShamROCK & ROLL). A stout cupcake, filled with a Sweet Vermouth ganache, and frosted with an Amaretto Buttercream.
Judges thoughts: The Pre Game cupcake was a HIT! Candace said it was something that they would sell in a Sprinkles cupcake store! Our Churro cupcake got rave reviews for the caramel inside, but not so much on the tortilla crisp decorations. The Final Score cupcake was too sweet. Our decorations we just ok.. and in the end, our Churro SAVED us!
There is was…ROUND 3!! It was Alicia and I versus Cake Dreams from MD.
We created a 1,000 cupcake display to represent the ESPY Awards. The color: GOLD. It was 6’ tall, to be accessible to all athletes, basketball players, and tennis players alike. We had baking assistants to help us complete 4 batters, 4 frostings, and 3 decorations. MVP Stars & Final Score Scoreboards we getting a makeover in this round!
The judges liked the height of our display, and how a tall athlete didn’t need to go out of their way to enjoy a delicious treat. Jane’s display was shorter, but almost identical in choosing the ESPY award as well as her inspiration for her display.
In the end, the judges chose Jane’s display, for the color: SILVER. It was as simple as that, it came down to color!
In the end, we wouldn’t have missed the experience for anything! Alicia is my cousin, and my best friend. Having grown up together, it was amazing to have her by my side competing like a true athlete. From the very beginning we have worked so hard to create delicious cupcakes, and we held our own in this competition! Having been not only the CA representing baker, but the ONLY bakery to be solely ONLINE. We do not have a storefront, and the other 3 bakers did. WOW, just saying that alone makes me realize how accomplished we have been.
Candace, Florian, Justin, and Gretchen were a pleasure to meet! They only have praise to say, and they were so encouraging, even after our disappointment.
Needless to say, we were exhausted after, but in the best way.
We enjoyed a little In-n-Out burger after, and off we went.
What is next for us: Taking over the cupcake world! J Not really, but we will make our mark and showcase who [desi]gn cakes & cupcakes is!
We have emailed Cupcake Wars to hopefully have a chance to come back and get a little Runner Up Redemption in the future, but we will wait to see if we are granted with a second opportunity to showcase what we do.
Until next time (hopefully one day), you can catch re-runs of our episode on The Food Network (ESPY AWARDS), or you can view it here:
http://www.videobb.com/watch_video.php?v=xF0nhqRapMZD
Thank you to ALL of our cupcake fans, from across the country! We have received so many lovely phone calls, emails, facebook posts, and tweets with positive and loving remarks! We appreciate you and are so grateful to have te chance to share our sweet success with you! You made it all worth it! XO
