Cupcake Hero : Cocoa

Better late than never?? My deepest apologies for the delay in posting this round-up. Its been a wicked busy couple of months here at CH Headquarters. I am going to cut right to the cupcakes so that maybe you forget what an awful slacker I am..

Cue Cupcakes now…

Mary of Shazam in the Kitchen baked Cocoa Cupcakes with Marshmallow Frosting. Comfy hot cocoa gets a kick in the pants with some ginger and black pepper in Mary’s take on a cold day fav. We agree, these are frisky!

Mary wasn’t content to stop there though. A shipment of the good stuff had her turning out Lavender Cocoa Cupcakes with Blueberry Frosting, in a second bid for the coveted prizes. These are so fancy, they wouldn’t let me in the same room with them. And now I have to say it. SHAZAM! Feel much better now.

Tanya of Take The Cannoli baked Chocolate-Chili Cupcakes with Chocolate Fudge Frosting. Look at that fudgy frosting. It looks to die for. Holy Yum with a little kick to it too. Sweet and Spicy, nice.

Libby of The Allergic Kid baked Chocolate Covered Cherry Cupcakes. All contests aside, these babies win hearts for edibility by all. No eggs nuts or dairy make these allergy friendly, and the cherry inside proves her right when she says these “provide incontrovertible proof that food allergies do not cause a life of deprivation.”

Mox baked Sexy Mexy Banana Hammock CuppyCakes aka The Cabana Boy. With a name like that, I would think this cupcake would grab anyones attention. It certainly grabbed mine. And you all know how much I adore bananas. Love them!

Amanda of DelightfulLea Sweet baked Purple Cashmere Cupcakes. These cupcakes are getting all swanky in cashmere. Not just any cashmere either, she went purple with these! From the cake to the frosting, they’re decked out in the royal colour head to toe.

Janna of Honeyed Hashette baked Hot Cocoa Cupcakes. You can’t keep a good idea down, and the same goes for hot cocoa! Y’all, she even made her own marshmallows for this.

Stef of Cupcake Project baked Smoky Chocolate Cupcakes with Sweet Corn Cream Cheese Frosting. Where there’s smoke, there’s cupcakes? You never know what to expect from the queen of cupcake projects, but you can be sure it won’t be run of the mill. Liquid smoke and corn? Really? This woman niques up on cupcakes all the time (come on, it’s the bunny joke).

Michelle of Big Black Dogs baked Pinks! A classic combination of strawberry and chocolate, dressed up with some meringue. They are simply lovely.

Sophie of Flour Arrangements baked Double Chocolate Razzcherry Cheesecake Cupcakes. Try to say the name of these cupcakes 5 times fast. Ain’t they the cheeriest things? The little bunny at the top is obviously a cheap attempt at swaying CB (and me since I was nibbling on these too!)

Eunice of Dolce baked Red Velvet Marshmallow Cupcakes. When a cupcake look this good, who cares about it’s colour? Red or brown, let’s not be cupcake discriminators here. You don’t see the marshmallow on top making a fuss do you?

Steph of Steph Chows baked The Best Chocolate Cupcakes Ever. Tasty and low calorie? She claims these are the best chocolate cupcakes ever, and I doubt many people would argue. You know it’s good when it doesn’t even need frosting!

Marilla of Cupcake Rehab baked Man in Black Chocolate Oreo Cupcakes. It’s difficult for me to write objectively about these cupcakes, because I’m easily swayed by Johnny Cash. This ain’t the pic I wanted to put up here either, but this is most likely a family friendly sort of contest and I didn’t want Laurie to beat me. Y’all don’t know what’s it like, she has one of those big wooden spoons…  Here it is, now y’all go look at the decorated version on her blog.

Tammy of Wee Treats by Tammy baked Chocolate Self Saucing Pudding Cupcakes. It’s cute! It’s perky! Heck, it’s self saucing! What more could y’all want? Tammy brings us the comforts of childhood with pudding in a cupcake. The swirl is so frigging cute!

Tommi of Brown Interior baked Cherry Lime Cupcakes with Cocoa Fudge Frosting. A tart little cupcake with a super fast frosting. This sweet little sponge kick is bright with cherry and lime, and the fudgey goodness on top only takes a minute to whip up. Not even long enough to annoy the waiting boyfriend!

Mara of Lick the Spatula baked Cocoa-Swirled Coffee Cup Cakes. They’re in a mug, but they ain’t your momma’s hot cocoa. Coffee makes an appearence to shake things up, dragging it’s party friend Kahlua along with it! Ain’t she talented with the decorations?

Philippa of Lemon Lane baked Delicious and Dark Cupcakes. Dark and sultry, these cupcakes aren’t for the meek. The dusky richness of cocoa gets naughty with nibs, and parades around in some tasty ganache for all to see. Yay dark chocolate!

Thayer of I Like Cake baked Chocolate Banoffi Cupcakes. It’s Banoffi-esque. You need to go read her entry, so you can be as worldly and sophisticated as me and be able to say things like Banoffi-esque. You too will know what Banoffi is, and I ain’t telling!

Brina of Brina Bakes baked Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes. Brina said what needs to be said when she stated “chocolate, raspberries, and cream is a classic pairing”. You really can’t beat it (unless you’re a person who doesn’t like one of those, but we’re not mention those people right now). These have birthday goodness!

Cordelia of The Urban Nutritionist baked Chocolate Chocolate Cupcakes. She can make these with a new baby, and I couldn’t manage something that looked that good with a cat. Errr, she made them with cocoa I mean. There’s a new baby in the house. That first statement was a bit awkward really.

Luki of Sinfully Sweet baked The Devil Made Me Do It Cupcakes. The devil must be a real slave driver if he made her make these! There’s a lot of steps, but the end result speaks for itself. Chocolate and caramel and coconut and marshmallow, with neat tricks like making floaters and torching the tops! She even managed not to need the fire department (in spite of a few close calls).

Jenny of All Things Edible baked Miracle Whip Cupcakes. Recipes like this make me get all biased again, I’m in love with old fashioned economical food. Miracle Whip and mayo cake is one of the best things to come out of the frugal resourcefulness of The Depression, and I adore them. Miracle Whip really does add that tang you can’t do without very easily.

Jen of Beantown Baker baked Frito Cupcakes. You heard her. They really are. Right in the cupcake. She didn’t leave out the pretzels either, and I believe her that these are a husband fav.

Clara of I Heart Cuppycakes baked Chocolate Raspberry Ganache Cupcakes. You can tell CB made these. They’re adorable like her, sweet and simple like her. By simple I mean in the good uncomplicated refreshing way, not the helmet way. Focus on the raspberries and chocolate please, and not that I may have called a good friend slow. Ahem. Moving right along.

Elizabeth of Red KitchenAid baked Banana Chocolate Cupcakes. These were called the Ugliest Cupcakes Ever by their creator Elizabeth, and I… Ummm… You can tell they’d be so tasty, but they truly are verging on so ugly they’re cute. They kinda make me think of an alien egg right there in the middle. You just know it pulses, and occasionally lets out a small moan. This is why I shouldn’t write these late at night with no adult supervision y’all.

Minko of Couture Cupcakes baked Chocolate, Coconut and Macadamia Cupcakes. They’re like a tropical vacation! That’s how one should be any way, with chocolate and fluffiness.

Deeba of Passionate About Baking baked Cocoa Mint Cupcakes. They’re dressed up for a tea party, and what could be more appropriate than fresh mint? You have to admire the care that went into the decorations on the cupcake.

Robert of Amicus Cupcake baked Mexican Chocolate Cupcakes. You can’t have a cocoa contest without the famous chocolate and chili combination. These cupcakes go a little farther, adding in some cinnamon to make sure your taste buds are alert and on the job!

Ashley of One Imaginary Girl baked Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream. The French teacher enjoyed them. You will too. Ain’t they classy posing for their very retro diner picture? These ain’t only an entry, they’re an educational experience and you’ll feel smarter after eating them.

Steph of A Whisk and A Spoon baked Cocoa Cupcakes with Zebra Frosting. baked All cupcakes should look like this. You can taste the moist chocolate cupcake, and you know the frosting will seduce you with it’s two toned goodness. It’s true, I’m a sucker for the zebra swirl. Y’all have to love how it makes you want an ice cream cone.

And now for our winner. I had a hell of a time making a decision. So, I did what any other rational person would do… I pushed the decision making onto Shawn of Askinosie Chocolate. I mean, he was supplying the super sweet prize pack for the winner, afterall. Shawn also had a tad bit of difficulty, there were too many wickedly good chocolate cupcakes this month, and so he consulted his staff. Finally, a winner was chosen…

April of Abby Sweets.. You are the Cocoa Cupcake Hero!

April of Abby Sweets baked Cocoa Orange Cupcakes and the staff at Askinosie loved it. I will pass along your information to Shawn for your prize pack. Congrats April!

Thanks to everyone who entered May’s Cupcake Hero Contest. My apologies for being so late with the round-up. Life happens. Excuses, excuses.. I know. Ill shut it.

If you haven’t entered yet, please go check out Cupcake Hero July: Red, White and Blue. Clara and Nikki are waiting anxiously to sink their teeth into CH goodness.

And a HUGE thanks to Shawn and his staff at Askinosie for his generous prize pack and general support of Cupcake Hero. I can’t thank you enough. I have already declared my love for Askinosie cocoa. I love it. And if you haven’t tried it, what are you waiting for? Clickity clack over there and buy yourself some. I swear to you, you will not be disappointed.

LT and LW out.