Westminster Cupcake Picnic: Sunday, July 29th, 2012

Posted on July 17, 2012 by Stacy

Join us for the second gathering in our Cupcake Picnic Series at the Westminster Community Pond in Westminster, MD. Our last picnic was a fun, casual and relaxing summer gathering with cupcake lovers and we are excited to do it again! Just like last month, our only request is that everyone brings cupcakes and is ready to share with each other! You can bake them or buy them, that is totally your choice.

DATE: Sunday, July 29th, 2pm

LOCATION: Westminster Community Pond • Westminster, MD
We will meet inside the park, in the picnic table pavilion next to the playground. Parking lot in the park is free. (To see a map, click here.)

PLEASE RSVP and let us know if you will be bringing anyone. We want to make sure we get a head count so that if we need to move we wait for everyone to arrive. Children are welcome to join the fun too! You can RSVP by leaving a comment below, emailing us at cupcakecrusaders@gmail.com, or click here.If you have any questions, please send an email to cupcakecrusaders@gmail.com or send us a Facebook message.

We hope to see you there!

Summer Baking Experiement: Mojito Cupcakes (with Rum!)

Posted on July 13, 2012 by Stacy

When the time came for me to select a cupcake recipe for our DC Cupcake Picnic, I knew I wanted something with a summer flare. As I browsed through my collection of saved cupcake recipes (I feel like I’ll never bake them all…) I was torn between so many different options. In the end, I settled on a cupcake inspired by one of my favorite summer drinks, a Mojito.

The recipe I had started with a box mix, which as you know is the only way I bake. Unfortunately I can’t find where the recipe came from (if you know, please share and I will update this review), but here are the directions I had saved:

“Prepare 1 package of super moist butter recipe white cake mix according to directions, but substitute 1/2 cup of rum” and juice of 1 lime for roughly half the water (I put the rum and lime juice in the measuring cup first, then filled to 1 1/4 cup as the box instructed with water), and add the zest from the lime and ~ 1 oz. of finely chopped mint to the batter while mixing.”

This cake batter was super easy to make and only required a handful of ingredients. The result was a moist cake that contained a complex level of flavors with the lime, mint, and rum.

That same recipe used a pre-made frosting, but since I recently decided that it’s easy to mix up and modify a simple buttercream frosting, I knew I had to find something else. While I was searching for the perfect mojito frosting, I came across instructions for a rum glaze. After having the Piña Colada cupcake from Roland Park Bagel Co. which had some sort of rum glaze, I knew I had to give it a shot.

The rum glaze I found came from the Cupcake Villains’ blog and only contained 4 ingredients! While the cupcakes were in the oven, my awesome baking assistant (AKA: my good friend, Kerry) and I tackled the glaze. It ended up being easier than we thought, so we left it on a low heat while the cupcakes finished baking and moved on to the frosting.

After finding tons of possible recipes to use for the mojito frosting, I decided to go with a recipe from Gooseberry Mooseberry. Her mint was WAY MORE finely chopped than mine was, so I’ll need to work on that, but overall, it turned out great.

I modified her recipe by omitting the triple sec and adding in just a splash (about 1 teaspoon) of the dark rum. I did this for two reasons: 1.) mojitos have rum, and 2.) I didn’t have triple sec, but I did have plenty of dark rum. I thought the rum was a good addition because it helped cut the tartness of the lime juice and lime zest, which was a little overpowering at first.

I really could not have been happier with the final results. Even my trusty assistant, Kerry, loved the cupcakes and she doesn’t even like mojitos. I would definitely call that a success.

Even though Kerry and I decided they were amazing, the real test would be how everyone else reacted to them the next day at the cupcake picnic (especially the real bakers!). Luckily I received nothing but positive feedback, praise, and shocked faces when I fessed up to starting out with a box mix. Maybe I should start keeping that little secret to myself?

– Posted by Cupcake Crusader, Stacy (Baltimore, MD)

Our DC Cupcake Picnic Recap!

Posted on June 26, 2012 by Stacy

Enjoying cupcakes, relaxing in the beautiful weather, and gathering with people who share a similar interest was what our first ever cupcake picnic was all about. This past Saturday the Crusaders, with the help from Joel (AKA: the Cupcake King) of Josie’s Confections, organized a cupcake picnic in Georgetown Waterfront Park. It was only a small gathering but it was filled with TONS of cupcakes and good times.

We were lucky enough to land a spot in the shade under a tree, and slowly everyone arrived. The group included us three Crusaders, my dad, Joel, Lamorea from That’s So Morie Cupcakes and her family, and fellow cupcake lover, Danielle, and her boyfriend.

(Candid shot of our some of our attendees. From the left going clockwise: my dad admiring Lamorea’s to-go wrapping for each of her cupcakes; Lamorea’s little girl (she’s so cute!); Lamorea going through her photos; happy cupcake eater, Charles; Crusader Jenn; and our youngest Crusader, Jenn’s daughter, Leah.)

After chatting for a few minutes, it was time to dive into the cupcakes! Joel, from Josie’s Confections, brought his signature Chicken N Waffle cupcake, as well as Salted Caramel minis, Strawberry Lemonade (which won the 4th place for People’s Choice at the NCACS’s Cupcake Challenge), and Maple Bacon.

(The AMAZING Chicken N Waffle cupcake! For information on ordering this cupcake call Joel at 301-541-7046, email him at joelegill@gmail.com or visit Josie’s Confections Facebook page.)

(Strawberry Lemonade with strawberry filling and candied lemon peels! For information on ordering this cupcake call Joel at 301-541-7046, email him at joelegill@gmail.com or visit Josie’s Confections Facebook page.)

Lamorea, from That’s So Morie Cupcakes, brought a big assortment of cupcakes all individual wrapped up and tied with a ribbon. She came totally prepared for people to take cupcakes home with them! Among her flavors were Pina Colada, Simply Strawberry, Chocolate Chocolate, and Citrus in the City.

(Alcohol Free Pina Colada all wrapped up! For more information on this cupcake call Lamorea at 443-603-8060, email her at Thatssomoriecupcakes@yahoo.com, or visit her Facebook page or website.)

(Citrus in the City! For more information on this cupcake call Lamorea at 443-603-8060, email her at Thatssomoriecupcakes@yahoo.com, or visit her Facebook page or website.)

Other cupcakes present included another Strawberry Lemonade, a variety from Red Velvet Cupcakery, an assortment from the Giant Bakery, and the Crusaders’ contributions: Mojito (me), Mocha Brownie (Jenn), and Strawberry Basil (Elisa).

(From top center moving clockwise: Strawberry Lemonade from Josie’s Confections; Chocolate Chocolate from That’s So Morie Cupcakes; Mocha Brownie from Crusader Jenn, Mojito from me; and Maple Bacon from Josie’s Confections.)

(Cupcakes scattered all over the place!)

(More cupcakes! They were everywhere!)

While we always enjoy eating cupcakes and chatting, the fun really started when Danielle said that she would still like the challenge of eating five cupcakes for the cupcake eating competition. She was the only one who stepped up in advance so we told her the prize was hers, but she was determined to earn her prize fair and square.

(It’s all smiles before you reach the 5th cupcake! She did a great job and was such a good sport!)

About halfway through Danielle’s challenge, the Cupcake King, Joel, decided he wanted to see what he could manage. Since he helped us put together the prize pack, he was entering the contest purely to take his title of Cupcake King to the next level.

(Joel smiled most of the way through, before hitting the more challenging chocolate cupcakes. But he still came out on top and decimated all 5 cupcakes!)

It was like witnessing an episode of Man Vs. Food in person. They both did an amazing job! Danielle put down 4.5 cupcakes is 5 minutes (at first she wasn’t focusing on her time so much, but picked up the pace as soon as Joel decided to join the fun) and Joel ate 5 cupcakes in 3 minutes and 45 seconds. He truly has earned his title, Cupcake King.

We couldn’t have asked for a better first picnic and we are really looking forward to the next two in our series. Sunday, July 29th we will be meeting at the Westminster Community Pond in Westminster, MD and on Saturday, August 25th we’ll meet in Patterson Park in Baltimore, MD. For more information click here. We hope you can join us and make those cupcake picnics just as memorable as this one in Georgetown Waterfront Park was!

– Posted by Cupcake Crusader, Stacy (Baltimore, MD)

We want to give a special THANK YOU to Joel, The Cupcake King, from Josie’s Confections for helping us organize this month’s Cupcake Picnic. He searched for the perfect location, helped us brainstorm activities, and even contributed nice Wilton products for the prize pack. Thanks Cupcake King! 🙂

DC Cupcake Picnic: June 23rd, 2012

Posted on June 14, 2012 by Stacy

Join us for our first ever Cupcake Picnic Series! This DC Picnic at Georgetown Waterfront Park is the first in our series. We thought it would be nice to have a fun, casual and relaxing summer gathering for cupcake lovers to gather. The only request we have is that everyone brings cupcakes and is ready to share with each other! You can bake them or buy them, that is totally your choice.

DATE: Saturday, June 23rd, 2pm

LOCATION: Georgetown Waterfront Park • Washington DC
We will meet inside the park directly across the Constitution Parking Garage off Wisconsin Ave NW. To see a map, click here.

We even have some fun events planned in conjunction with Joel from Josie’s Confections! One is a cupcake eating competition complete with a prize for the winner! We will only have enough cupcakes for up to 5 people to compete, so if you want to participate, please contact us. The first 5 people to let us know, will be our contestants!

If you have any questions, please send an email to cupcakecrusaders@gmail.com.

We hope to see you there!

Summer Cupcake Picnic Series!

Posted on May 7, 2012 by Stacy

Hey Cupcake Lovers! We are excited to announce that we are planning 3 cupcake picnics this summer. This is the first year we have done this, but thought it would be a good way to get to know some of you and share something we all love… CUPCAKES!

We want this to be a fun, casual and relaxing summer gathering so the only request we have is that everyone brings cupcakes and is ready to share! You can bake them or buy them, that is totally your choice.

We are still working out some details, but we thought it would be nice to send out a save the date so you mark your calendar and hopefully join us for one (or all) of the picnics. Here are the details we have so far:

Saturday, June 23rd, 2pm
Washington DC

Sunday, July 29th, 2pm
Westminster, MD

Saturday, August 25th, 2pm
Baltimore, MD

We’ll be setting up in a local park for each city above and might even have some fun events planned in conjunction with Josie’s Confections.

Stay tuned for more details and in the meantime, start brainstorming what you want to share! We hope to meet you all soon!

– The Cupcake Crusaders

Cupcake Crusaders

We won't rest, until we've tried them all.

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