The 2011 Movember Manly Cupcake Champion!

Shhhh! Do you hear that? That, my friends, is the sounds of trillions of tiny hairs being scrapped off upper lips. Today is the day that men everywhere finally shave off those really nasty porno 'staches and come back to the world of socially acceptable facial hair. Together, Canadian Mo Bros and Sistas raised $32 million for prostate and testicular cancer research, as well as other not-so-nice men's health issues. Pretty cool huh?

The end of November means the end of our Movember Manly Cupcake Contest. Which also means you finally get to know who the true champion of champions is. I've taken all the judges scores, added them all up and averaged the points. Let's run down the scores and get down and dirty:

Cupcake #1

The Anchorman

Scores:Taste - 4 / 5Decoration - 3 / 5Overall Uniqueness - 3.5 / 5Overall Manliness:  4 / 5Judges Comments:

• "[The scotch is] a bit strong tasting . . . perhaps I'm not manly enough for this cupcake."
• "A bit heavy, but somehow adds to the manliness."
• "It's delightful lingering hint of scotch has given me a lady erection."

Baker's Comments:

I love acorn squash. So very much. I was a bit cautious about putting it into a cake, though - I thought the delicate flavour of the squash would be over-powered by the spice. But, nope, that squash shined through just fine. The overall flavour was lovely - I would have kicked a bit more spice, but that's just splitting hairs. The texture came out a little heavy and spongy for me. The scotch frosting was amazing. Very sweet, yes, but the flavour of the liquor was Spot. On. A little too strong for some of the judges, yes, but not for me. But I'm a booze hound.

Cupcake #2

The Doc Holiday

Scores: Taste - 2 / 5Decoration - 4 / 5Overall Uniqueness - 3.5 / 5Overall Manliness: - 2 / 5Judges Comments:

• "Pleasant enough . . . icing was too sweet."
• "It takes a real man to wear pink and a mo."
• "Taste didn't quite live up to it's rootin' tootin' decor."

Baker's Comments: 

I have a confession to make: using shortening in baking kind of frightens me. And, when I saw how much shortening was used in the Doc Holiday, I was indeed a little frightened. But, after baking the cake, my anxiety was eased. The cake had a good crumb and nice vanilla flavour. It did, however, end up being way too sweet for my tastes - I'd actually take out a quarter to a third of the sugar just to balance things out a bit. The frosting had promise, but I believe a mellow icing - like a swiss meringue - would have treated the berries way better. The deadly amounts of confectioners' sugar overwhelmed the delicate huckleberry. That said, I believe this cupcake would be very much loved at any birthday party. 

Cupcake #3

The Clint Eastwood

Scores:Taste - 4 / 5Decoration - 4.5 / 5Overall Uniqueness - 3.5 / 5Overall Manliness -  3.5 / 5Judges Comments:

• "Too much butter in the icing . . . delicious cake."
• "Best cake of the bunch."
• "Did not cause me to immediately sprout a mustache. May need more guns."

Baker's Comments:

I love it when I get a chance to smuggle beer into my baking. This cake had a lovely texture, crumb, and a perfect chocolate flavour. The smell of the stout really hugged the cupcake, but the taste wasn't quite there. Of course, I have yet to figure out how to get a really bold beer flavour out of my baked goods (please someone tell me!). The frosting had an amazing flavour - the texture, however, wasn't quite right. I think it had something to do with the ratio of butter to everything else. I am sad to say I never got to make the whiskey ganache that went with this cupcake - the recipe on the blog link did not include directions, and I had to stay true to the recipe. Next time, though, that whiskey ganache is mine!

Now that we've seen the point break down, lets finally find out WHO'S CUISINE REIGNS SUPREME . . .

Cupcake #1 : 14.5 / 20

Cupcake #2: 11.5 / 20

Cupcake #3: 15.5 / 20

Congratulation to Shaleena of Sweet Catastrophe Cakes!
Your Clint Eastwood Cupcakes are the Manliest Cupcakes of 2011!

Yay you!

To all our finalists - Shaleena, Dez, and Beth - thank you for making this such an amazing contest. Your creativity and cupcakes were all truly off the hook. We had an absolute blast, and I hope everyone out there in blogland did as well. Now, to the good part. The prizes:

• Kriskrop Memories- One dozen cupcake toppers
• The Lunch Box Project - A set of Cupcake Cards
• Cake Wrecks - A personalized copy of Cake Wrecks and a pin pack
• Vanilla Food Company - 1lb of Madagascar vanilla beans for the Grand Prize winner, and a quarter pound for the two runners up
• Bella Cupcake Couture - one pack of Cupcake Wrappers for each of our Finalists
• Drama Llama - a handmade woven and mustachioed pouch
• Freaky Fleece - a drawstring Mustache bag
• Petite Pastries - a handmade cupcake charm
• Miss Kitty Creations - a special edition Tuxedo Cupcake Charm
• Scoop-n-Save - A Manly Movember Prize pack, including sprinkles, disco dust, cupcake liners, cookie cutter, and chocolate molds
• Whodini Handmade - A mustachioed vinyl wallet
  

I will be emailing you and the sponsors  to get the gravy train moving. If the finalists could email me your addresses preemptively, that would help get everything to you much quicker. YAY FREE STUFF!

Much love to all our prize sponsors, everyone who entered, and everyone who set eyes on our blog during the month of November. You really made the Movember Foundation proud! Remember, only 365 days until the Next Manly Cupcake Contest! You better get planning, because we sure are!