Chocolate lavender, mango, salted caramel, peanut butter with raspberry frosting -- those were some of the delicious offerings at Cupcake Camp TO on Sunday.
The second annual event, which sold out in advance, brought together cupcake bakers and cupcake eaters for an afternoon of sugary, buttery indulgence in support of Daily Bread Food Bank. CityLine.ca spoke with organizer Monica Fitzpatrick about the event, which has its roots in San Francisco.
"Cupcake Camp was started in San Francisco about two years ago by a
group of people and they thought it'd be a really good idea to bring
together cupcake enthusiasts," she explains. "Cupcake Camp is based on a bar camp or a demo camp, and instead of ideas being presented, it's actually
cupcakes. What will happen here at Cupcake Camp TO is every 15 minutes
we'll be presenting cupcakes. For today it's going to be about 15, 16
dozen every 15 minutes."
This year's event was held at art gallery 52 McCaul, and despite the unusually warm weather the bakers and eaters in attendance were quite clearly enjoying the platters of treats as they emerged. Fitzpatrick explains that the inaugural Toronto event was a bit chaotic, so to keep things under control this year tickets were sold in advance. In all, there were 40 bakers, 175 tasters, and close to 2,000 cupcakes.
"We have S'mores cupcakes, we have some Elvis fans so there's a Skinny
Elvis and a Fat Elvis, we've got some gluten-free and vegan, one that
I'm really excited about is Bourbon Caramel Pecan, it's a vegan,
gluten-free one, it's delicious. Chocolates, vanillas, some Red
Velvets," Fitzpatrick says.
"We've also got a mix of professional and amateur bakers. We encourage the hobby bakers to come on out."
There was also a friendly competition for bakers who wanted to enter their creations to be considered -- the three judges had to choose between a few dozen entrants, including a cake shaped like a burger, a strawberry daiquiri cupcake in a chocolate cocktail glass, and a cake housed in a flower pot, decorated with gummy worms and a lollipop flower.
As for what Fitzpatrick hoped to see at the event? One thing. "[People] eating. Hopefully eating a lot."
For more about Cupcake Camp TO, visit their website.