8th grade (2nd Block) has had a very exciting week competing in the first annual Cupcake Wars. Monday the class watched an episode of Cupcake Wars. They observed baking techniques professional bakers use in the kitchen as well as teamwork, decorating, flavor combinations, and time management. After watching the episode, students were given four different cupcake recipes and frosting recipes to choose as a base for their cupcakes. They were told the theme (Thanksgiving) as well as the secret ingredient (candy corn). The secret ingredient had to be in either the cupcake or the frosting, their choice. The four teams planned specific jobs for group members to make sure everyone had something to contribute to the competition.
Wednesday was day one of competition, which consisted of baking the cupcakes and preparing the frosting. The cupcake recipes were based off of boxed cake mixes, with other extra ingredients added in, such as pumpkin, sour cream, and cinnamon. The frosting was made completely from scratch!
Today, Friday, was the final day of the competition. Students were given 30 min in the kitchen to decorate their cupcakes and plate them for the judges. Mr. Miller, Mrs. Woodrum, Mr. Bryant, and Mr. Gheen were our esteem judges. The judges got to walk around the kitchen to observe the teams decorating their cupcakes. Judges were watching for teamwork skills, as this was a part of the judging process.
Once the 30 minutes was complete, the teams presented their cupcakes to the judges. The judges used a rubric consisting of these four things to judge the cupcakes: teamwork observed in the decorating process, taste of cake, taste of icing, use of special ingredient (candy corn), and presentation of cupcake. It was a very tough decision!! All four teams presented some very visually appealing and tasty cupcakes, but the Cupcake Queens came out on top of the competition with their Vanilla Cupcakes and Cinnamon Buttercream frosting!! Congratulations to Alexis Minnick, Amanda Aponte, Laurel Simmons, and Chloe Crawford!!
Although there could only be one Cupcake War winner, all teams competed with grace and maturity today. The cupcakes they presented were all yummy enough to be seen in a bakery's display case. Good job today ladies!!!
Wednesday was day one of competition, which consisted of baking the cupcakes and preparing the frosting. The cupcake recipes were based off of boxed cake mixes, with other extra ingredients added in, such as pumpkin, sour cream, and cinnamon. The frosting was made completely from scratch!
Today, Friday, was the final day of the competition. Students were given 30 min in the kitchen to decorate their cupcakes and plate them for the judges. Mr. Miller, Mrs. Woodrum, Mr. Bryant, and Mr. Gheen were our esteem judges. The judges got to walk around the kitchen to observe the teams decorating their cupcakes. Judges were watching for teamwork skills, as this was a part of the judging process.
Once the 30 minutes was complete, the teams presented their cupcakes to the judges. The judges used a rubric consisting of these four things to judge the cupcakes: teamwork observed in the decorating process, taste of cake, taste of icing, use of special ingredient (candy corn), and presentation of cupcake. It was a very tough decision!! All four teams presented some very visually appealing and tasty cupcakes, but the Cupcake Queens came out on top of the competition with their Vanilla Cupcakes and Cinnamon Buttercream frosting!! Congratulations to Alexis Minnick, Amanda Aponte, Laurel Simmons, and Chloe Crawford!!
Although there could only be one Cupcake War winner, all teams competed with grace and maturity today. The cupcakes they presented were all yummy enough to be seen in a bakery's display case. Good job today ladies!!!