3rd Annual Great St. Pete Cupcake Contest

Yesterday Max and Jonah's competed in the 3rd Annual Great St. Pete Cupcake Contest! We decided to submit our biggest "fan favorites"--which we determined by making a bunch of mini cupcakes in different flavors, bringing them to our office, allowing our coworkers to try them all and vote for their two favorites.

 Chocolate Obsession (top left) - rich chocolate cake with chocolate mousse frosting, dipped in a chocolate shell and topped with silver sprinkles

Little Lemon Lover (top right) - fluffy white cake with vanilla bean buttercream and a homemade lemon curd piped heart

Irish Coffee (bottom center) - coffee infused cake with Bailey's Irish Cream cream cheese frosting, drizzled with Jameson Whiskey chocolate ganache and topped with a splash of Crème de menthe

 
We ended up submitting the Little Lemon Lovers and the Irish Coffee, as those were our outstanding victors. In total, we made about 400 cupcakes for the contest, between mini and regular sizes. We competed against other professional bakers and had the pleasure of serving our cupcakes to some of the biggest names in the local cupcake and pastry business. In fact, one of the resident pastry chefs at the Don Cesar (who was judging the contest) came back to our booth after the contest was over to tell us how great our cakes were. Actually, all the judges seemed to really enjoy our cakes, only one jerk didn't--that's fine, I don't like his cupcakes either (that's why I never go to his shop..on 4th Street..across from the surf shop..rhymes with Tweet..don't go there)!

There were over 60 competitors and even more cupcakes. Every competitor brought at least one cupcake, but many, like us, entered more. Out of all the fabulous cakes, we did not place. However, we met some great people, learned some new things, made some new fans and kept our old fans happy!

Terrible, blurry iPhone pics (it might be time to invest in a real camera)

Max and Jonah's fully intends on entering the 4th Annual Great St. Pete Cupcake Contest--the only difference is next year, we'll know what to expect and next year, we'll win!

♥A

Introducing Max and Jonah's

Even if you're just a casual reader of Great Domestication, you've probably become familiar with my friend Evan and our love for baking. Well lately something crazy has been happening, people want our cupcakes! It just hit us that with two weddings, two birthday parties and a professional cupcake baking contest on our schedules, this is becoming more than just a hobby.

There is genuine demand for our baked goods. Mind blown.

The contest is just over a week away, meaning Evan and I are scrambling to get things together. We need business cards, table cloths, more cupcake carriers and baking tins.. Oh and a name. A name? Yes, we had to name this, "glorified hobby"of ours. So we looked at our lives and at the things we love. One of the many things we have in common is the love for our dogs, Max and Jonah.

It was easy as that, Max and Jonah's!

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Also, if you're in the Tampa Bay Area next Saturday, please stop by the 3rd Annual Great St. Pete Cupcake Contest at the Morean Arts Center in Downtown St. Pete from 12-3 to show your support for Max and Jonah's and to enjoy our cupcakes! It is FREE to enter and taste the cupcakes but it costs $1 to vote for the People's Choice Award (so bring a few dollar bills to cast a vote for your favorite cupcakes). You can find all the information for this event HERE. We hope to see you next weekend!

♥A