And the winner is.....
So who won the 2015 National Cupcake Champions, well it wasn't me but it was a fantastic lady called Helen Bollen who run's Mrs B's Cakes in Wiltshire.  Her delicious sounding Spiced Apple and Blackberry cupcake stole the show and she was delighted to take the crown.

Mrs Bollen said: "I am absolutely trilled beyond words to win this. It is something I have been working towards for the last four years and it is going to mean so much to my business".

The 2015 Cupcake Champion and Category Winners

The Cupcakes after Judging

My Experience of the Day...
I had a fantastic time at the event. The finals took place on Monday, 14th September at British Bakels in Bicester. There were 60 finalists and it was so lovely to meet them, and the sponsors, while chatting about cake. Everyone was who I met was lovely, and a big shout out to Michelle Alles of Fab Fairies and Wicked Tarts, Yvonne Donald of Kake and Cupkakery, as well as Hester Sabery from The Cake Couture.

Chocolate Masterclass

As part of the day we were also treated to two chocolate masterclasses from sponsor Barry Callebaut. I use Barry Callebaut belgian chocolate all the time (it is delicious) and it was wonderful to be shown different techniques for creating fantastic chocolate desserts and how to temper using a microwave.

Lovely Chocolate Products

At the end of the day we all left with huge smiles on our faces no matter where we had come and a wonderful Barry Callebaut chocolate goodie bag.

Treats made during the masterclass

 My view on the competition....
It was the first time I had ever really entered my cakes into a 100% baking competition. I make cakes for a living and I love creating them for my clients. However, the world of baking competitions is completely different.  I have entered wedding cake competitions and business competitions, I am used to them and know what to expect, I have even won a few of the those. But cake baking competitions, wow, the are scary and I was unbelievable nervous.

If I did it again, I would put a lot more effort into the decoration. I focused on the taste of the cupcake and didn't think about adding a little pizzazz to the look of it (rookie mistake!). I also realised that while I love baking, my passion really lies in the business side of cake creation.  I find it so interesting listening to other peoples cake business journeys which leads me on to my new venture (wow, this is scary just announcing it). Launching on October 7th 2015, I will be starting a new business to help cake makers realise their dreams of starting their own bakery business, as well as helping cake bakers to fire up their existing business. The new business is called MakeMoneyWithCakes and you can read more about it here.  I am super, super excited about this. 

Me with some of the chocolate from my goodie bag