When you think about the flavors of fall, what dishes or ingredients come to mind? For me, the fall season isn't complete without enjoying a caramel apple. A sweet yet slightly tart apple dipped in buttery, sticky caramel on a stick captures not only the flavors of fall but the memories I have growing up enjoying the season. With that in mind, the caramel apple became the inspiration for these Caramel Apple Spice Cupcakes. These are not just any plain old cupcakes though. Oh no... these are the cupcakes that I submitted to a local cooking contest through Artizone Chicago, an online grocery food delivery service in Chicago. Artizone.com is Chicagoland's only grocery delivery company from local, specialty food shops. With over 35 vendors in its online marketplace, Artizone.com delivers the freshest ingredients to your door from the best artisanal food creators. The contest itself was simple too...  

So I signed up, went with the Baked Goods (Sweets) category and awaited my 'secret ingredient Theme Box' to work with. I soon received a lovely box filled with beautiful Granny Smith Apples and some Chinese Five Spice Powder...

I was thrilled with the secret ingredients I got to work with and it wasn't hard combining these two ingredients - Granny Smith Apples and Chinese Five Spice powder - to create some delicious. The question was what could I make that would highlight these two items cohesively? I have a soft spot for cupcakes, simply because I enjoy taking familiar flavors and packing them into a portable treat in cupcake form. So why not make my favorite flavor of fall - the caramel apple - into a cupcake? Using the Chinese Five Spice Powder to make a spice cake batter, I finely chopped the apples and folded them in. The batter was then divided into a lined muffin pan, baked and then topped with a luscious buttercream frosting before garnishing with a salted caramel drizzle...
I uploaded a picture of my cupcakes onto the Artizone Facebook page and crossed my fingers that I got some support from family and friends who voted for my entry. The contest continued for over 2 weeks where all entries racked in votes. Then the day came and it was announced that I made it into the final round with two other contestants!
Last night I attended the final showdown where four judges tasted our entries. Quite a few people came out and my personal cheering section included The Baron and my little man, Joel. Both of them were pretty excited to see me representing my Caramel Apple Spice Cupcakes in front of a large crowd. Joel was especially proud of me since he often would shout out, 'That's my mommy! That's my mommy!" while I was presenting my cupcakes to the judges and speaking with the emcee. The crowd was so great and it was such a lovely evening over delicious food and drinks...