It’s a Chocolate Adventure Contest brought to you by Scharffen Berger Chocolate and Tuttfoodie. And this year it’s centered around cupcakes. Yippee!
Anyone can enter and the more the merrier. For me anyway, because I get to be one of the judges. That means I get to taste lots of your yummy creations… if you enter. Please enter. I’d love for one of you to win. By the way – super excited to be in such great company. These guys are amazing.
Chocolate + cupcakes + adventure. I’m so excited to see what people come up with.
To enter, just combine Scharffen Berger artisan chocolate with one or more of 14 adventure ingredients, from saffron to stout beer. Then create a recipe that you think’s a winner. You can submit up to 10 recipes before January 2, 2011. Plenty of time.
There’s lots of prizes, too.
The First Place recipe winner receives:
- $10,000
- A custom selection of Scharffen Berger® chocolates
- The winning recipe in a Food Network Magazine
- The chance to fly to New York York City to distribute the winning cupcake on one of the city’s beloved Sweet Trucks
- The recipe will be featured on chocolateadventurecontest.com, ScharffenBerger.com and TuttiFoodie.com.
The Second Place Recipe Winner receives:
- $7,000
- The winner receives a signed copy of Demolition Desserts by Elizabeth Falkner, Pure Dessert by Alice Medrich, and The Essence of Chocolate, by John Scharffenberger and Robert Steinberg
- A custom selection of Scharffen Berger® chocolates
- The recipe will be featured on chocolateadventurecontest.com, ScharffenBerger.com and TuttiFoodie.com.
The Third Place Recipe Recipe Winner receives:
- $3,000
- The winner receives a signed copy of Demolition Desserts by Elizabeth Falkner, Pure Dessert by Alice Medrich, and The Essence of Chocolate, by John Scharffenberger and Robert Steinberg
- a custom selection of Scharffen Berger® chocolates
- The recipe will be featured on chocolateadventurecontest.com, ScharffenBerger.com and TuttiFoodie.com.
Now for the adventure ingredients:
Stout beer (including oatmeal, chocolate, imperial or any other stout)
Ricotta
Buttermilk
Coconut milk, cream or butter
Saffron
Molasses (light, dark or blackstrap)
Adzuki bean
Fresh beet
Sweetened condensed milk
Chili pepper (fresh or whole dried)
Bee pollen
Meyer lemon
Almond flour
Sumatra coffee beans
Don’t be scared. Remember you just need one adventure ingredient along with your choice of Scharffen Berger chocolate in your recipe. But more if you like.
Hope you are adventurous and decide to play. If you do, which ingredient calls to you?
Visit the Chocolate Adventure Contest Website for all the details and how to enter.
Scharffen Berger should definitely check out Chockylit’s blog because she uses Scharffen Berger often and she has great recipes for many of these up already. :)
How did I miss this post before? I’m not great at coming up with unique recipes but this is great incentive to give it a try!
How old do you have to be?? I’m ten.
Oh i can’t wait.
Hi! it’s really a shame only US citizens can join, I hope there is another contest soon where we can all join in! I have the best cupcake recipe that includes fresh beet!!!
Patricia, 22
Caracas, Venezuela
FUN! I miss getting fun recipes to try on this site though..
I also want to participate. I live in Spain. Where can I find this brand of chocolate? Many immigration in advance of your reply. Mglòria from Gourmenderies
Arghhhhhhh being Canadian BLOWS! ….. just kidding :P
You are on a judging panel with Elizabeth Falkner?!?! Great coogly moogly, that’s flippin’ wonderful!
I’m totally entering this. I’m thinking adzuki bean just might have a natural affinity for white choc. Maybe.
Thanks so much for posting contests on your site, otherwise I’d never hear about anything. :-)
Wow, fresh beet… That’s a brain-teaser. I guess the real challenge is in the ingredients.
For once I wish I lived in the States!! Lol! Good luck to all those that enter!
Hi Bakerella,
I just bought your Cake Pops book and I am loving it…!!! Will try some of the ideas soon :). By the way, am I eligible to participate in this competition? I am based in Germany. Thank you in advance for your response!
It’s such a shame that only US-citizens can enter. I live in Belgium and I really wanted to enter. I’ve got some lovely ideas with ricotta and sweetened consensed milk. Oh well; I sure hope they come up with a similar contest in Europe soon! :-(
So Yana; you cannot enter :-( Where are you from?
Oh i would LOVE to enter, but i live in Europe. Is it possible to join????
I got so many idea playing in my head now=D
I would love to give this a go but i don’t know if I can as I live in Australia, is there anyway i can enter? thanks!
Dear creative Bakarella,
Finally I got your wonderful book I bought before it went on sale in one of these stores who make deliveries worldwide.
I write from Catalonia, a small region in southern Europe.
I invite you to know my blog is written in Catalan but at the top of the blog is a translator.
What envy to see all those people queuing because they signed the book, no doubt if I lived in the U.S. I would now my signed copy for you, and even a photo with you.
I see that you create furor, and it is no closer to this whole new world of cake pops. I made up less than a year had not heard before, and now is something that obsess me! (You already notified your book).
But I have a problem in Spain do not get all these wonderful colors or dyes to melt chocolate candy, and ¿if I use white chocolate drops or simply melted white chocolate and add the dye and basic Wilton americolor? I read your book does not recommend using food coloring but I need an alternative because if I buy the candy melt to U.S. long-distance reach me I do not think in good condition.
I would really like that I can answer the mail that you will find the comment on my blog, to prepare the recipes at home, and bring to light the world bakarella.
Oh! I still waiting a new book from Bakerella!
Mglòria from Gourmenderies
I may be crazy, but I want to try coffee beans AND chili peppers!
great headshot bakerella!!
nice!! what an adventure for you! must be soooo exciting!
I’m definitely doing this
I am SO doing this!
This contest is super-exciting. I definitely want to enter, but I’m so inexperienced that I’m a little confused about what constitutes an original recipe. I mean, the base recipe for cupcake batter can only go in so many different directions.
Could anyone suggest a good guide out there for understanding the difference between copying and an original recipe?
OHHH! PLEASE open it to Canadians!!!
Hi Angie!
I only just found out about your blog today, but I’ve scrolled through 19 pages already. I love how you don’t only show us what you’ve made, but tell us exactly how you did it too.
I got extremely inspired by your creations, and I’m definately buying your book.
Please keep up the good work, it’s a shame if such a creative mind like yours got lost.
Love,
Glyn.
(god do I sound like a suckup or what? But you truly are inspiring!)
Wish I could participate, but I’m from and in Canada, so I can’t!
Next time maybe ! :(
Oh my gosh I LOVE Elisabeth Falkner. Congratulations to you for all the great things that are popping up for you! How exciting!
I absolutely love ricotta in anything…adding to a cupcake would be genius! I just might try it!! Thanks for the heads up on the exciting contest!!!
I have to try this out!!!!
@Denise, I don’t know about Hershey’s buying Scharffen Berger, but I had some of their chocolate the other day, and it definitely does NOT taste anything like a standard Hershey’s bar. Hope that helps :]
I might have to give this a try. I’ve never really created my own recipe except when I accidentally messed up something and had to fix it. This sounds simple enough and there’s lots of time to think about it and practice.
Thanks for this opportunity and all your inspiration, Bakerella! I’m sooooo entering this – Coconut milk sounds like a grrrrreat combo. Ooooh, and chili powder… and I have almond flour/meal from my macaron phase. Eeek Bakerella, you are the reason I have so much stuff in my baking pantry… =)
I have a question… I read yesterday that Hershey’s bought Scharffen Berger in 2005 and now makes all of this line in their Pennsylvania plant. Does that mean that Scharffen Berger now has the plasticy taste of a Hershey’s bar? We live in New Mexico, which means we’ve never had the pleasure of Scharffen Berger chocolate. I was hoping to order some of their baking products for holiday baking, but will avoid it if it has the Hershey’s taste.
beets are calling out to me!
Well, I’m a US resident but not talented enough for any competition… but thats another longer story.
I just want to say that you are AWESOME and hope that you are very proud of yourself. Ive been reading for several months now and you have done great things. Keep up all the good work and keep loving what you do. You are amazing!
One of the many that are sad to not live in the United States.
Good luck to everyone who enters though :)
Neat contest! I’m Canadian though :(
I’d love to enter, such a shame that it’s only open to US residents.
Is this competition open to Australian residents???
Sounds so fun and adventurous and I want to enter.
This looks like super fun!
amazing that saffron was on the list, had that in my head before I even scrolled down and saw it..hehe
Totally going to do this. Because…after all…when all is said and done…we eat chocolate cupcakes! One of those win/win things!
Great contest. Can’t wait to give this a try and come up with some fun recipes using those adventure ingredients!
YAY!! Love this contest! Thanks for sharring it! The Almond flour, coconut milk, molasses and ricotta are all calling my name right now!
Oooooohhh, bee pollen sounds incredibly interesting! I just might go for it!
hmmmm this is right up my alley. :)
eeeee, this sounds like so much fun!! Thanks for the heads up of the excuse to play with chocolate and cupcakes! (and congrats on being a judge!)
Too bad I’m no good at food chemistry — CREATE a recipe? Too hard. But I already have the world’s most awesome chocolate cupcake recipe, and it does include one of those ingredients. I didn’t create the recipe, though, just found it.
I already have four recipes jotted down. What a fun list of adventurous ingredients.
This contest has inspired me! I have a lot of work to do before then, since I live in a dorm, and therefore don’t have an oven, but I will be a baking fiend over thanksgiving and christmas break :] Also, the chance to impress you, Bakerella, and Elizabeth Faulkner practically brings tears to my eyes. You ladies inspire me every day, and push me to follow my imagination and creativity. I hope you like the recipes I end up sending in!
I already have an action plan for recipe development. This is going to be awesome.
Finally a contest that gives you TIME to develop a real recipe! Thank you!!! So it has to be cupcakes? It doesn’t actually, ya know, say that in the rules. I love the ingredient list. I’m inspired!
Can I be a judge? Please…please…. I love chocolate!
I cant wait I love making chocolate cupcakes but i am always up for a challenge so I want to see how well I will be able to tackle a hard ingredient. I read the rules but am a little confused are we allowed to enter up to 10 recipes. And will other people be making them to taste test?
adzuki beans? i’m all over that. i’m reallyyyy considering entering this and i don’t have much experience creating my own recipes.. sounds like a fun project!!
Wow – this sounds so awesome! I have never entered a baking/cooking contest before. Well, I think it’s time. Yea chocolate ?
OMG. I am so entering this! I already have ideas buzzing around in my head. I’ll be ordering the chocolate and the adventure ingredients here soon! Just another excuse to spoil my friends!
i think coconut cream and almond flour are calling my name! so cool!
I’m tyring to figure out how “sweetened condensed milk” is adventurous? I have a feeling whoever chose that one doesn’t live south of the Mason Dixon line ;-)
I think chocolate, ricotta, and coffee beans sound like a heavenly combination!
I love the adventure ingredients! I can see several natural pairings, the trick is going to be something really unexpected. Fun!
Oh wow, you get to judge with Alice Medrich? The chocolate goddess!! So jealous!
I would totally play with the Sumatra Coffee Beans for my entry. Nothing speaks to my soul like coffee, chocolate, and cupcakes…
What a wonderful opportunity! I’m definitely entering. Thanks! :-)
Sadly we can’t enter in Canada, but I might attempt it with another type of chocolate just to play around. Beer and ricotta sound like a lovely addition to a dark chocolate cupcake.
My fiance and I are entering! We’re really looking forward to it : )
Dang it! It’s not open to us Canadians :'(
Oooooh neat! I wish this was a cookie contest! I would SO be there
Hope you’re getting in the mood to have a cake pop contest…..THAT, I would enter, ha, ha.
Enjoy being a judge with those other cool folks – you’ll be AbFAB!
I’m SOOO entering YAY this is so exciting!!!!
This contest looks like fun!
P.S. Check out my blog, http://www.whatchafixin.com- I paid tribute to bakerella’s amazing cake balls by making variations of them (like cookie balls)
Can I move to the US for a weekend (after I perfect my recipe of course)? I’d love to be able to enter.
Boooo – for not allowing Canada to enter
Where is the recipe for the featured cupcake? It looks amazing!
Boo, I can’t enter :-( I was so excited when I saw this, started coming up with ideas, but the rules say you have to live in the US. Such a shame.
The Meyer lemon sings to me! One of my very favorite candies is Fannie May’s lemon cream and I am inspired!
What cupcake is that in the image at the top? I’d love to buy or make it!!
Since Sharffenberger is now owned by the Hershey company I think I’ll pass. PS they have plans to close the Berkeley plant, it is only time before they ruin the brand
What fun! I’d be happy winning the selection of chocolates and Elizabeth Faulkner’s cookbook alone! Of course the money wouldn’t hurt…
Anyone who is using a stout should check out left hand milk stout. I am not entering the contest, but it is delicious beer so I can imagine it would make a great cupcake. The only stout that I would actually consider making a beer float out of.
Sarah – YES you can use SCHARFFEN BERGER cocoa powder. ANY of our products can be used (and counted) in the contest. Looking forward to your adventurous recipe!
Anna Lingeris; Public Relations Manager for Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker
I’m definitely thinking Meyer lemon! I have a fantastic idea that came to me as soon as I saw this!
The bee pollen is calling out to me or the coconut milk
whoever manages to fit bee pollen in their cupcake should win by default.
this sounds like so much fun! and who doesn’t want an excuse to eat and bake tons of chocolate cupcakes?
Oh wow, congratulations on being one of the lucky judges who get to indulge!! I’d love to participate in this contest!
We can use more than 1, correct? Sounds like a fun challange!!!
This sounds fuuuunnnn!!! Can’t wait to give it a go :)
What fun! This is a Chocolate Adventure!
I just read the rules and this contest is only open to US residents…boohoo for me!
I would pick the chili pepper or the coffee beans. Both flavour work well with chocolate! Now for the chocolate, does anyone know if I can I buy it in Canada?
what a fun contest, especially for judging!
what a group of prestigious judges!
wow bakerella…kudos to you!
Oh dear. I would give anything to judge that contest!
Adzuki bean would be my choice if i entered. The contest sounds so amazing.. I wanna enter!! Just for the adventure though, don’t have much experience in this.. :)
cool contest,..
Oh I love this contest! I have the most deliciously amazing cupcake recipe using an organic Chocolate-Habanero stout. I’ll have to procure some chocolate from the company and practice/ perfect the recipe.
What a fantastic adventure and prize. Would most likely use the chocolate stout, for chocolatey stout cupcakes, they are soooo good! My husband loves when I make them!
I love it! I may take a chance…!
Scharffen Berger Rocks! They were so awesome to us last weekend at Blogher Food. And the cupcakes they had out were amazing. Hope you have a super time in Chicago..unfortunately I wont be able to make it :( boohoo. Try breakfast at Ann Sathers….their cinnamon rolls are to die for!
Molasses. I love it. This contest is something to think about. Tempting
buzzzzzzzz… bee pollen! how random. :) what a fun opportunity!
is the chocolate only available online??
Can the ScharffenBerger cocoa powder be used as their chocolate ingredient? Or does it have to be the Baking bars or chunks. Thanks!
Oh yes! I am definitely entering this! Uh-huh! I have some fabulous recipes I have been tinkering with for chocolate cupcakes including some of these ingredients already!
I’m disappointed by the lack of bacon in the adventure ingredients.
very tempting…and i can sure use the money!!
I almost made it out to Costa Mesa to see you…was gonna hand deliver a tempering unit to you (still would love to see your creative ideas if you got your hands on one)…but life got crazy.
Some of the adventure ingredients aren’t very adventurous…I use chili pepper in my chocolate all the time! I think I would want to attempt the saffron though.
Hmmmm… I may take a chance @ this… Almond flour sounds interesting along with a few others…
oooooooo – fun! I can probably handle buttermilk.