Coffee cupcakes from the Ice Cream Cupcake Contest

I was recently asked to be one of the judges for Cupcake Project and Scoopalicious‘s 2011 Ice Cream Cupcake Contest. As a judge, I had to pick my three favorites out of a field of 60 entries and it was a tough job! I definitely wanted to choose more than just a handful, so I thought I’d take the opportunity to spotlight the two coffee-infused entries to the contest here. They were only slightly edged out of the top three (based on my very scientific judging process), but that doesn’t mean that they look any less delicious. The one pictured about is a Cappuccino Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Cupcake from Elizabeth of A Girl In Her Kitchen. It has a chocolate cupcake with cappuccino Chocolate Chip ice cream and is topped with Whipped Cream and a chocolate covered coffee bean. Another caffeinated entry came in the form of some Chocolate Cherry Mocha Delight Cupcakes by Alana (no blog given). These chocolate cherry cupcakes were like mini ice cream sundaes, topped with coffee ice cream and chocolate syrup. The final coffee-infused cupcakes were the Sunken, Crackle–Top Mocha Cupcakes with Toasted Pistachio Gelato and Burnt Caramel Drizzle by Leah of Wine Imbiber. These decadent cupcakes have a generous dose of Kahlua in them and that little bit of coffee flavor makes the cake base even richer.

Check out my other top picks and you’ll probably get some inspiration for coffee-spiced cupcakes of your own (I know I did!).