VIDEO: Christina Smith reacts to winning the Amateur Division of the Fantasy Cupcake Challenge.
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Christina Smith may want to rethink her day job.
The bubbly blonde accountant and mother of three boys recently took home a first place prize of $750 in the amateur division of the Third Annual Fantasy Springs Cupcake Challenge on Nov. 16 at the casino’s Special Events Center.
“Baking is my way of being creative,” says Smith, who was originally just going to attend the event after a friend emailed her about it, but her family encouraged her to enter.
“I bake cupcakes, 3D cakes and special occasion cakes for friends and family,” she adds. “I’ve made hundreds of them. It’s an outlet that I need.”
The Riverside resident's 5-year-old son, Oliver, inspired her winning creation, “Cupcake Zero”. Oliver’s choice includes a mix of lemon and blueberry perfection, which his Mom describes as, “My lush lemon cake with blueberry sauce.”
Ingredients include:
• Homemade lemon cake
• Whole fresh blueberries with a sugar and a bit of apple juice for the sauce
• Whipped meringue
• Candied blueberry topping gives it some crunch
Oliver’s choice, it seems, was not just a family favorite but also a hit with the event’s cupcake aficionados. In fact, at the end of the competition, not one “Cupcake Zero” could be found. Someone had even “stolen” the blueberry from Smith’s entry on the Fantasy Cupcake Challenge’s main display table.
Both professional and non-professional bakers competed to win cash prizes with the proceeds from guest attendance benefitting the Well in the Desert, a non-profit organization that provides meals to those affected by poverty throughout the Coachella Valley.
The crowd was treated to a sugar lover’s dream in a haze of banana, granache, coconut, praline, pineapple, sherbet, chai and many other creative confections to delight. Festive live music, champagne tasting, and passed hors d’eurves set the tone for the “party” where both attendees and “celebrity judges” took bites to determine the day’s best of the best.
Third Annual Fantasy Cupcake Challenge Winners:
Amateur Division: Christina Smith with “Cupcake Zero”
Professional Division: Cakes Come True Bakery with their “Welcome Home Sweet Potato Pie”
People’s Choice Award: Evonne Reed and her “Banana Split Cupcake”
Most Creative Booth: Kiersten Taylor displaying “Succulent Chocolate Pecan”
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