Archive: Around Town

Zoe Dubrow receiving Grand Prize in the 4th Annual Ithaca Cupcake Baking Contest Zoe Dubrow’s 'Cup(cakes) of Tea'
Zoe Dubrow won the Grand Prize in the 4th Annual Ithaca Cupcake Baking Contest held in the Ithaca Commons Saturday October 19. Her "Cup(cakes) of Tea" were made of Earl Grey cake layered with fall flower honey cheesecake and honeyed lemon curd inside of an Earl Grey-infused white chocolate tea cup. The cupcakes were garnished with a candied lemon slice and a frosted Earl Grey shortbread tea bag cookie.

It was the second year in a row that Dubrow captured first place in the contest. Last year she took home the Grand Prize with her "Strawberry Surprise Cupcakes" that contained a cored whole strawberry filled with salted butterscotch. The concoctions were topped by a brown sugar cream cheese frosting, decorated with a chocolate fan, sliced strawberry, mint leaves, and a mini chocolate strawberry macaron.

Ann Phelan won second place this year with her "Toasty Campfire Cupcakes," consisting of chocolate cupcakes with Graham Cracker crust topped with marshmallow-like frosting. Jennifer Dobmeier won third place with her "I Love Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes." The pumpkin spice cupcakes were filled with expresso mascarpone, and topped with pumpkin spice vanilla frosting and a white chocolate coffee cup lid. This year's Youth Award went to Takoda Warner for her vegan cupcakes made with fig and rosemary pound cake topped by a vegan white chocolate flower.

The contest was organized by The Sophie Fund, established in memory of Cornell University art student Sophie Hack MacLeod to support mental health initiatives aiding young people in the greater Ithaca community.

This year's event, which saw a record 66 contestants, was sponsored by Natural Foods Market, Alternatives Federal Credit Union, and Cayuga Medical Center.

"Once again, we are blown away by the incredible effort and amazing results that Ithaca's bakers bring to the contest," said Susan Hack, a co-founder of The Sophie Fund. "We truly thank everyone for joining the cause and also helping us shine a spotlight on the importance of mental health for the young people in our community."

Final-round judging was conducted by Caylee Leininger, of GreenStar Natural Foods Market; Racquel Riccardi, of Sinfully Delicious Baking Co.; and Ashley Case of Case Sera Sera. Local mental health organizations were on hand to participate in the contest and share information with the public, including the Advocacy Center of Tompkins County, the Mental Health Association of Tompkins County, the Suicide Prevention and Crisis Service, and the Tompkins County Bullying Prevention Task Force.

The contest was supported by volunteers from Active Minds at Ithaca College, Active Minds at Ithaca High School, and several student organizations at Cornell University, including: Alpha Phi Omega Gamma Chapter service fraternity; Phi Sigma Pi honor fraternity; Cornell Minds Matter; the Pre-Professional Association Towards Careers in Health, and Mortar Board Der Hexenkreis Senior Honor Society.

"We're so happy to be here again," said Cornell Minds Matter President Chelsea Kiely in remarks during the awards ceremony. "We organize about 300 events a semester, mental health programming, breaking the stigma. Working with The Sophie Fund has been so important to us. They have been super instrumental in starting some of the mental health changes at Cornell."

Another highlight of the event was performances by artists supporting The Sophie Fund: Joe Gibson, Josh Dolan, Ginny Maddock and Jacob Close, Hannah Martin and Emmett Scott. OA— Nellia and Savannah, "Singing Notes and Slinging Jokes," with Elbonee La'Trece Stevenson and Kenneth McLaurin, and Kitana Scofflaw. Once again, the contest was produced by Mickie Quinn.

1st Prize
Zoe Dubrow
2nd Prize
Ann Phelan
3rd Prize
Jennifer Dobmeier
Youth Award
Takoda Warner
Honorable Mention
Active Minds at Ithaca High School Rachel Allison
Akiko Cliteur
Kate Bagnell
Erica Brath Heather Williams

Special Awards
Madely Myers
Natalie McCaskill-Myers Faith Heath
Monica Lee Cotto
Kelsey Pipkin
Audrey Greene
Veronica Fitzpatrick
Mary Sever-Schoonmaker Ashley Bacalso & Shiang Chin Kyra O’Toole
Violet Zoner

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