A Cupcake War Breaks Out In The Hudson Valley!

- Hudson Valley Wine Magazine Presents the First Art & Wine-themed Cupcake Challenge; Cupcake Celebrity Alan Richardson to officiate competition -

- Attendees to Vote for Their Favorite Cupcake at the Hudson Valley Art & Wine - A Grand Celebration Friday, May 20 and Saturday, May 21, 2011 -

(NEW YORK, April 20, 2011, Hudson Valley)-Seven finalists in Hudson Valley Wine Magazine's Art & Wine-themed Cupcake Challenge, including the Hudson Valley's best professional bakers and pastry chefs, will face off to find out who makes the Hudson Valley's ultimate cupcake. Their mission: to create an original cupcake recipe using the Hudson Valley wine of their choice as an ingredient-and the cupcake must be decorated in the event's art and wine theme.

The cupcake challenge will take place at the Hudson Valley Art & Wine - A Grand Celebration on Friday, May 20 and Saturday, May 21, 2011, at Lyndhurst in Tarrytown, NY.

Celebrity judge of this all-star cupcake war will be Alan Richardson, the co-author of the New York Times best-selling books, Hello, Cupcake! and What's New, Cupcake? (Houghton Mifflin Company). Appearances on The Martha Stewart Show, The Rachael Ray Show, The Paula Deen Show, The Early Show, and many visits to the TODAY Show have made the authors of these two books America's favorite cupcake celebrities.

Attendees of the event will have an opportunity to judge the tasty submissions from these finalists: Chantilly Patisserie, Bronxville; Cupcakz Unlimited, Saratoga Springs; Cupcake Confessions by Miss V, Poughkeepsie; Little Croc Bakehouse, Dobbs Ferry; Moxie Cupcakes, New Paltz; Three Dogs Gluten-Free Bakery, Briarcliff Manor; and The Cupcake Kitchen, Irvington.

The perfect mix of wine, art, and great taste will make the perfect cupcake. The finalists will use various wines: Warwick Valley Winery's Winston Harlequin Port, Brotherhood Winery's Mariage, Millbrook Vineyards Tocai Fruilano, Hunt Country White and Cabernet Franc and Benmarl Winery's Muscat and Riesling. The artistic renderings include a minimalist use of bold shapes and colors, a delicately airbrushed whipped topping, and an edible artist's palette. Premium ingredients include rich chocolate with sweet port cream and lemon with raspberry coulis made of local Hudson Valley fruit.

Who will be named the best cupcake? Every vote will count!

The cupcake sampling takes place in three sessions: one on Friday and two on Saturday. Attendees will vote on their favorite cupcake in each session-based on originality, taste, and decoration.

The Grand Prize winner of the Cupcake Challenge will receive $250 plus a $250 gift card from The King Arthur Flour Company, the event's participating sponsor, which has been providing America's bakers with the finest-quality flours and baking ingredients since 1790. In addition, the winner will receive a KitchenAid Raspberry Ice 5-quart Artisan� Series Stand Mixer, being introduced in May in celebration of Cook for the Cure's 10th anniversary. The winning recipe will be published in the Summer issue of Hudson Valley Wine Magazine and on its Web site. Each baker will also receive a case of The King Arthur Flour Company's unbleached cake flour.

Other prizes, courtesy of Bella Cupcake Couture, will be given to winners of a random drawing from the ballots submitted by event attendees.

For tickets and event information, visit www.HudsonValleyArtandWine.com or call 518.731.1332.


Alan Richardson:
Alan studied at The Art Student's League and has worked as an art director, a photographer, a book designer, and a writer. In addition to Hello, Cupcake! and What's New, Cupcake? Alan has co-authored The Four Season of Italian Cooking and The Breath of a Wok for which he recei