I am so happy that the first month of the Mystery Box Cupcake Challenge was such a success!  In case you missed it, the mystery ingredient was tea, and the cupcakes that were created were all fantastic!

This is our second month of the challenge, which means I will now be announcing a new mystery ingredient.  I will also welcome back some of our prize sponsors, and introduce a couple of new ones, so let’s get to it!

The Mystery Box Cupcake Challenge ingredient for August 2010 is:

WHITE CHOCOLATE!

This is a food that I think is often overlooked, as most everywhere you look you can see regular brown chocolate – milk, semisweet, dark, unsweetened and flavored.  White chocolate isn’t quite as popular, but if you can get a good quality bar of real white chocolate then it is absolutely delicious.

My tip:  Do aim to use the best quality white chocolate you can find/afford, as it will give you the best-tasting result.  Make sure to read the ingredients and choose a bar that uses a high percentage of real cocoa butter – over 30% would be fantastic.

Please take note that the email address associated with this competition has changed from last month to mysteryboxcc@gmail.com.

The winner of August’s Mystery Box Cupcake Challenge will receive prizes from:

• Bake It Pretty; a $5 electronic gift card
• Beanilla; 3 Indian + 3 Tahitian vanilla beans & a jar of Ground Vanilla
  
• CT2Designs; a handmade cupcake ring
• Miss Kitty Creations; a handmade cupcake charm of your choice
• Sweet Cuppin Cakes; a prize pack worth $25

Thank you to all our prize sponsors!

Bake It Pretty, the cutest online shop for all your baking needs, will be donating a $5 electronic gift card every month for the winner of this competition.

At Beanilla you can find 8 different types of Grade A whole vanilla beans (Grade A is the highest possible quality grade for vanilla) and a wide variety of other vanilla products.  Beanilla will be donating some of their unique vanilla products every month for the winner of this competition; August’s winner will receive a package of:

* 3 Indian vanilla beans
Indian vanilla beans are very similar to Madagascar vanilla. These gourmet grade vanilla beans are HUGE and contain a very large abundance of seeds. Many will contest that the sweet woodsy flavor profile of these beans are superior to that of the Bourbon-Madagascar variety. India is fast emerging as a major vanilla producer and vanilla beans cultivated in some parts of India are of the world’s best! You will not find such high quality vanilla from India anywhere else. We take great pride in being able to offer such wonderful beans.

* 3 Tahitian vanilla beans
Tahitian Vanilla beans are generally shorter, plumper, and contain a much higher oil and water content than Bourbon beans. The aroma is flowery, fruity and anisic with a smooth flavor. They are often described as smelling like licorice, cherries, or wine. Gourmet and pastry chefs love to work with the Tahitensis variety, which is perfect for many applications. Our Tahitian Beans are A-Grade and will suit all your baking needs.

* and a jar of Ground Vanilla Beans
Made from 100% Certified Organic finely ground Indonesian Vanilla Beans. Indonesian pure ground vanilla is sweet with a unique woody flavor that is rich and creamy. Ground vanilla beans can be used to add visual appeal and flavor to ice cream and baked goods. Ground vanilla can also be used as a substitute for vanilla extract in many recipes. We use only premium whole vanilla beans and not post-extracted vanilla beans to make this ground vanilla. Pure ground vanilla should not be confused with our Vanilla Powder, which contains dextrose and is entirely different.

Cindy from Etsy shop CT2Designs will be donating a cupcake ring for this month only.  This adorable ring is made from sterling silver that has been buffed and oxidized for texture.  Check out Cindy’s shop for more beautiful handmade jewelry.

On my blog, I recently reviewed some cupcake charms created by Wendie of Miss Kitty Creations – I really liked them because of how realistic they look and their fantastic smell.  Wendie has happily agreed to donate one of her handmade cupcake charms to the winner of this competition each month.  The winner will be asked to choose any one cupcake available at Wendie’s website.

Some of you may be familiar with Sweet Cuppin Cakes, as this online shop was a prize sponsor for Iron Cupcake: Earth.  Sweet Cuppin Cakes will be donating a $25 prize pack of baking-related goodies every month to the winner of this competition.

• Only one entry per person.
• You have until the 20th of the month to bake a cupcake based on the Mystery Box ingredient, WHITE CHOCOLATE.  Post your baking story, photos and recipes on your blog (posting your recipe is optional).
• Provide a link to the Mystery Box Cupcake Challenge information page somewhere in your post.
• Provide links to the prize sponsors for this month in your post by copying and pasting the code below into the HTML of your post (you may edit and style the code, as long as the links to the prize sponsors remain intact):

<strong>The winner of August’s Mystery Box Cupcake Challenge will receive prizes from:</strong>
<ul>
<li><strong><a href="http://www.bakeitpretty.com">Bake It Pretty</a>; $5 electronic gift card</strong></li>
<li><strong><a href="http://www.beanilla.com">Beanilla</a>; <a href="http://www.beanilla.com/indian-vanilla-beans-p-97.html">3 Indian</a> + <a href="http://www.beanilla.com/tahitian-vanilla-beans-p-41.html">3 Tahitian</a> vanilla beans & a jar of <a href="http://www.beanilla.com/ground-vanilla-beans-organic-p-133.html">Ground Vanilla</a></strong></li>
<li><strong><a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/CT2Designs">CT2Designs</a>; a <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/50004541/cupcake-ring-sweet-little-treat">cupcake ring</a></strong></li>
<li><strong><a href="http://www.misskittycreations.com/">Miss Kitty Creations</a>; a <a href="http://www.misskittycreations.com/cupcakes.html">cupcake charm</a> of your choice</strong></li>
<li><strong><a href="http://www.acupcakery.com">Sweet Cuppin Cakes</a>; a prize pack worth $25</strong></li>
</ul>
<strong>Thank you to all our prize sponsors!</strong>

• After you have done all the above, email me at mysteryboxcc@gmail.com, subject line “Mystery Box – White Chocolate”, with the following information – be sure these details are correct as I will be using them on the voting page/poll:

* Your name or nickname
* Link to your entry post
* Name and description of your cupcake
* An attachment with one photo (or two if showing the inside) of your cupcake, no larger than 800x600px

• Read the Mystery Box Cupcake Challenge information page for full details.

That’s it!  Be sure to come back after the 21st of the month to see all the entries and vote for your favorite!  Thank you so much for your participation!

* Thank you to Lisa Orgler for the white chocolate drawing!