WTOP Cupcake Contest

The cupcake finalists with Sophie and Katherine from Georgetown Cupcake. (WTOP/Rachel Nania)

WTOP/Rachel Nania

In third place is a Japanese green tea cupcake with a buttercream icing with a hint of jasmine. (WTOP/Rachel Nania)

WTOP/Rachel Nania

In second place is a vanilla buttermilk cake, filled with homemade lemon curd, topped with lemon cream cheese frosting, and then rolled in shredded coconut. Delicious! (WTOP/Rachel Nania)

WTOP/Rachel Nania

The winner is..... "The Scottish Gentleman," a white cake infused with a single malt scotch whisky, topped with a butter/cream cheese orange frosting and garnished with orange zest and an orange flavored chocolate whisky bottle. (WTOP/Rachel Nania)

WTOP/Rachel Nania

The top three cupcakes: A spring cupcake with coconut and lemon, a green tea cupcake and a scotch whiskey cupcake with orange zest. (WTOP/Rachel Nania)

WTOP/Rachel Nania

Katherine and Sophie cut into the top three cupcakes. The finalists were judged on taste, creativity and presentation. (WTOP/Rachel Nania)

WTOP/Rachel Nania

The top three finalists of WTOP's Cupcake Contest stopped by the Glass Enclosed Nerve Center on Tuesday to have their entries judged by Georgetown Cupcake's Katherine and Sophie. (WTOP/Rachel Nania)

WTOP/Rachel Nania

And of course Sophie and Katherine shared their famous cupcakes with the bakers and the newsroom. (WTOP/Rachel Nania)

WTOP/Rachel Nania

A traffic-themed cupcake for the contest. (WTOP/Rachel Nania)

WTOP/Rachel Nania

Fresh pistachios and almonds created this nut-bread style cupcake topped with pistachio-almond buttercream using just a hint of rosewater. The cupcake is garnished with salted crushed pistachios, a slivered almond, a whole pistachio and an apricot flower dotted with an edible gold heart.

A spongy yellow cake lightly soaked with a mixture of coffee and Kahlua and topped with a lightly flavored coffee buttercream.

Cupcakes inspired from the children's book character "Olivia."

Carrot cake cupcake with a maple custard filling, topped with a maple cream cheese frosting and garnished with a white chocolate maple leaf.

Strawberry cheesecake cupcakes.

These are lemon raspberry coconut cupcakes, a fresh summery dessert. The cake is a lemon coconut cake made with lemon zest, lemon juice and finely shredded coconut. The raspberry frosting is made with fresh raspberries -- a perfect balance of tart and sweet. And as a bonus, they are vegan: no dairy or eggs.

Red velvet cupcakes filled with dark and white chocolate ganache. There is also a homemade modeling chocolate handmade owl on chocolate branch on butter cream icing with little icing leaves.

A hamburger cupcake: vanilla and chocolate cupcake with colored vanilla icing and colored shredded coconut.

This Chicken and Waffle Cupcake is started with a buttermilk-based cupcake batter, which is cooked, cooled and infused with maple syrup. It is topped with maple buttercream frosting, a piece of homemade Belgian waffle and a piece of homestyle fried chicken breast. To top it off, the cupcake is drizzled with maple syrup.

A chocolate cupcake that is enhanced with dark coffee as one of the batter ingredients. The cupcake is iced with a mocha frosting that complements the cupcake.

This cupcake is called "raspberry lemonade." It is a lemon cake with a light cream cheese frosting, cookie crumble and a drizzle of a raspberry and lemon glaze.

Chocolate velvet cupcake with browned butter-cinnamon cream cheese icing and Micheal Kors cupcake toppers made with chocolate molding chocolate and gold shimmer dust.

Old fashioned orange pound cake with orange slice cream cheese candy frosting.

Lemon blueberry cupcake. It's made with a lemon cupcake batter. I use lemon pudding to make it moist and stir in fresh blueberries. Topped with either cream cheese frosting dyed yellow or vanilla and topped with a blueberry.

Yellow and chocolate cupcakes with whipped cream icing.

Vanilla cake, cream cheese icing (tinted pink), fresh strawberry inside, sliced strawberry on top with shaved chocolate.

This is my famous french toast cupcake with cream cheese frosting with a dash of cinnamon on top.

A hazelnut latte cupcake. A decadent chocolate cake filled with a delicate hazelnut mousse and frosted with a rich chocolate espresso buttercream and finished with a dark chocolate covered espresso bean and toasted hazelnuts.

Autumnal delight cupcake: A delicious blend of autumn spices baked into a moist pumpkin cupcake. It is paired with a perfect cinnamon cream cheese icing.

Dark chocolate cake, filled with dulce de leche, dipped in dark chocolate ganache, topped with vanilla buttercream, dulce de leche and pink Himalayan salt.

Oreo cupcake with cream cheese Oreo frosting, strawberry cupcake with cream cheese frosting, sweet potato cupcake with cream cheese frosting, vanilla cupcake with yellow buttercream frosting.

Pina colada cupcake: Pineapple cupcake with a coconut cream filling, topped with coconut pineapple buttercream and edible decor.

Gameday Cupcakes: Chocolate cupcake base with mint (sometimes mint cookie), "grass" frosting and glazed butter football-shaped cookie topper.

Fresh strawberry cupcake: Strawberry on top of vanilla cream frosting and vanilla cake.

Vanilla honey cupcake with almond buttercream finished with crunchy vanilla almond granola and honey drizzle.

A moist chocolate "whoopie cupcake" filled with rich peanut butter cup buttercream frosting.

B-52 Cupcake: A chocolate Kahlua cake, filled with Bailey's pastry cream and topped with a Grand Marnier Italian meringue buttercream.

"Want S'more cupcakes" - This is a chocolate cupcake on a bed of graham crackers with a marshmallow center, and a marshmallow buttercream frosting, topped with a graham cracker and toasted marshmallow garnish.

Minnie cupcake with Oreos used for ears, and bubble tape used to make the pink bow.

ObamaCakes: Four More Years and The Star Spangled Banner. One design is the #FORWARD logo for his re-election and the other is a swirl with red white and blue sprinkles. Both are red velvet flavor with cream cheese icing.

On the left: Devil's food cake with marshmallow raspberry filling and a marshmallow frosting with shaved dark chocolate on top. On the right: Chocolate cake filled with caramel pudding with real butter cream frosting and caramel and margarita salt on top.

Airy angel food cake topped with a raspberry lime glaze and fresh whipped topping and fruit.

Lemon-blueberry cupcakes with lemon cream-cheese icing. Topped with blueberry and a mint leaf.

These cupcakes start with a deliciously moist chocolate cake infused with Guinness and Irish whiskey. They are topped with an intensely flavorful cream cheese frosting that is united with Bailey's Irish Cream.

The 7-UP cupcake is a refreshing twist of lemon and lime. The batter and frosting are both made with a splash of 7-UP, which makes the cake incredibly moist and the frosting light and refreshing.

Triple-cherry spumoni cupcake: d=Dark chocolate cherry cake with cherry filling center, pistachio meringue buttercream, crushed pistachios, dark chocolate cake crumbs and cherry-vanilla buttercream with maraschino cherry topper.

Hot chocolate cupcake with marshmallow buttercream frosting, mini marshmallows and peppermint stick.

Tres leches cupcakes with a marscarpone whipped cream icing.

Peanut butter and jelly filled cupcakes: Chocolate and yellow cake with or without frosting.(made of peanut butter)

made of peanut butter

This is a chocolate almond buttermilk cupcake with a raspberry filling, topped with almond buttercream frosting. The American flag support ribbon is to symbolize the unity and support of America in times of tragedy.

A moist Lemon cupcake with a raspberry cream center, topped with a raspberry infused vanilla bean icing. The final touch is a white chocolate handcrafted heart along side of a fresh raspberry.

Creamy and decadent multicolored buttercream frosting atop a bed of moist and delicious vanilla cupcakes.

S'more Galore Cupcakes: A buttery graham cracker base with a dense milk chocolate cake, filled with homemade marshmallow cream, topped with dark and milk chocolate buttercream and spiced graham cracker crumbles.

Reese's Pieces cupcakes.

"The Elvis" - Moist banana cake layered with chocolate ganache, topped with creamy peanut butter buttercream. Garnished with sweet candied bacon .(if bacon is not preferred, semi sweet chocolate shavings can be used)

if bacon is not preferred, semi sweet chocolate shavings can be used

Dark Chocolate cupcake with mini chips, cream filling topped with a peanut butter whipped buttercream, drizzled in melted peanut butter, mini chips and a whole Reeses Peanut Butter Cup.

S'Mores cupcake: Dark chocolate cupcake with a marshmallow buttercream, sprinkled with graham cracker crumbs and drizzled with chocolate.

Thai iced tea cupcake - served in glass, garnished with an orchid and a straw, just like the real thing.

Chanoyu Cupcake: The inspiration for my cupcake was the Japanese Tea Ceremony (Chanoyu), so it is a Japanese green tea (Matcha) cupcake with a buttercream icing with a hint of jasmine. I used royal icing for the decorative motive of jasmine flowers and leaves.

Sangria Cupcakes: Sangria flavored cake with blackberry, peach and strawberry purée; soaked with brandy and topped with sangria buttercream and sugar sprinkles.

A buttery graham cracker crust and a thin layer of bittersweet chocolate hold up this perfectly moist chocolate cupcake. The S'Mores cupcake is topped with a light and creamy marshmallow frosting that is toasted to perfection and completed with the addition of my signature "dot on top."

A dense, moist vanilla butter cake, flavored with cinnamon and soaked with a sweetened condensed crème anglaise, then topped with a rich, amaretto cream cheese frosting, a pinch of rum-pineapple compote and a dollop of a guava coulis.

Banana pudding cupcake. Banana flavored cake with a banana curd filling. The cupcake is topped with fresh whipping cream, a banana slice and wafer.

Vanilla almond "flower power" cupcakes.

A vanilla cupcake filled with a light strawberry filling, and topped with butter cream and fresh strawberries, making this the perfect, refreshing spring treat.

No flavor screams spring and sunshine more than lemon. So, I decided to make my favorite: A vanilla buttermilk cake, filled with homemade lemon curd, topped with lemon cream cheese frosting and rolled in shredded coconut.

A moist classic red velvet cupcake with mouthwatering buttercream frosting with a patriotic flair .(red, white and blue)

red, white and blue

This is a rich and delicious chocolate velvet cupcake, topped with a browned-butter cinnamon cream cheese frosting and finished with a dusting of cinnamon and edible gold stars.

A strawberry lemonade cupcake reminds this contestant of her favorite lemonade stand.

This Hot Tamale cupcake has Hot Tamale candy in the cupcake and in the icing.

Chocolate peanut butter cupcake: A moist chocolate cupcake with a peanut butter cup center, topped with a creamy peanut butter frosting. The finishing touch is mini chocolate chips.