By Karen Aagaard (Guest Contributor)

With our cupcake bake-off deadline fast approaching, we thought it might be wise to send a quick reminder (and update—yes, a prize update!) your way. Right. So, reminder/final nag: your bake-off submissions are due this coming Monday, March 9, before noon. We’re seeing some pretty clever culinary takes on Toronto, so keep ‘em coming! Why? Why you ask? Why should you decorate a cupcake over the weekend and promptly send its photographic representation our way? Well, if feting the birth of your favourite metropolis isn’t enough, we’re hoping the lure of our Toronto-themed swag will help get you in the (baking) mood. In addition to the prizes we’ve already announced, we’ve added two more gifties to our roster: a subscription to This Magazine (wahoo!), and a $50 gift card for the Drake’s café (and two “shack chaud” drink vouchers to be used at the Drake’s winterized Sky Yard), courtesy of—you guessed it—the Drake. In sum: one small cupcake for Toronto, one giant bag of free stuff for the winner(s).