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Okay, here we go.
You can do it. You can do it.
WILLMAN: In just a few minutes,
four bakers will battle for the cupcake crown.
That is so cool.
Perfect.
And one by one, they'll be eliminated,
as they're judged on taste...
This cupcake is crazy.
[ Sighs ]
WILLMAN: ...presentation...
[ Laughs ]
WILLMAN: ...and in the final round, the last two bakers standing
will each have to bring it all together
into one incredible fantasy cupcake display.
The winner gets to have their cupcakes
as the centerpiece at a totally awesome kids' party
thrown by one of the biggest '80s music legends --
Taylor Dayne.
"Tell it to My Heart" -- My all-time favorite song, ever.
And they'll walk away with $10,000.
Oh, God, no.
I didn't work this hard to be eliminated.
DAWN: It's, like, goopy.
I have a big, soupy mess.
Get ready, 'cause this is "Cupcake Wars."
-- Captions by VITAC --
Closed Captions provided by Scripps Networks, LLC.
[ Ding! ]
What's up, guys?
I'm Justin Willman,
and the battle for cupcake superiority
is about to begin.
Overseeing today's war are our judges --
Candace Nelson,
founder of the world's first cupcake bakery,
Sprinkles Cupcakes,
and Florian Bellanger, owner of Mad Mac Macarons
and former executive pastry chef at the world-renowned Fauchon.
The kitchens are stocked. Our judges are ready.
Let's meet today's cupcake bakers.
Know what we have to bring? Our pastry bags a-blazin'.
You mean like this?
TAWNYA: I'm Tawnya Zerr,
and I'm the owner and flavor imaginator
of the Cupcake Emporium in Ames, Iowa.
There's s'mores, cotton candy, fried ice cream.
We don't make simple things.
We like color. We like flavor.
We like bursts of fruit.
I know.
Katie is the perfect person for me to have today.
We always make an incredible piece of work.
This is "Cupcake Wars."
We have to bring new, crazy, exciting.
I know we are going to win.
We push the envelope, we take risks,
and we are not afraid of anything.
And if we win --
World cupcake domination!
It's really important for us to win "Cupcake Wars" today
because we need a new space.
I used to watch "Cupcake Wars," and now we're gonna be on it.
It's gonna be fun.
My name is Hanayo Martin,
and I am the owner of Hapa Cupcakes,
and we are located in Orange County, California,
and we hope on opening up a storefront
within the next couple of months.
They smell so good.
They do, and they look perfect.
We're not your typical mom-and-pop bakery.
We like to be a little bit more provocative.
We have a chocolate whiskey cupcake
that is called Gonna Get Lucky Tonight.
We've been baking since we were kids.
Exactly.
My assistant today is my business partner, Akemi Lee.
We're messy. We're fun.
We've got good chemistry.
Bring everything.
We are coming into this with a totally, like, grateful heart,
but we're also here to win $10,000.
We want to open up a storefront.
Let's win this.
Yeah!
We are bringing the best from the Midwest.
I'm Christina Moffatt.
I own Crème Cupcake + Dessert
in Des Moines, Iowa.
The cupcakes look really nice today.
We're a bakery by day and a full bar
with very high-end plated desserts at night.
I can't believe we're going on "Cupcake Wars."
My assistant is Jessica Dunn.
She is our lead cake decorator.
She is not afraid of challenge.
[ Chuckles ]
We know we'll win this today,
and it will put us on the map nationally
as the best in the Midwest.
Let's go! I can't believe this is happening.
[ Laughs ]
Can I help you with anything?
DAWN: My name is Dawn Trammell.
I own The Luscious Crumb bakery in Mineola, Texas.
It's the drawl, y'all.
We have about 80 different flavors.
Our absolute top seller is the Death by Chocolate cupcake.
Everybody seems to love it.
Here's a frosting slap.
[ Both laugh ]
My assistant is my daughter, Rachel Pantusa.
I don't think I could do this without her.
We'll think on our feet. We can do it.
Bragging rights are a big deal in east Texas.
Winning "Cupcake Wars" would be just the one thing
that's just gonna take us to the next level.
All right, let's go.
It's gonna mean everything to us.
Let's do it.
What's up, bakers?
Come on up.
Welcome.
So, today, "Cupcake Wars"
is going all the way back to the '80s.
Today's gonna be totally rad,
as you'll compete to have your retro cupcakes
front and center at a party hosted by an '80s pop icon
to celebrate the 10th birthday of her twins.
So, let's say hello now
to the woman behind 18 top-10 hits...
Taylor Dayne.
Well, hello. How are you?
Hi.
DAWN: Finding out that Taylor Dayne is the guest judge
is one of the most exciting things
I have ever experienced.
I absolutely love her music.
Wow.
Okay, bakers, I am so looking forward
to seeing what you come up with --
anything colorful and fabulous, just like the '80s.
So, bakers, if having your cupcakes served
as an amazing centerpiece
for Astaria and Levi's unforgettable birthday party
isn't enough,
the winner also walks away with $10,000.
Today, there are three rounds of competition.
After each one of those rounds, as you know,
one of you will be eliminated.
First up is the taste challenge.
Now, since Taylor Dayne came to the scene
in the totally tubular '80s,
we want you to create a cupcake
that is inspired by popular '80s foods.
You must choose one ingredient from the inspiration table,
such as sushi...
fruit leather...
and orange soda.
Remember -- your cupcakes have to be kid-friendly.
Just make sure our judges don't, like, totally trip out.
You have 45 minutes -- Good luck -- starts now.
On the table, I see Little Miss Safe-y ingredients
like orange soda and pudding pops.
But, then, I see other things, like sushi and quiche.
Oh, my gosh, okay.
There's quiche and sushi.
Peanut-butter candies.
Orange soda.
Fruit leathers.
Let's do our peanut-butter one.
Wait. But that's too safe.
We have to do something else. We have to do the sushi.
Okay.
HANAYO: I don't want to play it too safe today.
We should go with sushi.
The first thing I think of is
can we put raw fish into this cupcake?
But, to me, that sounds disgusting. We can't do that.
What do you think of when you think of sushi?
Like, rice, ginger.
Let's do our green tea.
We're doing a sushi-inspired cupcake.
It's gonna be a ginger cupcake.
Top it with a green-tea frosting.
And then we're gonna make
a little rice-and-ginger cereal treat
that looks like sushi, and put that on top of the cupcake.
And then we're also gonna fill the cupcake
with a green-tea whipped cream.
Let's do it.
Okay. Let's do it.
'80s music videos are the best.
I am so excited! I love the '80s.
I got to get this thin, thin, thin.
We have to do something awesome,
so I'm going to make a quiche Lorraine cupcake.
We're going to have a flaky pie-crust bottom,
a sour-cream Swiss-cheese cake.
We're gonna put bacon in it,
with some spinach sour-cream frosting,
with a Parmesan-cheese crisp.
Aren't you worried?
TAWNYA: I'm more worried about playing it safe.
We have to make it into a totally awesome,
envelope-pushing cupcake.
Do they see spinach quiche cupcakes all the time? No.
Okay, we want a really, really nice orange flavor,
maybe do some orange zest also.
What we've decided to do is make an orange-soda cupcake,
an orange-pineapple whipped cream on top
and a fondant music note to represent Taylor's music.
Oh, that smells so good. That's awesome.
Orange soda really has that artificial orange flavor to it,
so we're gonna put an orange extract in.
And then we're also gonna put an orange liqueur in there
to kind of give it that little bit of a pop.
I think the kids will really, really, really like it.
I think I'm gonna hit these berries
with a little bit of sugar, make them juice a little bit.
I'm going to make an angel food cake.
We're gonna fill it with raw berries,
top it with a sour-cream frosting,
a fresh strawberry, a candy that pops when you eat it,
and we're gonna wrap it all in fruit leather to look like sushi.
Is that coming together okay?
It's looking really good. I'm kind of excited about this.
Pie crust is done! Hot!
TAWNYA: A quiche cupcake is really pushing the envelope.
I understand that. I know that.
But that's why I'm here.
This is "Cupcake Wars." You don't play it safe.
So, I'm thinking we do a little bit of quiche mixture
and a little bit of cake batter.
We are actually going to have quiche in our cupcake.
The egg mixture is swirled with the cake mixture.
All right.
Yes.
Behind you!
[ Cellphone ringing ]
[ Cellphone beeps ]
MAN: [ Indistinct speaking ]
Wrong decade.
Scott Baio.
30 minutes!
Oh, my gosh. Okay, we got to move.
Where did the time go?
DAWN: Oh, it smells so good.
Chop, chop, chop, chop. Yeah.
I spilled my milk! Don't cry!
Yeah.
That's perfect.
Oh, they smell delicious!
Okay, let's get those off.
Okay, Han, I'm putting these in.
I'm heading to the oven right now.
Okay.
Okay, the cupcakes are in the oven.
Okay, they're done. They're done.
We get the cupcakes out of the oven,
and they look gorgeous.
Oh, God, that's -- No.
It's awful.
There's way too much egg in there.
This is just too much egg.
There is no way I am giving these to the judges.
Dump these. Get rid of them.
Start again.
I don't know how I can come back from this.
TAWNYA: Oh, no. No.
Oh, God, that's --
The quiche cupcake -- It's awful.
There's way too much egg in there.
There is no way I am giving these to the judges.
Dump these. Get rid of them.
Start again.
I don't know how I can come back from this.
Hey, Tawnya, I'm cutting the pie dough.
Is that tin ready?
Yes -- tin's ready. It's over here.
Ah! I'm so worried. There's no time left.
It takes so much time to make those crusts.
Okay.
So, once we get our pie crust made,
we put in the bacon and spinach just like last time,
we put in a scoop of the batter,
but this time we just use a little bit of egg.
Tawnya, we got to get these in the oven. Come on.
I don't think the frosting tastes enough like green tea.
Put less -- Don't put as much cream cheese.
The cream-cheese frosting is what we're known for,
so we're just gonna infuse it with the green-tea powder
and hope that it just all comes together perfectly.
Taste this whipping cream.
Perfect.
Cupcake bakers, you've got 10 minutes.
They're not out of the oven yet.
How they looking?
Yeah, they're good.
Okay, awesome. Pull them out.
HANAYO: They're perfect.
Okay.
Yeah.
They're still doughy.
I think that'll work. And look how white they are.
That works perfect for the sushi.
Angel food cake has to come out perfect.
It's a very, very delicate cake.
If they don't get turned upside down in time,
they'll fall.
They're still warm.
Once we get it out of the pan, it's got to sit there
so it 100% cools,
so when we wrap it up with the fruit leather,
it does not melt onto the cake.
I think that they're gonna stick enough, so...
JESSICA: Yeah. This will be fine.
We get the cupcakes out of the oven,
and they have to cool.
I'm freaking out!
We have to get them in the fridge.
This is it, guys -- one minute.
One minute, one minute. We got to get these toppers on.
DAWN: Yay! Sparkles.
Oh, yeah.
Oh, my goodness. Come on, Tawnya.
Perfect.
You can do it. You can do it, Tawnya.
I got the cheese crisp.
DAWN: Thank goodness they're not judging it on presentation.
CHRISTINA: Yeah.
10, 9, 8...
Got to go. Got to go. Got to go.
...6, 5...
Yes.
...3, 2, 1.
Time is up.
Oh, my God! We did it.
[ Exhales deeply ]
So, bakers, in honor of pop star Taylor Dayne,
we asked you to make a cupcake
inspired by food from the 1980s.
We will hear what the judges think in a second, but first...
Hi.
Good. How are you?
Good. What'd you bake?
What we have for you today
is a sushi-inspired cupcake.
It is a ginger cupcake topped with green-tea frosting
and then topped with a replication of a nigiri.
I'm a green-tea fan, I love it, and this green-tea frosting
was really tasting much of green tea.
This is a very good cupcake.
Thank you.
The garnish here was just ingenious,
using the play on rice, the puffed rice cereal,
and making the shape of a nigiri with the seaweed.
I would have loved to have seen the seaweed
actually incorporated into your cupcake, as well,
because it added such a savory, umami-type flavor,
which I would say your green-tea frosting was missing.
I just thought all the elements were well-chosen.
I thought my cake in particular was a little dense.
And it's not quite as playful for a child.
Tawnya, tell us about your cupcake.
I am so nervous.
This is a really crazy cupcake
for a 10-year-old's birthday party.
TAWNYA: We chose to use quiche.
We gave it a flaky pie crust on the bottom,
along with bacon, little bit of spinach in there,
and put a spinach sour-cream frosting on top
and a Parmesan-cheese crust.
Well, the best quiches, just like cupcakes,
have a certain lightness to them.
Unfortunately, this cupcake did not have that.
It was heavy, heavy, heavy.
You're talking to a French guy here.
I grew up on quiche.
Unfortunately, I think it would be very difficult
to replicate kind of a quiche texture.
This cupcake was so far away from a quiche.
There are elements that are really great.
I thought your frosting, your crème --
there was something very interesting.
I think this is a wonderful touch.
WILLMAN: Thank you, Tawnya.
Howdy, Dawn. How are you?
I'm good. How are y'all?
What did you bake?
We did an orange-soda cupcake.
We decided to go
with an orange-pineapple whipped-cream topping.
And we also added a fondant sugared music note
to represent Taylor's music career.
This isn't sort of fresh-squeezed orange-juice flavor we're talking about.
This is orange soda, and you nailed it.
I mean, it definitely has
that sort of orange-soda, right-on-the-money flavor here.
And by adding in that pineapple,
it just kind of riffed on the whole orange theme
and kept it from being too one-note.
Thank you.
The airiness of whipped cream almost remind me
of the bubbly effect of an orange soda.
Not only that -- your cake really tastes orange,
and I like it.
It's on the artificial side of it,
but I forgive you for today,
because back in the '80s
were all artificial flavors, as we know.
Thank you.
I would say this was a wonderful cupcake. Thank you.
It's great. Kids will love it.
Hi, there.
Tell us what we have.
We went with a light angel food cake.
We actually filled that with raw berries.
It is topped with a sour-cream frosting.
We wrapped it with the fruit leather
to look like sushi
and finished off with a strawberry heart
that is rolled in a candy that actually pops when you eat it.
Christina, this cupcake is crazy...
Thank you.
It's really surprising.
And the cake is really good,
but the fruit leather adds all this artificial flavors
that bring me to my childhood.
And it's just like -- it's -- This cupcake is crazy.
That's all I have to say.
Well, this cupcake was totally rad.
I loved how the fresh fruit inside
really sort of mimicked the flavor
of the fruit leather on the outside.
It looked just like a hand-cut roll.
It was really inventive.
Thank you.
I would say the presentation is incredible.
I love the burst of fruit.
I just think, "Tell it to my heart."
[ Laughs ] Thank you.
Thank you, judges.
Thank you.
Bakers, we're gonna give them a moment to chat.
We'll bring you back in a few. Thank you.
TAWNYA: We went big and bold the first round.
That's what the judges usually want to see.
And it doesn't seem like it this time.
I didn't come this far, I didn't work this hard,
to be eliminated in the first round.
HANAYO: I'm hearing good things, and I'm hearing bad things,
and I really don't know what to think at this point.
Bakers, for this round,
we asked you to flash back to the '80s
to create a delicious cupcake
for Taylor Dayne's twins' birthday bash.
For the most part, you totally rocked,
with cupcakes that impressed our judges.
Unfortunately, though, Tawnya,
even though the challenge was about reliving the '80s,
the judges wish they could forget your cupcake.
You're done in the cupcake war.
TAWNYA: I'm just thinking
about how much work we put in to getting here.
[ Sniffles ]
[ Voice breaking ] Sucky first round.
That sucks. [ Sniffles ]
Congrats, ladies, on a totally rad round 1.
But, before you earn the chance
to get your 1,000-cupcake display
to Taylor's kids' '80s birthday party,
you got to prove yourself in this round.
Whether it was acid-wash jeans or neon leg warmers,
it was what you looked like in the '80s that was important.
[ Laughter ]
We want each of you to bake three cupcakes
that taste delicious but also look completely '80s,
because, in this round, you will be judged
half on taste and half on presentation.
The real bummer, though -- only 75 minutes.
And the clock starts now.
Yay!
Oh, my God! Oh, my God! [ Laughs ]
Okay.
I can't believe that sushi cupcake
got us to round 2.
Our first goal of "Cupcake Wars"
was to just get through round 1,
but we know that we have to get through round 2.
I say we start with a banana cupcake.
My first cupcake is
a bananas Foster coconut cupcake,
topped with cinnamon cream-cheese frosting.
Let's do like a red velvet with strawberries on top.
Strawberries, okay.
My second cupcake is a red velvet cupcake
infused with strawberries
and topped with a chocolate hazelnut frosting,
finished off with a vinyl record
and a "10" to represent the twins' 10th birthday.
All kids love chocolate, right? Chocolate chips.
Yes.
My third cupcake is a chocolate chocolate-chip cupcake,
topped with a peanut-butter frosting
and finished off with a neon puzzle cube.
But we want to make sure all of these
are, like, for her kids -- Yeah.
We're just trying to imagine, if we were 10 years old,
what kind of flavors would we like to eat?
I loved being 10.
Orange cream soda. Let's do like a buttery cake.
My first cupcake is a butter cake
with orange juice and orange zest in it.
Fill it with fresh oranges and a crème anglaise,
top it with a white-chocolate buttercream frosting,
zebra-print fondant, and a taffy guitar.
Kids love peanut butter.
Yeah.
My second cupcake is
a peanut-butter butterscotch lava cake,
topped with a chocolate mousse frosting,
finished off with pulled sugar.
Bringing that apple sauce and the cinnamon in.
JESSICA: That'll be great.
My third cupcake is a cinnamon candy cake,
filled with cinnamon candy, apple sauce in the middle,
topped with a cream-cheese frosting
and finished off with some candies
to represent Taylor Dayne's red lips.
I'm gonna make the lava cake.
I'm gonna get the mousse going here.
Hey, I've got to melt this chocolate
in the microwave real quick.
Our first cupcake is going to be a chocolate cake
with a whipped chocolate-mousse filling and topping,
dipped in chocolate ganache,
and we're decorating it with two fondant hearts.
Make sure you don't put too much peanut butter.
My second cupcake is a peanut-butter cupcake
with a salted caramel filling,
a peanut-butter buttercream on top,
chopped nuts to give it some crunch,
a platinum record, and a microphone.
Can you throw me some sugar for my coconut?
Thank you.
My third cupcake is our coconut-cream cupcake,
whipped coconut-mousse filling,
coconut buttercream on top, a black wrapper around it,
and chopped coconut on top to simulate a sushi roll.
Don't forget anything.
Why do you think I'm gonna forget
something like that?
Yeah.
"Tell it to My Heart" -- my all-time favorite song, ever.
Oh, my gosh, that peanut butter smells awesome.
I can't believe this used to fit you.
Still does.
One hour.
Oh, my God -- One hour.
I want to make sure this red comes out super red.
Yes.
Our red velvet cupcake
is gonna be super fluffy and moist.
So, we're gonna fill it with strawberries in the batter
so it can bake inside the cake.
That's perfect.
[ Chuckles ] So, so cool.
I'm gonna put the chocolate pieces on top.
Okay, perfect.
We got hurry -- Quick, quick, quick, quick, quick.
HANAYO: Awesome.
Okay, here we go.
The orange ones are going in now.
Chocolate going in the oven.
All right!
The cinnamon candies are melting down, Jess.
It's taking awhile to get them in the butter.
For the cinnamon candy cake,
we pump it full of the cinnamon-candy flavor
in both the cake and the filling
by adding in some cinnamon and red hot-pepper flakes.
It's very important that, when the judges eat this,
that it just brings everything alive in their mouths.
This is still taking awhile to melt down over here.
These cinnamon candies -- They are not melting at all.
I'm starting to panic because the clock is running down,
and Jess has to have
both the applesauce and the cinnamon butter
to get into the batter and the cake.
Yeah?
How you doing?
They're coming -- They're taking awhile to melt down.
Is that strawberry, or is it butter?
The red velvet is looking a little bit funky.
What?
These are way too soggy.
We cannot use these.
Oh, no -- Look at that.
Oh, my God.
I think that the water from the strawberries
made the cupcakes soggy.
Yeah, these look --
I had to start all over again.
Get as much of the water and excess juice
as you can out of it.
I hope this second batter works.
Otherwise, I don't know what we're gonna do.
We don't have that much time.
Perfect.
Don't tell it to my heart. Tell it to Taylor.
You got 30 minutes.
Oh, my God -- 30 minutes?
I'm going as fast as I can.
Yes.
Hot stuff coming through.
We have done some complicated flavors.
We have to have fillings done, frosting done,
things that have to be dipped in ganache.
They're good.
My blood pressure must be sky-high right now,
'cause all I keep thinking is,
"I have to win this. I have to win it.
I have to win it."
We literally have 20 minutes left.
Okay.
Orange ones are coming out! Right behind!
I'm gonna use this as, like, our background.
Don't you love this color pink?
It's so neon and '80s, right?
CHRISTINA: Oh, I love them. That is so cool.
RACHEL: Okay, we got to hurry.
DAWN: Okay, I'm getting there.
Check on these red velvets again.
I think that's really good.
I like it.
Here we go -- 10 minutes.
Oh, God. Jess, seriously -- Hurry, hurry, hurry.
Take this baby and just...
dip it right in there.
Just finish this up perfectly.
We don't have peanut-butter buttercream?
No. Okay, do it.
Okay.
I'm like, "Where is the peanut-butter buttercream?"
And all of a sudden,
we realize that we haven't made it.
I can't believe we almost forgot that buttercream.
Everything is so crazy, and the time is going by so fast.
We just have got to get it done really quickly.
We got to hurry.
Here is your peanut butter,
This is a full cup?
[ Indistinct conversations ]
Okay.
This is it, guys -- One minute.
CHRISTINA: Okay -- Hurry, hurry, hurry.
Okay, peanut-butter buttercream.
Hold on. These are delicate.
Oh, God, don't break those.
DAWN: Hurry, hurry. Run, run, run.
RACHEL: Oh, oh, oh.
JESSICA: Okay, go, go, go.
Coming through. Watch out.
HANAYO: God, I'm shaking.
10, 9, 8,
7, 6, 5,
4, 3...
Yay!
...2, 1.
Your time is up.
[ Sighs ]
DAWN: I'm nervous.
Both of the other bakers
had some great flavors in the first round,
so I'm just really hoping that what we've done
is going to be enough.
Bakers, for this round, you were asked to create three cupcakes
that were as unique and vibrant as the '80s
in both taste and decoration.
We will check in with the judges in a moment,
but first, Hanayo, tell us what you baked.
HANAYO: First on the left is our banana coconut cupcake,
topped with a cinnamon cream-cheese frosting
with toasted coconut,
finished off with a neon puzzle cube.
Our second is a red velvet cupcake
with strawberries inside,
topped it with a chocolate hazelnut frosting,
finished off with a vinyl record.
And the third cupcake is our chocolate peanut-butter cupcake,
topped with a peanut-butter frosting
and finished off with a music note.
Your decoration are very colorful.
They are quite on target with the '80s.
That puzzle cube was pretty well done.
Regarding your cupcakes,
I'm not a fan of red velvet -- Everybody knows that.
Your interpretation of strawberry and hazelnut --
Believe me -- Strawberry doesn't work with hazelnut.
Well, these decorations are a blast from the past.
The neon colors really just hit the mark.
In terms of your cupcakes,
I was a huge fan of your chocolate peanut-butter.
However, I will have to agree with my friend Florian.
These other two were not exactly top-10 hits.
Certainly, the decorations would absolutely go over
and absolutely kept to the theme of the '80s.
WILLMAN: Thanks, Hanayo.
Hi, Dawn. What'd you bake?
DAWN: Our first is a chocolate cake
with a whipped chocolate-mousse topping
dipped in chocolate ganache.
And we put the two hearts on there
to represent the twins.
Our second is a peanut-butter cupcake
with a caramel filling, peanut-butter buttercream,
with the platinum record and the microphone.
And our third cupcake is a coconut cake
with a whipped coconut-mousse filling,
coconut buttercream,
and it's wrapped in a black wrapper
to simulate an actual sushi roll.
I think it's official -- Everyone still standing
has attempted the sushi cupcake.
Of course -- coconut to represent the rice.
And this coconut cake is crazy good -- So delicious.
And I like how you specifically called out a song.
I mean, this is not just the twins here,
but it's "Tell it to My Heart."
So, well done on the decorations.
And then over here on your chocolate cake,
the mousse and the chocolate ganache were divine.
I was quite in love with your decoration.
I think you did a great job.
My only note would be I like the chocolate very much.
When you call something a mousse, it has to be mousse-y.
And this was more cream than a mousse.
DAYNE: The rice, the coconut -- It was so clever.
As decoration is considered,
that, to me, made it so appealing.
WILLMAN: Thank you, Dawn.
Hi, Christina. Tell us about your trio.
CHRISTINA: Today, you have in the zebra wrapper
a butter cake filled with fresh oranges, a crème anglaise,
and topped with a white-chocolate buttercream,
finished off with a taffy air guitar.
The middle one is a butterscotch peanut-butter lava cake
topped with a chocolate-mousse frosting
and finished off with a sugar splatter.
The last one is a cinnamon fiery-red apple cake
filled with applesauce with cinnamon candies
and topped with a cream-cheese frosting.
The topper is Taylor's very popular red lips in the '80s.
Well done on the decoration.
Regarding your cupcakes,
you have some cake-texture issue.
Let's talk one minute about lava cake.
It's supposed to be served warm,
and when it's well done, it's really good.
It was just pasty in the middle.
It was not runny, like a lava cake's supposed to be.
You went deep here with your inspiration.
Every single element was inspired by the '80s.
In terms of your lava cake,
I agree with Florian that it just signaled unbaked cake.
Mine's burnt on the bottom, just F.Y.I.
WILLMAN: Thank you, Christina.
Bakers, we're gonna give them a few moments to compare notes.
We'll bring you back in a bit.
HANAYO: I'm pretty sure it's between Christina and I
on who's going home.
I'm just hoping that the judges love our cupcakes more.
CHRISTINA: The lava cake did not come across
the way that I thought it would.
It had better not have sunk us.
Bakers, the '80s were all about bright colors and bold flavors,
and the judges were looking for the same from your cupcakes.
I'm sorry, Hanayo.
You're done in the cupcake war.
HANAYO: This could have been such a great opportunity
for us to expand our business and open up shop,
and now we don't get that.
We are so bummed.
WILLMAN: Congratulations, ladies.
You have earned your spot in the final round,
and you still have a chance to get your cupcakes
to the bodacious '80s party
for the twins of superstar Taylor Dayne.
But first you each must create
an incredible 1,000-cupcake display
that will be the perfect centerpiece for Taylor's party.
Plus, you'll walk away with $10,000.
Here's the thing, though -- all great superstars
have an awesomely strong team behind them.
So, we're giving each of you
a master carpenter to help you build.
What's up, guys?
You also get four baking assistants each.
What's up, ladies?
When the time is up,
the judges will rate your cupcakes' taste,
they will evaluate the presentation,
and, based on how everything comes together,
name one of you the winner of "Cupcake Wars."
Sounds like a plan? Good luck.
You have two short hours, starting now.
JESSICA: Oh, my gosh. Okay.
Okay. So, we did it.
We did it.
DAWN: We're down to the best two bakers,
so I've just got to make everything absolutely perfect
if we have a chance to win this.
Fantastic.
Knowing Taylor Dayne, she loved her radio.
I'm feeling pretty light right now,
but I know we're headed into some serious competition.
So, I want to do a gigantic boom box.
I envisioned a 7-foot-tall boom box,
two different sides,
one for Levi and one for Astaria.
And then I want their names up there.
It will all be sitting on a zebra-print table
that's underlit with blue lighting.
Overall, it will represent
an '80s rockin' birthday party for the twins.
All right.
Good luck in here. See you in a bit.
The '80s were crazy.
It was all about everything being bright,
everything being colorful.
I'm thinking we'll use
a whole bunch of different shapes.
DAWN: I want bright, neon colors,
and I want triangles, and I want circles.
On the legs, we can do stacked puzzle cubes.
I want puzzle cubes for the legs
because that's so kid-friendly.
And I want to put a sign that has Taylor's name in it
that's a big heart.
And I want that to be
the focus at the top of the display.
Splatter-paint the whole thing.
And on the front of this,
if we could do something just totally '80s,
like "Totally."
I'm having Justin put a lot of '80s sayings on there,
like "Bodacious" and "Tubular."
Awesome.
All right, I'll see you guys in a couple hours.
Thank you.
CHRISTINA: Not a choice to go home, Jess.
[ Chuckles ] No.
I'm gonna start on the orange cupcake, okay?
Okay, I'm coming through with the coconut.
That lava cake was not quite right.
So, let's just make sure we get that peanut butter
to really come through.
The judges clearly did not like that lava cake.
So, we're gonna make it a peanut-butter cake
with a little bit of chocolate
and keep with that same chocolate-mousse frosting.
There is no choice to go home anymore.
We've got $10,000 riding on this new cupcake.
This has to work.
No mistakes.
Maybe if we win the $10,000, I can give you a raise.
[ Chuckles ] I better get a raise.
DAWN: There is so much things that have to be done
in such a short period of time.
We have not only got to get all of our stuff
baked and filled and frosted, but there is a thousand of them.
So we've got to really, really run.
It's like superhuman, trying to do it in two hours.
Yeah, I know.
How are y'all doing on the fondant?
Good.
CHRISTINA: Okay, I got the mousse going down there.
I've got the sour-cream frosting going down there, too.
These cups are sticking together.
CHRISTINA: What are you doing, Jess?
JESSICA: Orange cakes are going in.
I'm going to the oven with the chocolate cupcakes.
All right, the peanut butter in the oven now.
Watch how fast I can do this.
Oh, my gosh, look at that frosting.
90 minutes.
Oh, my gosh.
How are we doing down there?
I got this. We got this, right?
CHRISTINA: I've got a lot of hands in my kitchen.
They're gonna pump out the thousand decorations on top,
and I hope that everybody can pull across my mission
to get us to the finish line.
Looking very colorful over here.
DAWN: What do you think about the carpenter?
Think he got what I was saying
about the bright colors and the neon?
I hope so.
One down, three to go.
You look puzzled.
Still working?
Yeah.
This display is totally awesome.
WILLMAN: One hour.
One hour. We're running, like, way, way, way behind.
DAWN: We got to move, ladies!
Peanut-butter cakes are done.
This is $10,000 we're talking about.
Looks good.
I'm gonna start on mousse fillings.
It's got to be airy and fluffy.
Florian felt like the mousse wasn't light enough,
so it is extremely important that I get this mousse right
because this is something that could send me home
if I don't get it fixed.
Remember to make the chocolate thicker.
So far, it's not whipping up just yet.
Let me turn it up and whip it a little bit faster
and see if that helps.
I have eliminated the half-and-half
and put all heavy cream.
Okay, this is not whipping up, Rachel.
It's really not.
This mousse is not going right.
I have a big, soupy mess.
Look at this mousse. It's, like, goopy.
It's soupy. I've got to dump it.
RACHEL: Oh, my gosh.
I can't believe this.
We don't have time for this right now.
Okay, this is not whipping up, Rachel. It's really not.
DAWN: This mousse is not going right. It is not whipping up.
I have a big, chocolaty, soupy mess.
Look at this mousse. It's, like, goopy.
It's soupy. I've got to dump it.
I can't believe this.
We don't have time for this right now.
There's no way.
Well, just fix it as fast as you can.
Okay, I'm gonna start it over with all heavy cream.
I have no idea what to fix on this.
I have no idea if I did something wrong,
if I inadvertently let the cream get too warm.
So, I'm just gonna have to start it over and hope for the best.
RACHEL: We got to hurry.
All right, we can start frosting.
We got a hundred different things going on.
I'm getting worried
that the right filling is getting in the frosting
and the right frosting is getting on the cake.
I see decorations flying everywhere.
I just hope everybody's right.
JESSICA: How we doing down there?
We got to go much faster.
Butter, butter, butter.
Okay, it's already looking better.
DAWN: I am so happy, because I can see that this mousse
is whipping up and it's getting lighter and lighter.
This time I've got it right.
And tastes awesome.
It's good.
30 minutes!
Oh, my gosh. Here it comes.
Yay! [ Laughs ]
The colors were perfect. The puzzle blocks were there.
I could not have asked for anything better.
It is like he read my mind.
[ Chuckles ]
Thank you.
CHRISTINA: Jess, Jess, look what's coming in!
JESSICA: Oh, my gosh. That is so cool.
Oh, it look so awesome.
CHRISTINA: Our display -- It looks absolutely amazing.
I'm so happy to have this thing done
and exactly what I wanted.
I came here to win.
You like it?
Yes, it looks so good!
That's their display.
To be totally honest,
my first impression was that it was a big lunch box.
RACHEL: Look at it -- Theirs has names on it.
DAWN: It does have the names on it.
Yeah.
Cupcake bakers...
15 minutes.
Ladies, 15 minutes! We got to go!
All right, guys, let's get them on.
JESSICA: Let's go.
RACHEL: Come on, guys.
Let's go.
CHRISTINA: Go, go, go, guys.
So, everybody's moving as fast as they can.
There's cupcakes flying everywhere.
We're just rushing to the finish line.
Let's get them out. Oh, they're looking good.
Mix up the colors. Mix up the flavors.
Minute and a half, guys.
We got to get them on there.
Last of them on really fast.
Push them on. Push them on.
30 seconds. We got to go.
Almost there, almost there.
10, 9, 8,
Get them on.
...6, 5, 4,
3, 2, 1.
[ Cheers and applause ]
[ Laughter ]
So, bakers, for this final round,
you were asked to create a 1,000-cupcake display
that captured the '80s, like, totally to the max.
Christina, let's begin with you. Tell us about your display.
Taylor Dayne, your transistor radio
was one of the most important things to you, growing up.
So, we decided to take that radio
and bump it up to the '80s for your children's party.
We also know that twins very often have to share things.
So this display is actually built with two sides.
The pink one is for Astaria, and the green one is for Levi.
We actually underlit the table with some blue lights,
and we also wanted to pump up those "I love '80s" speakers
with some lighting above.
Any cupcake changes?
That lava cake was a little confusing
since it was not able to be served hot,
so we did a peanut-butter cupcake.
We punched it with just a hint of chocolate,
filled it with a butterscotch ganache,
and we still kept that chocolate mousse
that you did enjoy on the top as our frosting.
For the orange-cream cake,
we did double-sift it so it's not as doughy.
So, I hope you enjoy.
Hi, Dawn. Tell us what you did.
We decided to go with something totally crazy for the '80s.
We did blocks. We did triangles.
We did circles. We did hearts.
And we wanted to go really colorful
with the puzzle cubes.
We also did the neon paint splatters
on the whole thing.
And we did make some changes to the cupcakes.
We put less caramel in the peanut-butter caramel cupcake,
and we added extra butter into the cake batter
for the chocolate so it would be a little bit moister.
And the chocolate mousse was a little bit heavy,
so we lightened that up quite a bit also.
All right, ladies, we're gonna give our judges
a chance to talk it over,
and we'll bring you back in a bit for the final decision.
Thanks.
CHRISTINA: I feel confidant.
We worked so hard,
and I definitely think our display is a lot better.
There's $10,000 at stake.
More importantly, it's about being the winner
of "Cupcake Wars."
DAWN: I am mentally and physically and emotionally just drained.
[ Voice breaking ] But I so want to win this thing.
More than anything in the world, I want to win this thing.
WILLMAN: Let's discuss these displays
dedicated to you and your twins.
What do you think about what Christina's done?
I love it. I think she did a great job with that.
My girl's on one side.
She doesn't have to share with the boy,
and that's always a drama.
Well done -- I mean, it's a gigantic boom box,
very colorful.
It's iconic to the '80s.
NELSON: The boom box is a really eye-catching element
Oh, yeah.
Let's talk about her cupcakes.
She really went deep,
in terms of her '80s inspiration,
using food and candy and all sorts of things
that were actually very popular in the '80s.
But she faltered a couple of times
with her cupcakes themselves.
That hot cinnamon candy
just didn't translate well into a cake.
The revision to that lava one --
I still feel that it was a very heavy cake.
So, let's go over to Dawn's display here.
Taylor, what do you think about what she's done?
It's so depictive of the time.
My only concern is that it says "Taylor Dayne."
This is not my party.
It's a children's party for my two children.
It has to be more about Levi and Astaria.
The '80s was all about sort of mismatched fashion,
and that's exactly what this display looks like.
She's got the neon. She's got the paint splatter.
I think she was right on the money with that.
Those puzzle cubes -- They are so big
that you feel like you want to play with it.
They look so real.
Let's talk about those cupcakes.
We were all just diving into that coconut cupcake.
It was so memorable with that coconut cream.
BELLANGER: The chocolate mousse is really good now.
Beautiful mousse. Mm-hmm.
It's way more airy,
and way lighter than it used to be.
Overall, they're just amazing cupcakes
and fun, fun, fun.
All right, dude and dudettes, do we have a winner?
Bring them back.
Bakers, today we've asked for cupcakes
that would help a pop icon
throw an unforgettable birthday party for her twins
in a way that only a music legend
like Taylor Dayne can do.
Christina, the judges loved your inventive round-1 sushi cupcake
and were even more impressed
by your spot-on and completely edible decorations.
They also liked that you branded your display
for the true stars of the party, Astaria and Levi.
And, Dawn, your cupcakes have earned rave reviews all day
and definitely brought the judges back to that time
of parachute pants and leg warmers.
Your brightly colored display and your cool puzzle-cube legs
made the judges want to pop and lock.
But in the end, it came down to this for the judges.
They felt that one of you had not only a fun display,
but also pitch-perfect cupcakes
that will serve as an amazing centerpiece
for Astaria and Levi's '80s-themed birthday party.
So, the winner of today's cupcake war is...
...Dawn.
You're the winner of "Cupcake Wars."
[ Cheers and applause ]
DAWN: Oh, my God.
I just cannot believe it.
It's really a dream come true,
and it is the most exciting thing
that has ever happened to me.
CHRISTINA: I'm disappointed. I really wanted to win this.
I feel like it was a really close competition,
but it's still a little heartbreaking.
We gave it everything we had.
Come on. We got about a hundred kids.
They're gonna eat a thousand cupcakes.
Let's go. Whoo!
Whoo!
DAWN: Winning "Cupcake Wars" was crazy,
and it was tiring, and it was hectic,
but I would not trade this experience for anything.
Happy birthday!
DAYNE: Thank you, Dawn.
Congratulations.
I love it!
Awesome.
Can I have another one?
They're really good.
Going back to Mineola
being the winner of "Cupcake Wars" means so much.
To be able to say, "Hey, I'm the best at what I do" --
It's gonna mean everything to us.
[ Cheers and applause ]
We deserve a cupcake now, right?
Okay.