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Johnny Iuzzini: King of Cupcakes
Top Chef Just Desserts judge tops Elizabeth Falkner in cupcake battle.
It was the Thunderdome of cupcakes -- two titans enter, but only one can emerge victorious. Two of our favs, Top Chef Master Elizabeth Falkner and Top Chef Just Desserts judge Johnny Iuzzini, went cake-to-cake this week in a cupcake bake-off at Manhattan's Astor Center.
The battle helped to kick off Scharffen Berger's Chocolate Adventures contest, but it was hard for us to focus on anything other than Johnny and Elizabeth's creamy creations.
Seriouseats had the tale of the tape:
In chef Falkner's corner -- a Chocolate Pub Cake, made of a stout beer chocolate cake batter, molasses fluff filling, fudge frosting, and garnished with Meyer lemon-spice peanuts.
Representing for chef Iuzzini -- a Pop-A-Rocksy Rose, made of a chocolate-beet cake with raspberries, chocolate buttercream, and hibiscus-flavored Pop Rocks in the middle, frosted with raspberry/rose/beet buttercream and coconut cream cheese foam, and finally garnished with a crystallized rose petal.
Both chefs were able to prep their cupcakes in advance, and attendees got to help out with frosting and assembly. In the end, the judges sided with Johnny's very pink creation, but what do you think: which Top Chef titan's cupcakes would you want to sample?
