Cupmudgeonism

Iuzzini Bests Falkner in Cupcake Battle

Falkner and Iuzzini
Falkner and Iuzzini Photo: via Serious Eats

Yes, we know: Cupcakes, *yawn*. But local pastry queen Elizabeth Falkner recently squared off against Top Chef: Just Desserts head judge (and Jean Georges pastry chef) Johnny Iuzzini in cupcake bake-off at the Astor Center in NYC, and the results, we reluctantly admit, sound delicious. Iuzzini pleased the judges most with his chocolate-beet cupcake with raspberries, chocolate buttercream, and hibiscus-flavored Pop Rocks in the middle; but Falkner’s Chocolate Pub Cake — featuring stout beer in the batter, molasses fluff filling, fudge frosting, and Meyer lemon-spice peanuts — was deemed the winner by Serious Eats: “most cupcakes end up punching me in the face…with sweetness… sorry, Johnny, but I preferred Elizabeth’s… because it wasn’t as sweet.”

Elizabeth Faulkner [sic] vs. Johnny Iuzzini Cupcake Battle [Serious Eats]

Iuzzini Bests Falkner in Cupcake Battle