Falkner and IuzziniPhoto: 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]
