Finals week is a stressful time for all students. But in Mrs. Biever’s room? Hell breaks loose as students go toe to toe in the famed cupcake wars. On December 18th, 5 groups: group Hot Penguins, group Merry Christmas, group S.A.M., group Green Goblins, and group Happy Feet battled fiercely for first place in the 2B FACS class. All five groups were to create cupcake designs, bake them, and serve them, being judged by their creativity, presentation, and most importantly, taste!
MEET THE JUDGES:
Coach Hughes, Brentwood’s beloved wrestling coach, world history, and government teacher was one of the lovely judges chosen for this year’s cupcake wars. One thing’s for sure, Coach Hughes always has a lot to say.
Mrs. Musterman, the famed chemistry teacher, also found herself judging the cupcakes this year. With a critical eye and hard-to-impress attitude, she was definitely a foe for the competitors. Was anyone going to leave her dazzled?
Next, Brentwood’s biology teacher, Mr. Hamdan made his way down to Mrs. Believer’s during the 2B period. One thing’s for sure, his dissecting capabilities didn’t stop outside the world of science, for Mr. Hamdan could pick apart any poor contender’s entry with ease.
And last but not least, a student sat in the judge’s chair for the first time as well. Senior football star Jack O’Brien faced his fellow students and judged their creations. Wiggling his way into the position by being an extremely helpful teaching assistant to Mrs. Biever, O’Brien was simply happy to be there.
With everything on the line, the contenders needed to think of a creative and delicious idea to leave our judges speechless. Not only did the design have to be fun and imaginative, but it also had to be neat; the flavors had to blend together with perfection, and the presentation of their entire creation. So, what did our contestants ultimately decide to enter in the contest? Let’s see!
First up, the group Hot Penguins entered an adorable design of penguin and hot cocoa cupcakes. The Hot Penguins consisted of: Kyra Willaims (12), Ariana Hewitt (12), Geniyah Johnson (10), and Murray Curran (12). When asked about their entry, Willaims said, “It’s penguins to go with the other ones that are going to be mugs of hot cocoa.”
And it seemed to be a hit with the judges! Coach Hughes observed the neat piping, the phenomenal blend of flavors, and the satisfying texture. Although Hughes did have a critique of the lack of creativity, which was definitely a blow to the Hot Penguins.
Did they overcome the judge’s criticism by the good outweighing the bad? Let’s take a look at their competitors.
Group Merry Christmas, consisting of Blake Beckrich (12), Ammar Hussain (12th), Dani Taylor (10), and Maleah Ausar (10th), entered cupcakes filled with sweet, gooey chocolate ganache with flat green Christmas trees on top. This combination sounded to be deliciously lethal, but our judges didn’t seem to agree…
“Adding the heavy whipping cream was really smart, but I think I was cheated on my ganache,” said Coach Hughes.
Unfortunately, Mrs. Musterman also had a thing or two to say about their cupcakes. “My biggest complaint is the sprinkle-to-icing ratio. It’s really cute but the sprinkles are hard,” said Musterman. Did these harsh appraisals take them out of the running?
Our next group, group S.A.M., was an alliance between Shuan Hudson (9), Ja’Mya Reid (10), and Alara Stewart (10). These three cooked up a plethora of designs, christmas trees, presents, and candy canes. “It’s a winter wonderland,” said Hudson.
Coach Hughes complimented the group for their delicious buttercream, but BHS’s student judge, O’Brien, combatted the praise with: “I’m not a fan of the hard sprinkles.”
Second to last, the Green Goblins made tall Christmas trees and built up the sky-scraping cupcakes with green buttercream. “We got our idea from another class, but then we added more to it like the lights and powdered sugar for snow,” said Cade Beracha, one of the Green Goblins. Scout Langhorst (10), Evan Goldman (10), Cade Beracha (9), Alex Vachon (10), and Jack Magee (10) only seemed to have been hearing good things from the judges. O’Brien commented about how good the buttercream icing was and they even had Mrs. Musterman singing their praises. Certainly, this would be securing their win, right? Well, one more group remains, the battle hasn’t yet concluded.
The final group was group Happy Feet with the entry of their adorable penguin cupcakes. Group Happy Feet was made up of Etta Garnholz (9), Natalie Kuelker (10), Moon Zhang (9), and Audriana Gomez (9). “The hardest part [about making their cupcakes] has been cutting the Oreos in half,” said freshman Etta Garnholz.
Now all of our contestants and judges have been introduced… who won!?
At the end of the competition, Ms. Biever announced the winner, group Hot Penguins ended up stealing the win with their tasty and cute penguin and hot cocoa cupcakes. The Green Goblins fought hard and fair but they ended up in a close second. Congratulations!
The Cupcake Wars this year was a fun Christmas-y success where all competitors and judges had a fun time baking and taste testing. We look forward to next year and all the new innovative designs that are sure to come.
