The usual judges on Cupcake Wars, Candace Nelson (owner of Sprinkles Cupcakes) and Florian Bellanger (chef and co-owner of online macaroon company MadMac), returned and were joined by Food Network's "Sandwich King," Jeff Mauro.
Sugar Mommy Cupcakes was eliminated in the first round, but the judges loved Jilly's Cuban coffee-inspired cupcake. The second round required the remaining bakers to create three cupcake flavors inspired by Miami and the South Beach Wine and Food Festival. Jilly's gave the judges the following treats:
Miami Spice Cake: Passion Fruit Cake soaked with Miami Vodka Syrup Filling: Raspberry Jam Topping: Mango Whipped Cream, Ghost Chile Salt, Passion Fruit Popper, White Chocolate Sail
Cruising Down Collins Cake: Coconut Cake soaked with Dark Rum Syrup Filling: Brown Sugar Roasted Pineapple Topping: Tangelo Cream Cheese Icing, Toasted Coconut, Orange Segment, Edible Collins Avenue Street Sign
SOBE Wine Fest Cake: Chocolate-Cabernet Filling: Amarena Cherries Topping: Zinfandel Chocolate Ganache, Cabernet Buttercream Grapes, Buttercream Grapevine
One of the things that set Jilly's apart during the second round was presentation. Shiller found light-up cupcake platforms in the pantry and decided to use them to display his cupcakes for round two. Contestants generally display their cupcakes right on the plate, but as Shiller said, "We want to be the difference-makers."
