Cupcake Wars

Kate and I have a new obsession… Cupcake Wars on the Food Network.

Have you seen it? It’s basically American Idol meets Survivor meets, um, cupcakes. They start out with four contestants and a theme (some of my favorite episode themes include Girl Scout Cookies, I Love Lucy, and Monster Truck Jam). The first round is all about taste, and it’s when the bakers whip up something like this:

Red Hot Velvet Cupcakes With Fiery Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
Luscious red velvet meets hot cayenne pepper in a combination of sweet and spicy that is just right. Topped with a cinnamon schnapps-infused frosting, these cupcakes are sinfully decadent.

They put the most random things in cupcakes – jalapenos, pesto, goat cheese. And booze, lots of booze. (See why I like this show? Alcohol-infused sugar. Sign me up.)

Then, the panel of judges gets to shatter the hopes and dreams of one contestant and vote them off the island.

In the second round they make three different cupcakes, judged on both taste and presentation. Then judges give a rose to the final two contestants, who have to make a display of 1,000 cupcakes.

They pick a winner, and everyone lives happily ever after.

It is awesome.

Over the weekend, Kate and Sam were inspired by what they’d seen on TV, so they got out our Williams-Sonoma kids’ cookbooks and picked a couple recipes to try. We whipped up a chocolate chip cookie cake and some chocolate mousse, all the while running around the kitchen like chicken with our heads cut off, yelling things like “Oh my gosh, we only have five minutes and I haven’t even started the fondant motorcycle helmets” and “This ganache isn’t right, I’m going to have to start over” and “I dropped the strawberry compote!!!”

It was fabulous.

And much less traumatizing than when Jenny and Sophie play Toddlers and Tiaras.

What shows do you like to watch with your kids?