Gluten-Free Cupcakes Finally Win Cupcake Wars!

Kyra Bussanich of Crave Bake Shop returned to Cupcake Wars and this time, her gluten-free cupcakes won! In December 2010, Kyra first appeared on Cupcake Wars and her gluten-free cupcakes almost won.

On tonight's episode, The Closer 100th Episode, Kyra said that this is a "win for the entire gluten-free community." I couldn't agree more! After watching three seasons of Cupcake Wars, it is fantastic to finally see a gluten-free winner on the Food Network. Cast members of The Closer loved the cupcakes and said "we are all going to gluten-free."

Season four of Cupcake Wars airs Sundays at 8 pm ET/PT. This episode reairs on Tuesday, December 20 at 8 pm ET/PT.  If you missed the episode, watch this clip of the ending to see the first gluten-free champion.

Crave Bake Shop Baked Gluten-Free Cupcakes on Cupcake Wars

Tonight, Kyra Bussanich of Crave Bake Shop baked gluten-free cupcakes on Cupcake Wars on Food Network. The beginning of the episode had some terrific information about gluten-free.  Crave Bake Shop is a 100% gluten-free bakery located near Portland, Oregon.

The judges loved the gluten-free cupcake in the first round, which was a holiday cupcake made with cranberries and apple cider. In the second round, the three gluten-free cupcakes were inspired by holiday drinks. The flavors were egg nog, chai spice, and chocolate peppermint. They had beautiful decorations that impressed the judges. This quote from judge Candance Nelson from Sprinkles Cupcakes was amazing.

"I think you guys are like magical gluten-free elves that are working over there in that kitchen because I cannot tell that these are gluten-free cupcakes."

In the third round, Kyra had a display of Christmas trees on a table to hold the cupcakes, while the other finalist had an elegant sleigh display. Kyra added more ginger to the egg nog cupcakes at the request of the judges, but unfortunately she added too much.

While Kyra did not win Cupcake Wars, this was still a huge victory for gluten-free awareness.  This episode called Tree Lighting, the second season premiere, reairs several times this week.

Gluten-Free Baker Wins Cupcake Wars on the Food Network

Lisa Cowden, a baker at Gluten-Free Creations (GFC) bakery and LuLu's Cupcakes in Scottsdale, Arizona, won Cupcake Wars on the Food Network.  The episode called "Survival of the Fittest" airs on Sunday, July 11 at 5 pm and 11 pm ET/PT.  Here is a quote from Lisa.

"They're very natural, very good for you and I think that's one of the things that really came across with the judging. Our competitors are really tending to go less natural, a lot of artificial ingredients, and I think it counted against them in the end."

For more details, watch this video and read this article. 

Update:  The show did not mention gluten-free, so I contacted Gluten-Free Creations to find out if the cupcakes on the show were gluten-free. Here is their response.

"The cupcakes on the show were not made gluten-free. However, the same recipe works using our Gluten-free sweet Baking Mix."

Update December 2010: Read about gluten-free Crave Bake Shop on Cupcake Wars and gluten-free and vegan Sweet Freedom Bakery.

Update December 2011: Gluten-free cupcakes finally won Cupcake Wars when Crave Bake Shop returned to the show.