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.

Bill Clinton is Allergic to Wheat and Dairy

Apparently, back in 2007, Bill Clinton's allergies were discussed on some television shows, including the Rachael Ray Show and The Today Show.  After a lot of Googling, I found an article in the USA Today from 2007 which confirms his allergies. 

"Cooking for Clinton was often a challenge because he had allergies to chocolate, dairy and wheat flour, the chef says. But Clinton could be voracious when it came to desserts."

Chelsea's wedding cake contained both butter and chocolate, so it is unlikely that Bill Clinton was able to enjoy a slice.  For more details about Chelsea's gluten-free wedding cake, view the cake photos, and watch these Access Hollywood videos. 

View Photos of Chelsea Clinton's Wedding Cake

Entertainment Tonight has several photos of Chelsea's enormous and elegant wedding cake.  The cake was indeed gluten-free, but it was not vegan!  That is very unfortunate considering that there are bakeries in New York, like Babycakes, that can make a yummy cake that is both gluten-free and vegan.  Is it a new wedding trend to match the cake to the dress?

"The sweet treat was reported to have sat four feet tall and was made with 360 organic eggs, 50 pounds of sugar, 45 pounds of gluten-free flour, 30 pounds of butter and bittersweet chocolate, and was decorated with about 1000 sugar flowers!"

Access Hollywood Videos: Bill Clinton’s Gluten-Free Lunch and Inside La Tulipe Desserts

Bill Clinton had lunch on Friday, July 30 at Gigi Trattoria, where he enjoyed a flavorful gluten-free buckwheat gnocchetti pasta. The pasta dish is shown at the end of this Access Hollywood video.

Bill Clinton reportedly lost 30 pounds and it is not clear whether his diet included gluten-free items. However, a gluten-free diet is not a weight loss diet or a trend. It is the only treatment for celiac disease, an autoimmune disease.





Watch this video about the making of Chelsea Clinton’s wedding cake. Although a photo of the cake isn’t in the video, La Tulipe Desserts shares more details about the all-natural gluten-free cake that was nine tiers and four feet tall! In an article in The New York Times, the wedding planner talked about the other gluten-free items, but didn't mention who made them.

"The wedding cake was gluten-free, as was the bread. So were the chocolate-chip cookies in the straw welcome bags in the guests’ hotel rooms."

Update from People on August 4, 2010: 

"As for the food, the cake was a four-foot, nine-tier masterpiece of vanilla sponge cake, layered with dark chocolate mousse. It was gluten free, and the chefs Maarten and Frances Steenman, owners of La Tulipe Desserts, gave PEOPLE an exclusive look of their creation.

For many more inside details of Chelsea Clinton's lavish wedding, pick up this week's issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday"

Who Made Chelsea Clinton's Gluten-Free Wedding Cake?

The media has been buzzing about Chelsea Clinton's vegan gluten-free wedding cake, which is estimated to be $11,000.  She has a "gluten allergy" and has been vegan since she was a teen. According to The New York Times, La Tulipe Desserts in Mount Kisco, New York, made Chelsea's gluten-free wedding cake.  The reception was catered by St. Regis Hotel and included vegan and gluten-free items. 

La Tulipe Desserts, a European patisserie, is not a dedicated gluten-free bakery, but they do sell some gluten-free products, including award-winning macaroons. Here is some information from their website.

"We can create any custom size, flavors, and style for your special day. Anything is possible. Imagine it and it is yours..."

"Our flavorful ingredients are almost all organic and come directly from original sources around the world — vanilla beans from Haiti, pure lemon and orange essences from Italy, Marcona almonds from Spain, chocolate from France, Lubecker marzipan from Germany.


And that’s just what we import. We buy fresh, seasonal organic produce and honey from local farmers, and we choose it ourselves. Those fruits in your dessert taste fresh – picked because they are fresh – picked.


From start to finish, every creation at La Tulipe Desserts is an individual work of art. No mass production, no prepackaging, no artificial anything. Just premium, hand-selected ingredients prepared by artisans. We invite you to taste the difference."

A photo of Chelsea's cake hasn't been released yet, but some photos from the wedding can be viewed here and in this AP video, which mentions the vegan gluten-free wedding cake. She was a beautiful bride in her Vera Wang dress!

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.

Young Camp Counselor Opens Gluten-Free Bakery

A new dedicated gluten-free bakery just opened in Danville, California. The owner, Katie Alin, is 22-years-old! Her mother has celiac disease. After being a camp counselor at the celiac camp run by her family's foundation (Taylor Family Foundation), she was inspired to open her own bakery called Miglet's Cupcake Shop.

Amazing Awareness - Erin McKenna's Gluten Free Baking Videos at FoodNetwork.com

According to a press release, "FoodNetwork.com's "Conscious Cooking" videos rethink health food and offer tips for wholesome dishes and snacks. The five-part series is hosted by culinary expert Colombe Jacobsen, who was a finalist in season three of "The Next Food Network Star." Cooking alongside Colombe are various New York chefs including Erin McKenna, PeterBerley, Galen Zamarra, and Sam Talbot." There are five gluten free baking videos, featuring Erin McKenna from Babycakes NYC Bakery, which is vegan and gluten free. These videos are an online exclusive; they did not air on Food Network television.

While I was reading the press releases on the Babycakes website, I came across this from July 2008: "BabyCakes NYC's Erin McKenna on the cover on Inc. magazine with Top Chef's Tom Colicchio. The Get Ahead Guide: Erin McKenna Makes the Best Cupcakes in New York City". Here are some other facts from the article: "New York named BabyCakes' cupcake the city's best in 2006, and founder Erin McKenna has been featured on Martha Stewart's show. A second BabyCakes store will open this fall in Los Angeles." Her skinny buns were on Oprah's best list in March 2008. Erin's cookbook will be available on April 28, 2009 and can be preordered now on Amazon for $16.32. The cookbook even has celebrity reviews. WOW! Now, that is Amazing Awareness!

Amazing Awareness - Celiac videos on "You Tube"

On "You Tube", you can search for celiac or gluten free and find hundreds of results, including many cooking demos, educational videos, and news reports. It is so nice to see all these videos together on one site.

I especially enjoyed this Liberty bakery commercial . You can order online from their website to try their products that are made in a dedicated gluten, casein, corn, soy, and nut free bakery in Florida.

I also was impressed with the celiac disease PSA with Heidi Collins. I found the video on the kids celiac camp interesting. This video is fuzzy on "You Tube", so the above link takes you to ABC to watch the clear video from August 2008. For more information on the camp, go to the celiac camp website.

Here are some other informative Celiac videos on "You Tube":

1. Heidi Collins on CNN first and second interviews
2. Cooking Spree Ad (with Heidi’s son in it)
3. Comcast Newsmakers Celiac Awareness Night - an interview with Alice Blast, founder of NFCA
4. The View - Elisabeth Hasselbeck and Dr. Peter Green
5. Dr. Aline Charabaty on gene testing. She has many videos explaining Celiac Disease.
6. Mystery Diagnosis Part 1 and Part 2- This aired on the first season of this popular Discovery Health channel show. There have been six seasons and this appears to be the only episode on Celiac Disease.
7. Mayo Clinic
8. Alternative Appetites - Vanessa’s Pizza from around the world - part 1. The entire episode and another one is on the NFCA's website .
9. Miami Pizza Fusion
10. Nearly Normal Kitchen - Jules Shepard makes graham crackers on Fox news - 2007. For more information, visit the Nearly Normal Kitchen website.
11. Enjoy Life on Food Network's Unwrapped

Please post in the comments below if you discover a gluten free cooking video you enjoy watching. Happy viewing!