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'Cupcake Wars' offers 'Comedy Cupcake' cheer for the holidays Now that December is under way, lots of people are starting to get stressed out either preparing for the big finale of Hanukkah on the fifth or moving into the home stretch of preparations for Christmas. As a break from all the tension, Food Network's competitive reality series "Cupcake Wars" is offering up a sweet and funny treat on Saturday, Dec. 7, with an episode called "Comedy Cupcakes." Four bakers compete to create the perfect confection for the celebrity-studded VIP party for Variety magazine's Power of Comedy event. The regular judges – Sprinkles Cupcakes owner Candace Nelson and pastry chef Florian Bellanger – are back, with celebrity publicist Jennifer Styles as guest judge. As always, comedian/magician Justin Willman is host, and he reports that the bakers will be facing some challenges as the show tries to toss some jokes into the mix of ingredients. "In round one," Willman says, "just to give you a sense, we gave them foods that are inherently funny, like parsnips, seltzer water and kumquats. You can't say kumquat or parsnips without smiling." He also gets a little bonus in each episode. "Candace is at my end of the judges table," Willman says. "I'll take a huge bite out of whatever she has left on the table. I get a little taste of everything throughout the day. I don't have the refined palate the judges have, so I don't have the ability to speak in such a deep vocabulary about the cupcakes. "I'm normally, 'I love it,' 'I don't love it.' So, in this episode, I was a fan. There are no crazy ingredients that aren't tasty, so it was all good." As to his personal favorite sort of cupcake, Willman says, "I'm simple. I like chocolate and peanut butter. When I go into cupcake shops, that's normally what I do. Sprinkles makes a good chocolate/peanut butter that I love." Interestingly, when asked what her best-selling cupcake to men is, Nelson says, "Peanut butter, and they like it better with peanut-butter frosting than chocolate." "That means I'm a manly man," says Willman. As for the worst ever, Willman says, "I can't remember which episode, but the baker chose to use the ingredients tuna and mayonnaise, so he made a smokedtuna/mayonnaise cupcake, sort of like a tuna sandwich. And it was not good. "He went out in the first round, but he does now have the dubious honor of, whenever somebody asks me what the worst cupcake was, his is always the one I describe." BY KATE O'HARE Justin Willman Recipes featured in "Comedy Cupcakes" are: coconut rum and lime cupcakes; banana, chocolate, peanut butter cupcakes; cannoli cupcakes with ricotta and creamcheese frosting; and parsnip and quince cupcakes. Bakers hail from the Velvet Bake Shop in Plano, Texas; Bliss Cupcake Cafe in Fayetteville, Ark.; Fat Bottomed Girl's Cupcake Shoppe in Hot Springs, Ark.; and CnC Cupcakes in San Jose, Calif. BEST MOB MOVIES Marlon Brando Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty 8 John Travolta and Uma Thurman The Goshen News • TV Spotlight • December 2-8, 2013 BY JAY BOBBIN "Little Caesar" (1930) Edward G. Robinson cemented his image and career as the underworld hood legendary for the line "Is this the end of Rico?" "Bonnie and Clyde" (1967) Warren Beatty redefined his career, and largely gave one to Faye Dunaway, as producer and star of this stylistically legendary tale of mobsters in love and on the run. "The Godfather" (1972) You can't do this list without this movie, director Francis Ford Coppola's superb realization of Mario Puzo's novel about the Corleone family, led by Marlon Brando as the don. And "Part II" stands on its own. "Scarface" (1983) As single-minded Tony Montana, whose power grab includes the use of his "little friend" – a very powerful firearm – Al Pacino is iconic in director Brian De Palma's profane, violent update of a classic story. "Once Upon a Time in America" (1984) Sergio Leone's genuine epic charts the paths, sometimes shared and sometimes divergent, of two mob pals (Robert De Niro, James Woods). "The Untouchables" (1987) De Niro makes a perfectly snarly Al Capone in De Palma's revisiting of the saga establishing Eliot Ness (Kevin Costner) as a hero. "Goodfellas" (1990) Unquestionably one of the very best mob movies, this Martin Scorsese-directed masterpiece follows novice Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) through his life with more seasoned peers played by De Niro, Paul Sorvino and Oscar winner Joe Pesci. "Pulp Fiction" (1994) Amid the cross section of characters in director Quentin Tarantino's great crime drama, John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson are standouts as universe-pondering hit men. "Road to Perdition" (2002) Director Sam Mendes' underrated drama is a grim look at honor among thieves – or the lack thereof – as a Depression-era enforcer (Tom Hanks) turns against his seemingly paternal boss (Paul Newman) to protect his murder-witness son. "The Departed" (2006) Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon are both fine as a cop and a mobster who switch places in Scorsese's revision of the Hong Kong classic "Infernal Affairs," but Jack Nicholson's portrayal of a figure inspired by Boston's Whitey Bulger looms large over the whole story.

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