'Cupcake Wars' Treat is Free Today at Rockin' Cupcakes

In the end, the cupcake bakers from Rochester Hills were 'Beautiful Losers' on Sunday night.

Mary Ohngren and her daughter, Kara Ohngren, owner of Rockin' Cupcakes, competed on the season premiere of Food Network's "Cupcake Wars." They were tasked with making cupcakes for a San Diego Zoo party; in the first challenge, they had to choose two ingredients that the zoo animals might be fed.

Among the options: yams, corn, carrots — and crickets.

The Ohngrens created a corn and Italian-cured beef cupcake topped with brown butter buttercream frosting and crispy fried bresaola — a thin Italian beef similar to bacon.

The judges, which included a zookeeper, opted for teams that used crickets to top their cupcakes. 

"We wanted to take a chance and go outside the box - unfortunately it didn't pay off," Kara Ohngren said Sunday night after the show aired.

"But it really was a great experience and we still want to celebrate."

The celebration will be from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday (a day the cupcake shop is normally closed). With every purchase, customers will receive, for free, the cupcake Rockin' Cupcakes made on the show.

"This way, our customers can taste it and decide for themselves what they think about it (we think it's delicious)," Ohngren said.

As a nod to Detroit-native Bob Seger's song (all of their cupcakes are named after rock bands or songs), they are calling the Cupcake Wars creation "Beautiful Loser." 

Pure Cupcakes, based in San Diego, won the contest Sunday night.