Kylie, Lexi, Jenna, and Sadie are about to encounter their biggest baking challenge ever! They’re invited as one of four bakeries to compete in Connecticut’s Battle of the Bakers on TV! Their mission: come up with a cupcake that combines two ingredients that don’t traditionally go together. Taste and presentation count for major points, and the two finalists will each have to create a 500 cupcake display. The winner takes all: a $5,000 check and the Battle of the Bakers Champion title. Competing against Peace, Love, and Cupcakes are the state’s most prestigious bakeries: the sisters of Connecticut Cupcake, Sugar Fingers Vegan Bakery, and the “Cake King” himself, Benny Bolero…

“OMG!” cried Lexi. “That Benny guy has won every Food Network competition he’s ever been in. He’s a pro! He built a replica of the Titanic out of cake and sunk it in a swimming pool!”

Jenna nodded. “Seriously, how can we ever expect to win against him?”

Kylie glanced across the kitchen set: Benny was signing autographs for the cameramen. He had commercial mixers, a fondant roller machine, about 100 different types of piping tips. Okay, maybe they were up against some stiff competition. But she would not admit defeat before they even began the battle. “He may have more experience, but we have style!” She smiled at her cupcake club friends.

“That’s right,” their advisor, Juliette, insisted. “You girls have come a long way and you’re going to give these bakers a good fight.”

Kylie shook her head. “But how? Every one of them is a pro! We’re just a bunch of fifth graders.” She watched as the Connecticut Cupcake sisters, Cece and Chloe, unpacked their ingredients. They were so organized. Even the pink bows in their hair coordinated.

“Sometimes the least likely person steals the ball,” Sadie pointed out. She had played in dozens of basketball competitions and she knew a thing or two about what made a champion. She had a shelf full of trophies at home to prove it. “I was once up against this giant girl from Rye Country Day School. I swear she was twelve years old and about six feet tall! Everyone thought she was unbeatable. Well, I faked her out and won the game. We creamed those Rye Reptiles!”

“And we’ll cream that Benny Bolero dude,” Jenna piped up. “What’s he got that we don’t?”

“A hit TV show, a chain of bakeries, about a dozen cookbooks with his name on them…” Delaney sighed. “I think he even has a street named after him in Stamford.”

“Oh,” Jenna sighed. “Good point.”

Jerry Wolcott, host of Battle of the Bakers, suddenly summoned everyone to attention. There was no more time for nerves or self-doubt. “Cupcake bakers, may I please have one representative from each team in the center of the kitchen?” he called.

Benny strolled over, looking confident. Cece stepped forward after she and Chloe thumb wrestled for it. Kylie looked at Sadie. “You go,” she said. “Sadie, you’re a real competitor—you know what it takes to win. You’re our best bet.”

Sadie gulped. “But, Kylie, you’re the club president. You should be the leader. Besides, what if they give us something to read? What about my dyslexia?”

Jenna gave her a little push. “Come on, chica, you can do it. Put on your game face and get out there!”

Lexi gave her hand a squeeze. “We believe in you, Sadie.”

Sadie walked slowly to the middle of the room where the other three bakers were gathered, awaiting instructions. She stood next to Dina Pinkerton, Sugar Fingers owner and two-time Battle of the Bakers winner. Dina was adjusting her apron and looked as cool as a cucumber. Sadie nibbled her nails.

“Hey.” Dina smiled. “I’ve heard some great things about your cupcakes.”

Sadie smiled back timidly. “Thanks.”

“You nervous?” Dina asked.

Sadie thought about what her basketball coach had told her a million times: “Don’t let the other team see you sweat.”

“Um, no, not at all,” Sadie lied. “I’m cool.” She wasn’t sure who she was trying to convince, Dina or herself.

“Good!” Dina replied. “Because I’m a wreck! I am before every competition. But adrenaline is a good thing, you know?”

“It is?”

“Sure! Just try to focus on taste, texture, and presentation and keep an eye on the clock. And whatever you do, don’t put Maraschino cherries in your cupcakes.”

“Why?” Sadie asked puzzled.

“Because the head judge, Fiero Boulangerie, hates them. You’ll lose if you do—trust me!”

Sadie smiled. “Thanks for the tip!”

“I’ve got another tip for you,” whispered Benny. “Make sure your cupcakes have some zip and zing…if you know what I mean.”

Sadie scratched her head. “Um, no, I don’t know what you mean.”

“A little extra excitement—something that takes it over the top,” Benny explained.

“Oh!” said Sadie. “Like the time you made a Fourth of July cupcake on The Cupcake King show and it exploded?”

Cece rolled her eyes. “You don’t have to throw in all those splashy tricks,” she advised. “Just make sure your cupcakes are moist and you use the best ingredients.”

Sadie tried to take it all in: zip and zing, no cherries, best ingredients. Her mind was spinning!

“Places! Places, everyone!” Jerry summoned them. “No more talking. I’d like to introduce you to the judges and then we’ll start filming.”

Three people walked into the kitchen set: Fiero, Carly Nielson, owner of Jimmies, the world’s first cupcakery, and…

Sadie’s mouth hit the floor. No! It couldn’t be!

“I’m sure you know Battle of the Bakers’ two famous judges, Fiero and Carly,” Jerry said. “And our guest judge today is Mrs. Lila Vanderwall, president of the New Fairfield Art Society.”

Sadie looked over her shoulder at her fellow PLC members—they looked as shocked and sick to their stomachs as she felt.

“What’s wrong?” Delaney whispered.

“Big problema!” Jenna gulped. “Mrs. Vanderwall hates Peace, Love, and Cupcakes! We messed up her order.”

“Messed up is putting it mildly,” Kylie added. “We almost caused an epic art society fail.”

“Relax,” Juliette tried to reassure them. “I’m sure Mrs. Vanderwall has long forgotten the coat of arms mishap.”

Just then, a shriek arose from the judging table: “You! I know you!” Mrs. Vanderwall was pointing an accusing finger at Sadie. “You destroyed my event!”

Sadie tried to keep her guard up. “It was an accident,” she said softly. “Bygones?”

The other bakers looked stunned—they’d never seen a judge get this angry before she tasted a cupcake.

Jerry tried to calm her down by doing a magic trick: he pulled a quarter out of her ear. “Hey, Mrs. V.—look at that! Ears to you!” Fiero and Carly chuckled.

But Mrs. Vanderwall was not amused. “I do not like magic tricks,” she sniffed. “I do not like puns and I do not like bakers who are unprofessional.” She settled into her seat and continued to glare at Sadie.

“Okay…someone needs a little sugar to sweeten her attitude!” Jerry joked. “So let’s give it to her. Bakers, here are the rules.” He handed a packet of papers to each of the team leaders. Sadie flipped through and tried to focus—it had so many words! Page after page of regulations, diagrams, and legal terms. Each round appeared to be a different challenge ending with the cupcake presentation—if you made it that far.

Dina raised her hand. “Um, could you cut to the chase and just tell us the challenge for Round 1?”

Sadie heaved a sigh of relief. Yes! Please just tell us what we have to do!

“Simple,” replied Jerry. “The first round requires you to make a cupcake that will wow our judges.” He pointed to the table piled high with ingredients in the corner. “But here’s the fun part: you must use two ingredients—one from section A and one from section B—that don’t go together. This challenge is called the Perfect Pair.”

Sadie stared at the table: in section A, there was there were tons of snack foods like potato chips, popcorn, peanut butter, granola, and a mountain of jelly beans. In section B, there were fruits, veggies, hot peppers, even a jar of pickles.

“Holy cannoli!” Benny cried, mopping his brow. “What are we supposed to do with that?”

“That’s for you to bake and for us to partake!” Jerry chirped. He pointed to the giant digital clock on the back wall of the studio. “And your time starts now!”

Sadie raced back to her team. “What do we want from the table? What can we bake?”

“It’s all so yucky,” Jenna said. “None of those things go together!”

“Think out of the box, you guys,” Kylie pleaded. “There has to be something!”

“What if we do a chocolate–potato chip cupcake?” asked Delaney.

“Way too safe,” said Lexi. “This is Battle of the Bakers. They want creativity. They want to see something that’s never been done before. I’ve watched every episode, trust me—we need to take a big risk.”

“How about popcorn and papaya? Or pickles and Pop Tarts?” Kylie suggested.

“Ew, ew, ew!” Jenna insisted. “This has to be yummy or we’re heading home in round 1.”

Sadie was the only one not tossing out suggestions. She was too busy looking at the ingredients table, her mind racing a million miles a minute.

“Guys,” she said softly. “I think I know what to make.”

The girls stopped bickering.

“What?” Kylie asked. “Tell us! We only have 55 minutes left!”

“My parents are the perfect pair—even though they argue all the time. They belong together.”

“We know you’re worried about your folks getting divorced,” Jenna said. “But what does this have to do with cupcakes?”

“Let’s do the two foods my parents like combined in a cupcake. That way we won’t just win, but maybe they’ll see what a perfect pair they are and won’t break up?”

The girls were all quiet. “It’s a great idea, Sadie,” Kylie said, putting her arm around her friend. “But what are their two favorite foods?”

“That’s the tricky part,” Sadie said. “They really don’t go together—but I think we can pull it off.” She whispered in Kylie’s ear.

“Oh no. Really?” Kylie sighed. “Okay, let’s put it to a quick vote: all in favor of a chili and cheesecake cupcake, raise your hand.”

Jenna gasped. “Chili and cheesecake? Un momento, por favor! How spicy are we talking?”

“Hot. My dad likes his chili very, very hot. Like three-alarm-blaze hot.”

“Ouch!” said Delaney. “We want to wow the judges…not set them on fire.”

“I think we can do it,” Kylie interrupted. “A sweet, light cream cheese frosting would balance out the heat of the cupcake.”

Jenna nodded. “We could blend some chili spices into a dark chocolate batter. My abuela made a delicious ‘hot chocolate’ cake once. I think I remember how…some cayenne, a little ground chili pepper…”

“And I can make a realistic chili pepper out of fondant and put it on top of the cupcake,” Lexi offered.

Sadie cheered. “I knew we could pull it off!”

“Not so fast, ladies,” Juliette reminded them. “We haven’t pulled it off yet. And the clock is down to forty-five minutes.”

“Cupcake bakers, opposites attract…but will you repel the judges?” Jerry teased. “Forty-five minutes left!”

“Team PLC,” Sadie said, pulling them all into a huddle just like she’d seen her coach do. “Two-four-six-eight, let’s get baking something great!”