In each episode of Cupcake Wars, four of the country's top bakers compete for a $10,000 prize in a cupcake-baking competition. The competition consists of three rounds, with one contestant eliminated after each round. In round one, the contestants must baking a cupcake that is judged on taste alone. Baking three cupcakes is the task in the second round, when they are judged on both taste and presentation. Then, the remaining two bakers are each given a five-person team in the final round, in which they have two hours to make 1,000 cupcakes. The baker whom the judges determine made the best cupcakes in all three rounds takes home the cash.