Students at Brook Knoll Elementary School in Scotts Valley are hitting the books once again as the school year gets underway. They’re hitting the wall, too. With a mural, that is.

Ian Coggins

“The Loser” sits on a shelf inside a display case at Cutesy Cupcakes in Scotts Valley. This unusual cupcake — a sweet potato cake with dried prunes, frosted with a banana buttercream frosting — is a perfectly-cooked replica of the undercooked cupcake that cost owners Lacey Thompson and Jeanette Fitzgearl a chance at Cupcake Wars glory. The owners took their elimination from the Food Network show in a light-hearted manner and nicknamed the cake ‘The Loser’ because it cost them a chance to move to the second round of the competition.

Kathryn (Kate) Williams

Ferole LeTarte (Hartje)