NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Candace Nelson plays a judge on the Food Network's reality television show "Cupcake Wars." But now her cupcakes are at the center of a fight with a cupcake upstart.

Nelson's company, Sprinkles Cupcakes, is so frosted that it filed a federal trademark-infringement lawsuit recently in Connecticut against a store named Pink Sprinkles. The suit claims the similarity in names is likely to cause confusion in the marketplace.

The lawsuit says Sprinkles opened its first store in Beverly Hills in 2005 and became a national phenomenon as the cupcakes were featured on shows hosted by Oprah Winfrey, Martha Stewart and others. Sprinkles, which is based in Texas, has stores in New York, Washington, D.C., California, Dallas, Houston and Scottsdale and is planning to open several more.

The lawsuit, which seeks damages and to make Pink Sprinkles stop using the name, calls the dispute "an exceptional case, involving calculated and willful misconduct."

"Cupcake Wars" airs at 8 p.m. Tuesdays on the Food Network, Channel 61.