Their chocolate cake was sweet, but victory was sweeter as a Buffalo Township woman and her partner won their segment of the Food Network's “Winner Cake All” program.

Cathy Burnheimer, owner of Popped Envy in Buffalo Township, and her partner, artist Les Polinko of Pittsburgh, took top honors and $10,000 in the competition against three other teams that aired on the network Jan. 21.

Food Network star Giada De Laurentiis hosted the Burnheimer and Polinko team, as well as three others, and challenged them in a two-part competition.

Each episode features four baking teams competing in two rounds, including a decoration challenge in which each team must create a unique cake topper based on the client's theme.

The panel of judges then decides which team is the first to be eliminated. In the second round, the three remaining teams take part in the cake challenge, where De Laurentiis introduces the client's request for a sculpted cake for their celebration.

Burnheimer said, “We had one hour to create a frog prince topper, but we finished in the top two.”

Polinko said, “The cake topper, we were really excited to do that one because I could sculpt frogs all day long.

“But then Cathy burned herself on the molten sugar and we were really nervous that we wouldn't finish on time,” Polinko said.

She said, “It was going to be the ball the frog was on. If you look closely you'll see the sugar was so hot we didn't have time to cool it down, the frog and the ball were melting into the pond.

“Other teams used fondant, but we used innovative materials like isomalt and dyed coconut,” said Polinko.

One team was sent home, and the Burnheimer and Polinko and their two competitors met their clients, the stars of the “Broadway Princess Party” concert series, Laura Osnes, Susan Egan and Courtney Reed.

The Broadway stars were marking the third year of their live concert series and needed a cake to celebrate with the cast and crew, so the bakers needed to make cakes with glitz and glitter fit for royalty.

Burnheimer said, “We had five hours to do whatever we needed to win.

“We used a lot of different elements,” Burnheimer said. “We pulled in elements from all the relationships between the women in the production and the (music director Benjie Rauhala).”

Polinko said, “It was a very large cake, three feet by three feet. Because he created this to show it was a princess kneeling and holding a fairy that had a face like Benjie.”

Polinko added, “It represented all the princesses. It couldn't just be a Jasmine or a Cinderella.”

“When we wheeled the cake forward, the princesses had tears in their eyes because the cake conveyed the feelings they had for one another,” she said. “Ours was definitely a story and not just a cake.”

Burnheimer credits the fact that between children and running their own businesses, the two of them were better able to handle the stress of competition than the other contestants.

Asked what she and Polinko would do with their $10,000 in winnings, Burnheimer laughed and said, “Pay taxes on it. We're going to lose a big chunk in taxes.”

Polinko said, “We joked that with what we have left we can go to Red Lobster for shrimp fest.”

Whatever remains, Burnheimer said, Polinko and she will put back into their businesses.

Polinko is a self-taught fantasy sculptor who sells her statues at Renaissance fairs and comics conventions.

Burnheimer is getting her popcorn business, Popped Envy, off the ground.

Burnheimer said she and Polinko signed a one-year contract with the network and hope to be asked back for another program.

“That would be amazing,” Polinko said.

Their segment of “Winner Cake All,” Episode 4, is scheduled to air again at 2 p.m. Feb. 2, 11 p.m. Feb. 4 and 2 a.m. Feb. 5.