SPOILERS AHEAD for this episode of Spring Baking Championship, as well as season eight of the same show!

First of all, I haven’t done this yet this season: let’s just take a moment to appreciate Jesse Palmer. Not that he was any more outstanding than usual this episode – he’s always outstanding – this week it just struck me, yet again, what a gift he has for hosting TV. He’s so gracious and charming: great at being cheesy and playfully-teasing, but equally great at being sincere and heartfelt. He shares just enough about himself, at just the right moments, to be interesting and relevant, but never overshares about his own life – he lets the spotlight shine on the contestants. (For example, I had no idea he got married and became a dad in the last few years! Congrats to him!) This week, when they did that little “magic fountain of youth” stunt in the intro where Jesse was replaced by a little boy dressed in the same clothes, I got curious about whether that might actually be his kid or something (it’s not), so I Googled him. Did you know his dad was a professional athlete and his mom was a model and founder of a major modeling agency? And his brothers are also celebrities? Apparently, all through school (which, btw, apparently he went to a Catholic high school, named for the great St. Pius X), he received all kinds of awards and accolades for his talent and character. Wow, what a family of beautiful over-achievers! He seems to be a prime example of what my husband and I call a “G.P.,” i.e. a Good Person with capital G and P. You know the kind of person I mean? A special specimen, a type who just radiates positivity and warmth and wholesomeness, always does the right thing, gets along with everyone, even the awkward weirdos, and makes you feel better just by being around. They are humble, go out of their way to help, and always make you feel like you’re their special best friend, the most interesting person in the world. I’ve only known maybe six such people IRL in my thirty-five years. I just adore Jesse as a host. I hope they keep him on forever.

Anyway, back to this week’s episode. I loved the Preheat challenge. I always like it when they ask the contestants to create a dessert that’s somehow personal to them or tells a story about their life, so, “elevated versions of favorite childhood desserts” was really fun to watch. Most noteworthy for me in this challenge was Paul’s apple tart. Not only because it looked spectacular, like a rose medallion all made of gold, but because it reminded me so much of Romy from a few seasons ago, whose final dessert on this show was also a nostalgic French apple tart from his childhood! And what an epic moment for the show that was! Romy really poured his heart and soul into that beautiful tart, getting emotional for the first time on the whole show, and it looked like a masterpiece; but the judges gave it just a so-so critique, which I thought was wildly unfair, and then because of that Romy had to enter that silly sprinkles face-off, which, yikes, we all know how that ended up. (If it helps to know, I follow him on IG, and he appears to be thriving these days – he finally opened his dream vegan patisserie in LA, and it looks awesome!) So, for me, there was a lot riding on Paul’s apple tart. I really wanted it to get glowing reviews. But Nancy said that the apples were slightly undercooked – which, correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t they say the same thing to Romy?! Could it be that the French just prefer a bit more bite to their apples than we Americans, who are so proud of our goopy, slimy, mushy-sweet apple pies? As I’ve said before, I really think the judges come down too hard on these French chefs. I also felt bad for Paul in the Main Heat. Cakes are not a French thing. True, I guess it would have been wise for him to practice his cake skills before appearing on this show, as surely he knew he’d be expected to produce a few of them. But, a top-forward cake – that’s a big ask for someone for whom even regular cakes are not a part of his repertoire.

Back to the Preheat, though: Corey absolutely deserved this victory. That grasshopper cake was stunning! What a work of art. And the judges’ reactions were the best yet. Way to go, Corey – I’m starting to think that he will make it to the finale!

And, one more thing about the Preheat: one thing has been really bugging me!: Kari drenched her tres leches cake in brandy?! But, isn’t she seven years clean and sober?! Why is she cooking with brandy?? I guess some sober people are okay with cooking with booze, but, in my own personal experience in AA, it’s not something that people who are serious about their sobriety ever do. I’ve heard of people having whole meltdowns about the status of their sobriety because they accidentally bit into a booze-filled chocolate truffle. Myself, I never cook with alcohol of any sort; I don’t even like cooking with red or white wine vinegar, because of the smell, and I only keep imitation vanilla extract in the house, never real. I was floored that Kari would make such an alcohol-forward dessert. Did she taste test it? Didn’t the smells bother her? I guess everyone manages their sobriety differently, but, dang. At least it paid off! If Corey hadn’t produced such an unbelievable work of art, Kari would surely have won this challenge.

But so now Corey has an immunity card, and, after this Main Heat, Julian no longer does (even though, apparently, he ought to have saved it for a different episode, because his cake was one of the best!). But, my husband and I were both wondering: what would have happened if both Corey and Julian had used their immunity cards in this same Main Heat? – Well, I guess if they had both used their cards, and they had both sucked enough to deserve to be in the bottom two, they would still have slid through, and the third-worst person would have gotten eliminated, even if that person was leagues better than both of them. That would have been wild!

This episode got me thinking about what I would have made, if I were a contestant on this show. What would I make for an elevated childhood dessert? Hmm… I always loved chocolate chip waffles for breakfast, as a kid, so maybe I’d do some sort of spring brunchy dessert like crepes with a chocolate filling! Or, maybe I could figure out some way to elevate my Mom’s silky chocolate fudge, like a mousse served in a chocolate shell, or something. And in the Main Heat, for the clock challenge: what personally meaningful time would I set my clock to? Probably eleven AM, which is the time of day that my Wedding Mass began. Or, I could copy Lisa and do my wedding anniversary (mine would be 5:20). What would y’all do??

Stand-outs for me in the Main Heat were Raveena (obviously), Lisa (with that beautiful, ornate buttercream decoration and the unique flavor combo of lavender and pear), and once again Corey, whose vanilla-raspberry-white chocolate truffle cake looked so good – the sponge looked like tie-dye! (The judges said it “wasn’t ‘space age,’ but, who cares.)

My high point: Seeing so many chocolate cakes in the Main Heat! I think five out of nine contestants produced chocolate cakes for this challenge! One of my only complaints about the Spring season is that you don’t see too many chocolate desserts – it’s very much dominated by light, fresh, springy flavors – but, I guess because the theme was clocks, which lend themselves to wood/metal/darkness/weightiness, lots of people went with chocolate. Love to see that.

My low point: Kareem going home. 😦 His German chocolate cake sounded so promising! And, even though I always joke about contestants “playing the dead grandparent card” on these shows, I was actually really moved by his story about his granddad. I really wanted him to last until the finale. He is such a sweet and likeable individual. And, all things considered, he really did hold his own against all these professionals, making it through to week five.

The dessert I would most have liked to eat: Raveena’s chocolate peanut butter cake with peanut praline crunch! Best dessert so far this season, IMO. Chocolate and peanut butter is always a winner in my book, and I was thrilled to see it won this whole week. Plus, the grandfather clock design looked really cool, with the press molds on the fondant (even if it was leaning a little).

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