CAUTION: CONTAINS SPOILERS for Ultimate Baking Championship!!

“Every single one of them is going to be like ‘get out of here, Juan,’ but it is my time to shine.” – Juan, the star chocolatier, at the beginning of this week’s challenge

“I never felt so straight in my life.” – also Juan, after catching a ball of modeling chocolate that Jesse (the former NFL QB) tossed to him

This was the first time this season that we’ve had a twist, and I’m not sure how I felt about it. It ended up not affecting the final results at all – Adalberto, who was on the winning team for the twist, still scored the lowest even after the bonus points, and got sent home, while Clement, who was on the losing team for the twist, scored a near-perfect 48 and won the night.

Which was a twist in and of itself! Everyone thought it was going to be Juan, who (I did not realize this, but) apparently competed on the Amaury Guichon show School of Chocolate, and won?! I admit, I started, but didn’t finish watching that show. As brilliant and entertaining as Amaury Guichon himself is, the show didn’t really hold my interest, for the same reason that this week’s episode wasn’t my favorite. Chocolate work is basically just fine art using a medium that happens to be edible. I prefer the “baking” aspect of these shows. Give me a beautiful cake that looks like a beautiful cake!

Clement definitely deserved the win. That chocolate flower on top of his layered entremet was stunning. It was a celebration of chocolate! Juan may be the master chocolatier, but his design, while perfect and beautiful and exceptionally clever, was much more simple. I was glad to see Clement finally officially win one.

I felt bad for Chris, though – scraping through by the skin of his teeth! This show is such a freaking roller coaster, isn’t it? Like, Casey – she got sent home after winning the night before, and after being the only one to achieve two wins; and now Chris, after achieving a perfect score last week, somehow ended up in the bottom two?! The judging on this show is so nitpicky, I swear!

My husband and I were rooting for Adalberto, so we are bummed to see him go home; but, considering that he beat out ten other contestants, I’d say he did quite well. I will miss seeing him on this show.

What did we think, friends? Leave me your comments!

HERE’S THE RECAP:

Only One Challenge: 3D Chocolate Sculpture with a Baked Element. Points awarded out of 50.

• Molly: “Raised Garden Bed” Carrot Cake: macadamia-white chocolate crunch crust, carrot cake, pineapple compote, white chocolate-cream cheese mousse, encased in blond chocolate
• Adalberto: “Monstera Deliciosa” cake: pineapple-banana lime w/ brandy-soaked pistachio cake, malted milk chocolate mousse, pineapple marmalade, lime gelee, caramelized banana, & chocolate vine and flowers
• Juan: “Japanese Sandbox” cake: Genmai sreusel, Okinawa cake, Genmai cremeux & Genmai mousse w/ salted caramel ooze, feulletine “sand” and chocolate rake and Bonsai tree
• Clement: Triple-Chocolate Entremet: brownie bottom, hazelnut chocolate praline crunch, chocolate mousse, dark chocolate flower on top, and a chocolate cake stand
• Florencia: Bellini-flavored “Venetian Gondola” cake: peach/prosecco flavored with almond lady finger sponge, peach compote, milk chocolate mousse, and chocolate gondola on top
• Chris: Chocolate Caramel Pear “Woodsy Terrarium”: pear compote, pear gelee, smoked chocolate mousse, pecan financier, pecan rocher

TWIST: Special Decorative Chocolate Centerpiece for Judges’ Table: two teams of three must collaborate on a sculpture; each member of the winning team gets a 2 point bonus on the leaderboard

• Molly, Clement, & Chris: Flower Pot
• Adalberto, Florencia, & Juan: Abstract Art

Twist Winner: Adalberto, Florencia, & Juan

Final Stats Including Bonus Points: Clement 48; Juan 46; Molly 42; Florencia 35; Chris 30; Adalberto 29

Challenge Winner: Clement

Sent Home: Adalberto

A dessert is called “sexy”: 0 times (running total: 3)

Superlatives from the judges: 0 (running total 1)

Dead family members mentioned: 0 (running total 2)

Duff’s gaping maw spotted: 1 time (running total 13)

The dessert that I would most have liked to eat: Clement’s triple-chocolate entremet

Wins so far: Clement (1), Christopher (1), Juan (1), Molly (1), Casey (2)