MiTHology (4.0)

Spoilers ahead for this episode of SBC, as well as small spoilers for GBBO series 13!

Episode seven had some really tough challenges. A swiss roll cake with an imprime design, followed by a macaron cake using a garden-fresh flavor, with a surprise Fresno chili twist? Yikes, I did not envy the bakers this episode! Well, except Corey. The pressure was almost completely off, for him, since he had that immunity card that expired today and it would have been dumb not to use it just in case.

While the challenges were really entertaining and exciting to watch, I admit that I was not super excited about the featured flavors this episode. Citrus in the Preheat: meh, not my thing; followed by garden vegetables and hot peppers in the Main Heat: weird! Not for me. It certainly tested the competitors’ limits, though! Some of these treats were gorgeous. I had a lot of feelings about the bottom two and the elimination.

We’re down to so few contestants now that, for this post, I figured I’d just go through and give my thoughts on each baker’s dessert in each challenge!

Preheat: Magical Forest Roll Cake with Imprime. I know I said the whole “little shop of magic” is cheesy an obnoxious, but I actually loved the enchanted forest theme this episode.

Raveena: Tangerine-Vanilla “Troll” cake. Really clever, and her decoration looked phenomenal, but unfortunately the cake got kind of smushed – “like a troll sat on it.”

Priya: Pink Grapefruit “Unicorn” cake. What a great combination of flavor and creature! Her design was impeccable, but apparently the grapefruit flavor got lost among the other adventurous flavors that she used (lavender, black pepper, and coconut, which honestly sounds awesome).

Lisa: Key Lime-Coconut “Fairy” cake. I’m so glad that Lisa got “fairy” for her magical critter! A match made in heaven. She absolutely nailed this whole challenge. It was really sweet how she dedicated it to her little daughter, too. 100% deserved the win this challenge.

Kari: Kumquat-Vanilla “Leprechaun” cake. I wish this had worked out. She has experience with kumquat, so she easily could have nailed this; but, it seemed like she overmixed her batter, and the whole “roll” element of the roll cake just didn’t really happen. Plus, her marmalade filling needed a cream to go with it. I was so disappointed for her.

Corey: Meyer Lemon “Tree Spirit” cake. That lemon ricotta cream sounds delicious! And the design was gorgeous. Corey always demonstrates a real artistic flair in his desserts.

Mary-Frances: Cara Cara Orange “Gnome” cake. She actually chose to use matcha for her cake, and filled it with a cara cara curd. And apparently she did really well! I guess I stand corrected about matcha a few episodes ago, lol.

Paul: Blood Orange “Mushroom” cake. This sounded delicious, with that cream cheese filling and gelee combination, but, I agree with the judges that he really didn’t meet the brief. I felt bad for Paul; I wonder if, with English being his second language, it’s harder for him to process verbal instructions under pressure. He forgot to do the imprime – devastating. The end result looked pretty amazing, though.

Main Heat: Tiered Garden-Fresh Macaron Cake with Fresno Chili Twist. Corey said, “when I hear macaron, I hear ‘danger,’” lol, and he’s not wrong. Personally, I’d never even attempt to make these fussy little sandwich cookies at home. Also, ugh, the chili twist totally ruined this. I love and hate the “twists” on this show. They sure add an element of excitement, but, they also totally ruin the beautiful flavor combinations that the bakers have already come up with!

Priya – Ginger: Ginger-Pear Chai Macaron Cake. “It looked like you were driving somewhere with it in a car and went around a sharp turn!” Ouch. It was definitely listing, though. The judges also said they couldn’t taste all the flavors.

Corey – Fennel: Pistachio Macaron with Grapefruit and Candied Fennel Jam. Adventurous, as usual, which I appreciate, but honestly this flavor combo does not personally appeal to me, and aesthetically it looked like kind of a mess, didn’t it? Luckily he was immune this week, so it’s whatever!

Kari – Rhubarb: Rhubarb-Blackberry Macaron Cake. Her design looked so beautiful! Those blackberries looked luscious! I so wanted this to be a success. But sadly, it seems she overmixed her batter yet again this challenge – not once, but twice – and her macarons didn’t have the required “foot.” She really had an off day. I was crushed that she went home, but, it was a fair decision.

Raveena – Tomato: Tomato and Fig Macaron Cake with Fig Cheesecake Filling. Wow, this was immaculate! Who would have thought that tomato could make a delicious dessert?! Apparently it tasted like a dessert version of a caprese salad, with the basil and cheese, which sounds absolutely genius! But, it was way too spicy, because Raveena apparently loves spice and went a little overboard with the fresno chili! So, I don’t think I’d like to try it after all, lol.

Lisa – Zucchini: Caramelized Zucchini and Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Macaron. This sounded like one of the best flavor combinations! I mean, zucchini doesn’t have much of a flavor at all, just a nice texture, which is really delicious in baked goods, so, this was basically a chocolate chip cheesecake themed dessert (until they made her add the stupid chili pepper, ugh – Lisa herself said she’s “a baby when it comes to spice,” which I completely am, too, so I was really seeing eye to eye with her on this recipe). But, I guess the execution wasn’t up to her usual standard. I could not believe she ended up in the bottom two! I’ve been saying it since day one: I really think she’s going to win the whole thing. I guess all the other Main Heat desserts this week were so good that she unfortunately was among the last in a really good bunch.

Mary-Frances – Corn: Maja Blanca Macaron Cake with coconut, corn mousseline, and white chocolate ganache. This sounded and looked phenomenal! I’m a typical American, I love sweet corn treats. One of my own Southern family’s favorite recipes is corn pudding, a sweet-savory, fluffy baked side dish casserole that we always serve at holidays. It’s a very nostalgic flavor. I feel similarly about cornbread as a side dish. So, when I see corn-flavored sweets on these shows, I’m always here for it. Duff said that “the chili got lost” in the white chocolate ganache – which, frankly, good!! Mary-Frances really pulled it out of the bag with the maja blanca flavor! That was genius! I guess this is a traditional dessert from her culture? By the way, do you remember Syabira from GBBO 2022? She was Malaysian, not Filipina, but she also baked an amazing sounding corn cake in one of the later episodes! This reminded me a little of that.

Paul – Avocado: Green Macaron with Sweet Guacamole Pastry Cream Filling. He really made this work! The judges said that the avocado came through in every way. I was so proud of Paul!

My high point: Mary-Frances finally getting a win! She hasn’t gotten one yet, but today she played to her strengths and absolutely deserved that win.

My low point: I had a few. That stupid Fresno chili twist. Poor Kari going home; she had a bad day, which can happen to the best of them. Also, Lisa kept saying “macaroon” instead of “macaron,” ugh, my ears! It’s like nails on a chalkboard. A macaroon is a completely different cookie from a macaron! Come on now, Lisa, you’re like the best baker on this show, I know you know better, lol.

The dessert that I would most have liked to eat: Obviously Mary-Frances’s maja blanca macaron cake! Coconut, corn, and white chocolate sounds delectable; sheer brilliance.

My official prediction for who will go home next: Sadly, I’m guessing the order of elimination from here on out will be: Paul (they just keep picking on him! He’s so good, perhaps too good for this show, but, the judges seem to come down really hard on him every episode), Corey (like Julian, he seems slightly over-ambitious at times, and I worry that might come back to bite him like in the Main Heat today); Mary-Frances (unless she keeps on surprising us like she did today – who knows!); and the final three will be: Priya, Raveena, and Lisa, with Lisa being the winner.

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Obviously, SPOILERS AHEAD for this episode of SBC!

It’s really getting real! We’re in the thick of it now. When they start sending home the people that you thought were really, really good, that’s when it starts to feel intense.

But before we get to the intense stuff, I wanted to touch briefly on one thing that I always find kind of annoying and delightful at the same time. It’s that stupid little intro portion, before Jesse walks out, where they have all the contestants stand there and wait and make little comments about this and that. It’s just so freaking cheesy and staged! When I first started watching this show, I always cringed and rolled my eyes, like: come on, don’t make them do this. But, the more I watch it, the more I’ve come to embrace this stupid moment as part of the ritual. Kind of like those unbearably cheesy, un-funny skits that the hosts of GBBO perform at the beginning of each episode. Those are so bad that it actually goes full circle and becomes funny again. That’s kind of how I feel about the Baking Championship intro scene.

Speaking of cheesy. I really don’t care for the little themes they choose for each season. “Little shop of spring magic?” Ugh, please. It’s so corny. But, I get that they have to do it, and that it adds a little something to each season. At least Jesse really manages to sell it.

But, on a positive note, I thought the stylists did an exceptional job dressing Nancy this episode. Sometimes her styles are wacky but this week’s was really elegant. The color of her top really matched her eye color and brought out her eyes, which, I’ve never noticed before, seem to be a really pretty and different shade of greenish brown. I absolutely love brown eyes, especially the unique, lighter shades of brown; everyone in my family has blue or green eyes, so brown eyes are so fascinating and enchanting to me!

On to the actual bakes! The challenges were both excellent again this episode. As a scented candle addict, I definitely cheered when they announced the Preheat. And, I always really enjoy the team format that they did in the Main Heat this week. And who knew that there was such an “age-old feud” between lemon meringue pie and carrot cake? Not I, lol. What did you all think of the Main Heat?

Despite the judge’s decision, I think the star of this week was Kari. “This is my episode to win,” she said, right before winning the Preheat with that stunning little clementine olive oil cake. With her prize of the “Gift to Assign Desserts,” she got to choose the teams for the Main Heat, and decide whom she was going up against. Although, this ended up kind of biting her in the butt, sadly. I had high hopes.

On that note, Mary-Frances was another one of the most interesting ones to watch this week! Mary-Frances vs. the lemon has been kind of a saga this season so far. Her wild strawberry religieuse in the Preheat should have been incredible, but once again she went overboard on the tartness. Then, Kari chose her as her opponent in the Main Heat – which, basically, is like saying “I think you’ll be the easiest one to defeat,” haha, and Mary-Frances pretty much confirmed that herself, saying that she feels like one of the weaker competitors, while Kari is one of the stronger. But then, in the Main Heat, Mary-Frances was assigned lemon meringue opera cake – and she nailed it! She seemed totally aware that she had nailed it, too. When Nancy praised her flavors, she looked completely unsurprised. I feel like she was out for blood in this challenge, lol.

Also this week: Paul. I thought he really shone in both challenges. What an inspired little dessert that was that he made in the Preheat – the “berry patch” financier! Forest berries is such a beautiful European flavor, and the way he combined it with a juniper caramel “votive” was so clever. It looked immaculate. I would have loved to taste that. And then, in the Main Heat, Kari did really well choosing him for her team ans assigning him the quintessentially French Paris-Brest. Wise move, Kari. This might have been one of Paul’s best desserts yet! He really went above and beyond, with that little extra surprise in the filling. And I love how he decorated it; it was so tasteful, how those simple little pink and yellow flowers made that carrot orange color look so springy. The judges said it really tasted of carrot. That’s another one that I would have liked to try.

Corey didn’t do as well as I’d hoped this episode. He’s pretty much the reigning champion, at this point: as Jesse pointed out, going into this week Corey was the only one who had three victories under his belt. But then, in the Preheat, his pineapple basil mojito trifle didn’t have quite enough sugar, and in the Main Heat, his lemon meringue tiramisu was too sour. Nancy’s face! I couldn’t tell if she was going to yell at him, or do symphony fingers. Sadly, it was the former. But then, he ended up winning anyway.

Which brings me to one of the most interesting moments of this episode: the battle of the tiramisus, Priya vs. Corey, in the Main Heat. Priya’s carrot cake tiramisu tasted better, but Corey’s better fit the bill for a tiramisu. The judges were faced with a dilemma: what should win, the better dessert, or the one that met the challenge? I was caught in a philosophical conundrum right there with them! Such suspense! In the end, I think they made the right call, in this situation. The contestants have to do what they’re assigned, or the judging won’t be fair. But, would this be true even if Priya’s had been the most delicious thing they’d ever tasted, but was totally not a tiramisu, structurally, and Corey’s had been a dumpster fire, flavor-wise? Like, if Corey had straight up replaced the sugar with salt, or had done some wacky flavor combination like anchovy and licorice, and it was just vile, but still fit the bill, technically, for a tiramisu – would he still have deserved to win? I’m conflicted. What do you all think?

Sadly, Julian didn’t live up to his usual standard this episode. He’s been so impressive to watch, with his big ideas and cool sugar work, but this week I’m afraid the judges made the right call sending him home. I’m so disappointed. As soon as he said in the Preheat that he didn’t see a need to decorate his pear and champagne upside down cake at all, I knew he was going to get dinged. And then, in the Main Heat, watching him scrape out that underbaked pate a choux just made me groan (and it was still underbaked, even after all that). Poor Julian! He had a bad week, but he is an awesome baker.

High point: Paul finally getting the unqualified praise that he deserved in the Main Heat! He killed it.

Low point: Kari’s bad luck. First when she melted her plastic container with the hot thyme oil in the Preheat (“cheese and rice!!” lol), then when she was bested by Mary-Frances in the Main Heat, by a nose.

The dessert that I would most have liked to eat: It would have been Raveena’s cherry-almond mini cakes in the preheat – I love cherry almond, that’s one of the best flavor combos out there – but, she made them all boozy with the amaretto, so, hard pass from me. Got to go with Kari’s carrot opera cake. I know the judges said that it tasted more coconutty than carroty, but honestly that kinda sounds like a good thing to me?? Plus, it looked phenomenal: both rustic and elegant, with those little candied carrot curls on top: truly, a carrot cake morphed into an opera cake! I’m cheering for you, Kari.

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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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Spoilers ahead! Do not read if you haven’t yet watched Spring Baking season 11 episode 4.

I have a lot of feelings about this one.

Theme and challenges for this episode? 10/10! The faux Easter egg Preheat was perhaps my favorite challenge thus far. It reminded me a lot of Cadbury Creme Eggs, which, as you may know, are one of my favorite guilty pleasures. Also a 10/10 this episode was Kardea’s dress, and in fact her whole look. She’s such an icon. I’m obsessed with that olive green color; my own wardrobe is full of it. It’s not often that I see something on TV and go “I would wear that!”, but, I would definitely wear that.

Going into the preheat, Priya was like: “I’m going to win this one,” and then she did. That was really satisfying! I was happy for her – the texture in her egg filling looked delightful!

But, I really thought Mary-Frances deserved to win it. Hers were the prettiest ones – the décor on that blonde chocolate shell was so immaculate it looked done with a machine (it reminded me of the illustrations in one of my favorite children’s books, “The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes”); and the flavor combination of coconut-banana cake and mango pastry cream sounds dreamy! Wow, Mary-Frances really put herself on the map this episode, didn’t she? I feel kinda bad, because up until now I haven’t even mentioned her on this blog once. She just hadn’t baked anything that stood out to me until now. (The only thing I really remember about her from the first three episodes was that, in episode 3, she asked Kari to sample her lemon dessert, and Kari advised her that it was too tart; and then, at judging, it was still too tart.) But she was, in my opinion, the absolute star of this episode! She should have won both challenges! Her sausage pizza in the Main Heat looked stunning, definitely more realistic than Lisa’s winning chicken dinner – and the flavors sounded more fun too (pastry with strawberry cream and coconut!).

Julian and Corey both kind of crashed and burned in the Preheat! As I was saying last week, I was hoping that Julian would learn his lesson about being overly ambitious – but he did the same darn thing again this week, trying to make a whole unnecessary sugar sculpture tree to hold his eggs, and in the process neglecting his actual eggs! I admittedly laughed (and cringed at the same time) when Duff said “they look like Swedish meatballs with gravy!” Luckily, Julian totally brought it back in the Main Heat with those mind-bendy fish tacos. And Corey? Those should have been the best dessert this episode, chocolate orange flavor with mousse inside. But they were just goopy and messy. He didn’t do too great in the Main Heat, either; that “tuna” just looked like cake (the asparagus looked incredible, though, but, they were just painted modeling chocolate, so basically decoration). I felt so bad for him!

Another devastating moment for me was Jon’Nae’s eggshells not coming out of the molds in the Preheat. “Jesse, why you gotta put my business out in the street like that?!” Lol, poor thing. She had this same issue in one of the first episodes, with something sticking to the mold! I was so disappointed for her! That was another one that should have been one of the best in show: white chocolate cake pops with strawberry and blood orange-ginger center. I so wish it had worked out.

Poor Kareem kind of stumbled through this episode but managed to survive another week! The texture was off in his eggs, and the purple icing was obviously concealing a visible seam on the shell (although I love the bold colors he used both inside and out). And sadly his salmon and green beans were not super realistic looking at all. I still really want to see him make it through to the end! A cynical part of me can’t help but wonder if they’re keeping him because he’s so likeable and such a fun character, and makes for great TV – “can the self-taught baker hold his own against all these professionals?” I wouldn’t be surprised if this were a factor, because, no offense to anyone, but who would have thought he would outlast Jon’Nae and Stacy? As much as I love baking competition shows, I’m not starry-eyed about them; as much as I hate to say it, I am fully aware that some of the judgment calls are calculated based on viewers and ratings, rather than the actual quality of the desserts. All that being said, though, Kareem is still one of my favorites, and I’d love to see him pull through and win the whole thing.

And once again Julian hasn’t used his immunity card! Will he ever, or will he power through without it? Can anyone else be awarded an immunity card while he still has his? That wouldn’t work, would it, because then what if Julian and that other contestant were in the bottom two and they’d both played their immunity card?! I’m so curious to see how this is going to work. So I guess, by holding onto his immunity card without using it, he’s preventing anyone else from getting immunity – strategic move!

Kari said in this episode that she feels like she’s coasting along in the middle and needs to step up her game and start winning. I’d love to see her rise to the top! She’s another of my favorites. I wasn’t too into her sushi dessert, though – it looked too bright green to be convincing, and I kind of agree with Duff that it’s not really deception if you use actual rice. Which, on that note, Paul used actual gnocchi in his gnocchi primavera? Just because they were made with sweet potato doesn’t make them not real gnocchi. I was surprised they didn’t call him out for that! In any case, I’m glad both Kari and Paul made it through.

Although I thought it should have been Mary-Frances, Lisa ended up winning. No surprise there! She’s still my top pick for champion; she pretty much hasn’t made a single bad thing, up to this point, has she?

My high point: Kareem explaining to Raveena what grits are! She didn’t even know!! Being a Southerner myself, I laughed pretty hard. That was adorable. He’s such a sweet guy. My husband was like, “he could have just made some shit up and screwed her over,” hahaha.

My low point: They sent Jon’Nae home!?! NO! I’m crushed! She was my favorite. I was so devastated by the bottom two; it would have sucked either way, whomever they sent home. But, I really strongly believe that Jon’Nae could have won the whole thing. She had some of the best ideas about flavors in every episode; she seems like a true artist. I honestly think she just had some bad luck. Which can seriously happen to anyone, even the best of them. It sucks. Going into the Main Heat, she was like, “I cannot go home.” And, pound cake with champagne buttercream, it could have been so good! But the fried fish was too thick, and the oven screwed up her fries. She seems like such a lovely and talented person. I hope she still gets rich and famous somehow.

The dessert that I would have most liked to eat: Raveena’s brown sugar speculoos eggs with malt ball centers! I freaking love chocolate malt balls, and I can eat cookie butter straight out of the jar with a spoon. What a genius combination.

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Spoilers ahead for Spring Baking Championship season 11 episode 2!

As much as I loved that it was another full hour and twenty-five minute episode (normally, only the premiere is this long), this episode was kind of a miss for me. I don’t care about Minecraft, much less the Minecraft movie; these promotional episodes are always a little cringe, for me. Both challenges, but especially the Main Heat, were pretty dumb; I mean, even a well-executed Minecraft cake isn’t going to look good! Even the best cakes in that challenge just looked like boxes. And, I hated all the gross ingredients that they had to use in the Main Heat. Bacon, jalapeno, prosciutto, chipotle, habanero, pancetta: gross, not for me. I don’t eat meat or spicy peppers, so, I was totally uninterested in these.

And I got so freaking sick of hearing the word “nether!” This word for me is like the word “moist” for other people. It just makes me think of private parts. Please, stop talking about “nether cakes.”

There were a couple of other pet peeves of mine that popped up in this episode, too. The first one has already happened once this season, but I heard it twice in this episode, and it’s like nails on a chalkboard: “marscapone.” The word is mascarpone. Ugh! Also, “expresso.” It’s 2025, espresso is not an exotic thing in America anymore; haven’t we moved past this? Lol.

Also, Nancy’s hair: cute effort on the stylists’ behalf, but this was not her best look, lol.

However, there were some things I liked about this episode. Specifically, that Corey won! He’s such a cool baker, that was well deserved! I’m sure if I could stand bacon I’d be drooling over that cake he made. Also that Lisa did so well (despite her saying “marscapone” lol). I’ve already named her as my pick for most likely winner based on last week, and it’s nice to see her keep on being awesome. That watermelon entremet was a work of art! And she even did well in the stupid Main Heat challenge – that cherry cake sounded phenomenal, and her bee cubes were adorable (although, I’m surprised they didn’t ding her for the almond sliver wings; if they can ding Kari for her 45 degree angles on the flame decorations, why didn’t they ding Lisa for the rounded wings on her bees?). She hasn’t missed once so far. She’s a force to be reckoned with!

Also, that Jamie went home. I really didn’t like her attitude in the Team challenge. Paul, as you know, is one of my favorites, and he seemed like a really gracious and cooperative teammate, while Jamie seemed to be acting like a major control freak; I dunno if it was just the way they edited the footage, but, they made it look like she was totally pushy and bossing him around! And then, of course, she was the one who screwed their team over and landed them in the bottom two – and even then, Paul was still so kind and supportive about it, sacrificing the quality of his own cake in a heroic attempt to help her salvage hers. To be fair, Jamie was at least apologetic about that. And, I feel bad complaining about her attitude right after she revealed that she’s a cancer survivor. To her credit, everything about this challenge, as I already said, was stupid, and I think it would be really really hard to do well. Still, given that she was in the bottom two last week as well, I think it was probably right that she went home.

My high point: Kareem has lived to see week three! After the Preheat, I was afraid he was going to bomb this week, too (although he was far from the only one who made a mess that challenge). But he pulled it out in the Main Heat! Aside from the “too cheerful,” pretty pastel decoration (which I actually liked and thought suited his cake better than the stupid “nether” theme they were trying to push on him), he did a beautiful job with the interior and flavors of his jalapeno cake! Brilliant! Love to see it. He finally refined his craziness to just the right degree. Also, he was absolutely the best at naming his team. “Pre-K, because we came to school ‘em” – oh my goodness, I laughed out loud, he’s so clever and funny! And he just pulled that one right off the top of his head, didn’t have to think about it. Rock on, Kareem!

My low point: Jon’Nae’s entremet not working out. It sounded so good! I actually kind of liked the “square fruits” entremet challenge – Minecraft aside, the ones that turned out well were really cute, and sounded really tasty. Watching bakers pour mirror glazes is one of my favorite things on a baking show. And based on her description of her plans, I thought Jon’Nae’s sounded the most delicious: strawberry and white chocolate mousse, yes please! That totally would have been my pick for Dessert I’d Most Like To Eat, had it worked out. But, sadly, her mirror glaze didn’t happen. She did the best she could without it, and made what looked like a fun little strawberry shortcake style thing, and the flavors still sounded great, but, alas. I really hope she has a better week next week!

The dessert I would most have liked to eat: I was really disappointed that the judges said that Raveena’s beet cake didn’t have enough flavor. Beets, goat cheese, honey, and walnut sounds like such a delightful combination! I’m sure if she had amped up the other flavors a bit, this would have been delicious. Given that it apparently just tasted like cheese, though, I’m going to have to go with: Jon’Nae’s cacao nib cake. I’m a chocoholic, and will almost always pick the chocolatiest thing on any dessert menu, so I love to see a chocolate dessert featured on the Spring championship, which is unusual; it’s heavily dominated by fresh seasonal fruit flavors. Sounds like she really killed it with candying the cacao nibs!

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