Tag: baking championship

Baking Championship Next Gen Season 1 Episode 4: Mith Reacts

January 28th, 2026

CAUTION: SPOILERS for this episode of BCNG!

Puzzle piece cakes: this week, the teams were challenged to create cakes in the shape of puzzle pieces that fit together. Each team was assigned a different flavor, and each individual baker got to solo-decorate a piece of their team’s puzzle – so, for the first time, we got to see individual bakers’ talents shine.

My Silly Little Thoughts On This Week:

I love the idea of decorating a cake in honor of your sibling. It made me think: what would I do, if I were on this show and on a team with my sister? I hope we’d be assigned chocolate; Jovie and Lenore, who won the draw and got to assign flavors, chose the correct answer. IMO, if a cake’s not chocolate, it’s got some explaining to do: it had better be really interesting, and really special, and compensate in other areas. Chocolate covers a multitude of sins, and is a relatively hard flavor to get wrong.

But the decorations were the interesting part this episode; I liked seeing how each teammate chose to represent their sibling. I think if it were me, and if I had the skills to decorate a cake (which I absolutely do not; realistically, the only baking competition show I might have a chance on is Nailed It!) – I’d like to represent my sister with like a lace design of some sort, maybe using a stencil and powdered sugar, because my sister’s always been really good at dressing up, crafting, sewing, decorating, needlework, that sort of thing. To top it off, I’d try to do a wildflower arrangement in a mixture of ivory- and dusty-rose-colored buttercream, fondant, and modeling chocolate: wild roses, dogwood flowers, blackberry blossoms, mountain laurels – a nod to where we grew up and her love of the outdoors and native plantings. Then I’d probably try to place a chocolate ukulele on top of these, because my sister loves music as well – she also plays guitar and piano, and likes to sing. And maybe a little stack of fondant books to set beside it, if I had time, because she’s very literary. My sister is way cooler and more accomplished than I am, and also a much better baker, so no doubt her cake half would look better than mine, if we were on a team. All the younger siblings’ halves were messier, so I guess that tracks.

What about you, what would you do for this challenge, readers?

My highlights of this week:

– Maci telling us that she was gonna let Emmett choose the shape of their cake, then immediately proceeding to shoot down his suggestions, and deign to offer to consider the last one. LOL. Siblings really are alike all over. Everyone thinks we youngests have it made (and we kinda do), but in some ways we do get the short end of the stick.

– Genesis and Akbar once again producing an incredible sponge – these two just can’t be stopped, with cake, apparently. Their flavors and textures never miss. Even though they were in the bottom two, they really stood out to me again this week; they pulled it back together and got the thing done even after one of their cakes dropped on the ground (!). And little Akbar did a really impressive job on his decorations – that golden hibiscus flower looked professional.

– Poor Harper and Holland! Their nice, girly, should-have-been-pretty-in-pink raspberry cake turned gray?! Due to some chemical reaction? I Googled it, and apparently it’s a reaction between anthocyanins (the raspberry’s natural pigment) and the cake’s alkaline ingredients (baking powder and/or soda). Wild! Note to self, never dump fresh raspberry puree in a cake batter. I felt so bad for these sweet girls, because they were already bummed about getting stuck with raspberry – a flavor they like, but just weren’t prepared to work with. Luckily they pulled through.

– Leila and Melody created one of my favorite cakes, visually. That little cookie pizza looked incredible, and it blended nicely into the beach scene of the other portion, matching the vibe while still standing out as its own section. I’m glad these two did well; I enjoy their chaotic banter.

– “Corn is our good luck charm,” – Kenneth and Abigail. I just love these two so much. Also – weight lifting at fourteen?! How are all these kids such overachievers! You know what I was doing at fourteen? Doodling in notebooks, and listening to divorced dad rock, and feeling sorry for myself. The diametric opposite of these two strong, wholesome rays of sunshine. Abigail and Kenneth’s parents should write a parenting book. I would read it.

– Jovie and Lenore also produced an incredible cake. Even though it wasn’t as technically flawless as Leia and Kiera’s, I actually liked its appearance a little better: it had so much personality, and so vividly captured the two sisters as characters.

– Speaking of Leia and Kiera: it’s not even fair anymore lol, these two are on a completely different level. Amazing work – that wood grain around the “garden box,” and those tiny little vegetable toppers? I strongly suspect these two have a future as Food Network stars. Because she is a child, I can even forgive Leia for pronouncing it “marscapone,” even though this peeves me when adult bakers do it.

– Bummed to see Abby and Cameron go home, though. (Where did their filling go?! It just seeped into the cake!) I’m especially going to miss seeing little Cameron – what a delightful child! He was so funny! So much positive energy and confidence. I just know he’s going to do well in whatever he does.

Superlatives from the judges: 0 today (running total: 2)

Kid who most deserved a hug: Melody, because she knew they needed to add more strawberry to their cake – more puree! More syrup! More powder! – but Leila straight up wouldn’t let her. Then, at the judging, Duff commented on how they needed more strawberry flavor. I see you, little sis!

Kid who most deserved a high five: Kenneth, for being so nice to Cameron after he got eliminated. “You did insane! Keep baking!” What a gem. I already commented last week on how Abigail was similarly encouraging to a competitor, so I really think these two are just proper Good Samaritans.

The dessert that I would most have liked to eat: Leia and Kiera’s cookies and cream cake with mascarpone marshmallow whip. Duff seemed to think the filling was “too sweet,” but so be it; this was one of the boldest and most interesting decisions this episode. Well-deserved win.

Friends, what do we think?! If you’re watching, leave me your comments!
Spring Baking Championship s. 11 Finale Part Two: Mith Reacts

May 21st, 2025

CAUTION: SPOILERS for season 11 of Spring Baking Championship.

That’s a wrap for this season! What did we think of the finale? I’m eager to hear your thoughts. Here are mine:

Well; one of my predictions ended up being right, but the other did not. It was hard to see Mary-Frances go, but Raveena’s bake-off cake did seem a bit more special. So that wasn’t so surprising. It would have been great to see Mary-Frances win. But, she certainly did seem to gain some needed self-confidence, during the show. Everyone always talks about how much they’ve “grown” during the competition, but Mary-Frances really became noticeably more lighthearted, cheerful, expressive, and bold as the season went on!

So onto the final Main Heat. I feel conflicted about how this one went.

The challenge was Marie Antoinette hairstyle cakes. Lisa’s and Raveena’s both looked very Marie Antoinette, with the towering cakes covered in piped whitish gray frosting decorated with bows and adornments. Priya’s did not look Marie Antoinette at all. It was cool, but no one is going to look at that and think of the Queen of France. It was all chocolate! I know Priya’s a chocolatier, and was playing to her strengths really well. I feel like she should have at least done white chocolate. Her topiary concept was cool, but it was very contemporary and dark. When I saw it, I really didn’t think the judges were going to be happy with her interpretation. But – they loved it? I guess the whole “Marie Antoinette” theme was just a suggestion?

To be fair, though, it did sound like Priya’s tasted the best. Hers was the only cake that elicited genuinely amazed, delighted reactions. Raveena’s earl gray tea dried her cake out a bit, and her ganache was a bit too thick. And Lisa’s was, apparently, a little tough in texture and a little “too safe” in flavor. The judges disagreed about her fresh raspberries.

I was actually kind of annoyed by their judgment of Lisa. They told her that her piping didn’t look like hair. Which was simply not true! It looked at least as hair-like as Raveena’s piping, which they complimented! And Priya’s didn’t look like hair at all – didn’t even try to – so, what the heck?

But, I’m also glad it ended up being Priya. The fact that she started off as a hairstylist, then made the decision to switch up her career after that wildfire evacuation upended her life? It definitely made for good TV. Kardea is always the most sensitive and warm as a judge, which I love about her; hearing the little speech she gave Priya about destiny and all, was really touching.

I guess I’m slightly bummed that my prediction ended up being wrong, lol. I would have loved to be right about Lisa. But, on the other hand, Lisa did mention in this episode that, when she was first dating her husband, they took a vacation to the Dominican Republic together (!!), which tells me that she probably does not have a pressing need for 25k in her life, hahaha, she’s got money, she’ll be fine.

Honestly, I thought Raveena’s was the prettiest, and the most interesting, flavor-wise, so I kind of felt like she should have won. But, when I saw the judge’s reactions, I knew it was going to be Priya. The enjoyability of the cake as food is, after all, the most important thing, isn’t it? And Priya is, I believe, the oldest contestant (although she doesn’t look it; married twenty years? I was like, what, did you get married at ten?!), and a mom of three, and her family seems positively lovely. So, I’m genuinely happy for her. She was very humble about her victory – commenting the whole episode long on how beautiful her competitors’ cakes were, and, at the end, turning the focus back to them as she mentioned that she was “among the best” – and she did really deserve it. Congratulations, Priya!

My high point: Raveena’s husband, during the “video clips from the family back home” section. The other two family videos were all emotional and tearful and sentimental, as they typically are, but Raveena’s husband was hilarious and so chill. They seem like such a cool couple.

My low point: Not within the episode, but, after the episode: I looked up when Summer Baking Championship starts this year, and apparently it has not been renewed for this year?! What the actual F?!! You’re telling me I have to wait until winter (because I do not watch the Halloween championship)???! UGH! No summer baking 2025! I’m honestly crushed. I hope they don’t discontinue it permanently.

The dessert that I would most have liked to eat: Obviously Priya’s chocolate-orange blossom cake. Chocolate orange is an unbeatable flavor combo! It sounded phenomenal. Duff complained that there was “a bit too much filling,” hello, that’s the best part! I’ll take it.

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Spring Baking Championship s. 11 Finale Part One: Mith Reacts

May 14th, 2025

SPOILERS AHEAD for season 11 of Spring Baking Championship!

Was anyone else thrown for a loop? I was expecting the whole finale – but we only got the first half! I was not prepared for that cliffhanger after the sudden death bake-off.

Obviously, I knew there’d be some kind of sudden death elimination after the first challenge, since they were going into the finale with four contestants instead of three. But still, I thought it’d be one big episode. Guess we have to wait another week!

One thing I always love about these later episodes leading up to the finale: there are so few contestants that we really get to spend time with each one of them. As exciting as the early episodes are, they feel so rushed! Trying to cram twenty-four bakes into forty-three minutes is just way too fast! Now that there are only four, we really get to experience the baking along with each contestant. Really savor the flavors, if you will.

There were only six bakes this whole episode! And Fraisier cakes was such a good decision, for this last Preheat. Such a classic, nothing too wild and wonky, but at the same time, so intricate and fussy and technical. I wish Paul had been here for it, though. He would have nailed this!

And the contestants were asked to “make a statement” with their Fraisier cake. I thought Mary-Frances met that brief the best. She decided to make a strawberry-forward Fraisier cake, replacing the vanilla crème mousseline with a strawberry one, and then decorated it with green marzipan and buttercream in that very ornate, almost vintage style that she’s so good at. It was very her, and very much a “statement.”

Priya’s idea for a Persian love cake inspired Fraisier was on point, and those sugar-coated strawberries on top were gorgeous! But, apparently Duff couldn’t taste the cardamom or rose, although Kardea tasted them loud and clear. Was it just me, or was Duff being super harsh this episode?! I guess he feels like he needs to be, in the finale!

And the other two Fraisiers: Raveena’s unfortunately fell a bit flat and was overcooked (she had some struggles and had to re-bake her cakes, I felt so bad for her), and Lisa’s, while perfect and gorgeous as usual (well, Duff complained that the pastry cream was slightly overcooked), was not too much of a “statement” because it was basically a normal, classic Fraisier but with a cute dog on top. Loved that story, though! Lisa told us that she owned that dog from the time she was twenty up until she was thirty-six. Which made my jaw drop! Because I was like, wait, you’re telling me this girl is older than thirty-six?! She literally looks about twenty-two! (My husband, seeing the photo of the adorably gnarly-looking sixteen-year-old Yorkie, remarked that “the dog must be her Dorian Gray portrait,” lol.) Seriously, this whole time I’ve thought she was a lot younger than me. I kinda hope she gets famous so she can blow up on social media and drop her skincare routine. But, I digress.

In the end, we saw Mary-Frances and Raveena going into the sudden death bake-off (I guess Mary-Frances’s crème was slightly too thick; bummer). “The One Dessert That Will Magically Fix Everything” was a great challenge. This was so intense, because, first of all, they only had sixty minutes (!), and second, it was such an emotional and personal theme, and three, they each chose to bake such a different dessert! It’s apples and oranges! How are you supposed to compare a warm Indian spice cake with a cool yuzu pavlova?! And they both got excellent feedback with only a couple of minor complaints.

I had no idea whom the judges were going to choose. Mary-Frances’s meringue was slightly too soft, but Raveena’s pistachios should have been more finely chopped. Mary-France’s yuzu curd had a better texture, but Raveena’s orange-ginger curd had a better flavor. But they were both so good! From the feedback, it was impossible to tell whose was better. Going to bed last night after watching the show, I decided that they were probably going to send Raveena home, but this morning, having slept on it, I think it’s actually going to be the opposite. Raveena’s cake was, I think, more of a “baking championship” type dessert, and maybe a little more ambitious. Not that a pavlova isn’t ambitious — I’ve seen enough of these shows to know how hard it is to bake a meringue! But, the fresh fruit wasn’t glazed or anything… and Raveena’s was so extra, so heartfelt, with all the spices and those cardamom cheesecake dollops on top. I don’t know. This is just my guess. What do you guys think?!

My high point: The camaraderie! Even though I wish Corey and Paul were still here, it was actually kind of really cool to have an all-women finale. They all seem genuinely friendly with and supportive of each other. Like, during the bake-off, everyone was talking with each other and just being so positive and kind. My favorite moment was when Lisa and Priya were watching Mary-Frances prepping her fresh fruit: “She’s peeling a kiwi – with a spoon! She didn’t even break the skin. She’s a monster!”

My low point: Duff’s harsh judging! Not one single dessert made it past him without some little complaint! I was like, come on, lol. But, at the same time, I get it, and I’d definitely rather watch strict judging than judging that’s too lax and gentle. He’s still such a likeable judge.

The dessert that I would most have liked to eat: Mary-Frances’s strawberry and marzipan Fraisier. I wouldn’t even mind that that crème was “too thick,” it sounded delicious.

My official prediction for the finale: 4) Mary-Frances; 3) Priya; 2) Raveena; 1) Lisa.

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Spring Baking Championship s. 11 Semifinal: Mith Reacts

May 7th, 2025

Caution: SPOILERS ahead for this episode of SBC!

Damn. This was a thrilling episode to watch, overall, but my feelings about it are so clouded by my disappointment at who went home, that I’m having a hard time finding something nice to say. So let’s just get right to it:

What happened! In the Preheat, my husband and I were excitedly talking about how talented Corey is and how, if not Lisa, he was sure to be the winner. His artistry and the way he thought about flavor combinations were quite unlike anyone else remaining in the competition. I love hearing, too, about how he made his own way in this field, making his childhood dream a reality through hard work and perseverance, and how he hopes to inspire other little boys like himself – he’s just such a cool guy! He really deserved the win.

I really got the impression that Corey was pissed AF when he walked off! Normally, the eliminated contestant will give a tearful little smile and “thank you” speech and/or hug all his fellow contestants, but Corey just kind of abruptly walked off! And the clip that they played of him afterwards, talking about how proud he was of what he’d accomplished thus far? That definitely seemed like it was filmed before his elimination, based on the way he said “I don’t want to go home.” Which makes me think he perhaps stormed off the set without giving an actual exit interview? So the creators had to splice in something from earlier? Could it be, or am I imagining it? I wouldn’t blame him, for being so disappointed, if this is the case.

But, I mean, to be fair: that cake did look rock-hard, unfortunately. And Duff said it wasn’t even cold, it was room temperature. It had become not a cake, but a “biscuit.” Yeah, Raveena’s had issues, too, like disappearing filling, but Corey’s had those same issues plus the rock hard biscuit cake. Devastating! As I keep saying, even the best of them have slip-ups, and I guess this one happened at a really inopportune moment. He was really a star of this season.

Corey won the Preheat. His floating meringue island (mandarin orange, coconut crème anglaise, vanilla pavlova, strawberry and kiwi!) was a masterpiece, it blew all the others out of the water! But, there was no advantage in the Preheat this episode. My husband raised the question: what does the Preheat even really matter, in this situation? It makes the show more fun to watch, sure, but someone could literally fail the Preheat miserably and then go on to win the Main Heat and become the winner. What do you all think? Is the Preheat just for show? I feel like maybe it ought to have more “stakes” attached to it…

And speaking of the Preheat: I knew Lisa was going to overcook that meringue. Whenever they show an interview clip of a contestant explaining their choices (“I really didn’t want to undercook the meringue and serve the judges raw eggs,” Lisa said), you just know that choice is going to come back and bite them in the butt. What a bummer!

But so let’s try to talk about some nice things that happened this episode.

Mary-Frances! She killed it in the Main Heat. Seriously, it’s like something happened to her about halfway through the show and she just came out of the woodwork and started winning. Talk about a dark horse. And now she’s in the final! Her cake bombe was gorgeous, truly one of the most beautiful desserts I’ve seen, with those white roses (tinged with glow-in-the-dark neon along the edges) sitting atop the white chocolate mirror glaze. I wouldn’t be too surprised if she ended up winning next week, at this point.

Lisa and Raveena also brought it back, in the Main Heat. It looked like they were both in bad shape, for a minute there, with the melting ice creams! But Lisa found a creative solution, installing that border for her filling, and I’m not sure what Raveena did but her finished cake bombe looked stunning, with that elegant bright orange décor.

And one other nice thing: thank God there was no stupid flavor “twist” in this Main Heat. There was enough going on with that challenge already, holy cow! A flambéed cocktail cake bombe with ice cream filling, that also glows in the dark, in two hours?! These challenges really are getting wild. I’m almost nervous to see what they’re going to have to do next week.

My high point: Lisa’s creative solution in the Main Heat! Crisis averted! I was worried, for a minute there, that she was going home, but her bananas foster cake bombe ended up being basically flawless.

My low point: Obviously, Corey leaving. What a classy guy. The way he hugged Raveena when she was so overwhelmed after the Main Heat bake… he deserves the world.

The dessert that I would most have liked to eat: It would have been Priya’s cherries jubilee cake bombe, but, I don’t do anything with liquor in it, so all the Main Heat desserts were a hard no from me. So, definitely Raveena’s white chocolate guava île flottante with coconut-macadamia streusel! Sounded dreamy! Duff complained that there was “not enough guava,” that the white chocolate overpowered, and that it was basically a “bowl of ganache.” Hell yeah, sounds perfect! I’ll take it!

My official prediction for the final: 4: Priya, 3: Mary-Frances, 2: Raveena, 1: Lisa.

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Spring Baking Championship season 11 episode 8: Mith Reacts

April 30th, 2025

Spoilers ahead for this episode of SBC!

This episode made me sad.

First of all, the Preheat was a team challenge, which, as you know, I always kind of hate. Not because teams aren’t fun to watch, but because, no matter how long it’s been since I finished school, I will never fail to get a painful full-body cringe and wave of nausea each time I hear someone utter the phrase “you’ll be paired up into teams.” Ugh! I always feel especially bad for those who don’t seem to click with their teammates.

Like Paul and Priya. I like them both independently, but they were hardly a match made in heaven. – Although, I didn’t think Corey and Mary-Frances would click, either, but they absolutely wiped the floor with the competition! These two were the stars of this episode, for sure. Corey broke out his grandma’s peach cobbler recipe and his Bob Ross painting skills, and nailed it in both flavor and décor. (Invoking the power of the Dead Grandparent!) And, Mary-Frances seems to be here to stay! She really brought out her big guns midseason!

Lisa and Raveena seemed like great teammates, anyone could see that they get along swimmingly; but, I guess their napoleon wasn’t as successful as we would have hoped for, from such strong competitors. Their pastry was “bendy inside,” according to Duff. (Also, Lisa claimed that the west coast is the superior US coast, which, I’m sorry, is just false. :D)

But Paul and Priya! Yikes! Their Preheat dessert – that might have been the single worst judging I’ve seen this season, perhaps this whole show. Too harsh! Not a single kind word from any one of the judges. It was basically “you suck, you also suck, this sucks, this really sucks, hate it. Okay, thanks so much!” Ouch. This whole first challenge was a major cringe. It made me so sad.

The Main Heat wasn’t much better. Freaking lemongrass?! Again with the stupid twists! I support the idea of a twist, but can we stop making it flavors that completely screw up everyone’s dessert on purpose? There is simply no way to make coffee and lemon taste good together!! In fact, the only contestant whose dessert flavors actually could have worked with lemongrass was Priya (triple citrus, pineapple, macadamia) – but her cake was dry and didn’t have enough citrus flavor!

I was excited to hear that they were going to be judged blind for the Main Heat. That seemed like a good move! But, as it turned out, it seemed to just make the judges harsher! Did anyone else notice that? It was like, because they weren’t critiquing to a baker’s face, they just straight up talked all the shit that they would otherwise try to temper with a bit of kindness. And we, the viewers, had to watch the poor contestants suffer while they watched the judging from another room. It hurt! Especially Paul!

Poor Paul. As I’ve said before, I really feel like the language thing is causing problems, for Paul. I feel so bad for him. Although he’s impressively fluent in it, English is not his first language, so I imagine it’s harder for him to process verbal instructions in English, especially under pressure. “Blitz puff?” He’s a French pastry chef, he probably never makes that! “Tabletop cake vs. sheet cake” is another subtle distinction that I wouldn’t expect a non-native speaker to know.

For the first time this season, I disagree with both the winner and the loser here. Lisa was great, too, obviously, she always is, and her “wood grain” piping on the sides of that cake was genius; but, I really thought Mary-Frances had a better judging, am I right? Maybe this was just the way they edited the judge’s comments for TV, though. The editing really made it seem like the judges were happier with Mary-Frances. And I was kind of looking forward to seeing her win again. Because Mary-Frances worked an absolute miracle and, God knows how, made the lemongrass twist work! In a freaking chocolate hazelnut praline cake! How on earth?! I don’t know, but the judges liked it! That alone deserved the win, IMO. And they’d said that Lisa overdid it on the lemongrass, right? Lisa’s extremely good, but I kind of thought Mary-Frances was more impressive here!

And I’m so disappointed that this whole episode seemed to screw Paul over. He deserved better. Priya’s cake wasn’t even finished! Shouldn’t that have sent her home instead?!

One last thing that annoys me that I saw some of in this episode: when contestants say that they want to win “for my kid” or “to show their kids that x y z” (that you can do anything you set your mind to, that you can overcome challenges; etc.). That makes it sound like, if they go home before the final, they’re teaching their kids that you can’t do anything you put your mind to, and you can’t overcome obstacles! That their kids will be disappointed in them and they will have failed as a parent! As a parent myself, this always tweaks me a little. I’m not hating on any contestant who says this on camera. I’m sure they’re under a lot of pressure to say something TV-friendly – I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re even being asked, “What do you want you kids to learn from you in this competition?” If I were asked that, I’d probably give the same answer! I wish the show would stop making it sound like a baker’s success as a parent depends on them winning the championship.

High point: When Jesse announced, after the Main Heat baking time was up, that he had another surprise for the contestants, and Corey just goes: “WHAT.” in that absolutely exasperated, ‘don’t f*ck with me anymore, I’m at my limit here’ voice. I felt that in my soul! That was my reaction to this whole episode, too.

Low point: Priya fighting with Paul in the preheat over that stupid blitz puff pastry. I couldn’t even look, that was so painful. I understand she was stressed, and I could tell she was trying to be polite even while she was yelling at him, but this was just a really terrible interaction to watch.

The dessert that I would most have liked to eat: Corey’s tabletop cake! Normally I’d go for chocolatey cakes, of which there were two this challenge, but, this one sounded really special: almond cake with cream cheese mousse, almond crunch, and mixed macerated berries (a nod to the “woodland path” theme, brilliant) – plus, those decorations were beautiful. And I think this is one case where lemongrass could actually kind of work.

My official prediction for who will go home next: This is tough. It kills me to say it, but I think either Priya or Mary-Frances. In the final we’ll have Corey, Raveena, and Lisa, with Lisa being the winner. I’ve been saying it since day one; I’ll be really surprised if Lisa doesn’t win!

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Spring Baking Championship season 11 episode 7: Mith Reacts

April 23rd, 2025

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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Spring Baking Championship season 11 episode 6: Mith Reacts

April 16th, 2025

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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Spring Baking Championship season 11 episode 5: Mith Reacts

April 9th, 2025

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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Spring Baking Championship season 11 episode 4: Mith Reacts

April 2nd, 2025

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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Spring Baking Championship season 11 episode 3: Mith Reacts

March 26th, 2025

SPOILERS AHEAD for Spring Baking Championship season eleven!

I’m sad that it was a shorter episode — I wish they could all be a whole hour and twenty-five! it feels so rushed — but, overall, this one was far superior to Episode 2. The challenges were much better: no stupid Minecraft, no “team” awkwardness. As someone who always died a bit inside when the teacher said “okay, now find a partner” or “now break up into teams of four,” I always get a slight PTSDish cringe on everyone’s behalf when they’re told they have to work in teams.

I do take some issue with the first challenge, though. I’m not a big tea fan, myself. Coffee for me, 100%; I don’t get excited about tea flavors. But, that’s not my issue with the challenge. My issue with the challenge was that it was rigged! Matcha is an objectively shitty flavor, in a dessert. Whoever gets assigned matcha is screwed. You may as well give them a card that says “dog shit,” and be like, “good luck trying to make this taste good.” Similarly, hibiscus is an objectively more delicious flavor, for a dessert than just about any of these others. I’m not saying that Julian didn’t deserve to win this challenge. He absolutely did! That monochromatic hibiscus madeleine tower was a breathtaking, a work of modern art. But, I do feel like my favorites, Jon’Nae and Paul, got the really short end of the stick, here, and their talents weren’t given room to shine. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a successful matcha dessert on any of these shows. Stop assigning this flavor. No one likes it. It’s stupid.

Also, Duff was wrong about Paul in this challenge. That natural, olivey, 1970s green color base of the madeleine tower, with those pops of bright/neon color in the flowers, was a really cool contrast and an interesting color scheme! There was absolutely nothing wrong with it! That was just a dumb and vapid comment, nothing true about it.

The second challenge was cool, though! I love the rainbow theme; the ombre cheesecakes were a delight. And the whole saga of “will Julian use his immunity or not? will it send him home if he doesn’t?!” was very suspenseful; that was great TV. He was way too bold, trying to do a baked cheesecake! I appreciate the ambition, and I think that that, plus his sugar rainbow, were what saved him; but hopefully, he learned his lesson, and from here on out will rein in that ambition just a smidge! I was so afraid he was going to go home with that unused immunity card. (I love that they added in that stipulation, “you have to use the immunity in one of the next five main heats, and you must decide to use it before judging” — I was wondering how they were going to avoid making the immune contestant totally pointless in the Main Heat, just sitting there twiddling their thumbs. That was smart.)

My husband, who watches these shows with me, observed that “it’s really not fair to Lisa, to make a whole challenge based on rainbows. She’s too short to have ever seen a rainbow.” LOL. All in good fun, of course, as Lisa herself is always talking about how short she is. I still think she’s the winner. Her madeleine tower was stunning, the most beautiful one; and it’s not often that a baker does well with kiwi flavor.

And once again, two of my favorite contestants had great success: Corey, who is just the coolest, won the main heat for the second time in a row. And Kareem did an awesome job in both challenges! He’s really proving that he deserves to be here, without sacrificing his crazy sense of style. His white rainbow on that blueberry cheesecake was so creative. Blue spirulina in this challenge was brilliant! A basic, uncreative baker would have just used food coloring. I’m so rooting for Kareem.

However, I feel like Paul was once again treated unfairly in the second challenge! You all know I’m a huge fan of Kardea, and will always defend her against the haters, but, I disagree with her that Paul’s cake was “not a cheesecake.” It was absolutely a cheesecake, and a super creative one! The extra work that went into crafting a spiral and achieving those vertical layers! I’m glad the other two judges disagreed with her. Everyone, stop picking on Paul. I feel like these super-talented French gentlemen always get judged unfairly harshly on this show precisely because they are so talented.

High point: Duff praising Kareem for his delicious purple peach madeleines! “Wear the same socks! Eat the same breakfast tomorrow!” I cheered.

Low point: Stacy’s blackberry cheesecake with almonds and ginger not working out. That was, for me, the prettiest and most delicious-sounding cake in the Main Heat. I was so disappointed that it got bad feedback: it apparently only tasted of dried ginger powder, not enough blackberry, and contained too much gelatin, making it rubbery and dense. Such a disappointment. I hate to see her go home. She seems like a really cool baker, and I loved her friendship with Jon’Nae. Plus, my husband pointed out during the premiere that she looks a little like me in the face, and since then I cannot unsee it, and have subconsciously identified with her a bit.

The dessert I would most have liked to eat: Got to be Kareem’s blueberry cheesecake. Blueberry cheesecake is a flavor combo that I’m particularly fond of (and have this stupid inside joke about that dates back to like seventh grade and still never fails to make me laugh), and he really took it and ran with it. Gingersnap crust, too — awesome choice! I can’t wait to see what he creates next.

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Spring Baking Championship season 11 episode 2: Mith Reacts

March 19th, 2025

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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Spring Baking Championship s. 11 Premiere: Mith Reacts

March 12th, 2025

This one also contains a couple spoilers for: GBBO series 15, and Spring Baking seasons 8 and 10!

Spring Baking Championship 2025! I’ve been so excited for the new season. The Baking Championship is my favorite show, and I haven’t watched it since Summer 2024. I don’t watch the Halloween seasons (not my thing), and when Holiday aired in November/December, I was so sick with pregnancy nausea that I couldn’t even stand to think about food, let alone watch a whole show about it. So now I’ll have two seasons of Holiday to watch this winter, yay!

But in any case, Spring is quite possibly my favorite season of the Championship, for sentimental reasons. I first started watching the show in early 2023 after my third child was born: my husband was on leave from work and minding our girls, so I just laid on the couch all day long snuggling the newborn, watching the previous year’s season of Spring Baking (the infamous season 8) on the HBO Max app on my phone. I was immediately hooked, and watched all the seasons back to back; to my delight, season 9 dropped shortly after I first got into the show. And soon after that, they started the Summer Baking Championship, too, which is good but IMO not quite as great yet as Spring and Holiday. I have watched all of all three of these (except the aforementioned 2024 Holiday season), so I consider myself something of an expert by now.

All of this to perhaps give credence to the following observations.

There is a great group of contestants this year! I’m so excited to see what they can do. Based on the premiere, my official prediction for this season’s winner is: Lisa, and I predict the runners-up will be Priya and either Jon’Nae or Raveena.

Lisa is fierce! Her lemon-lavender tart in the Preheat was beautiful and sounded delicious, and her pie in the Main Heat was probably the best-looking pie I’ve seen on this show (I think pies must be so hard to decorate well!).

But, my four personal favorites and the ones that I am most rooting for:

Kari. When I first saw her, I immediately thought to myself: “That’s a recovering addict.” I guess it takes one to know one, lol. I love that she’s loud and proud about her seven years and two months! Some people find it annoying when a person in recovery makes their recovery their whole personality; but, we have to remember that, for some people, using substances was their entire personality, and as a replacement, recovery is a much better one to have. I would love to see Kari win the whole thing. Plus, her hair is super cool and beautifully done with the violet highlights. I just love when someone over 30 wears an unnatural hair color.

Corey: He just seems so likeable and chill and nice! And, he’s from DC, so geographically the closest to me of all the contestants. Also, I love that he did a pecan pie and managed to make it springy (and got his conductor fingers from Nancy!).

Jon’Nae: I just have a feeling that she’s got a lot more up her sleeve than we’ve even seen thus far. She also seems like a lovely individual, and the camera adores her – she has such a warm and bright vibe about her. There’s a reason why she was the first one they introduced!

Paul: of course I am going to root for the straight French guy. I like to see straight guys excel in baking, because it’s typically considered to be a feminine art! And, I loved Romy (season 8) and Alex (season 10), and thought both of these deserved to win, and Paul seems to be carrying on their legacy.

A few other random observations:

Obviously the pressing question we all have right now is, why did Lauren leave?! I hate to see a contestant quit! She was doing so well – her pie got a really good critique! If she’d done terribly it would make more sense, but she was a potential winner! I read somewhere that she apparently “got sick and couldn’t continue,” but that seems awfully… vague? Mysterious? Of course, it’s no one’s business but her own what she has going on in her life, but I can’t help being curious! This is going to drive me crazy, as was the case with Jeff from last year’s GBBO.

However, I am glad that her resignation allowed Kareem to stay on. Instantly when I watched Kareem walk onto the set, my brain was like: “he’s going home first” (after watching so much of this show, I have a spidey sense about these things), which made me sad, because he’s just a delightful character. So I was unsurprised to see him in the bottom two, and prepared myself to say goodbye to him. I really, really hope he can refine his craft and stay on the show until the end.

The challenges in this episode were great! Sometimes in the past the challenges have been weird, but I loved both of these. The flower one was fun for me because, as you know, I love associating people with things (“what kind of x would you be if you were an x?” is like my favorite game). (As for me, if I were a spring flower, I’d be a grape hyacinth.) And the Main Heat was really brilliant and original, with all the different honeys!

One comment about some of the comments I’ve seen: people need to leave Kardea Brown alone! She is a great judge and an awesome person! I like her as a judge way better than Carla Hall! I did love Lorraine (her back-and-forth head-butting with Nancy was hilarious), but Kardea is just as good in a different way. She’s actually my favorite Food Network star. She’s an entirely self-made girl from the South who got her start selling homemade sauces out of the trunk of her car, or something, and is now rich and famous; and her personality is just a ray of sunshine. I cannot believe how much complaining she gets, what the heck people?!

Speaking of the judging: I noticed in this episode that the judges, specifically Nancy who’s usually nitpicky about things being seasonal appropriate, were not nearly as much so this time. Hot toddy, apple pie, and pecan pie, and not one of them called out for being too fall/wintry? I was expecting complaints about that, but, hey, cool, I’m here for it. I did think it was silly that Nancy complained about the red center of Paul’s daisy. I thought it was creative, and with genetic engineering these days, flowers can come in whatever color we want! Also, Duff was harsh this episode! “Be smarter next time” — damn! I guess he’s been at this so long now that he’s done trying to sugarcoat things.

My high point: Kari winning the main heat! Yass queen!

My low point: Kareem not quite nailing the Main Heat. I thought the judgment about his decoration was a bit harsh – that pie had some giant, neon-bright flowers on it, it was hardly boring! – but to be fair, coffee and sage honey just doesn’t sound like a winning flavor combo, to me. He’s so inventive and colorful, I really want him to go far!

The dessert that I would most have liked to eat: Julian’s walnut-honey pie with whipped blond chocolate ganache! Please bring me a piece immediately.

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