NJKBCFan

Remember tho that Abby has won 3 challenges (along with the donut artwork challenge). She's stumbled the last two weeks, but she definitely has the skills to win it.

First and foremost, I thought the challenge in this episode was stupid. This is a baking championship, and rice cereal castles have nothing to do with baking. So from that perspective, I thought Bryn got robbed getting eliminated on a challenge that had nothing to do with baking. But ok, accepting the nature of the challenge, I agreed with the decision mostly because Bryn's was just too simple. Abby did something different with her castle by using fruit cereal, and her only mistake was not re-greasing her pan after throwing out the peach cobbler. Bryn didn't do anything unique with her rice cereal treat, and her cookie needed something to make them memorable. I'm rooting for Linsey to win it all.

That said, Linsey and Bryn’s suns were absolutely gorgeous!

Alex made his sun with leftover cake batter.

The sun didn't have to be spherical, did it? Could have done a 2D sun?

Linsey is the only one who has not been in the bottom, and Abby has won the most challenges, so I would have to say they are the two front runners. Bryn is definitely a really strong baker so I would be shocked if she isn’t in the finals too.

Luke definitely got a raw deal with the tuna salad. Alex has dodged too many bullets not to be going home. I thought Linsey and Bryn were the top 2 in this challenge. Abby's looked good and tasted good, but her jam was technically not an "imposter". Someone in season 2 got nachos and was making tortilla chips when Duff told her "those aren't imposters" and tripped her up. Julia staying solid. I'm all in for Linsey as much for her commentary as for her baking.

All the bakers from the show have an Instagram account that is pretty fun to follow: https://www.instagram.com/_kids_baking_championship/ You can find most of the individual bakers' accounts from there, too; click on "Following" on that account to see them.

I was surprised by Abby this most recent episode. Until now, I’ve viewed her as the front runner with a couple of wins and generally coming across as the most experienced baker on the show. But in this episode, she seemed like she was at a complete loss for ideas, and her cake ended up looking pretty ordinary. Wasn’t sure about Linsey before, but she stepped up pretty big and seems a lot more relaxed than in earlier episodes. Bryn looks strong, Julia and Luke are solid. Alex is a rollercoaster, so he could do great or he could be the next to go.

Bryn and Linsey both did apple pie-based pizzas in the second episode.

I don't mind the challenges. It's there basically to knock the kids out of their comfort zone and see how well they can think on their feet and be resourceful. That said, I agree that Aditya's lemon "decoration" was lame enough that it should have kept him from winning.

Top 2 were definitely deserving. Absolutely beautiful decorating! Hope Duff gets that tattoo!

They made dessert pizza in week 2 (many of the kids made it with pie crust, not cake) and lemon bars in week 3.

Everyone remaining has been in the top 3 at least once!

Julia and Abby ready to throw down over the color pink. Lol!

For me, Abby and Bryn seem like they are the most experienced bakers just based on how they talk about what they are doing. Both are clearly the best decorators as well. Agree that Alex also knows his stuff, just needs to find his groove. Aditya also seems skilled, but he does not have much creativity and seems like he is always asking the other bakers for ideas. Linsey, despite the crying, looks resourceful. Twice her cake has broken, and twice she has managed to recover from that setback well enough to avoid the bottom 3. Julia and Luke have been quiet but steady, so that might get them far. Agree that Soleil has had a rough time and has just been lucky that someone each show happened to do worse. The judges seem to be harsher this season than last. Is that because they decided to be harsher? Or are these kids not doing as well as prior seasons?

Linsey

This looks like a pretty thick crust: http://blogs.luc.edu/uao/2016/10/18/chicago-eats-chicagos-deep-dish-pizza/

She is from Wisconsin. Those midwesterners are into deep dish pizza.

There will be lemon: http://www.foodnetwork.com/shows/kids-baking-championship/episodes/lemon-bffs

The challenge was "a layered cookie cake", so that's why they ended up looking more like a cake. I also noticed that the mise en place kid only had 2 layers but everyone else had 3 layers, so maybe that added to his getting cut.