Halloween Baking Championship - General Discussion

[carrps]

18 minutes ago, carrps said:

Was this the first time Hollie had not been one of the two in the winner category this whole season?

Quoting myself, because I forgot to mention that Hollie's shrunken heads were almost the worst of the night. They melted and lost all their detail when she baked them.

[Salacious Kitty]

Agree that Stacy is hitting her stride. I think she'll outlast James. 

[littlebennysmom]

Anyone else get annoyed with everyone saying "tumeric" instead of "turmeric"?  It's not quite as bad as macaron/macaroon, but annoying nonetheless.  

[carrps]

I noticed that John said turmeric. I internally gave a little cheer.

 

[libgirl2]

29 minutes ago, Salacious Kitty said:

Agree that Stacy is hitting her stride. I think she'll outlast James. 

She is picking a good time to hit it. And I agree, she might just do that if she keeps this up. 

[Splashy]

1 hour ago, libgirl2 said:

Stacy had a really good day. She could be a real dark horse in all of this. You never know. 

LOL I just posted the same thing above! 

She's just kinda been there doing her thing, but she may be one to keep your eye on!

 

[Pallida]

4 hours ago, littlebennysmom said:

Anyone else get annoyed with everyone saying "tumeric" instead of "turmeric"?  It's not quite as bad as macaron/macaroon, but annoying nonetheless.  

Merriam Webster considers skipping the first 'r' to be an acceptable pronunciation: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/turmeric

Language is fun!

[littlebennysmom]

24 minutes ago, Pallida said:

Merriam Webster considers skipping the first 'r' to be an acceptable pronunciation: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/turmeric

Language is fun!

Huh, I had no clue.  I'll save my ire for macaron/macaroon 😄

[Splashy]

24 minutes ago, littlebennysmom said:

Huh, I had no clue.  I'll save my ire for macaron/macaroon

Ha, I'll save mine for Mars Capone. 😜

[DEL901]

44 minutes ago, Splashy said:

Ha, I'll save mine for Mars Capone. 😜

Ah, yes.  Al’s baby brother.  

[jcbrown]

6 hours ago, Splashy said:

Edited to add: Stacy did really well this episode. She could be a sleeper. 

 

6 hours ago, libgirl2 said:

Stacy had a really good day. She could be a real dark horse in all of this. You never know. 

 

6 hours ago, Salacious Kitty said:

Agree that Stacy is hitting her stride. I think she'll outlast James. 

I also agree that Stacy is really hitting her stride. I thought she did really well this week.

The editors really telegraphed this one, or else they had nothing but bad day to work with from Mandi. I was astonished when she said she had never baked with ginger.

Edited October 11, 2023 by jcbrown

[CrystalBlue]

Nothing new to add to the sentiments above, but I sure am glad Mandi is gone just for my own personal audio comfort.  She was the right one to go based on the finished entries though.

Hollie's smashed face was awesome, I have to admit.  She brought on her act-y antics again this episode though.  I definitely see her as the designated darling winner or runner-up to probably Ryan, maybe James.  Stacy really shined and made strides.  If she keeps it up and won, I wouldn't mind.  Predict Christa is next to go join the vampires or wherever they are going to at the carnival.

[SemiCharmedLife]

I was very impressed with Hollie's smashed face.  It was quite an artistic rendering.  

Stacy made some great desserts this episode.  I wanted to try her pie!

I was surprised more of the bakers weren't covering their pie crust edges.  I saw that Christa did.  It's easy to overbake the edges, especially when you've blind baked the crust.

[carrps]

16 hours ago, CrystalBlue said:

She brought on her act-y antics again this episode though. 

Yeah. I thought she'd toned it down, but maybe she can't. I kinda cringe when she skips around and makes fakey faces.

[libgirl2]

1 hour ago, carrps said:

Yeah. I thought she'd toned it down, but maybe she can't. I kinda cringe when she skips around and makes fakey faces.

It was a bit much, but some people are just like that. She strikes me as one of those. 

[littlebennysmom]

How did Mandi not realize as she was putting the pie crust in the oven to blind bake that there was no barrier/parchment paper inside?  It's not like missing an ingredient.

[libgirl2]

13 hours ago, littlebennysmom said:

How did Mandi not realize as she was putting the pie crust in the oven to blind bake that there was no barrier/parchment paper inside?  It's not like missing an ingredient.

I have seen someone to that on Nailed It. I would expect it there, not on here. Rookie mistake. 

[BookWitch]

Not surprised to see Christa go. As  much as she tried to do better, it seemed like she kinda gave up. The dessert eating the other dessert was weird. 

I didn't get the last costume on Stephanie. Was she supposed to be burned?

[Guest]

13 minutes ago, BookWitch said:

I didn't get the last costume on Stephanie. Was she supposed to be burned?

I believe her face was supposed to be melting from "too much heat in the kitchen." I found all three judges very difficult to look at this episode.

[libgirl2]

7 hours ago, BookWitch said:

Not surprised to see Christa go. As  much as she tried to do better, it seemed like she kinda gave up. The dessert eating the other dessert was weird. 

I didn't get the last costume on Stephanie. Was she supposed to be burned?

I think James did the best with that killer challenge, Holly a close second. The others didn't seem to meet the criteria. I don't know if Christa so much as gave up or just realized she had done all she could do at that point. 

I did think the skulls were awesome. 

[Rammchick]

12 hours ago, tracyscott76 said:

I believe her face was supposed to be melting from "too much heat in the kitchen." I found all three judges very difficult to look at this episode.

It seems to me that for the most part, they've run out of ideas.  None of the costumes this season have been all that memorable.

[Guest]

2 hours ago, Rammchick said:

It seems to me that for the most part, they've run out of ideas.  None of the costumes this season have been all that memorable.

Just too bad that if they've run out of ideas, the only thing they go to is gross/gory. 

*warning: incoming rant*

That's my least favorite part of Halloween, and it has kind of taken over this show. Same for the challenges. Someone mentioned earlier that a possible reason why so many of the desserts the bakers are making look sloppy is that they are making them gory with blood spatter/intestines/brains and so on. That seems to be the case this season more than ever, though I think it started going more in that direction post-Covid when they started doing these season-long "stories" (camp, hotel, circus) where the challenges are all framed around a person's violent demise. John sells the stories well, and I do like him as host, but it just makes the desserts more inclined to be covered in blood and body parts.

There's a lot more to Halloween than that, and I feel like they used to have more variety. Between that and the overwhelming dominance of the same 2 or 3 bakers, this season hasn't been landing for me.

[mojoween]

Right?!?  I have cute scarecrows in my yard that have neither blood nor guts coming out of them.  Can’t they just do a fun dessert that *tastes* like fall, even if it doesn’t look HOLIDAAAAAY (oops sorry wrong show).  Maybe when they have to tape these episodes affects what flavors they can use.

This is the right top four though, based on everything we’ve seen this season.

[Salacious Kitty]

I didn't realize Christa was a home baker. Good on her for going this far.

Agree that they got the top 4 right. 

[Guest]

26 minutes ago, mojoween said:

This is the right top four though, based on everything we’ve seen this season.

Oh for sure. I just wish there had been more variety among the winners or even the runners up throughout.

[mlp]

1 hour ago, mojoween said:

This is the right top four though

I agree.  I think Ryan and James are top two.  Ryan for the win.

[YupItsMe]

1 hour ago, Salacious Kitty said:

I didn't realize Christa was a home baker. Good on her for going this far.

Agree that they got the top 4 right. 

She was the one I always forgot was there. I’m really surprised she lasted this long, but good for her.

[libgirl2]

2 hours ago, mojoween said:

Right?!?  I have cute scarecrows in my yard that have neither blood nor guts coming out of them.  Can’t they just do a fun dessert that *tastes* like fall, even if it doesn’t look HOLIDAAAAAY (oops sorry wrong show).  Maybe when they have to tape these episodes affects what flavors they can use.

This is the right top four though, based on everything we’ve seen this season.

A fall dessert would be nice change of pace but I do like my Halloween stuff gory, so I dig what they do. 

[threebluestars]

Watching Zac try and eat under that head was hilarious.

[TVbitch]

Can someone tell me what "blue raspberry" tastes like. ...is that a real thing?

I also wish they would mix it up with some "cute" black cats, ghosts, and gobblins and such. The violent gut stuff is okay, but too many of the bakes are splashed with so much blood I can hardly see them!  

[Guest]

29 minutes ago, TVbitch said:

Can someone tell me what "blue raspberry" tastes like. ...is that a real thing?

It's apparently an official flavor, but totally synthetic and not actually using any raspberry. Mostly used for things like snow cones, which is why Zac said he liked it because he's a child. So basically vaguely fruity sugar flavor. Uncle Wiki says this.

[carrps]

Yeah, it's usually in things that little kids eat that turns their tongues blue.

[CrystalBlue]

I also wish they would lay off the bloody and gory Texas Chainsaw Massacre-inspired body parts and such.  Bring back the witches!  Jack-o'-lanterns, pumpkins, ghosts and goblins, black cats and the traditional monsters like werewolves and Frankenstein and vampires!  I'm sick of the killing and torture aspect of Halloween.

[libgirl2]

43 minutes ago, CrystalBlue said:

I also wish they would lay off the bloody and gory Texas Chainsaw Massacre-inspired body parts and such.  Bring back the witches!  Jack-o'-lanterns, pumpkins, ghosts and goblins, black cats and the traditional monsters like werewolves and Frankenstein and vampires!  I'm sick of the killing and torture aspect of Halloween.

Again, I don't mind it but they could change it up some. Maybe have the chiller bake be something lighter and the killer the gorier one. But I think this is all tied into the horror theme of the carnival and others past. 

[Maya]

I agree with everyone. I have seen enough limb cakes. 

[DEL901]

6 hours ago, TVbitch said:

Can someone tell me what "blue raspberry" tastes like. ...is that a real thing?

It is blue because raspberries are red, but cherry flavour has dibs on that colour and we are all apparently too stupid to have two flavours with the same/similar colours.  

[Mellowyellow]

Happy that I’m not the only person who is sick of all the gore cakes! I only listen to this show now when I exercise and don’t watch the visuals because there’s nothing nice to watch!!! I like the judges, host and contestants but the bakes just don’t appeal! I’m all for the cute and colourful things in the other seasons.

I wish they made cute pumpkin lanterns, witches, cartoony spiders or Frankenstein etc

[tennisgurl]

I'm really glad that its not just me that's over the constant gore, I really wish they would change it up more. I like some fun gore and fake blood, but I would be happy if they added some more pretty or cute Halloween designs for a change. There is way more to Halloween then limbs flying everywhere! Not only would it be more fun to watch, i think it would let other bakers play to their strengths. Right now the game is really stacked in favor of the bakers who have a background doing special effects and more creepy/goory desserts and is leaving people with more experience making pretty/cute things in a lurch. I agree with people above who think that's why so many of the bakes have looked so bad, its people trying really hard to make their bakes look as gross as possible when they don't have much experience with that style of decorating. 

I think that the skulls were actually a nice change before they got melted. They were spooky but also more classy looking. 

This seems like a good top four, I figured that Christina was the next to go but good on her for lasting so long as a home baker. 

[libgirl2]

10 minutes ago, tennisgurl said:

I think that the skulls were actually a nice change before they got melted. They were spooky but also more classy looking. 

 

Especially the Day of the Dead one. Gorgeous. 

[dewelar]

Just adding my voice to the chorus of those tired of the blood and gore cakes. This is the first time Mrs. Dew and I have ever stopped watching one of these series, and this is why.

[libgirl2]

Driving thru my neighborhood and surrounding ones, Halloween  decorations are 90% gore. I have neighbors that have up large bloody skeletons, the creature from Jeepers Creepers and tombstones.  I guess it just the thing. 

[jcbrown]

I am also tired of all the gore. It's just not that interesting to me and it's definitely not appealing.

[Salacious Kitty]

It doesn't bother me. It's all satire. 

[Guest]

It would bother me less if they weren't going all in with it. Yes, gore is a big part of Halloween and many people like it (or at least don't mind it). But it gets tiresome seeing blood spatter every week, and seems to affect the quality of the finished products when bakers who don't trade exclusively in gory desserts have to do it week after week.

Variety is the spice of death is all I'm saying.

[Salacious Kitty]

4 minutes ago, tracyscott76 said:

It would bother me less if they weren't going all in with it. Yes, gore is a big part of Halloween and many people like it (or at least don't mind it). But it gets tiresome seeing blood spatter every week, and seems to affect the quality of the finished products when bakers who don't trade exclusively in gory desserts have to do it week after week.

Variety is the spice of death is all I'm saying.

Let's see what they do next week with what appears to be some kind of spatter cake? Ice cream? Not really sure what it was before it spattered. To me, that's a waste of a perfectly good dessert. 

[cowgirlwen]

100% Agree about the gore!  

 

I get the "melting skull" aspect of this week's Killer Challenge, but to completely douse an otherwise delicious-looking dessert with an artificial fruity syrup is disgusting.  I don't know how they could actually taste some of the desserts under all that liquid sugar!  This show seems to go more and more for the "shock and awe" or "WOW" factor, and less and less about actual taste. 

I'd rather see them bake a nice cake, pie or pastry with elaborate fall/Halloween decorations, than to watch them create some kind of art or science project, and then expect the judges to eat what lies underneath or inside of it!  

 

[carrps]

6 hours ago, cowgirlwen said:

then expect the judges to eat what lies underneath or inside of it!  

I think you meant: What Lies Beneath!

 

[Splashy]

Just chiming in on the gore subject. Blood & guts, gore, murder actually have nothing to do with Halloween. If people would read the history and origins of Halloween, they’d understand. 

The short version: In the Old World, November 1st used to be New Year’s Day, therefore, October 31 was New Year’s Eve. On that day, people would honor and remember all those who had crossed over during the past year. 

So, yes, death is definitely an appropriate symbol of Halloween: graveyards, skeletons, ghosts, etc. That has nothing to do with blood and guts, exploding brains, severed limbs, disembowelment… ugh, I’m grossing myself out lol

Anyway, I don’t want to stay on my soapbox for too long, but it does irk me a bit every year. Like others have said, there are so many other wonderful symbols of the holiday and season: scarecrows, black cats, spiders, bats, jack o’lanterns, witches (real witches aren’t evil - soapbox for another time), cauldrons, spooky/ghost stories & characters (Frankenstein, Dracula), costumes, trick or treat & candy, haunted houses, ahh, I could go on and on. 

I mean, yes, there’s going to be stuff like creepy clowns & such, and I realize they do need to have some of these types of themes for the bakes because people expect it, so I get it. 

I also agree that the last 4 bakers are the correct ones!

Sorry this was so long.

 

[KayVeeTeeVee]

On 10/10/2023 at 2:30 PM, littlebennysmom said:

Anyone else get annoyed with everyone saying "tumeric" instead of "turmeric"?  It's not quite as bad as macaron/macaroon, but annoying nonetheless.  

Me!  And car - mel instead of cara mel.  Drives me crazy!  But it's a short trip.

[SemiCharmedLife]

Just chiming in to agree on the gory aspect of the bakes this year.  I think having a variety of cute vs gory would please most of us. If they do another severed body part, I'm out.