S02.E05: Chocolate Week / S02.E06: Custard & Meringue Week

[Athena]

Quote

For the Signature Bake, the bakers are tasked with creating a dozen molten lava cakes where mere minutes in the oven can result in a cake whose center flows like hot magna or has no ooey-gooeyness at all. Next is the Technical Challenge, where the bakers are tasked to create a perfect assortment of delicious and decadent truffles. Finally, for their Showstopper Challenge, it's a naked, layered mousse cake full of soft, silky layers of flavorful mousse, built upon a baked foundation and topped with elaborate chocolate decorations. In the end, not everyone's desserts will rise to the occasion, and another baker will be eliminated from the competition.

 

Quote

In the bakers' Signature Challenge, they will tackle Crème Brûlée - a dozen perfectly silky custards hidden beneath a hard caramel topping with unique flavors like chestnut, apple, peanut, maple and fennel. In the Technical, Mary Berry shares one of her favorite dishes to ring in the New Year, the French dish, oeufs en neige - otherwise known as "eggs in snow." For the Showstopper Challenge, the bakers will make 24 petite pavlovas, a baked meringue creation from Australia and New Zealand. Everyone is on pins and needles, as the bakers won't know if they've achieved the classic marshmallow center until their pavlovas are sliced open during judging.

 

[dgpolo]

Oh, no! I wanted Jeremiah to squeak through.

[movingtargetgal]

Mr. Moving requested that I make oeufs en neige for Christmas dessert.  I told him to go suck an oeuf en neige.  The closest I could get to making that would be to mix up some instant vanilla pudding from a box and place some marshmallows on top. 

Edited December 23, 2016 by movingtargetgal

[StrictTime]

Good grief!  This fake "It's so cold out here that we need to wear parkas and scarves and earmuffs" but the grass and trees are green as green can get is driving me crazy.  They need to drop this whole charade--we know they aren't filming this during cold weather!

[mertensia]

No, not Jeremiah. I liked him. I would have preferred to lose Jenny over him. 

I saw Pratchi's going as the episode went along. 

Has anyone ever had eggs in snow? It sounds very bland.

[DHDancer]

7 minutes ago, mertensia said:

Has anyone ever had eggs in snow? It sounds very bland.

If it is well made, it's delicious.  Light, but rich, and very subtle in flavor.  Requires the best ingredients.   It's also known as Il Flottante (sp) 

Hmmm, I'm having trouble with the mini pavlovas having to be "2 different meringues".  Pavlova is pavlova: comes in plain, with the flavors coming from the toppings (usually cream and fresh fruit).   Some things just shouldn't stray from the classic IMO.

[sassykattt]

What's the difference between eggs in snow and floating island?

[DHDancer]

There is no difference: it is the same dessert, just naming differences in French and Italian.

Edited December 23, 2016 by DHDancer

[GaT]

The showstoppers are definitely not as elaborate as they are on GBBO, there's really no difference between any of the challenges. 

[DHDancer]

Jenny's voice annoyed me more and more and her ignorance (feigned or otherwise) had me growling.  I don't think she deserved star baker to be honest, but I also don't think the right person went home. Jeremiah seems to have the most culinary knowledge and his highs IMO were on a higher scale than the others.  He was dinged way too hard on the texture of his pavlovas (again, IMO).  Oh well.

[mertensia]

4 hours ago, GaT said:

The showstoppers are definitely not as elaborate as they are on GBBO, there's really no difference between any of the challenges. 

The contestants on the British version also get to practice at home for a week, though. That makes a difference.

[dubbel zout]

4 hours ago, DHDancer said:

He was dinged way too hard on the texture of his pavlovas

I don't think I agree; texture is what makes the pavlova. I know you can say that about nearly every bake, but if there isn't that gooey marshmallow center, all you have is a meringue.

I knew Prachi would be eliminated in the chocolate episode, too. I think Mary put it best: She was simply too inexperienced to continue. I think Prachi herself said she'd been baking for only a year or a year and a half. She did a great job with that limited experience. But she was clearly out of her depth with chocolate. I loved her defiance about her giant truffles, though! Hee.

Ile Flottant/floating island/oeufs à la neige are a very European dessert. I know it involves a lot of technique, but there has to be something more American they could prepare.

I wonder why ABC doubled up on episodes when next week is a repeat of the meringue/custard ep?

[Primetimer]

A double episode takes the final five bakers from chocolate to custard to meringues.

View the full article

[rose711]

How did you see this already? It's not showing as playing for me until 2 separate episodes thathavent aired yet?
I get one on the 26 and one on the 29.

[KaveDweller]

Here (NYC area), they aired two episodes back to back, one at 9 and another at 10.

[Omeletsmom]

Man, the sound mixing was awful on these episodes.  The music was so loud it was hard to understand what some of the bakers were saying.

The bakers were pretty awful at truffles; not sure how candy making qualifies as baking anyway, but they had to give Johnny a chocolate technical, I guess. I think they mostly redeemed themselves with the showstopper mousse cakes.

The LOOK on Mary's face when she thought Amanda was talking about "meatball sugar" was priceless.

Sad to see Jeremiah go, but it seemed like he had been struggling the last few episodes.

Edited December 23, 2016 by Omeletsmom

[dubbel zout]

39 minutes ago, KaveDweller said:

Here (NYC area), they aired two episodes back to back, one at 9 and another at 10.

In the Milwaukee area as well.

[illdoc]

The "new" episodes have been airing on Thursdays. A rerun of the previous week has been airing on Mondays. Since this week was 2 episodes, one will air this Monday (the 26th) and the other one is airing on Thur (the 29th).

Edited December 23, 2016 by illdoc
Not on Monday the 2nd.

[movingtargetgal]

43 minutes ago, Omeletsmom said:

The LOOK on Mary's face when she thought Amanda was talking about "meatball sugar" was priceless.

She looked so confused and she was so sweet when she asked what "meatball sugar" was.  

[BusyOctober]

I know tastes differ, but I do not get Great British Bakeoff or Great American Baking Show's love (obsession) with meringues or creme brûlée.  Neither one of them makes my mouth water. Do they keep making these items because of the degree of difficulty to get them right? They are both so bland IMO.  

[Irlandesa]

I've never had creme brulee and I dislike "hard" meringues.  Soft meringues that are whipped cream consistency are okay because they're usually adorning something.  I am curious about the taste of the Il flottante--which I think is a better name translated than Les Oeufs en neige.  So none of those pavlovas appealed to me. That said, I do see meringues in pastry shops, macarons are all over and I've seen creme brulee on menus so someone must be buying these things.

Now that lava cake challenge--that spoke to me.  I do love lava cake. I think they all needed ice cream, though.  Mixing ice cream with the oozing center is one of my favorite things.

I don't think I've laughed harder at this show than during the truffle technical challenge. Based on how confused everyone was, I'm actually impressed with the looks of most of the final products.  I also got a kick out the interpretation of spirals in the oeufs en neige challenge.  It was fun to see Jeremiah put it together.  I liked him but he had been struggling lately.  It was getting to the point where winning just once challenge but failing the others just wasn't going to cut it.

Edited December 24, 2016 by Irlandesa

[sinycalone]

I felt they let Amanda slide with the truffles....she did not decorate the light chocolate truffles at all.  

[Irlandesa]

51 minutes ago, sinycalone said:

I felt they let Amanda slide with the truffles....she did not decorate the light chocolate truffles at all.  

I like how he presented their choice in a way that acknowledged the lack of decoration.  For that reason, I don't think they let her slide. It's just that they prioritized the thickness of the outside, the consistency of the ganache, the temper and the size over not having the swirls there.  And she even put them in the box in a checkerboard fashion like his.  To get a 'they're a joy to eat' from Mary after she had tried all the others meant they must have been very well done. For instance, Jeremiah winning the technical in the 2nd round was helped by knowing how to make the caramel swirls but I doubt he would have won, even if he were the only one to do that, if the consistency of his meringue was off.

[PaulaO]

I've had Floating Island, I think in London.  It was delicious.  I can't believe these bakers had never heard of it.  Sad to see Jeremiah go.  It's obvious Amanda is going to win.

[dubbel zout]

Steph could sneak in and win it depending on the final bakes, I think, but Amanda is definitely the favorite.

[mlp]

Jeremiah has been my favorite since the beginning partly because I just flat out like him and partly because he reminds me a bit of Ian from Nadiya's season, my all-time favorite baker.  Neither of those are reasons for someone to win but I was sad to see him go.  He definitely has talent.

So now I'm rooting for Amanda, partly because she's done good work and has real skills and partly because I love her curly hair.  :)

I guess I got used to Ian and Nia because they aren't annoying me like they did at first.  They always sound like they've rehearsed their lines but they do seem like nice people.

[mertensia]

Who loves creme brulee? Me. I love creme brulee. Also hard meringues. 

[meep.meep]

On December 22, 2016 at 8:58 PM, movingtargetgal said:

Mr. Moving requested that I make oeufs en neige for Christmas dessert.  I told him to go suck an oeuf en neige.  The closest I could get to making that would be to mix up some instant vanilla pudding from a box and place some marshmallows on top. 

Admittedly, I am divorced.  But I believe the correct response to such a request is:  "I'm sure you would be better at it than me.  Why don't you make some?"

 

On December 22, 2016 at 9:27 PM, StrictTime said:

Good grief!  This fake "It's so cold out here that we need to wear parkas and scarves and earmuffs" but the grass and trees are green as green can get is driving me crazy.  They need to drop this whole charade--we know they aren't filming this during cold weather!

I keep thinking about the poor PA who has to hand out the coats and scarves.  They keep mixing up the scarves.

Sorry to lose Jeremiah but he biffed two out of three challenges.

[Quilt Fairy]

12 hours ago, illdoc said:

The "new" episodes have been airing on Thursdays. A rerun of the previous week has been airing on Mondays. Since this week was 2 episodes, one will air this Monday (the 26th) and the other one is airing on Thur (the 29th).

Something about the timing doesn't make any sense. Even though they took "Holiday" out of the title, it's really a holiday baking show, and IIRC, the finale was supposed to be Thursday Dec 29, which would be the last Thursday of, you know, the holidays. Now they're repeating the meringue episode on Thursday but an hour earlier than normal, and after that for the evening it looks like some regular ABC shows, not Christmas specials or anything. So why not finish it up as planned?

I'm really enjoying the second season of the show. The bakers are better, certainly on a par with what GBBO had it's first couple of seasons, and Ian and Nia are more comfortable in their roles as well.  I like Nia's behind the scenes tip about the uses of sticky tape. However, if they really want to say it's a holiday show, someone should have dressed Ian in something more colorful than the black and gray sweater he was wearing in the 2nd ep of the evening.

ETA: So would molten lava cakes be what are called "sauced puddings" in the UK?

Edited December 24, 2016 by Quilt Fairy

[dubbel zout]

6 hours ago, Quilt Fairy said:

I like Nia's behind the scenes tip about the uses of sticky tape.

That was great! It's too bad the show doesn't have a little more breathing room for random bits like that.

[movingtargetgal]

9 hours ago, meep.meep said:

On 12/22/2016 at 11:58 PM, movingtargetgal said:

Mr. Moving requested that I make oeufs en neige for Christmas dessert.  I told him to go suck an oeuf en neige.  The closest I could get to making that would be to mix up some instant vanilla pudding from a box and place some marshmallows on top. 

Admittedly, I am divorced.  But I believe the correct response to such a request is:  "I'm sure you would be better at it than me.  Why don't you make some?"

Mr. Moving was kidding when he made his request. :) He knows better than to expect anything but disaster from me when I try to bake.  During this past year I set my oven on fire twice.

[Rapunzel]

13 hours ago, Quilt Fairy said:

ETA: So would molten lava cakes be what are called "sauced puddings" in the UK?

They are similar to what we call self-saucing puddings in the UK, yes. However, I've found that, in general, self-saucing puddings tend to have more sauce to them and it is generally a little thinner than what you find in most molten lava cakes.

[Quilt Fairy]

2 hours ago, Rapunzel said:

They are similar to what we call self-saucing puddings in the UK, yes. However, I've found that, in general, self-saucing puddings tend to have more sauce to them and it is generally a little thinner than what you find in most molten lava cakes.

Well, you guys don't have meatball sugar, which acts as a thickening agent.

[Rapunzel]

47 minutes ago, Quilt Fairy said:

Well, you guys don't have meatball sugar, which acts as a thickening agent.

Quite true - though maybe now that Mary has heard of it, it will become popular. ;-)

ETA: Oh - also, just as another note about self-saucing puddings if anyone is interested, the technique is a little different as well. You actually make a separate sauce and incorporated it in, still before baking it, but you aren't necessarily "under baking" it a bit to try to get just the bit in the center to be lava-like.  I think that may be part of why the consistency is a little different - along with not using meatball sugar, of course. ;-)  I love to cook, but have just recently started working on my baking stills - I have a few of Mary's books, which have been helpful.

Edited December 25, 2016 by Rapunzel

[Merneith]

On 12/23/2016 at 2:04 AM, sassykattt said:

What's the difference between eggs in snow and floating island?

Floating Islands sit on a chocolate lake, though, don't they? Not a white custard?

 

 

On 12/23/2016 at 2:04 PM, BusyOctober said:

I know tastes differ, but I do not get Great British Bakeoff or Great American Baking Show's love (obsession) with meringues or creme brûlée.  Neither one of them makes my mouth water. Do they keep making these items because of the degree of difficulty to get them right? They are both so bland IMO.  

I had a pavlova for the first time last year and it was any eye opener for me. The texture is so different than the insulation foam that gets sprayed on a lemon meringue pie. It's really unique - creamy and yet melty, sort of like freeze dried ice cream, if you've ever tried that. It was neat (and it was served with chocolate mousse, which I sort of embarrassed myself over.)

Creme brulee, otoh, is an old favorite for me. Love that caramel crunch!

But to answer your question - yes, I believe they are looking for the bakers to demonstrate a wide variety of techniques.

[Athena]

2 hours ago, Merneith said:

Floating Islands sit on a chocolate lake, though, don't they? Not a white custard?

Not really. I've seen floating islands on white custard. In French, I've seen œufs à la neige and île flottante used interchangeably.

[Rapunzel]

3 hours ago, Athena said:

Not really. I've seen floating islands on white custard. In French, I've seen œufs à la neige and île flottante used interchangeably.

Occasionally, ile flottante can contain islands that are made of "alternate layers of alcohol-soaked dessert biscuits and jam," though not always.

[GaT]

2 hours ago, Rapunzel said:

Occasionally, ile flottante can contain islands that are made of "alternate layers of alcohol-soaked dessert biscuits and jam," though not always.

If you've already got "alternate layers of alcohol-soaked dessert biscuits and jam,", I don't think you need anything else. :-)

[Frost]

Why do they pretend it's winter with the roaring bonfire, etc?  Yes, it's airing in the winter but there really isn't a holiday theme to the bakes.  It's not weeks of Christmas cookies and bouche de noel.  It seems like such a useless pretense.

I was happy Prache finally was eliminated.  She seemed to have a major drama every episode.  I love that they lend each other a hand, but if you need help consistently you shouldn't remain in the competition. 

Sadly, it was Jeremiah's time to go.  He really started out strong but the last couple of episodes he was struggling a bit. 

My only other experience with floating islands was the Master and Commander movie.  I'd like to see these bakers try to make that dessert in a ship's galley in the middle of the ocean!

Edited December 27, 2016 by Frost

[Bina]

On 12/24/2016 at 2:16 AM, Quilt Fairy said:

Something about the timing doesn't make any sense. Even though they took "Holiday" out of the title, it's really a holiday baking show, and IIRC, the finale was supposed to be Thursday Dec 29, which would be the last Thursday of, you know, the holidays. Now they're repeating the meringue episode on Thursday but an hour earlier than normal, and after that for the evening it looks like some regular ABC shows, not Christmas specials or anything. So why not finish it up as planned?

I'm really enjoying the second season of the show. The bakers are better, certainly on a par with what GBBO had it's first couple of seasons, and Ian and Nia are more comfortable in their roles as well.  I like Nia's behind the scenes tip about the uses of sticky tape. However, if they really want to say it's a holiday show, someone should have dressed Ian in something more colorful than the black and gray sweater he was wearing in the 2nd ep of the evening.

ETA: So would molten lava cakes be what are called "sauced puddings" in the UK?

Perhaps because of the 2 people that left unexpectedly? I'm guessing this was supposed to run another 2 weeks. 

[Irlandesa]

Next week is the semi-final and I assume the finale is the following week.  That would mean that despite losing two contestants, there are sticking with the episode order.  The biggest question left is whether or not we won't have an elimination next week or whether the finale will be 2 people instead of the traditional 3.

[theatremouse]

On 12/23/2016 at 11:16 PM, Quilt Fairy said:

Something about the timing doesn't make any sense. Even though they took "Holiday" out of the title, it's really a holiday baking show, and IIRC, the finale was supposed to be Thursday Dec 29, which would be the last Thursday of, you know, the holidays. 

The "original" schedule that had it ending on the 29th got there by airing 2 episodes almost every week, save I think two. What the current schedule does is flip that, and I think, only has two weeks where they run two at once, and the rest are airing one at a time.

[Kohola3]

And, of course, it's made even more bizarre with Christmas decorations and leaves on the trees.  The pretense is just unnecessary.  I'd watch it whether or not a holiday was involved.  Just bake, damn it!

[Zahdii]

5 hours ago, Kohola3 said:

The pretense is just unnecessary.

Or simply state that no one wants to be away from their family at Christmas, so we're shooting a Christmas themed show earlier in the year.  The audience is not stupid.

[jumper sage]

Love the British version and have to say I am glad the American version is not Americanized reality.  I like that they help each other and support each other as in the British version.

Funny thing is I don't bake or even like sweets.  With the British version I've had to actually stop watching because it was too sickening sweet on the screen.  I like the camaraderie.

[proserpina65]

No, not Jeremiah!!!!

That said, he started very strong, but clearly was struggling over these last two episodes, and while I'm very sorry to see him go, it was the right choice.  I think it would've been a toss-up between him and Jen, but she really saved herself with that last showstopper.

And boy, has Amanda come on strong when it really counted or what?

On ‎12‎/‎23‎/‎2016 at 1:51 AM, DHDancer said:

If it is well made, it's delicious.  Light, but rich, and very subtle in flavor.  Requires the best ingredients.   It's also known as Il Flottante (sp) 

Hmmm, I'm having trouble with the mini pavlovas having to be "2 different meringues".  Pavlova is pavlova: comes in plain, with the flavors coming from the toppings (usually cream and fresh fruit).   Some things just shouldn't stray from the classic IMO.

Is it anything like floating island?  Not that I've had that, either, but I'd heard of it.  (Oops, if I'd waited a minute, I'd have read the comment which answered this very question.)

Edited December 29, 2016 by proserpina65

[proserpina65]

On ‎12‎/‎26‎/‎2016 at 11:38 AM, Frost said:

My only other experience with floating islands was the Master and Commander movie.  I'd like to see these bakers try to make that dessert in a ship's galley in the middle of the ocean!

I'd like to see that, too.  I loved the bit where Jack Aubrey ate the dessert Acheron.

My first experience with floating islands, though, was a reference to making them in home economics class in a Donna Parker book.  Of course, that was published in 1960, so we weren't doing those in home ec by the time I got to high school.

[Zahdii]

On ‎12‎/‎28‎/‎2016 at 7:56 AM, Kohola3 said:

 

The first time I can remember hearing about Floating Island was when I watched an old movie as a kid.  It was Desk Set with Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn.  In the scene, the two don't know each other very well, but are offered a ride from work by another employee.  Since the car is already full with his wife, kids, and mother, Spencer bales when they reach Katharine's apartment.  He is prepared to walk to his own place, but since it's pouring rain they both get soaked and Katharine offers to let Spencer dry off in her apartment.  She gives him a bathrobe that is intended for her long time boyfriend as a Christmas present, and soon they're preparing a quick dinner together while Spencer's clothes are hung up in the kitchen and he's trying to dry his shoes in her oven.  After dinner, Katharine says she can't offer a dessert, but then realizes she has a couple of Floating Islands in the freezer.  The story moves on from there, with the boyfriend showing up from out of town suddenly to find a new guy in his girlfriend's apartment wearing a robe with his initials emblazoned on the pocket, etc.

Now I want to know, can Floating Island be frozen?  It doesn't sound like a dessert that would freeze well.

(Sorry about the quote box.  I don't know how it got there and it won't let me delete it.)

[theatremouse]

I wasn't really digging the truffle challenge. I mean, I get that chocolate skills are expected, and am OK with requiring use thereof. But one of the things I like about the British one, and this one before that episode (unless I've forgotten some other season doing a "chocolate only" challenge) is that it truly is "baking show". It's not saying "baking" and meaning "desserts". They do plenty of savory challenges too. But the truffle challenge was just about chocolate work. It involved zero baking. I get it was a technical and one of Iuzzini's things (possibly even it was entirely his choice of which of his recipes to do for this one), but it annoyed me that it involved no baking because that sort of wanders into the vexing territory Food Network lives in where they often using baking as synonymous with dessert when that is not the case. I don't think I'd mind a challenge that required them to make and include truffles/bon bons as part of an overall bigger presentation, but I don't like it being the only thing. It makes "On your mark, set, BAKE!" a lie.

Yes I have put too much thought into this.

Edited December 30, 2016 by theatremouse