Season Five Episode Talk

[oldCJ]

I found the special disappointing because they made it a team challenge. I wish they’d had fewer bakers and done it individually. Also, saffron in dessert was never going to win. It’s such a tough flavor in anything let alone a cake. It was nice to catch up with the previous winners. Interesting that one isn’t baking anymore but traveling across the country in an RV. 

[Rammchick]

Jason and Maeve together on a team.  Lawd, honey child, I was as sickened as a rooster coughing up a furball.

[mlp]

I like Jordan, Jason and Nacho and would have been happy with any of them winning.  Jen too.  She looked great.  I didn't even recognize her until they showed the clip from her season.  I can't stand Maeve and would be happy never to see her again.  I've already forgotten who the sixth person was.  In the end, I thought Jordan and Jen deserved their win.  I gathered that they had to split the 10K.  I hope whatever they had left after taxes covered their expenses.

[Enigma X]

I am really annoyed by Jason and Michelle. My dislike for Jason and Michelle would not allow me to entertain some happiness for Nacho and Maeve winning. So, I was glad Jordan and Jen won. And I actually like Jordan and Jen.

[Maverick]

 I like Jordan, but his "I'm young!" schtick was getting old on his original season.   It's well past it's expiration date now and he kept. bringing. it. up. on the show.   Dude, you'll be "old" someday.  You might want to select Expedite on that self-awareness you need to order.

 I wanted to tell the judges "I'm not getting holiday from your outfits".   Seriously, Lorraine was dressed in all black, Duff's black and gold jacket looked like it was made from an old cocktail dress from an episode of Dynasty circa 1987 and Nancy....Mrs. "It Doesn't Scream Holiday To Me".   What is she wearing?  A black outfit with a blue so bright it belongs on the as-yet-to-be developed Summer Baking Championship Tropical Edition.   

[Chit Chat]

I did not find any of the silver & gold cakes very pretty.  Some of the fondant work was a little off and clunky looking - which I'm surprised the judges didn't point out.  

I'd like to see a challenge where they don't tell the judges what the "special" ingredients are, and let's see if they can figure out what the hell is in the dessert - just for shits and giggles you know! I always hate when one of the judges laments about how they can't taste said flavor in the dessert.  I'd like them to describe what they're tasting without knowing what's supposed to be in there.   

[crazycatlady58]

3 minutes ago, ChitChat said:

I did not find any of the silver & gold cakes very pretty.  Some of the fondant work was a little off and clunky looking - which I'm surprised the judges didn't point out.  

I'd like to see a challenge where they don't tell the judges what the "special" ingredients are, and let's see if they can figure out what the hell is in the dessert - just for shits and giggles you know! I always hate when one of the judges laments about how they can't taste said flavor in the dessert.  I'd like them to describe what they're tasting without knowing what's supposed to be in there.   

When they get an odd ingredient and the judges do not think it was done correct, I would like the contestant to say "How would you handle green Apple with chocolate."

[Biosynth]

I noticed two of the 3 cakes were leaning, yet they only commented on one.  Strange.  The winning cake, in fact, was one of them. 

I didn't really like any of the cakes, honestly.  And these days if something isn't punch you in the face red and green I pretty much say to the TV, "They're going to hate it.  There's some brown in there!"

[dleighg]

I thought fondant tastes awful? So why are they using it to cover their cakes? And can someone tell me how after they drape the fondant on the cake, they get rid of all the excess drapery to make it smooth?

[Carolina Girl]

On 12/18/2018 at 3:32 AM, oldCJ said:

I’m tired of Nancy’s drinking problem being such a joke. “Not enough rum!” It’s sad, not funny. 

Happy to know it's not just me.  I don't like cake with an overreaching alcohol flavor.  I'm starting to wonder if Nancy's ideal baked good would be cake crammed into a bottle of Capt. Morgan.  

[theatremouse]

4 hours ago, dleighg said:

I thought fondant tastes awful? So why are they using it to cover their cakes? And can someone tell me how after they drape the fondant on the cake, they get rid of all the excess drapery to make it smooth?

Whether it tastes awful is more of a matter of personal opinion, although most would probably agree if you use too much of it, or if it's too thick...yeah it's not fun to eat. Although it's mostly sugar, I find it isn't actually sweet. A best case scenario with fondant is it tastes like nothing. The texture is not always fun to eat though. I think the texture of it can be more problematic than taste. Ideally it should be super thin so it's basically only there to give the smooth look, but you're not really tasting it, you're tasting the buttercream underneath it. There should be at least 3x thickness buttercream under the fondant as the thickness of the fondant itself. (That's my personal ratio, not any kind of professional standard or anything).

Why are they using it? Fondant pretty much only exists to make cakes looks super smooth and neat and tidy. So if you're going for that type of look, it's the normal, standard cake decorating thing to do (unless you do a chocolate collar). Otherwise the alternative is generally super detailed piping (takes way too long for this type of timed show), pour ganache over it (but then what? they usually want more decoration than that), pour mirror glaze over it (usually only done on these shows when specifically asked for), drip cake (see previous), cover it in nuts or sprinkles or chocolate shards (again, usually not going to result in something 'decorated' enough for this type of show).

They most likely cut away the excess after draping to get clean edges, and there are tools to use to smooth it out. It's a learned skill to do clean edges and keep it smooth, and have the seams not be super obvious.

[Madding crowd]

I don’t believe Nancy has a drinking problem-she is playing a character. People seem to like ‘older ladies’ who act like they enjoy booze ( like Mary Berry). Nancy doesn’t bother me. She seems nice to the contestants. Lorraine never says much and Duff can be sarcastic.

I was just happy Jason and Maeve didn’t win.

[Enigma X]

I don't think Nancy has a drinking problem either, but I do think she likes the taste of liquor in her sweets. I do too (and don't like my sweets too sweet). She does overplay it sometimes, but I do think it is a preference and not a "problem."

[NYGirl]

Thank goodness Jason and Maeve didn't win.  I cannot stand Jason and his bragging about winning 3 Food Network competitions... I hated Maeve from her season on HBC.

I recently saw Jordan on the Christmas Cookie Competition as a judge and he turned me right off with his snark and was not very nice to the contestants.

I guess I was stuck rooting for Nacho and the woman with the glasses.  ugh...  

[mojoween]

I saw Jen’s season just before season 5 started and I had seen Jordan on Cookie Challenge reruns so I was rooting for them based on familiarity.

I saw Jason on a Christmas Wars show, I think? and found him to be really extra, and this was the first time I saw Maeve and she was SUPER extra, so that team vaulted right to the bottom.  The other two bakers were there and I would like to try Nacho’s chocolate cakes.

Jordan is super critical as a cookie judge.  I was actually surprised to find out he started out as a contestant on a challenge show.

[SHD]

I was disappointed when Maeve won her season and was disappointed that of all the baking show winners, she was one of the six they brought back for the special. Jason is super schtick-y, but he's fine in small doses for me.

The cutout cake had TWO layers of fondant to get that effect. I hope they were thin layers. I wasn't that impressed with the "snow globe" cutout, either. Maybe it looked better in person.

I also thought the cupcakes challenge was too much to add to their plates and most really played loose with the color theme. Wasn't one of the silver cupcakes just a regular cupcake in a silver foil cup?

[Biosynth]

I have to say, I've had premade fondant and it's terrible and I've had hand made marshmallow fondant and it's amazing.  But I'm sure they aren't making it by hand on this show.

[dahling]

Not all premade fondant tastes the same, in fact taste and quality can vary widely.  Some taste quite good.  Marshmallow fondant is an easy homemade substitute, but it's a different beast than "real" fondant. It lacks elasticity and can be difficult to work with without a microwave nearby.  I guarantee these contestants are using pre-made.

Jason's and Maeve's cake was the least sloppy and amateurish.  But, brown. Have they learned nothing? 

[Mittengirl]

I saw a Martha Bakes show the other night and she had a guest on who showed how to do a mirror glazed cake.  IIRC, he said the cake had to be frozen overnight and the glaze refrigerated 24 hours to work right.  Martha didn’t correct him, and she knows everything, so he must be right.  That could explain why we don’t see a mirror glaze used often despite looking like a quick finish.

[festivus]

I guess I was the only one that wanted Jason and Maeve to win. I love Jason and Maeve seems to have found a personality since her season. I thought Jordan and Jen's cake was the ugliest and it was leaning too, which was not mentioned. The prettiest one was Nacho and whatsername's cake, too bad it was leaning. Sounded like it tasted good too. Well, good for Jen anyway. Don't care for Jordan at all.