Kids Baking Championship - General Discussion

[Eliza422]

11 hours ago, theatremouse said:

I just remember one of the kids saying the secret to his buttercream was shortening and I was like....no, now it's not buttercream. It's just frosting. The different types of buttercream are defined by their ingredients.

I think many grocery store bakeries (regular stores, not fancy ones) use a lot of shortening in their cake frostings, so it's not some huge secret he has. It's a pretty common thing to do.

I also think he's using buttercream generically. On other baking shows people refer to "vegan buttercream", and that has doesn't have any butter. 

[theatremouse]

Oh certainly I'm aware that it's pretty common currently for people to use buttercream and frosting as synonyms. But I'm being a pedant and complaining that all buttercream is frosting, but not all frosting is buttercream. (That said I'm probably OK with "vegan buttercream" if it's made with products that market themselves as "vegan butter" because the point in that scenario is "vegan item mimicking Thing" but now we're getting OT)

[Mrs. Stanwyck]

Two parts of last night that made me smile:

First was the boy (still don't know names yet) listing off all the lemon items he liked.  It made me think of Forrest Gump where Bubba lists off all the things with shrimp.

Second was where another boy was trying to juice his lime without slicing it in half.  The little girl's reaction "Seriously?" was pretty funny.

[luvapickle]

53 minutes ago, theatremouse said:

Oh certainly I'm aware that it's pretty common currently for people to use buttercream and frosting as synonyms. But I'm being a pedant and complaining that all buttercream is frosting, but not all frosting is buttercream. (That said I'm probably OK with "vegan buttercream" if it's made with products that market themselves as "vegan butter" because the point in that scenario is "vegan item mimicking Thing" but now we're getting OT)

Pro baker here. Buttercream tends to be a generic term, like frosting. However there are different recipes, just like say lasagna, or a burger.  Many grocery stores nowadays tend to use "bettercream" which comes in a tub. It's more convenient & less expensive. It's sort of like a "shortening" buttercream-without the butter.  Some recipes do include shortening. But that's why if you taste that type of frosting, it leaves a waxy feel in your mouth. Myself it's all "American" buttercream, but it's my Sicilian grandma's recipe. She hated Italian, French, & meringue because she said what's the point in having frosting then. My mum, & I fully agree. If it's too sweet you can either:

-add a pinch of salt, add more cream, (My grandma's recipe is a secret, lets just say it's not just butter, sugar, cream)

-or...gosh....don't eat all the frosting

no one said you have to eat all of it-but dessert is dessert

[snarkylady]

I didn't care for last night's episode due to the twist.  The pairings were bad enough....force someone to work with another person who may not be on the same level....but plans were made and in the process of execution when the rug was pulled out from under them.

As it was they already had to make their cupcakes and a platter (forgot what they called it) to display them on).  So each pair consulted and came up with their design and who was doing what and then they had to change course and work with a different person.  And for what reason?  Nothing that I could think of. 

I don't think I have a favorite but the two who have gone home thus far were probably the right ones to go. 

A little bit of Tarek goes a long way and I think Brady is going to wear thin. 

[NJKBCFan]

FYI - looks like Linsey from Season 4 will be on The Kitchen this Saturday morning on Food Network!

https://www.foodnetwork.com/shows/the-kitchen/episodes/fun-family-favorites

Fun Family Favorites

The Kitchen is serving up quick dishes the whole family will love. Jeff Mauro combines two family favorites in his Pizza Stuffed Chicken, and Katie Lee's Sesame Cauliflower is a takeout fakeout with no guilt. Geoffrey Zakarian ups his grilled cheese game with his Iron Chef Grilled Cheese, and the hosts share stress-free hacks for organizing snacks. Then Kids Baking Championship winner Linsey Lam stops by to bake her Ice Cream Cupcakes and sticks around to help judge a treat throwdown with amped-up pudding cups!

[blueray]

11 hours ago, Mrs. Stanwyck said:

Two parts of last night that made me smile:

First was the boy (still don't know names yet) listing off all the lemon items he liked.  It made me think of Forrest Gump where Bubba lists off all the things with shrimp.

Second was where another boy was trying to juice his lime without slicing it in half.  The little girl's reaction "Seriously?" was pretty funny.

Both of these were great. But I laughed when the kid was naming lemon foods and then after a pause goes "...and Lemon-aid". Because that was the first thing most people would think of not the last.

Anyhow, I again agree with the right kid going home.  Dharma didn't put enough cake batter in, which led to small cupcakes.  While his taste was great this was a mistake.  And unfortunately for him no body else really made mistakes.

6 hours ago, snarkylady said:

I didn't care for last night's episode due to the twist.  The pairings were bad enough....force someone to work with another person who may not be on the same level....but plans were made and in the process of execution when the rug was pulled out from under them.

I didn't like the twist either, or didn't really get it I should say.  They already came up with their plans and some had already started making their cakes.  I feel like having them switch partners just wasted everyone's time.  And let to a lot of them making similar cakes.

Edited August 14, 2019 by blueray

[Iseut]

On 8/13/2019 at 8:02 AM, Mrs. Stanwyck said:

First was the boy (still don't know names yet) listing off all the lemon items he liked.  It made me think of Forrest Gump where Bubba lists off all the things with shrimp.

That cracked me up too. My husband and I started rattling off "lemon kebabs, lemon scampi, lemon on the cob..."

It was pretty obvious from early on that Dharma would be the one to go. He just couldn't quite pull everything together. The lime juicing was pretty cute, though. We've all been there, just not quite figuring something out that everyone else seems to know.

I'm glad that they got this Angry Birds commercial over with early. It was annoying that the kids had to act so excited about it and that Valerie talked as if everyone knows these characters. Sorry we don't all know and love mediocre movies based on passe app games.

[blueray]

32 minutes ago, Iseut said:

I'm glad that they got this Angry Birds commercial over with early. It was annoying that the kids had to act so excited about it and that Valerie talked as if everyone knows these characters. Sorry we don't all know and love mediocre movies based on passe app games

Me too. I'm in the minority that never even played the game. So I know nothing about this at all. I guess they just assumed everyone did.

[luvapickle]

On 8/14/2019 at 3:44 PM, Iseut said:

That cracked me up too. My husband and I started rattling off "lemon kebabs, lemon scampi, lemon on the cob..."

It was pretty obvious from early on that Dharma would be the one to go. He just couldn't quite pull everything together. The lime juicing was pretty cute, though. We've all been there, just not quite figuring something out that everyone else seems to know.

I'm glad that they got this Angry Birds commercial over with early. It was annoying that the kids had to act so excited about it and that Valerie talked as if everyone knows these characters. Sorry we don't all know and love mediocre movies based on passe app games.

Well as a baker, do you know how often I get asked to do Angry Bird cupcakes? A lot. And I am starting to get a deluge with the new one coming out. And I don't do anything on my phone except talk. It's amazing how many "games" there are out there now, especially on YouTube. I get something new at least a few times a week. The parents always think it's the "it" show or game. Here's me looking it up, so I have something to reference. It amazes me when I actually get something "old" like Sesame Street. But yea, Angry Birds, is new again.

[suebee12]

Just finished watching the doughnut episode and I truly hated the "twist", maybe because I hate coffee! If I have a doughnut, I want a cold glass of milk!

I knew right away that anyone who used a bundt cake pan was not going to have a cake that looked like a doughnut. Trevin had the best looking doughnut because he had rounded edges on top and bottom plus his flavor worked well with coffee! I can see why the two bakers on the bottom were there but I was surprised Tarek wasn't there because his was super sloppy looking  but I guess it did look like a doughnut.

As for the twist....some of the flavors worked with coffee and others didn't so I think it was a really unfair twist. Plus most kids don't drink coffee and would probably have a hard time mixing the flavors. I loved how Taylor said she would add the coffee but wouldn't taste it!!

And no, I don't know all of their names yet...I used this! https://www.foodnetwork.com/shows/kids-baking-championship/photos/meet-the-competitors-of-kids-baking-championship-season-7

[snarkylady]

6 minutes ago, suebee12 said:

I knew right away that anyone who used a bundt cake pan was not going to have a cake that looked like a doughnut. Trevin had the best looking doughnut because he had rounded edges on top and bottom plus his flavor worked well with coffee! I can see why the two bakers on the bottom were there but I was surprised Tarek wasn't there because his was super sloppy looking  but I guess it did look like a doughnut.

As for the twist....some of the flavors worked with coffee and others didn't so I think it was a really unfair twist.

I came here to post the same sentiment.  I love coffee, but also don't think it goes equally well with the donut flavors they were using. All of the twists are unfair, some more so than others.

When will contestants learn to follow the instructions?  They were given an example of what their donut should look like....so make it look like that.   Don't volunteer for elimination!  Would have been interesting if more of the bakers had used bundt pans but as it stood the two up for elimination were the only ones who did.

Tarek's donut was the sloppiest thing ever, he should have been in the bottom two and he knew it.

Brady plays to the camera and Sophie isn't far behind him in that respect. 

[scarletine]

I think they could have gotten away with using the Bundt pans, if they'd divided the dough into two pans, then put them flat sides together, like Trevin did with his more traditional looking one. That way it would have looked more like a French cruller. But yeah, as they were, they were just Bundt cakes. 

Edited August 20, 2019 by scarletine
Clarification

[suebee12]

51 minutes ago, scarletine said:

I think they could have gotten away with using the Bundt pans, if they'd divided the dough, then put them together, like Trevin did with his more traditional looking one. That way it would have looked more like a French cruller. But yeah, as they were, they were just Bundt cakes. 

Good point! That would have been an awesome cruller! A shame they didn't think of that but it probably still might not help the under baked part!

[NJKBCFan]

From a baking perspective, seems like these first 3 challenges were pretty simple: Cake, cupcake, cake-using-cake-mold. And decorating hasn't been all that challenging either. Anyone else agree?

Was feeling pretty good about my two early picks making the top 2, but then my 3rd got eliminated. Better than last season, though! Agree with others that I thought Tarek should have been bottom 2, but ultimately agreed with the choice for elimination.

Looking forward to next week's imposter challenge!

[mlp]

I like all the kids but Sophie is my least favorite and I really liked the girl who was sent home so I was hoping the decision would go the other way.  Sophie reminds me of a girl a season or two ago who became more and more enamored of camera time as the show went on and eventually got a bit obnoxious.

Brady cracks me up.  I think he's very bright and knows exactly how he's coming across.  His comment about being older and "more sophisticated" made me laugh because it was obvious that he knew exactly what he was saying and why it would be funny for his age.

Duff is right that this is the best group yet.  I have no idea who is going to end up in the final three.

Edited August 21, 2019 by mlp
correct something

[blueray]

Again a bit predictable.  I'm glad the one kid won, as he's cake looked like something you would actually find in a bakery. I agree that the challenge again was unfair as coffee doesn't go with some of the flavors.

[Kakistos]

I don’t know how many of you are coffee drinkers, but the flavored coffee are surprisingly good, and are what made me into a regular coffee drinker. Although in the case of actual coffee, I think it’s more about the aroma than the actual flavor. 

Besides the obvious flavors that go well with coffee, I was surprised to like strawberry, blueberry, and especially coconut. 

Edited August 20, 2019 by Kakistos

[dewelar]

Yep, definitely the best group of kid bakers top-to-bottom, with no real obvious cannon fodder (now that Dharma's out) like there has been in the past. On the other hand, it's also the most even group, with no clear frontrunner(s) other than maybe Trevin, so like @mlp I have no idea who's going to be in the finale. It's great!

It also means the production crew has to work extra-hard to try and create drama -- "Oh, Brady's batter might be turning into scrambled eggs! ... never mind, he saved it somehow, it's fine"; "Oh, Sophie's pastry cream doesn't look right! ... never mind, plenty of time to throw it out and start over"; "Oh, Tarek's buttercream and ganache are clashing and look sloppy! ... never mind, not even bad enough to be in the bottom two". I got a chuckle over all these mini-"disasters" that came to nothing.

After not liking Tarek in episode 1, he's grown on me. He's awkward, but in an endearing way.

And finally, another big thumbs up to the KBC team for not playing up Tori's illness. It may make me a bad person, but whenever one of these shows starts dwelling on someone's sob story, I immediately switch to rooting against that person. Thank goodness they didn't make me root against Tori, because she seemed nice and level-headed while she was there.

[ExplainItAgain]

Wow, that Brooke has the most southern Georgia peach accent I've heard in a long time.

Yeah, Brady's a bit performative.

Valerie's look at the judging...grandma city.

[mlp]

3 hours ago, dewelar said:

And finally, another big thumbs up to the KBC team for not playing up Tori's illness.

Agreed.  In fact, I had totally forgotten that she's the one with cystic fibrosis until just now.  Back when it was first mentioned, I thought it was marvelous that a child with that diagnosis could reach her age and be a happy, normal looking kid able to the things kids do.  Eons ago when I was in college, most kids with CP didn't even live that long and the ones who did were usually pale and sickly.  She's a living example of progress in medicine.

I agree that the coffee twist was rather unfair for kids most of whom have probably never even tasted it.  I'm a coffee drinker and it would never occur to me to mix that flavor with strawberry or blueberry.  That doesn't even sound good.  

[AnnMarie17]

20 hours ago, NJKBCFan said:

From a baking perspective, seems like these first 3 challenges were pretty simple: Cake, cupcake, cake-using-cake-mold. And decorating hasn't been all that challenging either. Anyone else agree?

Absolutely agree and I said the same thing to my husband.  The judges are saying this is the most talented group yet, but they've made basically the same thing three times.  I'll be interested to watch next week for dessert impostors to see who can make something besides another cake!

[AnnMarie17]

17 hours ago, ExplainItAgain said:

Wow, that Brooke has the most southern Georgia peach accent I've heard in a long time.

Yeah, Brady's a bit performative.

Valerie's look at the judging...grandma city.

Do you have a mic in my living room???  Agreed on all points.  In the safety of internet anonymity (the only place I'd be snarky towards children) I will say:

Brooke - please stop talking.  Now.

Brady - Ugh.

Valerie - what the ever loving hell has happened to you???

AnnMarie - you're being mighty bitchy today. 😋

[NJKBCFan]

How did Linsey's bologna sandwich not make this album?!

https://www.foodnetwork.com/shows/kids-baking-championship/photos/the-best-dessert-imposters

[ExplainItAgain]

Those were some pretty sad looking dessert imposters - especially compared to previous seasons.

The sushi was way too tall. Could have cut that in thirds. The ramen looked really weird. The kebob was off colorwise, can't believe it won. I didn't think Brady's was too bad, but underbaked is pretty bad.

Not the best week.

[Gramto6]

I felt for Sadie(?) she said her teacher died and she  was going to donate some of the money if she won to the family. That is a really hard thing to go through. When I was in the 6th grade my teacher died (I'm 70 so a long time ago) it is still a memory that haunts me, we were shell shocked when the other teacher came in and told us. My DD's 4th grade teacher died (son had her 2 years before) it was devastating for them too. At that age, teachers are on almost the same level as a parent and losing one is shocking.  Good for her to be thinking of the family.

Edited August 27, 2019 by Gramto6

[mlp]

I didn't think that kebab looked very good and the poke bowl looked great.  I find it hard to believe that the kebab pieces tasted very good.  I was really surprised by that decision.

I understand why they eliminated Brady but I got a kick out of him and was sorry to see him go.  

[Rammchick]

2 hours ago, mlp said:

I didn't think that kebab looked very good and the poke bowl looked great.  I find it hard to believe that the kebab pieces tasted very good.  I was really surprised by that decision.

I understand why they eliminated Brady but I got a kick out of him and was sorry to see him go.  

I think the main determinant was the fact that although Brooke's poke bowl was way more convincing an imposter, she used a lot of ingredients that she didn't make herself.  Sophie's might not have looked all that great but she made everything herself, and Duff and Valerie couldn't say enough good things about how it tasted.

I agree about Brady, I thought he was a really self possessed kid but still seemed very sweet.  I'll miss him on the show.

[justjen]

I could not stand Brady at all. Maybe it was "I'm kind of a big deal in tennis," or maybe it was his too straight teeth. I don't know. I'm not sorry he's gone, even though he did bake well before (I guess...I'm not the one eating it!) 

Finally we're at the part where I like all the other kids. Tarek is my inner nervous monologue, Trevin is just so stinkin' cute, Brooke is adorable, someone does a great job on Sophie's hair. My problems with Taylor is that in the first episode, she didn't fulfill the challenge and she cooked with coffee IIRC. Then last week she talked about how much she doesn't like coffee. But I still really like her and her fancy pants cakes! 

[theatremouse]

I was mostly confused at how the kids who did SO WELL at the "make sure it really looks like a giant donut" challenge last time managed to not get the "make sure it really looks like the item in the picture" this time. I mean, I get it's easier to make cake look like a donut than say a tomato, but the same kids who understood last week that "meh, it's round, that's donut-ey" was not enough did not seem to understand that "meh it's the same color" was not enough on the "vegetables".

I also disagreed with the winner. I'm surprised at how they went on and on about the taste and also the look. OK fine she painted on grill marks. Otherwise it was a generic color and shape match. If they're gonna get on Brady for not making the "steak" look right for fajitas how were those "zucchini" better?

[suebee12]

2 hours ago, justjen said:

I could not stand Brady at all. Maybe it was "I'm kind of a big deal in tennis," or maybe it was his too straight teeth.

I had to laugh at this because one of the photos shown of him and his father, his mouth was full of braces! I think he deserved those pretty teeth because braces aren't all that fun!

[snarkylady]

6 hours ago, justjen said:

I could not stand Brady at all. 

I wasn't a fan either.  They have featured him quite a bit so far -- or he annoyed me so I just noticed him more -- and I had assumed he'd be a finalist.  Going to have to rethink the contenders now that he's gone. 

[jcbrown]

I thought the twist was really lame this time.

[ExplainItAgain]

48 minutes ago, jcbrown said:

I thought the twist was really lame this time.

Agreed. Very tenuous link between "international travel" and "buy things on a credit card."

[snarkylady]

2 hours ago, jcbrown said:

I thought the twist was really lame this time.

especially since none of the contestants were familiar with credit cards

I thought someone said something about the credit card chip, sort of heard that in passing, would have been hilarious if one of them had put a chocolate or butterscotch chip where the microchip is usually embedded. 

[justjen]

9 hours ago, suebee12 said:

I had to laugh at this because one of the photos shown of him and his father, his mouth was full of braces! I think he deserved those pretty teeth because braces aren't all that fun!

My BiL is actually an orthodontist and I texted him to turn on the show this week (before we saw the brace-stuffed mouth) to ask if teeth are supposed to be that straight! 

[luvapickle]

On 8/27/2019 at 8:08 AM, justjen said:

I could not stand Brady at all. Maybe it was "I'm kind of a big deal in tennis," or maybe it was his too straight teeth. I don't know. I'm not sorry he's gone, even though he did bake well before (I guess...I'm not the one eating it!) 

Finally we're at the part where I like all the other kids. Tarek is my inner nervous monologue, Trevin is just so stinkin' cute, Brooke is adorable, someone does a great job on Sophie's hair. My problems with Taylor is that in the first episode, she didn't fulfill the challenge and she cooked with coffee IIRC. Then last week she talked about how much she doesn't like coffee. But I still really like her and her fancy pants cakes! 

Aw, he's just a 12 year old kid. I liked him since he helped out Sophia in the first episode. She went home, but I thought it was sweet.

[NJKBCFan]

This was the first challenge that wasn't just a cake or cupcake, so this was really the first test to see what else these kids can do. Compared to some of the past desert imposters, most of these did fall short. Thought the poke bowl should have won, as it was the best imposter and apparently tasted pretty good (especially with the mousse, which the judges noted), while the kebob looked more like candy-on-a-stick than it did an imposter. But the rest of the imposters really fell short. Thought Taylor's sushi should have finished higher than the ramen bowl, and that the bottom two were pretty uninspired.

Looks like next week's challenge is another cake. 😞

[blueray]

I was glad to see Brady go. I know he is just a kid, but wow he was annoying and way to cockie for me.  I like all the remaining contests :).

[jlc]

On 8/21/2019 at 11:07 AM, AnnMarie17 said:

Do you have a mic in my living room???  Agreed on all points.  In the safety of internet anonymity (the only place I'd be snarky towards children) I will say:

Brooke - please stop talking.  Now.

Brady - Ugh.

Valerie - what the ever loving hell has happened to you???

AnnMarie - you're being mighty bitchy today. 😋

Thank you - on all your points, but I might have added a Valerie please leave and don't  come back!! She is NOT a very good judge, in my opinion. She talks too much and seems to forget that these are kids. And I don't find her to be "comforting at all when one of the kids starts to fall apart!!

Edited September 2, 2019 by jlc

[jlc]

On 8/27/2019 at 4:18 PM, jcbrown said:

I thought the twist was really lame this time.

I thought the twist was unfair because kids don't  know what coffee tastes like, how are they supposed to know if it goes well with their flavors, or if it is not strong enough, or if there is too much. I was not happy at all that they chose coffee for the KIDS twist

[albarino]

Lordy, I'm stunned at how heavy Valerie has become.  Stunned!

[ExplainItAgain]

If they say hedgehog poke cake one more time, I'm gonna scream.

[luvapickle]

10 hours ago, ExplainItAgain said:

If they say hedgehog poke cake one more time, I'm gonna scream.

Porcupine!

[Bazinga]

To me, it was VERY unfair to Brooke that her assigned ingredient (carrots) had to be prepped by the baker and wasn't just ready to use like everyone elses, thus consuming time that she could have spent on other activities.  Either everyone has to spend time prepping their ingredient or no one has to prep the ingredient.  Perhaps have peeled and diced carrots available.  I don't think Brooke's problem was lack of poked holes, as Val and Duff were saying, but that her topping was not liquid enough to seep into the holes she had made-we saw her poking holes.  The criticism just seemed inaccurate, like she didn't follow the challenge or didn't understand what a poke cake was, when she certainly did.  Just think it was unfair to her.  Tarek made a mess of his cake and hedgehog and was not dinged on it (his mess of a hedgehog was called "cute"), while Brooke got called for her hedgehog not looking enough like a hedgehog.  Whatever.  Wish they would stop with the twist.  Totally not cute; in fact it is cruel-these are kids you are dealing with. 

Edited September 3, 2019 by Bazinga

[NJKBCFan]

With 4 of the 5 challenges being cake (or cupcake), I'm really not finding this season very interesting. Yes, they did a nice job with the flavors, but it would be so much better if they changed it up more. At least some of the hedgehogs and bugs looked cool, but still not all that interesting. I'm assuming that the finale will also be a big cake, so again, not the most exciting.

Glad that 2 of my 3 picks from week one are still in it. I like Taylor to win it all now, though I think Sophie will also have a strong chance to win, as will Tarek if things go smoothly for him. Trevin seems like he's not having a very good time and seems uninspired.

[Matryoshka]

Ugh. Brooke was my favorite. I’m surprised no one (adult or kid) suggested that she use a food processor for the carrots.

[jlc]

12 hours ago, albarino said:

Lordy, I'm stunned at how heavy Valerie has become.  Stunned!

Last year she was way bigger, so this year she looks a lot better, but I really wish she would leave the show. She annoys me so much!!!! She needs to remember these are KIDS!

[snarkylady]

2 hours ago, Bazinga said:

To me, it was VERY unfair to Brooke that her assigned ingredient (carrots) had to be prepped by the baker and wasn't just ready to use like everyone elses, thus consuming time that she could have spent on other activities.  Either everyone has to spend time prepping their ingredient or no one has to prep the ingredient.  Perhaps have peeled and diced carrots available.  I don't think Brooke's problem was lack of poked holes, as Val and Duff were saying, but that her topping was not liquid enough to seep into the holes she had made-we saw her poking holes.  The criticism just seemed inaccurate, like she didn't follow the challenge or didn't understand what a poke cake was, when she certainly did.  Just think it was unfair to her.  Tarek made a mess of his cake and hedgehog and was not dinged on it (his mess of a hedgehog was called "cute"), while Brooke got called for her hedgehog not looking enough like a hedgehog.  Whatever.  Wish they would stop with the twist.  Totally not cute; in fact it is cruel-these are kids you are dealing with. 

EXACTLY.  She didn't even have peeled carrots to work with, had to clean them off first.  Big disadvantage for the baker who wound up with carrot cake.

This is the second week that Tarek's presentation has been messy.  At least he's been warned.

Was there a size criteria for the hedgehog and I just missed it somehow? 

Next week's challenge seems to be pies and it's about time there is something a bit more challenging.  I expect to see both girls in the finale along with whichever boy does better next week. 

[Omeletsmom]

Are poke cakes with pastry cream and caramel and such really a thing?  I've only ever seen them made with jello. The suggested "fillings" seemed way too thick to seep in properly.