Spring Baking Championship - General Discussion

[SHERMDOG]

On 5/13/2025 at 6:10 AM, mojoween said:

I’m as confused as everyone else.  We saw nothing but praise for Lisa and a ton of notes for Priya.  The scratch marzipan alone feels like it gave Lisa the edge, so of course Priya won.

Anyone but Priya for the win!! Not sure why but she grates on my very last nerve. 

Lisa is my choice to win.

On 5/13/2025 at 6:10 AM, mojoween said:

I’m as confused as everyone else.  We saw nothing but praise for Lisa and a ton of notes for Priya.  The scratch marzipan alone feels like it gave Lisa the edge, so of course Priya won.

 

[carrps]

2 hours ago, SHERMDOG said:

Anyone but Priya for the win!! Not sure why but she grates on my very last nerve. 

Because she's not relaxing and being herself. She's playing a character. I'm sure she's a nice person IRL, but she somes across here as phony and try-too-hard.

 

[dleighg]

18 minutes ago, carrps said:

She's playing a character.

She always has this pasted on smile, and a lot of over-the-top facial reactions. She clearly wants to get a lot of camera time. 

[AZChristian]

23 minutes ago, carrps said:

Because she's not relaxing and being herself. She's playing a character. I'm sure she's a nice person IRL, but she somes across here as phony and try-too-hard.

 

Her first words (if I remember correctly) were, "I look just like Mindy Kaling."  She doesn't even lead with her own identity, so the "playing a character" comment rings true.

[CrazyInAlabama]

I see little resemblance between Priya and Mindy Kalling, except for the haircut, and they're both of Indian descent.  

I'll be shocked if Priya, Mary-Frances and Lisa aren't the final three, with Lisa getting booted and Priya and Mary-Frances as the final two.   In my conspiracy theory, I bet Corey went home because Raveena was weaker and less of a threat to the producer's chosen two. 

[CrazyInAlabama]

S11.E11 “Crowning the Spring Baking Champion” New, 5/19/2025

“Two bakers find out their fate as one baker advances to the last round. Then, host Jesse Palmer challenges the final three bakers to create sky-high Marie Antoinette spring hairdo cakes with floral flavors and at least three layers decorated with an elaborate floral headdress theme. Judges Duff Goldman, Kardea Brown and Nancy Fuller decide who will be crowned Spring Baking Champion and walk away with $25,000!”

Final Bakers:  (One will be eliminated before the final bake) Lisa and Priya are already in the final three, with either Raveena or Mary-Frances being eliminated in the first minutes of the episodes. 

Priya -Calgary, Alberta. Her chocolate desserts are beautiful. Chocolatier and pastry chef (Says she looks like Mindy Kaling) She gets the final advantage of the season.

Lisa -Boston. Catering company chef.

Raveena Oberol-Vancouver, B.C. (Judge on Wall of Bakers) Made her own wedding cake, opened first storefront at 22. 

 Mary-Frances-Calgary, Alberta.  Culinary instructor. 

Eliminated baker is: Mary-Frances (I'm shocked, she was getting the come from behind edit). 

Final Challenge: final three bakers create sky-high Marie Antoinette spring hairdo cakes with floral flavors and at least three layers decorated with an elaborate floral headdress theme.  For winning the first part, Priya gets to pick her theme of Spring Garden, and assign Raveen and Lisa their themes 

Priya-Garden theme, looks like flower peat moss pot, not garden to me.  The judges seem to love it, but I don't see it as garden at all. Duff says cake layers should have been thinner. 

Raveena-Sailing Ship theme, She absolutely nailed the theme. Taste is good according to the judges.  They only criticize that her piping of the hair isn't curly enough, and the icing is too thick. 

Lisa-Peacock theme, she did a great decorating job.  Kardea says one layer is dry, and Duff says cake is a little tough. Nancy liked the raspberries, but Kardea didn't. 

Winner of the Spring Baking Championship:  Priya.    

Edited May 20 by CrazyInAlabama

[Maya]

Nothing says spring like a Marie Antoinette hairdo cake!

[libgirl2]

3 minutes ago, Maya said:

Nothing says spring like a Marie Antoinette hairdo cake!

That's the problem with this season. Not enough spring. 

[Grizzly]

They are struggling to come up with new challenges each season.

[libgirl2]

8 hours ago, Grizzly said:

They are struggling to come up with new challenges each season.

How about just some lovely baking? Do like GBBO, have a bread week, a cookie week, etc...

[Rammchick]

14 hours ago, libgirl2 said:

That's the problem with this season. Not enough spring. 

Nancy, is that you? 

[mojoween]

Nancy did look cute as Marie Antoinette.  But that sailing ship hairstyle is oceans harder than the other two.  That was not equitable on the part of the producers at all.

[MerBearHou]

As skeptical as I was about the Marie Antoinette cakes, these final three cakes are stunning!!!!

[Grizzly]

I would want to eat Priya's cake but I like the look of the other 2 cakes better.

[Grizzly]

Nancy has lost weight. Looking good.

[mojoween]

Priya’s cake was ugly as fuck!  Lisa’s wasn’t hair but that mossy bucket was?  Raveena’s cake was even better and I would have actually given her the win.

[MerBearHou]

It sounds like Priya’s tastes were the best of the three.  I thought Raveena’s was the most beautiful but her ganache was a huge problem.  

[kathyk2]

2 minutes ago, mojoween said:

Priya’s cake was ugly as fuck!  Lisa’s wasn’t hair but that mossy bucket was?  Raveena’s cake was even better and I would have actually given her the win.

I think Priya won because of her chocolate work not her cake. I felt Lisa was being ignored during the challenge.

[Grizzly]

I wish Lisa had colored her hair instead of leaving it white.

[Ancaster]

12 hours ago, Rammchick said:

Nancy, is that you? 

Can't be, Nancy would have said "springy".

[Gramto6]

1 hour ago, Grizzly said:

I wish Lisa had colored her hair instead of leaving it white.

It was actually a light gray color. Duff even commented how hard it was to get to just that shade of gray and he said it looked good.

[Ancaster]

As happened last night, it is not uncommon for bakers/cheftestants to leave something in the blast chiller too long.  Why don't they just chuck it in the microwave for a few seconds?  That's what I do when I'm too impatient to wait 10 minutes for for my Haagen Dazs to soften.  🤣

[DEL901]

8 minutes ago, Gramto6 said:

It was actually a light gray color. Duff even commented how hard it was to get to just that shade of gray and he said it looked good.

Wasn’t it Ravenna he complemented on the hair colour?   And I thought Priya clearly won.  Also, is this the first time she mentioned the wild fire that contributed to her career change?  Glad she held back and didn’t make it a sob story.

[Gramto6]

1 minute ago, DEL901 said:

Wasn’t it Ravenna he complemented on the hair colour?   And I thought Priya clearly won.  Also, is this the first time she mentioned the wild fire that contributed to her career change?  Glad she held back and didn’t make it a sob story.

I guess i was confused? I was only 1/2 watching. The light gray was the only one I remember being that light. One was the peacock and the other the ship.  Which one didn't have color... I should pay attention better!

[MerBearHou]

3 minutes ago, DEL901 said:

Also, is this the first time she mentioned the wild fire that contributed to her career change?  Glad she held back and didn’t make it a sob story.

That was definitely the first time I recall hearing about the wild fire and the video was scary — had to be terrifying for their children.  I also had never heard that she used to be a hair stylist!  Pretty funny that this challenge involved Marie Antoinette’s legendary outlandish hair.  Now, catty as it may sound, I think Priya’s current hairstyle is not super flattering but what do I know.

[DEL901]

I wanted to love Lisa’s peacock cake, but I thought the feathers were pretty but sloppy.

And on a side note - we’ve discussed before how small the prize is… I just watched the finale of the Silo Banking challenge.  6 episodes.  First 5 episodes:  5 bakers per episode and the winner went to the finale.  Guest judge in the finale was Andrew Zimmer. And the prize for just two bakes:  $100,000.

[Ancaster]

I've liked Priya throughout and wanted her to win out of the final three, but I have never seen brown topiary or topiary that looked like that and I thought the hair was an ugly colour.

Edited May 22 by Ancaster

[MerBearHou]

5 minutes ago, DEL901 said:

I wanted to love Lisa’s peacock cake, but I thought the feathers were pretty but sloppy.

And on a side note - we’ve discussed before how small the prize is… I just watched the finale of the Silo Banking challenge.  6 episodes.  First 5 episodes:  5 bakers per episode and the winner went to the finale.  Guest judge in the finale was Andrew Zimmer. And the prize for just two bakes:  $100,000.

I saw that too.  That’s Silo money for ya!

2 minutes ago, Ancaster said:

I've liked Priya throughout and wanted her to win out of the final three, but I have never seen brown topiary or topiary that looked like that and thought the hair was an ugly colour.

I like her too but any topiaries I have seen with that much brown are not doing well!  I think the judges liked the avant garde look of Priya’s — they said that description at least twice.  

Edited May 20 by MerBearHou

[tv echo]

I thought Raveena should have won. Priya's cake didn't say spring to me. And Lisa was clearly out of contention.

But I was not surprised that the judges picked Priya to win.

Edited May 20 by tv echo

[Rammchick]

And the word of the night was opulent.  What did that have to do with magic or spring?  Producers really reached with this one.  Although the chocolate work was interesting, all I could see on Priya's cake was the white, uncolored section at the top of the first cake.  Raveena was robbed.

[mojoween]

Lisa and Raveena also put makeup on their mannequins and Priya didn’t do a thing.  And I’m never going to get over that Lisa and Raveena made hair and Priya’s was not noticeably hair in any way.  Guess the chocolate orange saved her since the judges complained about the texture of the other two cakes.

Edited May 20 by mojoween

[dleighg]

I noticed that Lisa said something like "we've been here for 10 weeks."

I think we all know that's not really true. Any idea how many episodes they do per week? And they must coach the bakers to speak in those terms.

So they conveniently had pictures of Ravena at Versailles. Wonder what all they ask them to dig up before coming.

Ravena definitely got the dud for a prompt. A boat???

[DEL901]

2 minutes ago, dleighg said:

I noticed that Lisa said something like "we've been here for 10 weeks."

I think we all know that's not really true. Any idea how many episodes they do per week? And they must coach the bakers to speak in those terms.

So they conveniently had pictures of Ravena at Versailles. Wonder what all they ask them to dig up before coming.

Ravena definitely got the dud for a prompt. A boat???

Based on monitoring their wardrobes, I’d say one episode is done per day.  My guess is they film for 2 weeks max.  Also, Jesse and the judges have other jobs, so they can’t do this one show for any longer.

[Ancaster]

2 hours ago, Rammchick said:

And the word of the night was opulent.  What did that have to do with magic or spring?  Producers really reached with this one.  

That's been true all season when winners have made a cake that wasn't remotely springlike, despite whatever Nancy might say.

[libgirl2]

1 minute ago, Ancaster said:

That's been true all season when winners have made a cake that wasn't remotely springlike, despite whatever Nancy might say.

Honestly, when I think Marie Antoinette, I don't think spring! 

[CalicoKitty]

11 hours ago, Ancaster said:

As happened last night, it is not uncommon for bakers/cheftestants to leave something in the blast chiller too long.  Why don't they just chuck it in the microwave for a few seconds?  That's what I do when I'm too impatient to wait 10 minutes for for my Haagen Dazs to soften.  🤣

It was in a metal bowl.

 

[Seelouis]

48 minutes ago, libgirl2 said:

Honestly, when I think Marie Antoinette, I don't think spring! 

Also, Jessie, I don’t think her famous “let em eat cake” saying is a fun, light ode to delicious cake. 

[rlc]

Shockingly, that was probably the best finale I've seen on this show. My expectations were extremely low based on the rest of this season.

I thought Priya deserved the win. I have no issues with the colors- it was a well-made, good-looking cake, and apparently it was delicious. Ravena made an absolutely stunning cake, but it was dry and there were issues with the ganache. Lisa's cake was also beautiful, but dry. That's my issue with these elaborate cakes- they generally need to be dry to support the decorations and sculpting.

Regardless of how they rated the top 3, I'm just thrilled they did not push Mary Frances through over Ravena.

[Ancaster]

12 minutes ago, CalicoKitty said:

It was in a metal bowl.

 

Most modern microwaves can take metal these days.  Or she could have anticipated the problem and used glass/Pyrex.  I'm sure it wasn't the first time she'd had the problem when under a time crunch.

(I prefer glass in preparing cakes, though admittedly my baking is limited to a couple of good quality cake mixes.  I just like the feel of it better.)

[kathyk2]

17 hours ago, Grizzly said:

I wish Lisa had colored her hair instead of leaving it white.

Marie Antoniette would have had a white wig. Keeping the white hair made the peacock feathers stand out. I think Priya was going to win after the judges gave her the advantage last week.

 

17 hours ago, Grizzly said:

I wish Lisa had colored her hair instead of leaving it white.

17 hours ago, Grizzly said:

I wish Lisa had colored her hair instead of leaving it white.

 

[Pi237]

I liked Priya’s the best because it was unique. Didn’t think she’d win because it wasn’t an explosion of Spring flowers, and was mostly about the chocolate. But I loved the look of it and it would be the one I’d like to try flavor-wise.    She is super On all the time which grates on my nerves, but I’m a cynical, cranky person lol not her fault. 

Always surprised they can make these big cakes taste good because they’re so manipulated, and made more for show than eating. 

Raveena’s edible lace was clever, and her piping was so good, the most like real hair. 

Nancy looked great in her Queen costume. She looked over it tho, walking back behind the stage. Must have been awkward or heavy. She had the gait of, “Ok, get this thing the hell off of me, now” 🤣

Still such a cheap ass prize!  3rd place should get $25,000. 

Time to start casting for versatility and natural charm vs  playing to the camera. 

[tennisgurl]

The Marie Antoinette theme was pushing it, I hate to sound like Nancy but I want more spring in my spring baking championship, but those three cakes looked incredible. Opulent, I might even say. 

Nancy looked quite cute in her costume, reminds me of the Halloween costumes that I always love.

I like Priya, although Lisa has been my pick for awhile, her cake looked wonderful, loved all of the details, the colors, and apparently it was delicious. I respect that she didn't turn her backstory into a whole big story, that video and the kids being in it was scary, and I like that so many of the bakers, her included, went into baking later on as a second career. 

Edited May 20 by tennisgurl
No Summer Baking :(

[libgirl2]

3 minutes ago, tennisgurl said:

Next up, its summer time! 

I'm hearing rumors it is not on the schedule but I haven't done any investigating. If it will be on, I hope it is summery enough. 

Edited May 20 by libgirl2

[Salacious Kitty]

14 minutes ago, libgirl2 said:

I'm hearing rumors it is not on the schedule but I haven't done any investigating. If it will be on, I hope it is summery enough. 

Summer Baking was not renewed. 

[dleighg]

31 minutes ago, Pi237 said:

Raveena’s edible lace was clever,

Did she actually make it, or was it some kind of "product"? I wasn't paying attention at that point.

[tennisgurl]

4 minutes ago, Salacious Kitty said:

Summer Baking was not renewed. 

That's very disappointing, I liked summer baking last year a lot, it was my second favorite after Halloween. It looks like Duff is hosting a show about giant cakes called Super Mega Cakes, which does not sound very interesting to me. I guess he's doing that instead? 

[Pi237]

18 minutes ago, dleighg said:

Did she actually make it, or was it some kind of "product"? I wasn't paying attention at that point.

She made it. Seemed easy to do at home, too-she brushed (white chocolate?) over a stencil. 

19 minutes ago, tennisgurl said:

That's very disappointing, I liked summer baking last year a lot, it was my second favorite after Halloween. It looks like Duff is hosting a show about giant cakes called Super Mega Cakes, which does not sound very interesting to me. I guess he's doing that instead? 

His show was automatically recorded after this one on my DVR. I didn’t watch it though. 
 

Sad the Summer one isn’t happening.  
 

Going forward, they should ban a few repetitive elements like pistachios. 🤣

[SHERMDOG]

On 5/18/2025 at 4:24 PM, CrazyInAlabama said:

S11.E11 “Crowning the Spring Baking Champion” New, 5/19/2025

“Two bakers find out their fate as one baker advances to the last round. Then, host Jesse Palmer challenges the final three bakers to create sky-high Marie Antoinette spring hairdo cakes with floral flavors and at least three layers decorated with an elaborate floral headdress theme. Judges Duff Goldman, Kardea Brown and Nancy Fuller decide who will be crowned Spring Baking Champion and walk away with $25,000!”

Final Bakers:  (One will be eliminated before the final bake) Lisa and Priya are already in the final three, with either Raveena or Mary-Frances being eliminated in the first minutes of the episodes. 

Priya -Calgary, Alberta. Her chocolate desserts are beautiful. Chocolatier and pastry chef (Says she looks like Mindy Kaling) She gets the final advantage of the season.

Lisa -Boston. Catering company chef.

Raveena Oberol-Vancouver, B.C. (Judge on Wall of Bakers) Made her own wedding cake, opened first storefront at 22. 

 Mary-Frances-Calgary, Alberta.  Culinary instructor. 

Eliminated baker is: Mary-Frances (I'm shocked, she was getting the come from behind edit). 

Final Challenge: final three bakers create sky-high Marie Antoinette spring hairdo cakes with floral flavors and at least three layers decorated with an elaborate floral headdress theme.  For winning the first part, Priya gets to pick her theme of Spring Garden, and assign Raveen and Lisa their themes 

Priya-Garden theme, looks like flower peat moss pot, not garden to me.  The judges seem to love it, but I don't see it as garden at all. Duff says cake layers should have been thinner. 

Raveena-Sailing Ship theme, She absolutely nailed the theme. Taste is good according to the judges.  They only criticize that her piping of the hair isn't curly enough, and the icing is too thick. 

Lisa-Peacock theme, she did a great decorating job.  Kardea says one layer is dry, and Duff says cake is a little tough. Nancy liked the raspberries, but Kardea didn't. 

Winner of the Spring Baking Championship:  Priya.    

Ok. I'm glad you told me who won. I'm out.

Deleted this last finale. BOOOO!!

[Splashy]

 

11 hours ago, tv echo said:

Priya's cake didn't say spring to me.

I thought she would have put a lot more flowers on it. That would've really sold it as a spring cake. 

I liked the look of Raveena's the best. The way she had it angled, the ship really looked like it was being tossed around in that ocean of hair. But I think the clean look and delicious taste of Priya's got her the win. I like that she didn't put makeup on the face; it worked well with her design. 

 

1 hour ago, tennisgurl said:

No Summer Baking :(

Really???? I'm so bummed. We'll have to wait until SEPTEMBER for the Halloween BC. I haven't watched the 2nd hour yet, which looks like a preview of Duff's new show coming up in June? I'll watch it tomorrow, and probably will check it out when it airs.

 

Edited May 20 by Splashy
Formatting

[libgirl2]

1 hour ago, tennisgurl said:

That's very disappointing, I liked summer baking last year a lot, it was my second favorite after Halloween. It looks like Duff is hosting a show about giant cakes called Super Mega Cakes, which does not sound very interesting to me. I guess he's doing that instead? 

That is too bad. I'm not into MEGA cakes so I'll take a pass.