Spring Baking Championship - General Discussion

[Catfi9ht]

I like Michelle and the flavors she put together, but she had been struggling on and off since the beginning. It was the right call.

The love theme is kind of reaching for baking tie-ins. With as creative as the other baking championship shows' rounds are, I'm surprised this one is running out of steam so quickly.

There were a lot of excellently decorated baking items this episode. A lot of talented folks this go around.

Everyone seems so gosh darn nice and that warms my heart.

[ruffy666]

On 3/28/2023 at 6:44 AM, KayVeeTeeVee said:

The problem with expecting perfection is that the bakers are given such short time frames and unreasonable twists. 

I don't expect perfection by any means but there are definitely instances where it seems like the contestants come to a challenge with a set notion of what they're going to make no matter what constraints they're given.  Some things just take longer to bake/cool/firm up/whatever.   Trying to cram the wrong item into the wrong time limit seems to do a lot of people in, so you've gotta be at least a little bit flexible in that regard.

[Guest]

7 minutes ago, ruffy666 said:

I don't expect perfection by any means but there are definitely instances where it seems like the contestants come to a challenge with a set notion of what they're going to make no matter what constraints they're given.  Some things just take longer to bake/cool/firm up/whatever.   Trying to cram the wrong item into the wrong time limit seems to do a lot of people in, so you've gotta be at least a little bit flexible in that regard.

On the other other hand, though, the contestants can't really win. They're often told to go big and step out of their comfort zone ("this feels a little safe", "honey, this is the Spring Baking Championship!", and so on), so they take risks by trying something more complicated that might not reasonably be doable in their given time. But they want to "wow the judges" and they hope for the best that it will work out.

And of course, if it works out, the judges ooh and ahh over it, all "You tried a [complicated thing]? That takes guts, man!" So they feel the reward outweighs the risk.

[Rammchick]

4 hours ago, tracyscott76 said:

On the other other hand, though, the contestants can't really win. They're often told to go big and step out of their comfort zone ("this feels a little safe", "honey, this is the Spring Baking Championship!", and so on), so they take risks by trying something more complicated that might not reasonably be doable in their given time. But they want to "wow the judges" and they hope for the best that it will work out.

And of course, if it works out, the judges ooh and ahh over it, all "You tried a [complicated thing]? That takes guts, man!" So they feel the reward outweighs the risk.

This is a great point.  One thing about risk -- it only pays off if the thing in question works 😏

[Chit Chat]

On 3/29/2023 at 3:31 PM, CheshireCat said:

As far as I know, convection ovens reduce the baking time.

I was told that the rule of thumb with convection ovens was that you could bake something at its normal temperature, but it wouldn't need to cook as long, or you can reduce the heat somewhat and bake it a little longer. I had a convection oven at one time, and I loved it!  The Thanksgiving turkey always came out so nice and brown.  

[Shermie]

Re: the constant mispronunciation of mascarpone by the bakers. I’ve noticed that if a baker says it while describing their work and pronounce it incorrectly (which most do), one of the judges will pointedly say the work correctly in their critique. Not that the bakers seem to notice.

It’s a complicated word, so I understand how it can get mispronounced. I do not understand toomeric instead of turmeric; I mean, the R is right there.

And there is no excuse for macaroons when they mean macarons, since both are actual baked items that are very different. What would they do if macarons and macaroons were both being served?

[CheshireCat]

29 minutes ago, Shermie said:

It’s a complicated word, so I understand how it can get mispronounced. I do not understand toomeric instead of turmeric; I mean, the R is right there.

There's a similar thing in Germany; gelatin is Gelatine in German and there are several people, even professional bakers, who say GelaNtine. 🤷‍♀️

[RoxiP]

Potato, Potahto...(although after being on this site for so long I am very careful about how I pronounce macarons/macaroons)...LOL!

[Rammchick]

16 hours ago, Shermie said:

It’s a complicated word, so I understand how it can get mispronounced. I do not understand toomeric instead of turmeric; I mean, the R is right there.

The turmeric thing is interesting -- "toomeric" seems to be the common pronunciation.

[dleighg]

18 minutes ago, Rammchick said:

The turmeric thing is interesting -- "toomeric" seems to be the common pronunciation

It was fairly recently that I learned there was an r in the name. I'd mostly heard it pronounced, and never paid all that much to the spelling on my little spice jar. It's that orange one that starts with a "t" :) 

[Cetacean]

I think that if people routinely read or write a word, it might help.   For instance, a lot of people say new-cue-lar but the correct pronunciation is new-clee-ar just as the world nuclear is spelled.  Same with arctic commonly and incorrectly pronounced ar-tic.

Edited April 1, 2023 by Cetacean

[Chit Chat]

23 hours ago, RoxiP said:

Potato, Potahto...(although after being on this site for so long I am very careful about how I pronounce macarons/macaroons)...LOL!

I always knew what a macaroon was, but I didn't know anything about macarons until I started watching different cooking shows.  I hate both of them, but at least I know the difference and can pronounce them correctly (not that anybody here in the south cares!)  You don't see many places serving macarons, so most people are only familiar with macaroons.  

[kirklandia]

6 hours ago, ChitChat said:

You don't see many places serving macarons

They are quite popular in these parts. I bought a macaron tower for my daughter's wedding shower from a local specialty shop (slightly suggestively named Lady Yum) . And that was eight years ago.

[dleighg]

I went to a political fundraiser last weekend for a "celebrating women tea" and they had macarons. This is in the NY metro area. 

[MerBearHou]

They are popular here in Houston too.  Every bake shop has them.  

[Salacious Kitty]

I see them everywhere. SF Bay Area. 

[Cetacean]

Rural Michigan - have never seen one anywhere. But, other than Walmart, there are no bakeries.

 

[Claire85]

On 3/30/2023 at 7:34 PM, ChitChat said:

I was told that the rule of thumb with convection ovens was that you could bake something at its normal temperature, but it wouldn't need to cook as long, or you can reduce the heat somewhat and bake it a little longer. I had a convection oven at one time, and I loved it!  The Thanksgiving turkey always came out so nice and brown.  

I make loaf cakes to give out at Christmas, and I’ve found when I use the regular oven at 350, three loaves take 75 minutes. If I use same temp but with convection setting, they only take 50 minutes. However, I think they are too dry inside and too brown on the top when I use convection. 

Edited April 2, 2023 by Claire85

[Chit Chat]

1 hour ago, Claire85 said:

If I use same temp but with convection setting, they only take 50 minutes.

I usually turned the temp. down a little bit when cooking with convection.  Maybe different altitudes make a difference too. 

[Lamb18]

On 4/1/2023 at 8:22 PM, Salacious Kitty said:

I see them everywhere. SF Bay Area. 

I saw them in Norway. They're also here in Minnesota. Great sweet alternative if you're gluten-free.

[RoxiP]

On 4/1/2023 at 11:16 AM, ChitChat said:

I always knew what a macaroon was, but I didn't know anything about macarons until I started watching different cooking shows.  I hate both of them, but at least I know the difference and can pronounce them correctly (not that anybody here in the south cares!)  You don't see many places serving macarons, so most people are only familiar with macaroons.  

I am a somewhat frequent purchaser of macarons at Joy Macarons here in Dallas because one of my best friends (and a superb hostess) is a celiac (has celiac - another terminology question) so that is my go-to gift for her when I am invited over for dinner.

[libgirl2]

I grew up eating macaroons, so the first time I heard a macaron get called one, I was surprised. 

On 3/31/2023 at 3:04 PM, dleighg said:

It was fairly recently that I learned there was an r in the name. I'd mostly heard it pronounced, and never paid all that much to the spelling on my little spice jar. It's that orange one that starts with a "t" :) 

I think I saw the "r" but it never registered with me. 

[CrazyInAlabama]

Is JOsh the really tall man with a beard?  If it is Josh, he was really ticked that Nancy showed how gooey his mirror glaze is on the first bake, and how full of gelatin it is.   April's mirror glaze is a total fail on apprearance.   

I love April and Clement's arch and macarons.  Luke and Josh did a good job, but Josh didn't appreciate a comment that his pate a  choux needed more puff. Jai and Jessica have a lovely arch, but the macarons for Jessica aren't successful. 

[Guest]

Yay April! Good episode for her, mirror glaze aside. She seemed happy with it, though, considering how long it had been since she'd done one. It didn't seem to hurt the taste of her cake any. Glad that she contributed a lot to the croquemb-arch or whatever the show was calling it, and didn't just get overshadowed by Clement's expertise.

I dare the judges to tell me to my face that they would have recognized Christian's pre-heat effort as a space scene without his explanation.

Edited April 4, 2023 by tracyscott76

[bilgistic]

The pronunciation of "macaron" was all over the place tonight.😩 Jesse said it at least three different ways.

I'm tired of Nancy's completely arbitrary and changing definition of spring color. I guess brown and clear and white at night is fine if it's in outer space(??). The winning "arbor" looked like Christmas with red caramel, white flowers and green leaves, but no mention of that. The green and brown arbor was "fall". Whatever.

Edited April 4, 2023 by bilgistic

[Gramto6]

Who won the pre heat? I was feeding the kitties and missed it. Thanks!

[Guest]

3 minutes ago, Gramto6 said:

Who won the pre heat? I was feeding the kitties and missed it. Thanks!

Christian, with his rather bizarre abstract space cake. His advantage was to choose his partner for the main heat.

[Gramto6]

Ah, I saw the space cake when he was making it. I just missed who won. Thanks again!

[mlp]

3 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

Is JOsh the really tall man with a beard?  If it is Josh, he was really ticked that Nancy showed how gooey his mirror glaze is on the first bake, and how full of gelatin it is. 

Josh knew his glaze was too thick and wouldn't pass muster.  I thought he was embarrassed and maybe a bit ticked that Nancy made such a display of it.  I didn't blame him.

So far I haven't had any quarrel with the judges' decisions about who to send home.  I do think they're reluctant to be critical of Jai.  Her speech is compromised because of her hearing loss but she seems perfectly fine in all other respects.

[kathyk24]

3 hours ago, bilgistic said:

The pronunciation of "macaron" was all over the place tonight.😩 Jesse said it at least three different ways.

I'm tired of Nancy's completely arbitrary and changing definition of spring color. I guess brown and clear and white at night is fine if it's in outer space(??). The winning "arbor" looked like Christmas with red caramel, white flowers and green leaves, but no mention of that. The green and brown arbor was "fall". Whatever.

What does under the sea have to do with a spring baking theme? I also think it's unfair to have a French challenge with a French baker. It was obvious he would do well.

[bilgistic]

7 hours ago, kathyk24 said:

What does under the sea have to do with a spring baking theme?

And most of the part "under the sea" was brown, too. Because choux pastry puffs are brown when baked!

[mojoween]

11 hours ago, tracyscott76 said:

Christian, with his rather bizarre abstract space cake. His advantage was to choose his partner for the main heat.

I thought for sure Luke was going to win the preheat.  His presentation was way cuter than Christian’s.

Also Christian could not correctly pronounce macaron to save his life.

So happy for April!  And except for the lime curd I wanted her mousse cake SO BAD.

Jessica was going to get matcha into her bakes if it killed her.

[Maverick]

 Christian's preheat cake looked moldy.  Not exactly appetizing. 

[Rammchick]

On 4/1/2023 at 3:33 PM, kirklandia said:

They are quite popular in these parts. I bought a macaron tower for my daughter's wedding shower from a local specialty shop (slightly suggestively named Lady Yum) . And that was eight years ago.

Oh yes, I know that place.  Right around the corner from my favorite Indian restaurant 🙂

13 hours ago, bilgistic said:

I'm tired of Nancy's completely arbitrary and changing definition of spring color. 

And we won't even get into what constitutes spring flavors -- except for the tropical fruits and rhubarb, all these fruits don't even ripen until summer.

[Frost]

Quote

Yay April! Good episode for her, mirror glaze aside. She seemed happy with it, though, considering how long it had been since she'd done one.

I like April, but any baker who doesn't practice a mirror glaze before coming on this show deserves to be chastised.  The contestants can be reasonably certain a mirror glaze will be a required element and they can be 100% certain that someone else will create a gorgeous dessert with a mirror glaze.

I don't know how many years ago this was, but I still vividly remember Josh's red mirror glazed Santa cakes.  Just spectacular.

Nancy playing with that dessert like it was Silly Putty was childish and rude.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Frost said:

I like April, but any baker who doesn't practice a mirror glaze before coming on this show deserves to be chastised.  The contestants can be reasonably certain a mirror glaze will be a required element and they can be 100% certain that someone else will create a gorgeous dessert with a mirror glaze.

I don't know how many years ago this was, but I still vividly remember Josh's red mirror glazed Santa cakes.  Just spectacular.

Nancy playing with that dessert like it was Silly Putty was childish and rude.

I'm not sure how much time the contestants have to prepare before the show, but there are a lot of different techniques that would be handy to have in their back pocket. Might not be time to get a handle on all of them. And how often has a mirror glaze really shown up on this show as a requirement? A scan of the list of challenges on Wiki shows one - from 2018. To be fair, they don't use the exact phrase "mirror glaze" for the description of this episode's challenge (they just say "celestial mousse cakes") so maybe there are a few other hidden instances, but if it showed up a lot, I'm sure they would have listed it as such more often. For the record, a mirror glaze is also only mentioned once in the Holiday Baking episodes, and it was only one option among three for the finale in 2020.  No mentions for Halloween.

tl;dr I don't think mirror glazing has shown up often enough that contestants should be chastised if they don't practice it. It's not like the ones who show up saying "I don't really do cakes."

[laredhead]

Has anyone who has actually participated in this show ever commented on this forum?  I would love to know the real behind the scenes stuff, like how far in advance do they know what they will be expected to prepare, what the audition is like, do they interact with each other while the judging is taking place, etc?   

[Madding crowd]

The judges don’t have a say in the themes but are likely told to comment on the challenge directive each time. Many of these challenges have little to do with spring but maybe the show feels like they need a break from Valentines Day, Easter, Mothers Day, etc. I also think the contestants are told to add numerous flavors to each bake which I can’t imagine tastes that great. I’m making this up but if I saw a menu with a lime curd, Earl Gray , hazelnut, rosemary matcha cake I would never order it.

[Biosynth]

On 3/27/2023 at 9:04 PM, bilgistic said:

Almost every baker does it, and it makes me crazy. It's not a regional pronunciation; it's just wrong.

I've gotten to a point that any time anyone says MARscapown, I automatically want them eliminated.

Edited April 5, 2023 by Biosynth

[Catfi9ht]

19 hours ago, mlp said:

Josh knew his glaze was too thick and wouldn't pass muster.  I thought he was embarrassed and maybe a bit ticked that Nancy made such a display of it.  I didn't blame him.

 

8 hours ago, Frost said:

Nancy playing with that dessert like it was Silly Putty was childish and rude.

The editing showed Duff and Nancy back to back taking their time stretching it out. The way it was portrayed Duff was showing it for effect and Nancy decided to be "funny". Show what happened to the contestant, sympathize, and move on. Anything longer than that is kicking someone when they're down. Absolutely disgusting behavior. 

There was an earlier edit where Nancy didn't like Jai's cake then Duff looked at her in disbelief and said he loved it. I'm seeing people contradict Nancy a lot this season, but I probably notice it more because I find her an absolutely revolting person.

The decorating for the final challenge was pretty amazing for everyone except Jessica and Jai's. In any other season it would have been toward the top. A lot of talented people this season. It's stronger than the last couple of years. I'm glad. I thought they were starting to run out of contestants.

[mojoween]

6 hours ago, laredhead said:

Has anyone who has actually participated in this show ever commented on this forum?  I would love to know the real behind the scenes stuff, like how far in advance do they know what they will be expected to prepare, what the audition is like, do they interact with each other while the judging is taking place, etc?   

Yes.  Sherry, I think her name was?  She was a baker in an earlier season who got absolutely BONED with a requirement to use fake apple flavor.  I don’t remember if she gave a lot of insider deets, but we all were irate on her behalf.

[It was Holiday Baking Championship season 5, but in looking through that archived forum, it looks like all of her posts are gone]

Edited April 5, 2023 by mojoween

[dleighg]

So Christian's macarons were flavored with honeysuckle. I have never heard of this used as a flavoring, though I have fond memories of tasting the flowers by the side of the road when i was a kid. Apparently you can buy this concentrate. Has anyone ever experimented with it? I imagine it would take a lot of little flowers to collect a jar of it-- or is it like truffle oil, and not really made from actual honeysuckle?

[RoxiP]

I'm not a huge tea fan so I probably would avoid Earl Grey and Matcha flavored things also.  Also rose and anything else flower-leaning.  I do think I would like lime curd though and I love hazelnut and anything coffee flavored.

[2soon2tell]

Food Network just announced a new Summer Baking Championship with Duff, Carla, and Demaris Phillips (I don’t know her).

[DEL901]

29 minutes ago, 2soon2tell said:

Food Network just announced a new Summer Baking Championship with Duff, Carla, and Demaris Phillips (I don’t know her).

s She is a “Next Food Network Star” winner.  She is pleasant but irritatingly over the top based on what I’ve seen of her in Beat Bobby Flay.  But maybe if she isn’t the host….

[Guest]

38 minutes ago, DEL901 said:

1 hour ago, 2soon2tell said:

Food Network just announced a new Summer Baking Championship with Duff, Carla, and Demaris Phillips (I don’t know her).

s She is a “Next Food Network Star” winner.  She is pleasant but irritatingly over the top based on what I’ve seen of her in Beat Bobby Flay.  But maybe if she isn’t the host….

I love Damaris, though she does have a wacky side to her that not everyone appreciates. Bobby in particular seems to bring that out of her because she's known him for awhile and it kind of works as a contrast with his "grumpy" demeanor.

But it's deceptive because she does know her s*** when it comes to food and she can be pretty insightful in what she says. She's been a judge many times on Guy's Grocery Games and is perfectly fine there in terms of the commentary vs. antics balance. I think she'll be fine, and it will be nice to have a new voice at the judges' table. I'm curious to see the dynamic between her and Carla; I think they'll blend well.

[dleighg]

I remember Damaris back from when I actually watched Next FN Star. I have a low tolerance for over-the-top personalities, and she seemed fine to me.

[TVbitch]

Speaking of pronunciations, last week the Southern baker taught me how to pronounce orange with only one syllable: arnge!

Finished up the Easter show. I wish they wouldn't make those poor bakers eat those God awful looking eggs to find out if they are getting the boot! 

[libgirl2]

3 hours ago, 2soon2tell said:

Food Network just announced a new Summer Baking Championship with Duff, Carla, and Demaris Phillips (I don’t know her).

I saw that!! Woo hoo! I love these shows. 

1 hour ago, dleighg said:

I remember Damaris back from when I actually watched Next FN Star. I have a low tolerance for over-the-top personalities, and she seemed fine to me.

I like her and she knows her stuff. 

[MerBearHou]

3 hours ago, 2soon2tell said:

Food Network just announced a new Summer Baking Championship with Duff, Carla, and Demaris Phillips (I don’t know her).

And the host is Jesse!  Excited about this news — I like this judging trio.  Damaris can be funny-goofy and I really like her a lot.  She definitely knows her stuff in the food / cooking world and as @tracyscott76said, she’s been a good, fair, insightful judge on other shows.