Spring Baking Championship - General Discussion

[Ancaster]

On 4/23/2024 at 10:10 AM, SweetSable said:

I don't mind them not sending someone home in the final four if it really is too close to call, but that wasn't the case here.  There was definitely a top 2 and a bottom 2 - Nickey or Alec should have been out.  

I really liked Alex all the way through and wanted him to win (though I knew he wouldn't, being French), but I felt he should have been sent home for his entremet.  Duff's face when he took a bite was basically, "What the ever-loving hell is this?"  And they all looked sad about it.  Later Duff said something about it being terrible - "it" being the whole thing.  Their complaint with Nickey's was that the sponge hadn't been soaked, ie, just one part of the entremet.

[Grizzly]

I have to wonder what Nikki does do? It seemed like every challenge she was saying she'd never done it before. I'm picturing her sitting in a chemistry lab putting flavors together for someone else to use.

Yay Steven!!!

[Ancaster]

On 5/3/2024 at 12:25 PM, Ohmo said:

It will never happen, but I want "The French Baking Championship" Romy, Clement, and Alex.  Game on!

 

If you have Netflix, there's a documentary full of them about the French Pastry Academy in Las Vegas.  It's about a truly extraordinary French patissier with a fabulous accent.

 The Netflix show is called School of Chocolate.

 

[MerBearHou]

1 hour ago, Ancaster said:

If you have Netflix, there's a documentary full of them about the French Pastry Academy in Las Vegas.  It's about a truly extraordinary French patissier with a fabulous accent.

 The Netflix show is called School of Chocolate.

 

I follow Amaury on Instagram and he is just beyond belief.  He is a marvel to watch — you just cannot believe what he’s able to do with his chocolate creations.  And is so delightful!

I tuned in for the last 2 minutes to see who won tonight — to me, the only winner who wouldn’t torpedo this season was Steven, so that’s a relief that he won.  

Edited May 7 by MerBearHou

[Irlandesa]

12 hours ago, RoxiP said:

Don't forget the cute Italian guy who won one of the shows and then went on to be a judge (and was always kind of a jerk in my opinion - he looked good, obviously baked well but never seemed to have a great personality).

Damiano didn't win--thank goodness.  He came in second place and he did seem like a jerk IMO. I hated that The Food Network tried to make him something.

56 minutes ago, Ancaster said:

The Netflix show is called School of Chocolate.

I loved that show.  I wish we got a second season.  He's so encouraging of chocolatiers at every level on the show. 

[mlp]

This was the best season in a while IMO and the right person won.  I liked all the finalists but Nikkey's cake just didn't cut it and Robert's didn't evoke stained glass very well or wedding.  Steven had a great season and his final cake was gorgeous.  I've been disappointed by the final decision several times over the years so I'm very glad to be happy with this one.

[libgirl2]

8 hours ago, Grizzly said:

I have to wonder what Nikki does do? It seemed like every challenge she was saying she'd never done it before. I'm picturing her sitting in a chemistry lab putting flavors together for someone else to use.

Yay Steven!!!

While I liked NIkki, it did seem to be that way. Why did she not think she was never going to make a stacked cake. People need to practice! 

5 hours ago, mlp said:

This was the best season in a while IMO and the right person won.  I liked all the finalists but Nikkey's cake just didn't cut it and Robert's didn't evoke stained glass very well or wedding.  Steven had a great season and his final cake was gorgeous.  I've been disappointed by the final decision several times over the years so I'm very glad to be happy with this one.

The winning cake was gorgeous, the other two not so much. Neither looked like stained glass. As soon as I saw how they were frosting it, I knew they were taking the easy way out. Steven hand painted his and it showed the time and care he put in it. 

[dleighg]

What a surprise that Steven won! (not)

I mentally docked lots of points off Nikki and Robert for not actually doing stained glass. You need to paint between the lines like Steven did! Nikki's dragonflies were absolutely pathetic.

I imagine that Nikki does fancy plated desserts rather than cake. But yes, this is primarily a cake competition. She even knew that.

[rlc]

I know the judges need to come up with complaints about everyone so the results are not completely obvious, but come on- dinging Steven for not hand painting both side of his butterflies when he put up the cake he put up (vs. the hot messes that did not look like stained glass from Robert and Nickey)?!?

[Rammchick]

30 minutes ago, rlc said:

I know the judges need to come up with complaints about everyone so the results are not completely obvious, but come on- dinging Steven for not hand painting both side of his butterflies when he put up the cake he put up (vs. the hot messes that did not look like stained glass from Robert and Nickey)?!?

And then to have Nancy complain that the red roses/green leaves look Christmassy??  

[libgirl2]

9 minutes ago, Rammchick said:

And then to have Nancy complain that the red roses/green leaves look Christmassy??  

Roses are not Christmassy. 

 

40 minutes ago, rlc said:

I know the judges need to come up with complaints about everyone so the results are not completely obvious, but come on- dinging Steven for not hand painting both side of his butterflies when he put up the cake he put up (vs. the hot messes that did not look like stained glass from Robert and Nickey)?!?

They had to come up with something because the other two cakes were not stained glass. It really was obvious regardless that Steven would win. He did the challenge correctly, it tasted good, it looked good and he was pretty much THE baker the whole competition. 

I noticed they made sure to let us know that this would be based on this last bake. 

[Gramto6]

On 5/4/2024 at 12:40 PM, Salacious Kitty said:

Ludo was most recently the head chef co-host on Rat in the Kitchen. That show was hilarious. 

He was also in a show where small kids competed against adult chef, can't remember the name. I believe he was a judge or guest judge or maybe an adult competing against the kids. I remember him distinctly from there because one little girl jumped up and down with joy so excited to see him there! 

Dang, what was that show...it was cute.

[SweetSable]

15 hours ago, Frost said:

Nikki's dragonflies were crap. 

I know.  They criticized one of the other contestants for not decorating both sides of his butterflies and she just blobbed on some icing and called them dragonflies.

[libgirl2]

1 minute ago, SweetSable said:

I know.  They criticized one of the other contestants for not decorating both sides of his butterflies and she just blobbed on some icing and called them dragonflies.

Steven, and his butterflies looked lovely. Again, I think they were reaching. 

[SweetSable]

1 minute ago, libgirl2 said:

3 minutes ago, SweetSable said:

I know.  They criticized one of the other contestants for not decorating both sides of his butterflies and she just blobbed on some icing and called them dragonflies.

Steven, and his butterflies looked lovely. Again, I think they were reaching. 

Thanks.  I was drawing a blank on who did what.  Steven's cake was awesome.

 

[libgirl2]

3 minutes ago, SweetSable said:

Thanks.  I was drawing a blank on who did what.  Steven's cake was awesome.

 

No problem! And it was lovely.

I think Robert's would have been better with black lines. The thick brown lines looked too much like branches. 

[tennisgurl]

The right person absolutely won, way to go Steven! His stained glass cake looked incredible, the right person absolutely won. Nikki had a great idea with baking different kinds of cake in each level but that thing looked like it was a light breeze from tipping over, and while Robert's cake was nice and had a cute backstory, it didn't look much like stained glass. Steven's cake looked delicious, gorgeous, and like stained glass. 

You know a cake is excellent when the judges are clearly getting desperate to find things to criticize. The red is too Christmassy? Really Nancy?

Overall I liked all three last contestants and I am glad that they all continued to be good sports throughout, but Steven was definitely the best baker. In the future, bakers really need to try a lot of different bakes before they go on the show so they aren't scrambling like Nikki making a cake they've never attempted before!

[Splashy]

Yay Steven!!! He very much deserved the win. 🥰 His cake was beautiful and he fulfilled the challenge.

1 hour ago, libgirl2 said:

I think Robert's would have been better with black lines. The thick brown lines looked too much like branches.

TBF, that's what he was going for, to tie in with the bird theme. But, I agree, it took away from the stained glass look.

1 hour ago, tennisgurl said:

The red is too Christmassy? Really Nancy?

LOL, now you just know that no matter what shade of red he might have used, she was still going to say it looked Christmassy next to the green of the leaves. *sigh* She's so predictable.

And the damned fake conducting. I was yelling, "STOP IT" at my TV.

So again, YAY congratulations, Steven!

[libgirl2]

5 minutes ago, Splashy said:

 

TBF, that's what he was going for, to tie in with the bird theme. But, I agree, it took away from the stained glass look.

 

He might have been better off putting the branches in the stained glass tile/ piece, surrounded by the black lines. I'm not sure I'm explaining it right. 

Edited May 7 by libgirl2

[Salacious Kitty]

2 minutes ago, libgirl2 said:

He might have been better off putting the branches in the stained glass tile/ piece, know what I mean? 

Yes, that would have been a smart design choice. 

[Frost]

1 hour ago, tennisgurl said:

You know a cake is excellent when the judges are clearly getting desperate to find things to criticize. The red is too Christmassy? Really Nancy?

I didn't like the red roses because the stained glassed leaned more to pinks, yellows, and purples (if I remember correctly).

I thought Steven's big advantage was pretty lame.  Birds versus flowers versus dragonflies?  I think any of them could have done any of the themes.  I think the biggest advantage anyone ever got was choosing between glaze, buttercream, and fondant frostings.

 

[libgirl2]

2 minutes ago, Frost said:

I didn't like the red roses because the stained glassed leaned more to pinks, yellows, and purples (if I remember correctly).

I thought Steven's big advantage was pretty lame.  Birds versus flowers versus dragonflies?  I think any of them could have done any of the themes.  I think the biggest advantage anyone ever got was choosing between glaze, buttercream, and fondant frostings.

 

I probably wouldn't want the dragonflies but I agree, it didn't feel like a momentous advantage. I guess in a way, that was good as they were more evenly matched from the start. 

[RoxiP]

So happy Stephen won - it would have been a travesty if he had not.  Nicki's cake was - well it tasted good.  Enough said.  Robert's cake was way too busy for my taste plus IMO it wasn't stained glass - even his hummingbirds were placed on top of the stained glass effect.  Stephen's cake was stunning and I would have loved to have seen it if he had another hour to finish it off.

It was a nice final challenge.

[libgirl2]

8 minutes ago, RoxiP said:

So happy Stephen won - it would have been a travesty if he had not.  Nicki's cake was - well it tasted good.  Enough said.  Robert's cake was way too busy for my taste plus IMO it wasn't stained glass - even his hummingbirds were placed on top of the stained glass effect.  Stephen's cake was stunning and I would have loved to have seen it if he had another hour to finish it off.

It was a nice final challenge.

That is true he was running out of time. 

[meep.meep]

4 hours ago, Rammchick said:

And then to have Nancy complain that the red roses/green leaves look Christmassy??  

I agree that Stephen deserved his win.  But I also agree with Nancy - he should have done a different color flower on top.  The red looked like Christmas and more importantly it did not look bridal.  He should have repeated the yellow flower he did in the stained glass on the top of the cake.

 

[mlp]

2 hours ago, meep.meep said:

he should have done a different color flower on top. 

I do agree with that.  I thought the bright red was fighting the lovely colors he used for the rest of his design.  However, the total effect was miles better than the other two cakes and he definitely deserved to win.

[libgirl2]

1 hour ago, mlp said:

I do agree with that.  I thought the bright red was fighting the lovely colors he used for the rest of his design.  However, the total effect was miles better than the other two cakes and he definitely deserved to win.

Yes, I will say a pale rose might have worked best. 

[Rammchick]

6 hours ago, Splashy said:

 🥰

LOL, now you just know that no matter what shade of red he might have used, she was still going to say it looked Christmassy next to the green of the leaves. *sigh* She's so predictable.

And the damned fake conducting. I was yelling, "STOP IT" at my TV.

So again, YAY congratulations, Steven!

Nancy has a very narrow interpretation of what's "spring", what's "Christmas", etc.  I don't disagree that the red roses weren't the right choice, because they didn't go with his color scheme, but "Christmassy" would be the last thing I'd think of.

And the conducting thing?  The less said, the better.

[springbarb]

Should've been a different color rose--because it didn't match the rest of the cake, not because it looked Christmas-y.

[Starry-Eyed]

6 hours ago, libgirl2 said:

He might have been better off putting the branches in the stained glass tile/ piece, surrounded by the black lines. I'm not sure I'm explaining it right. 

I think the brown branches would have been fine if he had done a real stained glass effect like Stephen did, painting in the areas. It was the brown lines combined with the fact that the lines had nothing to do with what was colored that made it not look like stained glass.

[Flip Flops]

One of the judges, I think Duff, commented something about how the lines on Steven's cake could've been cleaner! I was thinking, did you not just see the "lines" on the previous two cakes? I can't believe the judges didn't really ding Nikki and Robert for not making stained glass!

[jcbrown]

So glad Steven won.

And Robert, those were Twitter logo silhouettes, not hummingbirds. No hummingbirds could sip from a flower with those passerine beaks (why yes, I am a bird nerd, thanks for asking).

[Grizzly]

24 minutes ago, Flip Flops said:

One of the judges, I think Duff, commented something about how the lines on Steven's cake could've been cleaner! I was thinking, did you not just see the "lines" on the previous two cakes? I can't believe the judges didn't really ding Nikki and Robert for not making stained glass!

Considering Nikki and Robert didn't win, they were dinged. If comments were made, they were probably edited out to make the outcome less discernable. 

[Madding crowd]

I thought the right person won and his cake looked gorgeous. I also agree with Nancy that the red roses clashed with the yellow and orange flowers on the cake and it did look like it could be on a Christmas cake. Obviously it wasn’t a big factor overall.

Edited May 8 by Madding crowd

[dleighg]

8 hours ago, jcbrown said:

And Robert, those were Twitter logo silhouettes, not hummingbirds.

Yes Yes Yes! I only realized it when you said so!

[TVbitch]

Bummed we didn't get to see Alex's stained glass cake. Yeah for Steven, it clearly meant a lot to him and was well-deserved.

Agree Steven's big rose could have been pink or yellow, instead of red. But goodness gracious the red tier of Nikki's cake looked like blood splatter! Don't understand why she put her colors on all splotchy blotchy like that when stained glass always looks fluid and smooth. You know when the judges say stuff like: "your cake ....has a lot of energy." You are probably in trouble.  

[AZChristian]

I fully support Steven's choice of red roses for the top of the cake.  Red roses symbolize love . . . and the rest of his flowers on the sides of the cake were bright enough to stand up to the red topper.

[libgirl2]

1 hour ago, AZChristian said:

I fully support Steven's choice of red roses for the top of the cake.  Red roses symbolize love . . . and the rest of his flowers on the sides of the cake were bright enough to stand up to the red topper.

Lighter flowers might have been nice, but red were just fine. 

[Salacious Kitty]

I think he was just going for a pop of bright color. I didn't find it as heinous as Nancy. But yeah, I can see how it didn't really fit. Lavender would have been nice instead.

[dleighg]

Also, perhaps I'm out of touch, but as romantic as red roses are, I don't think they are particularly common as wedding flowers.

[libgirl2]

9 minutes ago, dleighg said:

Also, perhaps I'm out of touch, but as romantic as red roses are, I don't think they are particularly common as wedding flowers.

Good point. They seem more the flower a partner would give for an anniversary or special event. 

[Pallida]

I just wish the bakers had been given a realistic amount of time so they didn’t have to choose between a simplified inside vs a simplified outside. I’d rather they have another couple hours so we could truly be impressed. 

[libgirl2]

I agree, a little bit more time would be nice. This isn't Chopped. 

[Mellowyellow]

Wooooohooooo the best baker won! Congratulations Steven!!!! What a satisfying season this has been 🥳🎉👏

I honestly thought Steven was getting the “Best baker pretty much all season but bombs on the last challenge” edit when they had Jesse highlight that it was based on the last bake and kept showing Steven running out of time. I was so worried that he wasn’t going to finish!

 His cake was gorgeous and was the only one looked like stained glass. It was clearly a class above the other two cakes.

Nikki’s dragonflies were bad!!!! I didn’t mind the cake too much, I liked the black in comparison to the brown lines on Robert’s cake but the dragonflies just dragged down the entire thing. 

As a passionate almond flavour hater (like the nut, eat products with almond meal, hate the essence or whatever that they use for almond flavour) I cheered when Nikki told Robert she didn’t like the after taste and he needed another way to flavour it!

I actually agreed with Nancy about the red roses. Not so much that they looked Chrismassy but the colour was too bright for the rest of the cake. That said, it was a beautiful cake regardless!

I had more of an issue with Duff dinging Steven for the one side butterflies. Dude did you see the other two cakes with their birds and dragonflies????? 

Overall a top notch season with a satisfying conclusion!!!

[dleighg]

4 minutes ago, Mellowyellow said:

As a passionate almond flavour hater (like the nut, eat products with almond meal, hate the essence or whatever that they use for almond flavour) I cheered when Nikki told Robert she didn’t like the after taste and he needed another way to flavour it!

But I think he was using amaretto, and she told him she didn't like the after taste, and he suggested extract and she agreed. I agree with you that extract has a very overpowering taste.

[Mellowyellow]

15 minutes ago, dleighg said:

But I think he was using amaretto, and she told him she didn't like the after taste, and he suggested extract and she agreed. I agree with you that extract has a very overpowering taste.

I can’t stand extract or amaretto! I find them bizarre because almonds to me don’t have any strong flavour! Then all of a sudden you have these smelly things that are meant to taste like almonds! And I make frangipane tarts, cakes with almond meal etc, can’t taste/smell that awful flavour they call almond!

[RoxiP]

I would assume that the time constraints they are given stem more from the fact that they are paying numerous people on the set (cameramen, sound people, producers, etc.) than how much time they would like to give the bakers. Union rules you know...

[GiandujaPie]

I think they should have just given them one extra hour so that the decorating would have been better. If Steven had had that one extra hour, i bet his cake would have been even more stunning. Glad he won! 

[CrazyInAlabama]

I just saw Sarah Wallace from Season 10, she was on Guy's Grocery Games. Still the same bubbly personality (some people aren't the same demeanor on different shows on FN).   

[libgirl2]

I get a daily recipe emailed to me... today's was a cookie salad. I did not open.