Holiday Baking Championship - General Discussion

[Ms Lark]

On 12/6/2021 at 8:53 PM, CrazyInAlabama said:

Why is Nancy wearing that hideous wig this week?    I had to laugh when the contestant said everything Nancy would have, and Duff (I think Duff, but I might be wrong) said Nancy was obsolete.    

He's not wrong. She is obsolete. I'm not even sure why they keep her on!

On 12/7/2021 at 12:02 AM, GaT said:

Seriously, who is telling her she looks good? that wig looked horrible on her. First she channels Doris Day, now she's channeling Gidget. The color is bad on her, the style is a good 40 years too young for her, & the wig is poor quality, what is going on?

Retro, shmetro. As the Brits say, "Mutton dressed as lamb."

On 12/7/2021 at 12:59 AM, CheshireCat said:

Why is it called grasshopper pie? Because of the color?

Partly. Mostly because it's based on an old cocktail called a "Grasshopper." Made with Creme de Menthe, Crème de Cacao, and cream.

I was hoping Jody would add actual fried grasshoppers to the mix as a nod to the modern trend towards eating insects for protein. Nancy would have flipped her (bad) wig!

[Guest]

Can't really argue with that elimination in terms of output, but I still kinda wish Richard had stayed over someone else.

I love how most of them basically went "f*** it, got no time for this, this'll have to do" regarding the twist. Good for them! Though that twist wasn't too bad, compared to some others.

But mostly: Woo hoo! Two wins for Sabrina! Anything else would have been a crime since literally the only critique she got in the main heat was the same "your border seems a little half-hearted" that most of them got. And not one, but two ballet leaps! She's probably doomed and won't win the whole thing, but at least she'll be there for me to root for.

Edited December 14, 2021 by tracyscott76

[CheshireCat]

Sabrina's win(s) felt a bit like a consolation price; like they were saying she needs to be content with that but she's not in the running for the overall win.

Since the judges were criticizing others for their decoration, was Sabrina's bread pudding decorated? I'm perfectly fine with her win; they were raving about it, I just don't recall any decoration.

The commentary on the border was really inconsistent. Sabrina's wasn't special enough, Adam's was ignored, Richard's was like a wrapped present (even though it was basically like Sabrina's) and Jody's was again not special enough. Can't argue with what they said about José's because it was simple but effective, at least, more effective than the rest of them. (Although, the piping tip Sabrina, Richard and Jody used always looks pretty).

Adam's card looked kind of hard to make out on my TV but it's a really old TV, so it might have been the TV plus the glaring lights in the kitchen they're baking in. But from my point of view, it needed some outlines in a darker color, especially the Santa with the girls.

There would not be a stamp on this side of the Christmas card; I don't mind that he put it there, I mind that the judges said they liked that detail when that detail was wrong and they are bothered by small mistakes like that with others on other occasions.

After the judging, I thought Adam would win. I think that's where my feeling of the win being Sabrina's consolation price comes from; the comments they gave Adam sounded even more positive than Sabrina's but it certainly could be the editing.

I think this was one of my favorite bakes and I liked Sabrina's José's and Jody's best, then Adam's (liked the image but, as mentioned, I needed a darker outline) and then Richard's.

[Guest]

48 minutes ago, CheshireCat said:

After the judging, I thought Adam would win. I think that's where my feeling of the win being Sabrina's consolation price comes from; the comments they gave Adam sounded even more positive than Sabrina's but it certainly could be the editing.

They dinged Adam's decoration a bit (not just the border, the decoration itself) and they said his cake layers were too thin. Sabrina only had a brief comment on her border being "what she might have done anyway without the twist". They flipped over her overall decoration and her cake flavor and texture. She was the only one who didn't get any negative critique of her actual cake, so I wouldn't say this was a consolation prize. They thought hers was the best. And yes, her bread pudding was decorated. It had the Kwanzaa colors on top in flag form.

[HyeChaps]

Adam's was a postcard.

 

[Frost]

In prior seasons, haven't the judges moaned about the use of fondant, because no one likes to eat it?  Not a peep tonight when they all either covered their entire cakes, or used fondant for the top.  It looked thick too.

I don't know enough about Kwanza to critique the baker's choices, except the decorating was fairly bad for all of them.

I actually loved that they all just blew off the twist.  It just goes to show, if the bakers conspired together, they could ignore it every time!

[CrazyDog]

I'm sad to see Richard go! But as I was half paying attention, it seemed like the critiques were all pretty much on the same level. So no one tanked tonight, and they all did pretty well. 

He seems like a great guy and was easy to root for.

Adam vs. Jody seem like the front-runners, but I'm not discounting Sabrina. She's on an upswing and she can do ballet :)

[CheshireCat]

2 hours ago, tracyscott76 said:

They dinged Adam's decoration a bit

They did? I only caught the part about the cake. Everything else I remember was positive. (If the signature of an opera cake are thin layers, why did they say there was too little cake? Wouldn't it not have been an opera cake anymore had the cake layer been thicker? (And why is it called opera cake?))

 

[Guest]

6 hours ago, CheshireCat said:

They did? I only caught the part about the cake. Everything else I remember was positive. (If the signature of an opera cake are thin layers, why did they say there was too little cake? Wouldn't it not have been an opera cake anymore had the cake layer been thicker? (And why is it called opera cake?))

 

They said something about Santa's skin tone needing to be a little darker, I assume to make it stand out more from all the white in the beard and surrounding area. And of course his border was too basic, which most of them were dinged for. I did find his design to be a little hard to suss out at first.

I think perhaps the problem with his layers (and Jody's) was that while an opera cake's cake layers are supposed to be thin, so are the layers of filling. Adam and Jody had thin layers of cake but too much filling.

[Taeolas]

7 hours ago, Frost said:

I actually loved that they all just blew off the twist.  It just goes to show, if the bakers conspired together, they could ignore it every time!

 

Yeah I noticed the judges commented on the "simplicity" of the first two cakes, and then I suspect they realized that all the bakers skimped on the border "twist" so left the rest alone. I think Sabrina ultimately had the 2nd best border of all the cakes too. 

[libgirl2]

1 hour ago, tracyscott76 said:

They said something about Santa's skin tone needing to be a little darker, I assume to make it stand out more from all the white in the beard and surrounding area. And of course his border was too basic, which most of them were dinged for. I did find his design to be a little hard to suss out at first.

I think perhaps the problem with his layers (and Jody's) was that while an opera cake's cake layers are supposed to be thin, so are the layers of filling. Adam and Jody had thin layers of cake but too much filling.

I have seen opera cakes before and I agree. 

[Jillybean]

Four in the finale, eh? I was expecting Adam, Jody, and Sabrina to be competing in the finale so the presence of Jose is just an annoyance. I don't think he stands a chance. I like the other three just fine and would be OK with any of them winning. 

[Guest]

Just now, Jillybean said:

Four in the finale, eh? I was expecting Adam, Jody, and Sabrina to be competing in the finale so the presence of Jose is just an annoyance. I don't think he stands a chance. I like the other three just fine and would be OK with any of them winning. 

Lately they've been having a preliminary competition in the first part of the finale, where the four bakers make something and the judges pick their two favorites, who automatically go into the "real" finale. The bottom two then have a competition to see who will join them in the final three.

So technically it's still three in the finale, they just drag it out.

[dleighg]

5 hours ago, tracyscott76 said:

They said something about Santa's skin tone needing to be a little darker, I assume to make it stand out more from all the white in the beard and surrounding area.

I agree that it was hard to see in the end, but I was hugely impressed by his free-hand piping. He has a steady hand and a good artistic eye to be able to do that.

And ugh, fondant. 

[Maya]

5 minutes ago, dleighg said:

I agree that it was hard to see in the end, but I was hugely impressed by his free-hand piping. He has a steady hand and a good artistic eye to be able to do that.

And ugh, fondant. 

I have never seen that technique he used before - piping with white first so the designs look 3D. Very cool. 

[tennisgurl]

Way to go Sabrina! I am tickled that she got double wins, she has really become a favorite of mine in the last few weeks. Her chocolate cake looked amazing, so much gooey goodness. I still love Jody, and I am glad that he got his groove back after struggling for a few weeks, but Sabrina might have overtaken him as my favorite. This was a strong week in general, all of the bakes were excellent and there was no "obvious" choice to send home, every cut if going to be tough going forward. I get why Richard went home, but it was still sad to see him go. He did quality baking and seems like a great guy. I could see Sabrina, Adam, or Jody taking home the prize. 

I said "Its Highlander, not Outlander" at the same time as Adam did! 

I love that the bakers all basically ignored the twist, they should do that more often. Since none of them bothered much with it, no one got docked too heavily for it either. 

[mlp]

When I saw all the "cards " presented. I thought sure Sabrina's would be in the bottom because it looked messy to me.  The curtains weren't even positioned in a way that made sense.  I was amazed and annoyed that they gave her the win.

Adam's border didn't look like much but he spent a lot of time painstakingly piping it section by tiny section.  The judges must have known what was involved in what he did.  He clearly wasn't happy to have to do a border at that point but he didn't blow it off either.  I agree with others that his Santa face didn't stand out enough.

I was sorry to see Richard go because I liked him.  I was surprised to hear him talk about a grandchild.  He must be at least 20 years older than he looked to me.

 

 

[RoxiP]

Richard could easily be in his early 40s...or even younger, depending on when he himself became a parent.

The border challenge kind of messed with what they had already asked for in the original challenge and seemed exceptionally out of place.  Having said that I thought Adam's actually was the neatest and best placed.  I actually also liked Jose's festive candy-striped border.  I thought Sabrina's was sloppy although her card was charming.  Like him or not Adam's piping was really nice and his did look like a Christmas card, and I suspect without stage lighting it would have been less washed out.

I think they want Jose to win and keep pushing him through.  It is obvious that he is Karla's favorite.  He just will not rise to the occasion enough for them to justify it week after week.

[40Love]

On 12/12/2021 at 2:06 PM, tracyscott76 said:

Sabrina. I'd say she has a pretty good chance at getting into the Final 3.

That would be a nice surprise!

[njbchlover]

On 12/12/2021 at 4:32 PM, susannah said:

It's clear to me that they want Adam to win.

For sure, Nancy wants him to win.  I think Nancy doesn't like Jody, as she always seems to ding him for one thing or another.  She seems a little harsher with Jody than the other bakers.

Duff and Carla seem pretty equal in their praise and criticism of Jody and the others.  

I'd like to see Jody or Sabrina win.

[susannah]

7 hours ago, njbchlover said:

For sure, Nancy wants him to win.  I think Nancy doesn't like Jody, as she always seems to ding him for one thing or another.  She seems a little harsher with Jody than the other bakers.

Duff and Carla seem pretty equal in their praise and criticism of Jody and the others.  

I'd like to see Jody or Sabrina win.

I didn't pay close attention to this one as I was wrapping stuff, I will have to watch it again, but I agree that Nancy is always harping on Jody. I also hope that Sabrina or Jody wins. I actually couldn't believe that Sabrina was doing those leaps. If she is a dancer, she should know better. You go leaping about without warming up, you can injure yourself for life. Was it Carla who cut her off when she was explaining her Nutcracker story,  but who got all weepy when Richard was talking about his grandchild? Jose is not good enough to be the finale. He should have gotten cut before now.

[mojoween]

This is the final four that has been obvious for weeks, to me anyways.

Sabrina’s cake sounded like it was delicious, but so safe!  It worked for her though and I thought her leaps were adorable.

Jody’s cake sounded delightful and I would have loved to taste it.

[susannah]

1 hour ago, mojoween said:

This is the final four that has been obvious for weeks, to me anyways.

Sabrina’s cake sounded like it was delicious, but so safe!  It worked for her though and I thought her leaps were adorable.

Jody’s cake sounded delightful and I would have loved to taste it.

I just know enough about dance to know that to do things like that without warming up your muscles is really risky, plus it makes a difference what kind of floor you are on, etc. If she had fallen and sprained her ankle or wrist, she would have been finished in the the competition, for no good reason.

[RoxiP]

I know nothing about ballet but in comparison they looked pretty tame.  If she has as much training as it seems I'm sure she knows her body well enough to know what she can do without hurting herself.

Edited December 16, 2021 by RoxiP

[susannah]

18 hours ago, RoxiP said:

I know nothing about ballet but in comparison they looked pretty tame.  If she has as much training as it seems I'm sure she knows her body well enough to know what she can do without hurting herself.

I imagine many dancers know their bodies, but that doesn't keep them from falling and hurting themselves, and especially on non dance floors, that possibility is there.

[ruffy666]

It is clear that I watch too much holiday-themed FoodTV but just a random comment...

Someone paid someone to write a Nutcracker Suite soundalike and they've been using it in ALL of their shows this year and I think it's driven me to the brink of insanity.  It sounds enough like Nutcracker to directly ping that synapse but it is different enough to make me think that I've fallen into a bizarro parallel universe.  So I guess: good job, anonymous composer, but also, I hate you.

[laredhead]

Did anyone else see the "behind the scenes" episode of the Holiday Baking Championship?  I was drooling over the two pantry areas.  Incredible supplies of everything.

[mlp]

5 hours ago, laredhead said:

Did anyone else see the "behind the scenes" episode of the Holiday Baking Championship? 

I watched it.  Jason Smith did a backstage tour a couple seasons ago so I knew they had a huge pantry of supplies.  Very impressive.  I didn't envy the woman they said is in charge of moving all that when they change location.  That must be a huge job.

The judges' comments as they watched the various bits of previous episodes made me think they were setting it up for Sabrina to win.  She's made some good things but I think Adam has been better all along.  Jody too.

[ladyscorpio]

On 12/14/2021 at 1:32 PM, mlp said:

When I saw all the "cards " presented. I thought sure Sabrina's would be in the bottom because it looked messy to me.  The curtains weren't even positioned in a way that made sense.  I was amazed and annoyed that they gave her the win.

Adam's border didn't look like much but he spent a lot of time painstakingly piping it section by tiny section.  The judges must have known what was involved in what he did.  He clearly wasn't happy to have to do a border at that point but he didn't blow it off either.  I agree with others that his Santa face didn't stand out enough.

I was sorry to see Richard go because I liked him.  I was surprised to hear him talk about a grandchild.  He must be at least 20 years older than he looked to me.

 

 

I am also shocked that Richard is a grandparent! I seriously thought he was in his 20's. He looks so young! I liked him and didn't want to see him eliminated.  I was hoping it would be Jose instead. He bugs me, he always has a bad attitude and was sarcastic. Jody and Adam were so stressed this last time,  their faces said it all. I like Sabrina and glad that she finally one something.  

[Rammchick]

On 12/18/2021 at 10:57 AM, ladyscorpio said:

I am also shocked that Richard is a grandparent! I seriously thought he was in his 20's. He looks so young! I liked him and didn't want to see him eliminated.  I was hoping it would be Jose instead. He bugs me, he always has a bad attitude and was sarcastic. Jody and Adam were so stressed this last time,  their faces said it all. I like Sabrina and glad that she finally one something.  

I'm starting to get the feeling that that's Jose's sense of humor.  

[CrazyInAlabama]

I wish the show would outline every requirement of the final showpiece for each episode at the beginning, instead of  doing some twist in the middle of baking.     

Edited December 21, 2021 by CrazyInAlabama

[libgirl2]

Jody, Jody... Jody 

Edited December 21, 2021 by libgirl2

[Guest]

Well I was rooting for Sabrina of course, but Adam's cake looked great so I'm fine with the result.  I really liked Sabrina's, too. Poor Jody, though. He seemed a little embarrassed, but rolled with the teasing well.

That light twist had to be one of the more half-assed twists they've come up with. I agree with the judges that Sabrina worked it in the best, but can't blame Adam for just kind of draping it. What else was he supposed to do?

[mlp]

I knew Jody wouldn't win the minute I saw the drawing of his design.  It looked clunky and his finished cake wasn't any better.  I liked him a lot but not his boring tree.  Sabrina's lights did look good but I didn't care for her cake.  None of the layers looked polished.  Adam's cake looked great.  He's been the best all season IMO so I'm delighted that he won.  

[CheshireCat]

Well, that was predictable.

At least, Adam's cake did look the best. I just wish he'd let the tissue paper come out of the top box. It would have given him a great opportunity to incorporate the lights, too.

It's a pity Sabrina's black tier didn't work out. But her buttercream had crusted too much; there wasn't a spot on the black fondant. No wonder it ripped, it had nothing to grip to. I'm not sure why she didn't just roll it out again?!
Why did she make the top tier white and not champagne colored?

Jody's bottom tier looked awesome! The lean of his tree was unfortunate but it even looked like it was squashing the bottom tier on one side. Or maybe the bottom tier was not entirely even or it was an optical illusion.

I thought Jody's cookie platter from the first challenge looked the best; it was definitely the most colorful.
I liked Sabrina's, too. Jose's candy canes looked like an afterthought and Adam's tray was too crowded for my taste. It's possible that it looked different in person but I thought the decoration was too much and distracted from what was on there. I also didn't like his choice of sauces but that's entirely personal. (I wouldn't have needed a sauce for any of it but I get why they were supposed to include it).

It's funny that Sabrina wondered if her chocolate ornament dessert was too simple. I thought Jose was playing it safe with his cheesecake and ice cream.

 

[MerBearHou]

I liked the final 3 bakers so much but absolutely felt Adam deserved that win.  If I saw Jody’s cake on a dessert table (regardless of the leaning), I wouldn’t want to eat a bite.  All of that green frosting was unappetizing to me — just too gloopy.  Sabrina’s black tie theme had such fantastic potential, and I felt she fell far short.  That bow tie looked like something Batman would wear.  The lights were a really, really dumb twist and I cannot believe anyone got judged for them.  Enjoyed this season very much!  

[littlebennysmom]

1 hour ago, CheshireCat said:

 I thought Jose was playing it safe with his cheesecake and ice cream.

 

As soon as he said "oozing cheesecake", my gag reflex kicked in and knew he wasn't going to make the finale.

 

[LittleIggy]

I loved Carla’s sequined dress.

[susannah]

Well big surprise, Adam won. I knew he would from the very beginning. Yeah, he made good looking gift cakes, but how hard is it to make square and round cakes? At least Sabrina and Jody were trying to do different, more difficult things. Jody's ornament box was beautiful, the jingle bells did look real and he tried to make a tree, which is not easy. Sabrina's vision was beautiful, especially the champagne glass with the lights. Her middle tier should have been black, but her cake totally met the challenge of a fancy party. Didn't they say that the ganache in Adam's cake was way too thick, while they liked Jody's and Sabrina's quite a bit. None of them were perfect in taste, I don't think. I also loved Carla's dress.

[GaT]

I was rooting for Jody, but his final cake was just crap. As he was making it, I kept waiting for him to carve it to look like a tree, but he just slapped it together & served it to the judges. What was he thinking?

[ladyscorpio]

2 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

I loved Carla’s sequined dress.

Me too! So sparkly and pretty.

[CheshireCat]

4 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

I loved Carla’s sequined dress.

It looked good on her. I don't think it does on a lot of people but she can wear it!

 

3 hours ago, susannah said:

Well big surprise, Adam won. I knew he would from the very beginning. Yeah, he made good looking gift cakes, but how hard is it to make square and round cakes?

Keeping them square is not as easy as it looks especially under pressure. Covering rounds in fondant is also not easy. If the fondant is too short, you'll end up with folds on your cake.

It's true that he had no carved cake like Jody but that wasn't part of the challenge.

 

3 hours ago, susannah said:

he tried to make a tree, which is not easy.

I have to respectfully disagree. If the filling is properly set it's not that hard to carve the cone shape. It is a lot of work though if you decide to cover the whole thing in piped buttercream like he did and now that you mention it, I think Duff, at least, should have acknowledged that.

I'm not sure why he didn't dowel the cake. Don't they have long dowels on hand?

 

[susannah]

30 minutes ago, CheshireCat said:

Keeping them square is not as easy as it looks especially under pressure. Covering rounds in fondant is also not easy. If the fondant is too short, you'll end up with folds on your cake.

Now I respectfully disagree! I don't know why square cakes would not stay square or stack as nicely as round ones.  It is true that MY attempt at covering anything in fondant would not be easy but I can't imagine it would be hard for an experienced baker.

34 minutes ago, CheshireCat said:

I'm not sure why he didn't dowel the cake. Don't they have long dowels on hand?

To avoid the Leaning Tower of Trees-a? 😀

[libgirl2]

• Jody was not shocked that he lost. You could see it even before he brought the cake up to the judges. IT was not a very good looking cake. Such a shame as he was my favorite. 

[Dirtybubble]

4 hours ago, CheshireCat said:

8 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

I loved Carla’s sequined dress.

It looked good on her. I don't think it does on a lot of people but she can wear it!

She is so CLASSY!  Everything looks good on her! 😍  Then again I thought all the judges, and of course Jesse, looked good last night.  Everyone got dolled up for the final episode.

Yay for Adam though I thought the finger smudges on a white cake where a big NO-NO!  Other than that he knocked it out of the park.  Jody's career is going to soar being on this show so I don't feel so bad for him.  He's a great guy, a pleasant to watch on t.v., and is an excellent baker good job all around.

[AZChristian]

Sabrina did not make an "anti-gravity cake" (which is what she said she was going to make).  Plopping a glass upside down on top of her fake fizz made no sense and didn't look good.  She'd have done better to surround the fake fizz with all the lights and leave it at that. 

Adam's cake looked the best and tasted good.  

Congratulations to all three finalists!!!

And I had no idea that Carla was THAT tall and Duff was THAT short.  She's supposedly 5'11" and he's supposedly 5'4" tall.  Add some high heels to accentuate that sparkly dress, and BOOM.

Edited December 21, 2021 by AZChristian

[libgirl2]

3 minutes ago, AZChristian said:

Sabrina did not make an "anti-gravity cake" (which is what she said she was going to make).  Plopping a glass upside down on top of her fake fizz made no sense and didn't look good.  She'd have done better to surround the fake fizz with all the lights and leave it at that. 

I have seen these kind of cakes made on different competitions and this was not one. It was an upside down glass. 

[Jess14]

I was rooting for Sabrina or Jody. I liked Adam the least. He rubs me the wrong way, but I don’t think his win was undeserved. He was the most consistent baker throughout. His cake was beautiful and the most put together minus the finger smudges. However, I also thought it was boring - 2 square gift boxes and a round gift box is not creative to me. I thought Jody’s cake was pretty awful. I wouldn’t pay $10 to take it, with that leaning tree. out of the bakery, and certainly not whatever a cake that size would cost. I liked Sabrina’s cake and thought she met the theme the best, but the middle layer needed to be black. 

[libgirl2]

16 minutes ago, Jess14 said:

I was rooting for Sabrina or Jody. I liked Adam the least. He rubs me the wrong way, but I don’t think his win was undeserved. He was the most consistent baker throughout. His cake was beautiful and the most put together minus the finger smudges. However, I also thought it was boring - 2 square gift boxes and a round gift box is not creative to me. I thought Jody’s cake was pretty awful. I wouldn’t pay $10 to take it, with that leaning tree. out of the bakery, and certainly not whatever a cake that size would cost. I liked Sabrina’s cake and thought she met the theme the best, but the middle layer needed to be black. 

Adam's cake looked the best. Sabrina was really a missed opportunity. 

[dleighg]

In the pre-heat, I was kind of surprised that Adam just slid through. I thought his cookies looked very "homemade." I mean, they looked like the kind of things you'd find in the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. A nut bar, an almond crescent and the third was some kind of marshmallow on shortbread. 

The others looked much more "bakery" to me.