Holiday Baking Championship - General Discussion

[Mellowyellow]

4 hours ago, rlc said:

Guess I’m the line chestnut lover in the group. They can be delicious when they are fresh. Maybe you’ve only tried really dry ones? One of my families absolute favorite Thanksgiving sides that I make is roasted Brussels sprouts with chestnuts and maple syrup. So good!

I’m enjoying this season so far. It’s the first time in a while that I don’t feel like I know who will be top 3 already.

Another chestnut lover here! My favourite cake in the world is a chestnut cream cake!

I boil my chestnuts when they’re in season! I prefer them boiled to roasted, I find them more tender that way.

[allirish47]

When we're in Paris we always head for Angelina's on the Rue Rivoli for their classic Mont Blancs, which are heavenly, although over the years they've shrunk in size but not in price. And didn't Jesse say that they're a holiday, or winter, favorite? We've enjoyed them year round there.

[CheshireCat]

19 hours ago, MerBearHou said:

I didn't mind them -- the smushed mixed results were kind of interesting.  I just thought "what is the point -- who would ever do this in real life?" so as a challenge, it seemed odd.  

I said the exact thing to my dad when Jesse told the bakers what they had to do. Why?

I also thought it was very confusing how Jesse explained what they had to do. At first, I thought they had to bake an upside down cake and then turn it upside down (which would have made it right side up again, I guess 😂).

What was up with the judges oohing and aahing at some of the cakes after they were cut? They were cakes with even layers which they basically all were. That was really weird.

13 hours ago, Splashy said:

I got really worried for Javier after the main heat judging. I wasn't sure he fulfilled the challenge. Were they still supposed to demonstrate "whimsical"?

I keep wondering about that, too. It's not the first time that they mention that they want something for the first challenge and then someone (usually Nancy) points out that it's missing in the elimination challenge. So, either the show isn't clear that the theme is supposed to be for both challenges or Nancy's just looking for something she can critique. I wouldn't be surprised at either.

 

13 hours ago, Madding crowd said:

 I wonder if the bakers are told ahead of time what desserts they might make; they all seemed familiar with it.

This was a very particular dessert that doesn't seem to be popular outside of certain areas in Europe, so they must have.

 

16 hours ago, dleighg said:

it was also a VERY hamfisted tie-in the movie Wonka. I mean, Wonka makes things fly, so you make the cake fly ...... upside down????

It was definitely a weird challenge. If Wonka makes things fly wouldn't it have made more sense if they had done one of those illusion cakes where something is suspended in the air?

9 hours ago, jcbrown said:

I make a chestnut, apple, and pancetta ravioli that is tasty and I've had roasted chestnuts in Europe that were okay. The revelation for me in this episode was I had a similar dessert to the Mont Blanc on a trip to Switzerland and looked for a recipe under the Swiss-German name without success. Now I now how to find it!

I'm German, so if you can't find what you're looking for, PM me the German name and I can look for a German-language recipe and translate it.

6 hours ago, Mellowyellow said:

Another chestnut lover here! My favourite cake in the world is a chestnut cream cake!

I've made chestnut cookies a couple of times for Christmas. They're a bit of a pain to make because they're supposed to be braided and the chestnuts make it difficult but they're delicious!

Is it just me or is Duff a bit annoyed with some of Nancy's comments? Due to editing we have no idea if it's always been like this but in this season especially, whenever Nancy makes one of her predictable comments, Duff says something along the lines of "what a surprise". And he doesn't sound all amused. I mean, I'm with him, it's just something I noticed.

[KittyMom4]

 

14 hours ago, Splashy said:

I got really worried for Javier after the main heat judging. I wasn't sure he fulfilled the challenge. Were they still supposed to demonstrate "whimsical"? The side of his cake was gorgeous and the design/execution was so clean. The top was a little weird and was unidentifiable when smooshed (was it holly leaves?). I thought he also used a pretty basic flavor combo, too. 

Me too, I don't think he got the gist of the 'whimsical' aspect of the challenge. His cake was beautiful but kind of plain, glad he's still in it.

13 hours ago, rlc said:

Guess I’m the lone chestnut lover in the group. They can be delicious when they are fresh. Maybe you’ve only tried really dry ones? One of my families absolute favorite Thanksgiving sides that I make is roasted Brussels sprouts with chestnuts and maple syrup. So good!

I’m enjoying this season so far. It’s the first time in a while that I don’t feel like I know who will be top 3 already.

Nope, I'm a chestnut lover as well. My mom used to roast them in the oven on Christmas day and my siblings and I always looked forward to them. It's probably an acquired taste, like boiled peanuts in the south. I tried them several times and don't get why a wet peanut is supposed to be tasty. 

I think the idea of the upside down/smushed cake was kind of interesting, I don't think many of the executed it well but without ever having done one before how would they know how much icing to use? I was hoping Sharrod's cake would look better than it did, and I liked is color scheme because he was tying it into the whole Wonka theme, but it did miss the mark of "holiday".

[laredhead]

39 minutes ago, KittyMom4 said:

Nope, I'm a chestnut lover as well. My mom used to roast them in the oven on Christmas day and my siblings and I always looked forward to them. It's probably an acquired taste, like boiled peanuts in the south. I tried them several times and don't get why a wet peanut is supposed to be tasty. 

I've never eaten a chestnut or even seen one here in Lousiana, but I have been wondering if they were a similar acquired taste like boiled peanuts which I adore!  I'm a southern girl, and grew up eating boiled peanuts.  A few years ago someone had the idea to boil them in a very spicy boil combo somewhat like that of the crawfish boil seasonings.  Now you can enjoy them plain with just salt seasoning, or hot.  I prefer the traditional ones.

[Jillybean]

On 11/28/2023 at 8:39 AM, Popples said:

It does seem like they are running out of ideas.

They could repeat a challenge from a previous season and I wouldn't know or care, even though I've watched all the seasons.

[TVbitch]

Nothing about cakes smashed into plexiglass made me think "Willy Wonka." Too bad the bakers couldn't have made "Napoleons."   

PS. Gene Wilder will always be my Wonka!

[ruffy666]

22 hours ago, meep.meep said:

I'd never heard of a Mt. Blanc dessert - seems like a shoe in for the Technical in the Great British Bakeoff/Baking Show.

Chestnuts are just horrid to eat.  Like the lima beans of nuts.

When we visited Tokyo a few years back, Mt Blanc desserts were EVERYWHERE.  Which is a shame because they looked so enticing but I also don't care for chestnuts :)

Every year for the past decade or so my Aunt would make roasted chestnuts and every year nobody would touch them and every year she'd say "I spent all morning roasting these and nobody wants them?!"  lol  it's tradition!

ETA:  this episode must've been a record for the number of times people said the word "whimsical."  the challenge was poorly thought out.  it might've been more interesting to pipe a design that was revealed or enhanced through the smushing process, but maybe that's too complicated.  What we ended up with was "ok, here's a generic christmas design, but worse."

Edited November 29, 2023 by ruffy666

[Seelouis]

I thought the only one who made sense of the challenge was Thoa, who made a mistletoe design so at least there was a reason why it should be hanging upside down. 

[Pi237]

I honestly don't need wild parameters for the challenges. With each baker having their own style, I don't think I'd get bored if each challenge was as simple as, 'this time, everyone's theme is Reindeer!' Lol  Or just different styles of cakes, etc. Doesn't have to smash on the floor pretty or contain seaweed. 

[YupItsMe]

3 hours ago, Seelouis said:

I thought the only one who made sense of the challenge was Thoa, who made a mistletoe design so at least there was a reason why it should be hanging upside down. 

She did have a good, whimsical idea but her design was Holly, not mistletoe.

[lavenderblue]

5 hours ago, Seelouis said:

I thought the only one who made sense of the challenge was Thoa, who made a mistletoe design so at least there was a reason why it should be hanging upside down. 

Yeah, honestly, I thought she should've won the main heat for doing something that was holiday, whimsical, and took full advantage of the challenge.

Edited November 29, 2023 by lavenderblue

[Frost]

The right person went home again!  I can do a little snark about comments, but ultimately, the judges are sending the right people home.

During the preheat, Ashley's hair was touching Santa's face!  Gross!

[HyeChaps]

Anyone who has watched Duff on Kids Baking Championship knows ALWAYS TOAST YOUR NUTS.

Just as well he wasn't there, he would have flipped out.

[MerBearHou]

Definitely the right person went home.  What a blah personality he had IMO.

Have y’all noticed the Jesse never, ever talks to Sherrod?  I can’t think of one time Jesse has checked in with him or kidded around with him.  I don’t get it.

 

[Frost]

Once again, the judges chose correctly.  Josh was definitely the one to go.

I was so worried for Justine with her raspberry disaster.  Luckily it tested fantastic.

[littlebennysmom]

Idk why anyone would want uptalk Ashley to stay over ANYONE, talks and acts like a twee teenager. 

A grating personality like that is worse than no personality as someone above described the person who went home. (just for the record, I don't agree that they had no personality)

[scarletine]

I thought Josh was sweet and adorable, and just all around darling. While I agree he was the right choice to go, it made me sad to see him leave. Especially after winning the preheat.

[MerBearHou]

8 minutes ago, scarletine said:

I thought Josh was sweet and adorable, and just all around darling. While I agree he was the right choice to go, it made me sad to see him leave. Especially after winning the preheat.

Agreed — I had high hopes Josh would win the whole shebang, though there are some very strong bakers still in the mix.  But his error was just too costly.  

[bilgistic]

Nancy is so ridiculous. Sharrod's board was "not holiday" when it literally had red and green piping around the edges. Justine didn't fulfill the challenge, but that was fine. Whatever.

[libgirl2]

16 minutes ago, bilgistic said:

Nancy is so ridiculous. Sharrod's board was "not holiday" when it literally had red and green piping around the edges. Justine didn't fulfill the challenge, but that was fine. Whatever.

Her board tasted good but it really looked like crap. 

[kathyk2]

I thought Justine was going home. I wonder if Duff missed the taping because he was on the Elf on the Shelf show. I noticed that whatever Nancy didn't like Carla did. I think Javier will win since the judges seem to like whatever he does.

[springbarb]

How did Justine wind up in the TOP TWO with that mess of a dessert?! Taste can keep her safe, but her put her in the top?! Ugh.

[kathyk2]

2 hours ago, springbarb said:

How did Justine wind up in the TOP TWO with that mess of a dessert?! Taste can keep her safe, but her put her in the top?! Ugh.

I think Justine was safe thanks to the preheat and Josh's dessert didn't taste good without sugar. Next week there will be two episodes back to back according to my cable guide.

2 hours ago, springbarb said:

How did Justine wind up in the TOP TWO with that mess of a dessert?! Taste can keep her safe, but her put her in the top?! Ugh.

 

[Jillybean]

5 hours ago, kathyk2 said:

Next week there will be two episodes back to back according to my cable guide.

 

There were two last night. Didn't y'all see the wrapping paper cakes? 

Justine saying "tahts" and "bahs" is like nails on a chalkboard. I like her, though. 

Edited December 5, 2023 by Jillybean

[BookWitch]

I barely remember the first episode since I was distracted by Jesses manboobs in that horrifying beige sweater.  Noticed he changed for the second episode.

Judges complaining they can't taste the eggnog. It's a bunch of milk and sugar baked into MORE sugar! I wouldn't think it would be obvious.

The more the show goes on, the more frazzled Ashley looks. I think she'll go next.

 

[AZChristian]

9 minutes ago, BookWitch said:

I barely remember the first episode since I was distracted by Jesses manboobs in that horrifying beige sweater.

I commented about the bad fit of the sweater to my husband.  It seemed too tight to me all over.  Hubby's response:  "Yep.  Manboobs are not a good look."

[mojoween]

It was Greg’s time, but I did love him, especially his side-eye to Ashley - “a professional baker is making these mistakes?”

Loved Josh too.  I wonder if he just could not recover from setting his kitchen on fire.  I’m not sure how much time passes between the main heat and the next pre-heat, maybe he was just still frazzled.

Ashley started out strong and is just petering out, eh?

[bilgistic]

1 hour ago, Jillybean said:

Justine saying "tahts" and "bahs" is like nails on a chalkboard. I like her, though. 

A couple weeks ago, I was musing about how wild it is that people think us Southerners sound so uneducated with our accents. Meanwhile, there's Justine's accent.😫

16 minutes ago, BookWitch said:

I barely remember the first episode since I was distracted by Jesses manboobs in that horrifying beige sweater.  Noticed he changed for the second episode.

It was hairy, too!

[laredhead]

3 hours ago, mojoween said:

It was Greg’s time, but I did love him, especially his side-eye to Ashley - “a professional baker is making these mistakes?”

Yes, I caught Greg's look, but didn't Justine say something about not liking a team competition because her partner could mess it up or something like that?  Maybe it was Ashley who said that, but I thought it was Justine.  

I just wish the participants would calm down and not try to show every skill they ever learned in 90 minutes.  They all have these great ideas, but not enough time to really accomplish them.  I wish one of the contestants was doing a continuing interview like the woman from the spring championship did.  She provided a lot of insight into the workings of the show. I did like the snowman and the Santa hat mosaic.  

 

Edited December 5, 2023 by laredhead
Add content

[dleighg]

27 minutes ago, BookWitch said:

I barely remember the first episode since I was distracted by Jesses manboobs in that horrifying beige sweater.  Noticed he changed for the second episode.

I noticed that too.

I guess Sherrod forgot how big pi is. How on earth do you neglect to figure out how long a piece of fondant you need to wrap your cake?

And speaking of fondant, I give negative points to anyone who used that to make their wrapping paper. Not only is it easier, it's essentially inedible.

[libgirl2]

13 minutes ago, mojoween said:

It was Greg’s time, but I did love him, especially his side-eye to Ashley - “a professional baker is making these mistakes?”

Loved Josh too.  I wonder if he just could not recover from setting his kitchen on fire.  I’m not sure how much time passes between the main heat and the next pre-heat, maybe he was just still frazzled.

Ashley started out strong and is just petering out, eh?

Ashley has one of those faces that can't hide how pissed she was to be bottom 2. 

[DEL901]

1 hour ago, libgirl2 said:

Ashley has one of those faces that can't hide how pissed she was to be bottom 2. 

I’m glad Carla called her out for defaulting to cakes whenever possible.   We get it.  She’s an expert, but this is the Baking Championships, not Cake Championships.  

[dleighg]

3 hours ago, laredhead said:

Yes, I caught Greg's look, but didn't Justine say something about not liking a team competition because her partner could mess it up or something like that?  Maybe it was Ashley who said that, but I thought it was Justine.  

 

It was Justine. It struck me as an arrogant thing to say. Go ahead and think it, but for pete's sake don't say it!

[Dottie D]

Unless it's just the editing, it seems like the judges don't particularly care for Ashley.

[mlp]

1 hour ago, Dottie D said:

Unless it's just the editing, it seems like the judges don't particularly care for Ashley.

I don't either and I hoped she'd be eliminated followed by Justine - which I doubt will happen.  

For some reason I don't get, the judges seem invested in Justine.  I think she's way too perky and aware that she's on TV.  The judges nitpicked most of the other desserts but went into OTT raptures about Justine's flavors and didn't even mention her messy display.  I was astonished when they gave her the win.  

I'll be glad to see Duff back next week.  Nancy is not objective and it galled me to see her with 50% of the "power."

I loved Josh and hated to see him leave.  I never thought he'd win but I enjoyed him and his great smile.  The poor guy was crying when he left.  :(

[libgirl2]

2 hours ago, Dottie D said:

Unless it's just the editing, it seems like the judges don't particularly care for Ashley.

Neither do I. I haven't from the beginning. Justine is okay but last night, I didn't care much for her. And really was that sad looking bake so good that she was top 2? No way. It didn't look like a board. 

[Salacious Kitty]

34 minutes ago, mlp said:

I don't either and I hoped she'd be eliminated followed by Justine - which I doubt will happen.  

For some reason I don't get, the judges seem invested in Justine.  I think she's way too perky and aware that she's on TV.  The judges nitpicked most of the other desserts but went into OTT raptures about Justine's flavors and didn't even mention her messy display.  I was astonished when they gave her the win.  

I'll be glad to see Duff back next week.  Nancy is not objective and it galled me to see her with 50% of the "power."

They gave Javier the win. Justine was top 2, though. Nancy and Carla were in raptures over her flavors, so I guess that bolstered her up, forgiving the horrible presentation. 

I will also be happy to have Duff back. A pity he missed the Hanukah challenge. But he stands up to Nancy. Carla tried, but I don't know how successful she was. 

[pally]

Right now, Javier and Kevin seem destined for the finale

[DEL901]

34 minutes ago, Salacious Kitty said:

They gave Javier the win. Justine was top 2, though. Nancy and Carla were in raptures over her flavors, so I guess that bolstered her up, forgiving the horrible presentation. 

I will also be happy to have Duff back. A pity he missed the Hanukah challenge. But he stands up to Nancy. Carla tried, but I don't know how successful she was. 

Hopefully he will be back, but so far, he has just missed 2 days work since I am sure they film ann episode every day.   Maybe with the weekend off.  Depending on what’s wrong, no guarantee he is back.  

[Salacious Kitty]

2 minutes ago, DEL901 said:

Hopefully he will be back, but so far, he has just missed 2 days work since I am sure they film ann episode every day.   Maybe with the weekend off.  Depending on what’s wrong, no guarantee he is back.  

He was shown in the previews. He'll be back. 👍

[kathyk2]

9 hours ago, Jillybean said:

There were two last night. Didn't y'all see the wrapping paper cakes? 

Justine saying "tahts" and "bahs" is like nails on a chalkboard. I like her, though. 

I knew there were two episodes yesterday. I was talking about December 11th.

[Salacious Kitty]

6 minutes ago, kathyk2 said:

I knew there were two episodes yesterday. I was talking about December 11th.

Two episodes next week as well. Christmas falls on a Monday this year, so they have to wrap it up on the 18th. 

Edited December 5, 2023 by Salacious Kitty

[mojoween]

I was distracted yesterday by Justine’s fake lashes and at one point was concerned they were going to fall into her bake.

Man they were super nitpicky with Kevin yesterday about his dots and his stripes and his letters, but they gave crooked Justine’s not a sign top 2.

[Splashy]

20 hours ago, bilgistic said:

Nancy is so ridiculous. Sharrod's board was "not holiday" when it literally had red and green piping around the edges. Justine didn't fulfill the challenge, but that was fine. Whatever.

OMG I know. I was yelling at the tv. The red, green & black combo actually reminded me of Kwanzaa, which IS part of the holiday season, Nancy!

And Justine's was a mess. Did not look like a letter board and was sloppy. She was lucky it tasted good, but it should not have been considered 1 of the top 2. 

20 hours ago, kathyk2 said:

I wonder if Duff missed the taping because he was on the Elf on the Shelf show.

That's what I thought. He was busy for awhile (I know these tapings were months ago). He did the Halloween & Holiday BCs along with the Elf on a Shelf show. I'm not surprised there might have been a slight schedule clash. Glad he'll be back next week to (hopefully) knock Nancy down a few pegs. 

 

4 hours ago, mlp said:

I loved Josh and hated to see him leave.  I never thought he'd win but I enjoyed him and his great smile.  The poor guy was crying when he left.  :(

Ugh, you could see it in his face when they told him he forgot the sugar. He knew that was the end for him and I think he was already on the verge of tears when he left the kitchen after the critique. Definitely was on the verge of tears when he was standing there with Ashley. He knew. I know he had to go, but I'll miss him!

Well, we had a couple of DUUUUDEs and more fake conducting. STOP. Yes, I was yelling at the tv again. 

 

Edited December 6, 2023 by Splashy
Fixed punctuation.

[libgirl2]

5 minutes ago, Splashy said:

OMG I know. I was yelling at the tv. The red, green & black combo actually reminded me of Kwanzaa, which IS part of the holiday season, Nancy!

And Justine's was a mess. Did not look like a letter board and was sloppy. She was lucky it tasted good, but it should not have been considered 1 of the top 2. 

That's what I thought. He was busy for awhile (I know these tapings were months ago). He did the Halloween & Holiday BCs along with the Elf on a Shelf show. I'm not surprised there might have been a slight schedule clash. Glad he'll be back next week to (hopefully) knock Nancy down a few pegs. 

 

Ugh, you could see it in his face when they told him he forgot the sugar. He knew that was the end for him and I think he was already on the verge of tears when he left the kitchen after the critique. Definitely was on the verge of tears when he was standing there with Ashley. He knew. I know he had to go, but I'll miss him!

Well, we had a couple of DUUUUDEs and more fake conducting. STOP. Yes, I was yelling at the tv again. 

 

I wish he would have said its Kwanzaa do you have a problem with that?

[jcbrown]

5 hours ago, mlp said:

I don't either and I hoped she'd be eliminated followed by Justine - which I doubt will happen.  

For some reason I don't get, the judges seem invested in Justine.  I think she's way too perky and aware that she's on TV.  The judges nitpicked most of the other desserts but went into OTT raptures about Justine's flavors and didn't even mention her messy display.  I was astonished when they gave her the win.  

I'll be glad to see Duff back next week.  Nancy is not objective and it galled me to see her with 50% of the "power."

I loved Josh and hated to see him leave.  I never thought he'd win but I enjoyed him and his great smile.  The poor guy was crying when he left.  :(

Agree with everything you said. I don't care for Ashley much and I cannot stand Justine. She thinks she is adorable. She is wrong. And I know that her accent is not entirely her fault but dang, it grates on my ears. And her letter board was not one so there is no way she should have been top two. Please, show, put us out of the misery of her.

Nancy is a total waste as a judge. I was glad to see Carla contradict her several times last night.

And Josh has such a terrific smile and seemed like an all-around nice guy. If only he'd remembered the sugar.

[Splashy]

2 hours ago, libgirl2 said:

I wish he would have said its Kwanzaa do you have a problem with that?

Oh that would have been perfect! 🤣

[MerBearHou]

I started as a fan of Justine but now I can’t stand how she plays up the Bah-ston accent and the Uber-perky entrances with the judges.  But here’s what is so obvious — the judges are eating it up and Justine is super aware of that so she is basically hyping it up for them.  Just bake, Justine — and NO, her letter board looked SO bad and had no business being in the top 2.  Why does Sherrod get very little attention, very little praise?  

Edited December 6, 2023 by MerBearHou

[kathyk2]

48 minutes ago, MerBearHou said:

I started as a fan of Justine but now I can’t stand how she plays up the Bah-ston accent and the Uber-perky entrances with the judges.  But here’s what is so obvious — the judges are eating it up and Justine is super aware of that so she is basically hyping it up for them.  Just bake, Justine — and NO, her letter board looked SO bad and had no business being in the top 2.  Why does Sherrod get very little attention, very little praise?  

I don't think Justine plays up her accent she sounds the same while baking as with the judges. Contestants can't win if they are perky people complain but people don't like quiet people either. I think Sherrod is an introvert that's why he doesn't get much attention. I think he's uncomfortable talking with Jesse.