Holiday Baking Championship - General Discussion

[kathyk2]

Why is Stephen still in this competition? He was supposed to do a fuchsia cake and the candles looked out of place. I thought some of the flavor pairings in the first preheat were gross.

[libgirl2]

10 minutes ago, susannot said:

None of those cakes came anywhere close to similar cakes on GBBS this week.  

No but the style was similar.  

[MerBearHou]

I don’t think they could really seriously ding anyone for those color combinations.  Several were just tall orders / bizarre so it had to come down to taste.  

[Frost]

Courtney looks like the producers favorite this season.  Her bakes do not seem to merit it.  Wasn't her Pavlova raw and cracked beyond recognition?  And her Lambeth cake had some issues too (that I can't remember).  I wish some of these bakers would wear hairnets.  I keep waiting for a judge to pull a hair out of their food!

I like Natasha and Meghan.  Rolf is good but I can't quite read his personality.

[dleighg]

So I gather they had two episodes last night? I kept thinking "WHAT CAROLERS?"

I wish Courtney with her little girl voice and hair flipping went away. And Megan continues to annoy me. She certainly knows where the camera is and what expression to use for it. 

I'll have to watch the second one now.

[libgirl2]

7 minutes ago, dleighg said:

So I gather they had two episodes last night? I kept thinking "WHAT CAROLERS?"

I wish Courtney with her little girl voice and hair flipping went away. And Megan continues to annoy me. She certainly knows where the camera is and what expression to use for it. 

I'll have to watch the second one now.

Meghan is starting to annoy me a bit, but she is good. 

[CrazyInAlabama]

 

(I appreciate the posters that mentioned they showed two separate episodes Monday, it was very confusing). 

S11.E03: “Friendsgiving” New, 11/18/2024 (1 hour episode, followed by a second 1 hour episode)

To highlight Friendsgiving, host Jesse Palmer asks the remaining 10 bakers to create flavor friends desserts designed to make a seasonal flavor pairing shine. Then, the bakers are divided into two teams for the ultimate fall flavor showdown as they take on apple vs. pumpkin desserts in an all-out effort to settle the debate for judges Carla Hall, Duff Goldman and Nancy Fuller.
 

Bakers-

1. Megan-Home-Wash

2. Courtney-Pro-NJ

3. Andre-Pro-FL

4. Jer-Pro-NV

5. Karen-Pro-CA

6. Natasha-Pro-Mass

7. Steven-Home-Ontario (was on Great Canadian Baking Show)

8. Delna-Pro-Toronto

9. Rafi-Pro-CA

10. Wolf-Calgary-Pro

Preheat: Seasonal pairings for desserts

Winner of challenge and $1,000 cash:  Rolf

Elimination: Bakers in two teams, Apple vs. Pumpkin.   One on each team will make an apple version of the dessert, and the other baker will do pumpkin.   The winning baker gets immunity.

Winner: Andre wins, and Apple side gets immunity.

Bottom Two: Karen and Courtney

Eliminated: from the Pumpkin side, Karen.

Second Half: Old-Fashioned Christmas Party Season 11 / Episode 5 (They put two separate episodes together to make a 2 hour episode).  

Host Jesse Palmer steps back in time to the Victorian era for an old-fashioned Christmas party. In the preheat, the remaining nine bakers are tasked with making fruitcake-blend desserts with a marinated mix of dried fruit, spices, and liquor. Then, the bakers must make Lambeth cakes featuring intricate piping, strong color schemes and an unexpected twist featuring an old-timey ingredient. Judges Carla Hall, Duff Goldman and Nancy Fuller decide which baker will be eliminated. (Also with very annoying carolers).

 

Bakers-

1. Megan-Home-Wash

2. Courtney-Pro-NJ

3. Andre-Pro-FL

4. Jer-Pro-NV

5. Natasha-Pro-Mass

6. Steven-Home-Ontario (was on Great Canadian Baking Show)

7. Delna-Pro-Toronto

8. Rafi-Pro-CA

9. Wolf-Calgary-Pro

Preheat Challenge:    Fruitcake blend desserts,

Winner:  Courtney  (gets $1,000 cash)

Elimination Challenge: Lambeth Cakes, with strong colors

Top Two: Rafi and Natasha

Winner: Natasha

Bottom Two: Delna and Jer

Eliminated: Delna

(Note: next week they are one hour episodes only, probably two hours for the finale). 

Edited 6 hours ago by CrazyInAlabama

[mojoween]

Aww man I liked the carolers.

[dleighg]

Now that I have watched the second episode, the carolers were much worse than I expected.

[mlp]

6 hours ago, dleighg said:

wish Courtney with her little girl voice and hair flipping went away. And Megan continues to annoy me. She certainly knows where the camera is and what expression to use for it. 

Ditto.  Courtney's "enthusiasm" has a lot to do with the cameras too I think and her voice is worse than Ree Drummond's.  I think winning the first round is what saved her.

The carved tree cake was pretty but it didn't look a bit Victorian to me.  I didn't understand how it won.

The carollers were a cute idea but they were out of sync.  Their failure to harmonize smoothly made me cringe more than once.  I wondered if they were an actual foursome or FN staffers with decent voices who were told to throw together an act and didn't have enough time to rehearse. 

[2soon2tell]

Occasionally, Courtney’s voice falls into a lower, more normal range. So, I’m wondering if the little girl voice is an affectation, and how hard it is to maintain.