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00:00What ingredients do you need to make a fabulous festive baking competition?
00:05A beautiful cooking space?
00:08Check.
00:08Ten pairs of passionate home bakers who want to share their family recipes?
00:13Check.
00:14And a little Christmas magic?
00:18Check.
00:19Welcome to Baked with Love.
00:23Ten family teams.
00:25Gotta hustle, Mommy. You really gotta hustle.
00:27How is the baking together?
00:28Most of it's fine.
00:30Armed with their cherished family recipes.
00:33It's called Mabel's Magic by my great-grandmother.
00:37Are battling it out.
00:39Hey, I do that all the time.
00:41Who doesn't love cupcakes?
00:43To impress some of the biggest names in the baking world.
00:46This looks incredible.
00:48They look like they were professionally made.
00:50Please welcome a very special guest judge.
00:54Happy Christmas.
00:55Over eight weeks, our talented bakers will pour their hearts.
00:59Wow.
01:00Oh, no.
01:01Watch out, watch out.
01:03And beloved family stories.
01:05It was one of the most special moments of my life.
01:08Into a series of challenging Christmas bakes.
01:11I like a bit of booze in a cake.
01:13Yeah!
01:13In the hopes of being crowned Baked with Love champions.
01:17I'm literally down to the wire for this one.
01:19And the winners of a $50,000 prize.
01:23Time's up.
01:24Don't look, don't look, don't look.
01:25It's the kind of cookie that gets you in trouble.
01:27Welcome to Baked with Love.
01:39It's the morning of the competition, and it feels so exciting.
01:42There's been so much anticipation leading up to today.
01:46Christmas morning when you were five years old.
01:49That's how we're feeling right now.
01:50Yeah.
01:50I'm excited to be baking with my sister.
02:02It's going to feel like we're kids again.
02:05I'm pretty pumped up, excited.
02:07I'm just, let's do this.
02:11Welcome, everyone, to the Baked with Love barn.
02:14Christmas is absolutely my favorite time of year.
02:23Growing up, my parents were in the Army, so we moved around a lot.
02:27But no matter where we were at Christmas, we'd make our favorite dishes,
02:32and suddenly we would just feel at home.
02:35And I believe that is the power of baking.
02:38And that's why you guys are here.
02:40Because you're passionate home bakers, and you brought something special to the holiday table.
02:47Please meet our wonderful judges, Anna Ha and Von Freeland.
03:01Anna is one of the UK's top chefs.
03:04She originally trained as a pastry chef and has an award-winning restaurant in London.
03:11Our other judge is someone who has taken his passion for home baking to the max,
03:16New York Times food writer and YouTube sensation, Von Freeland.
03:21Hey, y'all.
03:25Okay, so it's the start of the competition, guys, and there's a lot at stake here.
03:31The winning team will get $50,000.
03:36That is a lot of money.
03:38Also, a little fun surprise.
03:41The winning team of Baked with Love will have one of their bakes appear in a Hallmark Christmas movie.
03:47Yes.
03:49I'm not going to lie, I'm a little bit jealous.
03:51I'd like to enter into it.
03:53So, the countdown to Christmas has officially begun.
03:57The theme for this week is Home for the Holidays.
04:04For me, like, home is where the family is.
04:07The recipes that we bring with us and the love that is channeled into the food.
04:11And I think when people love what they're doing and love who they're cooking for, the food just tastes better.
04:18I just got chills, Emma.
04:20Oh, my goodness.
04:21When I try all of your bakes, I want to feel like I'm welcome and sitting at your table.
04:28All right.
04:29Are you ready for the first challenge of the day?
04:31Yes!
04:32What we want you to do is a hometown Christmas pie.
04:36It can be sweet or it can be savory.
04:39And it also has to be a double crust pie.
04:43That means pastry on the bottom and the top, but ultimately, it has to be well-baked.
04:49You have one hour and 30 minutes for this challenge.
04:53There's a fully stocked pantry.
04:55Off you go.
04:59There's going to be cranberries somewhere.
05:01Sorry, y'all.
05:02I might take the rest of those off to you.
05:05So, we have some plantains.
05:07We like platanos in our family, so we're going to make a platanol pie.
05:11Mom really is one of my best friends.
05:14All three, right?
05:14Yeah, just go ahead.
05:15Go do all three.
05:15Yeah.
05:16I've been helping her in the kitchen since I was about 10 years old.
05:20Yep.
05:21Just cooking that up.
05:22I'm in my element now, cooking exactly what I love doing.
05:27We're making, like, a breakfast quiche.
05:30So, it's got a little bit of pancetta, a little bit of parmigiano.
05:34We have the mother-daughter judo.
05:35And we are Italian-Americans.
05:38You got a pizza game in now.
05:39They say the way to a man's heart is through your cooking.
05:43So, I mean, it worked for us both.
05:45That's how I got to my husband's heart when I baked him his first cake.
05:49We're going to do a chocolate, kind of like a mousse-type filling.
05:53My dad loves, and Salman also loves, a lot of chocolate at Christmas time.
05:57So, we're just leaning fully, fully into the chocolate.
06:01Oh, do I like Christmas.
06:0250% of my personality is Christmas, another 50% is baking.
06:07We got married around Christmas time.
06:10I did make my own wedding cake.
06:11It was an endeavor, let's just say that.
06:13But I would do it again and again.
06:15I have no regrets.
06:16Let's do it here, right?
06:17Okay, get the strawberries from the barb.
06:20Hi, how's it going?
06:21Tell us a little bit about your hometown pie.
06:24It is a strawberry rhubarb pie by my great-grandmother.
06:30This is her book.
06:31It's called Mabel's Magic.
06:33Wrote a bunch of recipes out on, like, scratch paper.
06:35Her grandchildren, which is my mom's generation, they typed it all out and put them into books
06:39and gave them to the family.
06:41Oh, that's amazing.
06:43So, it was pretty meaningful for my generation to have this book as a commemoration to my
06:47grandmother and then to be able to share it with my daughters.
06:50I didn't write down how long you have to bake this for.
06:53Today, we're going to make a traditional southern sweet potato pie.
06:57It's our mom's recipe, but I haven't had to do it under the pressure of time, so I'm hoping
07:02that we can pull it off.
07:03He's really good at the physical part.
07:07Like this, I mean, that's a bit of an arm workout when you're rolling that out.
07:11It looks good, honey.
07:14Oh.
07:15What?
07:15It's the water.
07:16The water was supposed to go in there, too.
07:17I've got to redo the pie crust.
07:18We've got to start over.
07:19Yep.
07:20I forgot to mix the water in.
07:24Kind of a big deal.
07:27Kind of important.
07:30I'm kind of worried about this.
07:32I wonder if I should make another one.
07:33Let's do another one.
07:34Let's do another one.
07:35We'll start all over again.
07:36James, Karen.
07:37Hi.
07:38How's it going?
07:38Good.
07:39We had to do our crust again.
07:41We had to do our crust again.
07:42It's actually quite ironic.
07:44I love pies, and it's my favorite thing, but I cannot make a pie very well.
07:48Yeah.
07:49Tell me about the flavors.
07:50Well, we're making a McSperry pie because our mother loves McSperry pie.
07:55Our parents are from the Philippines.
07:57Our mom is part Chinese.
08:00We're nine years apart, and so when he came along, he was like,
08:02my little baby doll.
08:04Yeah.
08:05Because of our age gap, she's my sister, she's my best friend, but also like a second mom.
08:10It's a little messy over here.
08:11Don't look over here.
08:12Don't look over here.
08:13See if they have some kind of beans.
08:15Beans?
08:15Yes, trust me.
08:18It just helps not to have a soggy bottom.
08:21Packing beans?
08:22What?
08:23No soggy bottom.
08:26I knew that was a thing.
08:28He didn't know that was a thing.
08:30We are making a passion fruit pie.
08:33It reminds me of Christmas in Brazil.
08:35We would get our passion fruit out of the vine, bring it in the house, create delicious pies.
08:42Do we have enough for the little house?
08:44We should.
08:45I started baking back in Rio de Janeiro with my mom and dad.
08:49I was 23 years old when I came to America.
08:53Baking has so much nostalgia.
08:57Even talking about baking to me, it just brings emotions to me.
09:03Hello, Fabio.
09:05How are you?
09:06Is this your comfort zone?
09:09No.
09:09No?
09:10It's not something that I make all the time.
09:11Okay.
09:12How are you going to handle that challenge?
09:14Let me tell you what.
09:15I will do whatever he tells me to do.
09:18He's the boss.
09:18And I will do it well.
09:19Yes, ma'am.
09:22Baking with my dad is an awesome experience.
09:25I have been baking with him since I can remember.
09:30That's a long time.
09:31I'm just going to do this.
09:33Oh, God.
09:34Oh, it smells so amazing.
09:37We are making a peach pie.
09:39A peach pie?
09:40Peach pie, we're from Alabama.
09:41Granny had pickled peaches on every holiday table.
09:45How old were you when you first started baking with your mom?
09:48Mom always let me be in the kitchen with her.
09:52We hope to go as far as we can.
09:54Are you competitive?
09:56Shall I tell them the truth?
09:57Yes.
09:59Yeah, I like to win.
10:00She's in.
10:02All right.
10:03Let's say a little prayer.
10:05So we're in the oven.
10:09There we go, little pie.
10:11Be a happy pie.
10:14I need to bake for ideally 25 minutes, but I don't think we have that time.
10:19Contestants, 45 minutes left.
10:22All right.
10:23What is looking good?
10:24Is it?
10:25It's supposed to be in before the beans.
10:27What's supposed to be in before?
10:28The parchment paper to hold the beans so you just go like that.
10:30Oh, shoot.
10:31Oh, pippa.
10:36It's not good.
10:40We were a little tight on time, so we're just going to try and make it work so we can get this in the oven and not have a raw pie crust.
10:48I mean, we've got to get it in, like, in 10 minutes.
10:54Eels.
10:56Everybody else is a team of two, but we're a team of two and a half, a baby on the way.
11:00We're so excited.
11:01This will be our very first baby.
11:04So this is going to be, like, the most special Christmas we've had yet.
11:09Yeah, so we are making my grandma's bumbleberry pie, which is a mix.
11:13Bumbleberry pie.
11:13Yeah, it's a mix of blueberries and raspberries and strawberries.
11:17So his grandma was raised in the Amish community and fell in love with his grandpa.
11:22So she left the Amish community for love, but brought with her all of the great recipes that she would use.
11:28Yeah, we've got to get this in the oven, so we'll do what we can.
11:35Hello, guys.
11:37What are you making?
11:38So the trimmings on the top are based on a family tradition we have.
11:42Oh, lovely.
11:43And you have these little crackers, and you pull them, and they pop.
11:45Oh, my goodness.
11:47So I have to ask, though, how is it baking together?
11:50How is it baking together?
11:51Most of it's fine.
11:53Most of it's fine.
11:55We've been together 40 years.
11:5740 years.
11:58And amazing ride.
12:00Lovely snowflakes.
12:02I am the little chihuahua that goes, like, ooh, shiny, shiny.
12:06And I'm here, and I'm there, and I'm somewhere else.
12:08I'm the planner.
12:09I applaud a little bit more.
12:10He's the surgeon.
12:11I'm the nurse.
12:13So we've got our little toppers baked.
12:15We're adding a little powdered sugar.
12:17Yeah, a little bit of magic.
12:21I have to talk about being twins, because I'm a twin.
12:24Do one of you bake more?
12:27She's actually the baker.
12:28So whatever she needs in terms of support, I am here, and I'm ready to win.
12:32That's the gift of being a twin over anyone else here.
12:36You guys have that telepathy thing going on.
12:39I just need to do the top of the house.
12:43You have 15 minutes.
12:46It's a little stressful.
12:47I think we're doing good.
12:48I think we're okay.
12:50Our oven was not on.
12:52Popping it in the other oven, so we're a little behind now.
12:58Look, everybody's watching their pies in the oven.
13:00We are looking at this pie like it's going to magically turn a deep golden brown the next two minutes, I guess.
13:11Time is running out.
13:13Contestants, five minutes.
13:15Oh, no.
13:17Lord, have mercy.
13:19Brown, baby, brown.
13:21Come on.
13:23Two minutes left.
13:25I'm going to do as much as I can.
13:26Teams, time's up.
13:31Finish your bakes.
13:34I'm sorry.
13:35I'm sorry.
13:36That was so scary.
13:39Well, I think, I think it's baked.
13:42What's in it?
13:44Eggs and sugar.
13:46That shouldn't be gritty.
13:47I know.
13:48Don't look.
13:48Don't look.
13:49A little stressed.
13:50Now it's time for the judges to taste your hometown Christmas pie.
14:01Kristen and Debbie, please tell the judges what you think.
14:04We made a strawberry rhubarb pie.
14:07This is our favorite pie to make as a family whenever we get together.
14:11From my great-grandmother's recipe book, Mabel's Magic.
14:15Her dad has a log cabin in Maine, and that's where we go for Christmas.
14:22And these are mousses, which is a state animal.
14:27And we hope you find it a moussing.
14:29A moussing.
14:29A moussing.
14:29Oh.
14:33Ooh.
14:35I love how tart that is.
14:38Your rhubarb is perfectly cooked.
14:39It's lovely and soft.
14:41So there is a really good balance here of sweetness and the tartness.
14:46But the pastry in the center is soft, and it is not cooked.
14:50But how much would your grandmother love to know that that recipe is now being shared with the world?
14:56So ladies, please tell us about your hometown Christmas pie.
15:00It is a peach pie.
15:02My mom canned peaches, and we would use canned peaches in the winter to make peach pie.
15:07Well, the pastry looks nice and golden brown.
15:11I'm from North Carolina.
15:13Oh, okay.
15:13And I've got family all over the South.
15:17Well, it reminds me of home.
15:19Yeah.
15:19Which I love.
15:19Oh, my gosh.
15:22I think your pastry is really nicely baked.
15:24The spices are so important.
15:26That's what gives it length of flavor and complexity.
15:28It's brilliant.
15:30It's chocolate with a mascarpone.
15:33I made the crust with crushed chocolate cookies.
15:37Even just working on this, I kind of was getting flashbacks to my bedroom on Christmas Eve.
15:44The crust is really nice and tender.
15:46I'm not totally sold on how much the chocolate cookies are doing for it.
15:50I think I would like the chocolate pudding in the center to be a little bit more firm.
15:55But it definitely tastes of chocolate.
15:57It's creamy.
15:58I love the little nibs of hazelnut.
16:00Thank you so much.
16:01Appreciate it.
16:01We made a sweet plantain pie with cinnamon rum glaze.
16:07I have a very ethnically mixed family.
16:12So on Christmas, we have sweet plantains.
16:14And sometimes we have like hand pies or empanadas.
16:20The plantain, it's sweet but not too sweet.
16:22And there's lovely notes of cinnamon in there.
16:25But it's a bit dry.
16:26The pastry is just, it's pretty raw.
16:29But the flavors are nice.
16:30I want more rum.
16:34I decided to make a passion fruit pie.
16:38Originally, I grew up in Rio de Janeiro.
16:40We had vines of passion fruit in the backyard of the house.
16:46I love the house.
16:47It's rustic.
16:52I would say your custard needed to be cooked out longer.
16:55I can still taste that some of the flour.
16:57And also, it is quite crumbly.
16:59Like, it's a bit too soft.
17:01Yes.
17:01Karen and James, please tell us about your hometown Christmas pie.
17:07So inside, there's blueberries, strawberries, and as well, it's riffing off of five spice.
17:13Christmas day, we usually like to go to dim sum.
17:16And so that is supposed to be a teacup with some chopsticks.
17:22Very modern interpretation.
17:23The pastry is baked under there, which is nice.
17:29The flavor is fantastic.
17:31Oh, thank you.
17:32The pastry is crispy and cooked.
17:35And that is a very difficult thing because the filling on the inside is too wet.
17:39It is definitely something you need to eat with like a spoon.
17:42This is our crisp apple pie.
17:49The three Christmas crackers are representing my three nephews.
17:52I love that.
17:53That's so sweet.
17:56I do really like the raisins and overall the filling.
18:02I think your pastry is excellent.
18:06It's the most Christmassy apple kind of pie that you could kind of create.
18:10Thank you very much.
18:11Excellent, guys.
18:13Please tell us about your hometown Christmas pie.
18:16Absolutely.
18:17Today we made for you mom's sweet potato pie.
18:20Incolent.
18:21Look in the unison.
18:22So good.
18:23This is one of the first bakes our mom passed down to us for the holidays.
18:26My mom talked about this pecan tree and how they would always climb the tree, would gather all the pecans.
18:31And it's also symbolic of just like your family tree and your roots.
18:34That's beautiful.
18:37So the flavor of your filling is excellent.
18:40Spices are great.
18:42Love the pecans with it.
18:43Your pastry is undercooked.
18:45Sweet potato is kind of watery and it's so smart to roast them.
18:50Thank you so much.
18:51We created for you pizza chiena, which in Italian it translates to a full pie.
18:59It's the perfect like grab and go breakfast as you're opening gifts and preparing to make dinner for Christmas Day.
19:05Smart.
19:05From the cross section, I love that the ingredients are evenly suspended.
19:11It almost looks like a quiche.
19:12Yeah.
19:13Similar.
19:15So I think the flavor is really excellent.
19:18Your balance of your pancetta with your herbs.
19:20This is cooking from the heart.
19:25We made my grandma Katie's bumbleberry pie and bumbleberry is a mix of berries.
19:34They're speechless.
19:36What is happening?
19:37In a good way or a bad way?
19:39Yeah, I mean, we know that the pastry is undercooked, right?
19:42Yes.
19:42But it's still a little bit runny there.
19:45Yeah.
19:46Your pastry is undercooked, but the texture of it is very, very kind of crumbly grainy.
19:50Yes.
19:51I think you probably overworked your pastry too much with those big muscles.
19:59Well, first of all, you guys should give yourselves a round of applause.
20:02Excellent job.
20:03Kudos to all of y'all because that was a really tough challenge right out the gate.
20:11Right.
20:12So the team that really succeeded, the pastry was well-baked.
20:16They had great filling and great decoration.
20:20Amy and Sally.
20:34Unfortunately, two teams really struggled.
20:37So the teams that are in the bottom two are Fabio and Fabio and Gabrielle and Ben.
20:47But it is just the beginning and who knows what's going to happen in the next round.
20:52No one wants to be in the bottom.
20:54It's a hard place to be, but we do feel like this is our redemption story.
20:57It's going to motivate us.
20:58If I were judging that pie, I would say the same thing.
21:01It may be a hot mess.
21:05Oh, no.
21:06We're going to have to start it again.
21:08The heat is just killing it.
21:18Welcome back.
21:20So, are you ready for your second challenge?
21:22Yes.
21:22Yes.
21:22Yes.
21:23This is your chance to wow the judges with something spectacular.
21:30The ultimate Yule log.
21:33My family does a big Christmas party on the 23rd.
21:36Yule logs are great ways to serve a crowd.
21:39I love when you slice into it.
21:41What you want is this lovely, light, fluffy sponge and then a beautiful swirl right to
21:46the center.
21:47And then a good ratio of your buttercream and your sponge.
21:51All right.
21:53You have one hour and 30 minutes to make your ultimate Yule log.
21:57Off you go.
22:01We're working together to make the sponge cake first.
22:04Oh, that was messy.
22:06Make sure you're following ratios, though.
22:08Truthfully, I'm being really good today.
22:10I'm measuring all my measurements.
22:12I might have stuck a little bit of this and a little bit of that, but not too much.
22:15So that means no.
22:16It's the Italian method.
22:17She's done.
22:20It's okay.
22:21So add whites and sugar.
22:23We're making the fluffy part that we're going to fold into the cake in a little bit.
22:28Come on.
22:28Whisk, whisk, whisk.
22:30Whisk, whisk, whisk.
22:31Come on, baby.
22:32Work for me today.
22:35This is our Black Forest cake.
22:37All of my family comes from Germany.
22:40And our sponge cake is actually in two colors and a beautiful flavor.
22:44Chocolate and vanilla and cherry flavors.
22:49We're bringing Stephen's German heritage and my Latino heritage together on this.
22:54And the coconut, I've got plantains going into it.
22:58Oh, yeah!
22:59It's mind blown!
23:01Yes.
23:01So I'm hoping that we'll win this challenge so I can have that jacket.
23:06Come on.
23:07That's not part of the deal.
23:11You've had 30 minutes.
23:13We want to preserve every last bubble.
23:15So I don't want to massage it too much to remove those.
23:19I'm just going to hopefully get all of the batter in there and then tap it down a little bit.
23:28Wait, we don't bang it on the counter.
23:30We were like, no, no, no, no, no, not for this one.
23:32The oven is on, I've confirmed.
23:35I don't know if we'll ever have an off oven for the rest of our lives.
23:38No, we'll just keep it running.
23:40We want to be in the top three for this bake so badly because that's going to help guarantee that we are not the ones leaving.
23:48Hi, Gabrielle.
23:49Who inspired your Yule log?
23:51Where Ben's family is from is literally like the maple capital of Ohio.
23:56So the big flavor we're incorporating is maple and then having the banana bread drizzle on top resembles sap.
24:05We might seem sweet and sugary, but we're here to play.
24:09We're planning to win this thing.
24:11Absolutely.
24:12I think we can do it.
24:13Where have they got it right?
24:17Coming first in the last round adds a little more pressure.
24:21The flavor is red velvet filled with whipped cream with toasted almonds that are chopped folded in because it's one of my husband's favorite cake flavors.
24:32And his birthday is two days before Christmas.
24:36Why have one cocoa powder when you can have not one or two, but three?
24:42The trio.
24:43I'm assuming you're doing chocolate on chocolate, right?
24:46Actually, the inside is going to be the nice classic creamy filling.
24:51We're planning to put some crushed pistachios on top of the filling.
24:55Kind of to offset the chocolate, we don't want to go too bokeh-bokeh.
24:58That's a clever move.
24:59It actually creates an opportunity for the flavor to come through.
25:03So his grandmother is a queen of the rolled cakes.
25:07So maybe a little more common in Iranian desserts.
25:10So it's in your bloodline.
25:12This should be second nature.
25:13It's in my bloodline. Yes, yes.
25:14His grandmother is expecting results, you know?
25:16Can't let her down.
25:17Pressure.
25:18I know no pressure.
25:19I feel the pressure.
25:21So far, so good.
25:23We have a chance to redeem ourselves, and hopefully this will be great.
25:29Everything might change very fast, so...
25:31It's going to be all about flavor, okay?
25:36Yes.
25:36The flavor is going to be a chocolate with a hint of coffee on the sponge.
25:41The inside, we're going to have vanilla buttercream with a little bit of bourbon in it.
25:49We got bourbon.
25:50Let me see how it tastes.
25:54Okay.
25:54Oh, I forgot.
25:58We're going to have to start it again.
26:00I forgot to fold the egg in it.
26:03Let's do it again.
26:04Yes, sir.
26:06Hello.
26:07Oh, Fabio's.
26:08How are you feeling?
26:09So, we don't feel fabulous.
26:10I messed it up.
26:11I forgot to add the eggs.
26:13Okay.
26:13We're bouncing back, and we're going to remake the cake.
26:15It's not going to be a problem whatsoever.
26:18I believe in you.
26:19I believe in you.
26:19That sponge is not in the oven yet.
26:24We are going to make a guayaba yule log.
26:28It is a vanilla bean sponge, Chantilly cream cheese buttercream, and whipped white chocolate ganache.
26:34Guayaba is sweet, kind of pungent in a strange way, but it tastes good.
26:40Hi.
26:41How does your family heritage tie into this?
26:45I used to have these guayaba pastries growing up, so we're just doing a spin on it.
26:49The flavors are inspired by our heritage.
26:51You know, that's a big thing, is our African-American side and our Puerto Rican side just mixing those together.
26:57Thank you so much.
26:58All right.
26:59All right.
27:00It's a lot going on.
27:02We've got to make that filling soon, so try to be fast.
27:05I'll give it two more minutes.
27:06Okay.
27:07So, we have cinnamon rolls for Christmas, and we wanted to kind of play off of that for our yule logs.
27:12Yeah.
27:14Our yule log is a Christmas morning cinnamon roll yule log.
27:17It's going to be mixed into a buttercream, and then we're going to do, like, a cream cheese frosting on the top.
27:24Doing the best we can, making a Swiss meringue buttercream.
27:30But I don't know if I like this.
27:31It's gritty.
27:32What's in it?
27:34Eggs and sugar.
27:36That shouldn't be gritty.
27:37I know.
27:37The sugar's not dissolved.
27:38I know.
27:39That's why I'm trying to dissolve it.
27:41I see a little lobster.
27:44Oh, my goodness.
27:46You should squeeze the family family.
27:47Squeeze it.
27:48Oh.
27:49The lobster is a token symbol of Maine, and we love it.
27:53Maine is the place where all the family goes for Christmas, because that's where my grandfather can house all of us together.
28:00We're going to make red velvet cake with white chocolate peppermint Swiss meringue buttercream.
28:06Good.
28:0945 minutes left.
28:12Literally ready to roll.
28:13Ready to roll.
28:14It's like an art and a science to it, figuring out when to make that call to start rolling it.
28:20Moment of truth.
28:21Oh, my goodness.
28:22Don't unroll it.
28:23We're not ready.
28:24So if it's too cold, it will snap.
28:27It's too cracked to have that roll shape.
28:30No, it's good.
28:31But if it's too hot, it can actually get hard to unroll, so it'll stick to the towel.
28:36Everything's nice and sticky.
28:37You get to go for a little ride in the refrigerator.
28:40We're about to roll this up, make sure it stays flexible.
28:44I want it rolled and not cracked.
28:46So, a little muscle memory for the sponge cake.
28:49We don't pre-roll.
28:50We trust the cake.
28:52Trust the process.
28:53Yeah, yeah, no pre-rolling.
28:57So, it cracked right here.
28:59So, I'm going to try to salvage that.
29:02Having a ball.
29:03I wanted to ask you, what is the family connection to this Yule log?
29:07Our mom is still with us, and one of the things that she loves is yema.
29:12It's kind of a paramil-y Filipino confectionery.
29:15We're going to have yema as a spreadable filling.
29:18So, we put the meringue on top.
29:20We're also going to drizzle it with a coconut cream, and then also crush some cashew brittle.
29:26We kind of thought this through.
29:27We're like, oh, that would be kind of nice to see in a roll.
29:30Well, good luck.
29:33Oh, that is very hot.
29:34That can is hot.
29:36Okay, the cake.
29:37How do I get the cake out?
29:40It's all right.
29:43I'm rolling the cake.
29:45Put it in the freezer.
29:47Sorry, y'all.
29:50I'm very stressed out.
29:52Very stressed out.
29:54This was our redemption bake.
29:56Hopefully.
29:57Oh, it's so broken.
29:58It's just far too sweet.
30:00Get in there.
30:10So, we're getting the filling in there, and we're going to roll this bad boy up.
30:13Just got to get it evenly spread first.
30:16We are going to use lots of cream filling to try to put it back together.
30:22I'm nervous to roll it already.
30:24It's still very hot.
30:25It's okay.
30:27We got it.
30:27All right, we're going to spread this boyaba filling.
30:32It's very liquidy, but...
30:34We got this, mama.
30:35We got it.
30:36Buttercream.
30:38This isn't ideal.
30:40It's still a little warm, and I don't have much time.
30:42No, I mean, it may be a hot mess.
30:45I command you to taste good.
30:49Oh, it's so broken, mama.
30:53And it's too very hot.
30:55I messed that up in the beginning.
30:57So, I had to make everything again.
31:01That's okay.
31:03You get a little boozy.
31:05You're going to need a little bit of booze after this challenge.
31:09So, Rosa, what was the inspiration for your Yule Log?
31:11My mother-in-law makes cannoli.
31:14Cannoli.
31:14So, we incorporated the cannoli.
31:16This sponge is an orange blossom citrus manila sponge and a cannoli cream, candy and orange peel, and mini chocolate chips.
31:24Well, I love it.
31:25This is a tragic trek.
31:32The heat is just killing it.
31:34It's absolutely killing it.
31:35You have 15 minutes left.
31:38Did she say 15?
31:39So, what I have here are cranberries and rosemaries.
31:44I'm just candying them a little bit to look like snow.
31:47So, this stuff is like a wicked science experience.
31:51It's called edible moss.
31:53It's the coolest thing.
31:54You should break that in half and try to make them.
31:56And do what?
31:57Mom, why are you doing that?
31:58Just use your hands.
32:00No, you've got to use your teeth.
32:01Oh, you have five minutes left.
32:04Five minutes left, and we are just now rolling our Yule Log?
32:07But I think we can pull it off.
32:12Don't look.
32:13Don't look.
32:14Yes!
32:17I see swirl.
32:19I'm going to lift this up.
32:21Hold on.
32:23Okay, pull the towel.
32:25Okay, coloca ele.
32:27Coloca.
32:28I'm over work.
32:29One minute, guys!
32:31A little stressed.
32:33Down to the wire for this one.
32:36Make it look right pretty.
32:38Okay.
32:40Time's up!
32:41Ta-da!
32:42It was good.
32:44From the jaws of victory from the agony of defeat.
32:47Oh, my goodness!
32:49Did this really bad.
32:51Holy cow!
32:53Are we allowed to say that?
32:55It is not bad.
32:56I'm telling you.
33:01Amazing job, guys.
33:03Now it's time for the judges to taste your Yule Logs.
33:07You ready?
33:07Oh, yeah.
33:09Gabriel and Ben, you're up.
33:11Okay.
33:11So, we have made for you a Merry Maple Yule Log with banana bread sap to go along with it.
33:21Your swirl is really lovely.
33:23You get that nice bitterness from the chocolate and the whipped ganache.
33:31The walnuts in the cream are just such a lovely little surprise.
33:35I can get the flavors of each component, which is really impressive because not that long
33:41ago, you guys were struggling a little bit.
33:44This was our redemption bake, hopefully.
33:46You're heading to Redemption Island.
33:49Rosa and Rosanna, you're up next.
33:53In Italian, tronchetto di Natale basically means Italian Christmas trunk.
33:58So, we wanted to incorporate the flavors of a cannoli cream within our Yule Log.
34:02This looks incredible.
34:08And you were cooking food from your ancestors, so very good.
34:12The candied orange is excellent inside the cream.
34:15It feels very Christmassy to me, which I love.
34:18It reminds me of walking into my parents' house and it's like giving me so much nostalgic joy.
34:24Thank you so much.
34:26I appreciate it.
34:27Renee and Sade, you're next.
34:29We made for you our Christmas morning cinnamon roll Yule Log.
34:34We have a white chocolate bark with some gold leaf in it because that's more of our vibe
34:39for Christmas is fleshy and glam.
34:45For me, maybe the cinnamon was a tiny bit heavy-handed.
34:48Okay.
34:49You've got a really light, fluffy sponge.
34:52Cream cheese makes complete sense because that's what is on the top of cinnamon rolls.
34:57This is very unique and very brave.
35:01Marco and Steven.
35:03Our Yule Log is a Black Forest Yule Log.
35:07The cake is chocolate and cherry.
35:09The moss growing on the side are actually plantain chips.
35:16Your sponge could be a little bit lighter.
35:19I'm wanting a tart cherry compote to bring in a little bit more balance.
35:24Kristen and Debbie, let's roll.
35:27Oh.
35:28This is called You'll Love Our Lobster Roll.
35:34It is a red velvet sponge with peppermint white chocolate Swiss meringue buttercream.
35:39I forgot about the raspberry coulis.
35:41It is really cute and, you know, I'm excited to dive in and try it.
35:49Your sugar is not properly whipped with your buttercream so it's actually quite granulated.
35:55I, in my heart of hearts, don't believe that raspberry and peppermint belong together.
35:59Mom?
36:00I'm so sorry.
36:03Our Yule Log is called Elmer's Red Velvet Yule Log.
36:07The filling is a toasted almond whipped cream.
36:12We really don't have a cold December in Alabama, but my dad always had a fire going in the fireplace.
36:19Aw.
36:20We might have the air conditioner on or the doors open, but we had a fire.
36:25It looks gorgeous.
36:30Your almond cream in the center is light.
36:33Lovely little crunch off the almonds and really quite elegant.
36:37I think that your sponge is a little bit dense.
36:40Kind of reminds me a little bit of like a pound cake, which I love, but presentation is stunning.
36:48What we have for you is what we call in South Carolina a country stump.
36:53Inspired by a log in my grandmother's backyard.
36:59To me, it's just far too sweet.
37:02There's just a lot of sugar going on in there.
37:05We don't have the swirl and we know that you had some stresses, but I like how light your buttercream is.
37:10Thank you so much.
37:13Our Yule Log is actually called You'll Be Yamazed.
37:16Because our filling is a yema filling, which is a confection.
37:22It's a candy out of the Philippines.
37:24And then mamon, which is a sponge cake also from the Philippines.
37:28It's quite cool to look at.
37:30It reminds me of these white snakeskin boots that I really used to want.
37:37Your filling is yummy.
37:39Custardy and kind of creamy and nice, but not too sweet.
37:42I can really feel the Filipino influence on this.
37:45The sponge was like really, really lovely and soft and airy.
37:51Amen and Indep, you're next.
37:53This is Titi Koko's Guayaba on Yule Roll.
37:57Vanilla bean sponge, strawberry and guayaba compote, and Chantilly cream cheese buttercream.
38:03The strawberry coulis flavor that is in that is just delicious.
38:10It's also gone.
38:13There's not enough of it.
38:14There is a swirl, but your cake is too dense.
38:16Oh, okay.
38:17The cake is a little bit stodgy.
38:19And as soon as we kind of cut into it, I could smell that like egginess.
38:23Okay.
38:25Susan N. Salmon.
38:26We present to you our dark bark and snow yule log, inspired by this delicious Iranian
38:36rorette that my grandma likes to make us.
38:39Of course, had to put our own chocolate spin on it.
38:41And then to complete it, we've got the Iranian pistachios.
38:49See, now I love that.
38:50I think that was really good.
38:51The mascarpone filling cuts through that really bitter dark chocolate on the outside.
38:56I think the flavor is excellent.
38:58I love the chocolate ganache.
39:00And yes, the relief of your mascarpone cream in the center.
39:03It's a really, really good cake.
39:04Well done.
39:05Thank you so much.
39:07Now, we need some time to deliberate to see which team is going home.
39:12While the teams await the judge's decision, a chance to taste one another's yule logs.
39:26I think I have all of them on my plate.
39:29But yours is very unique, which is what I love.
39:32Yeah, I love that.
39:33Everyone's has different flavors.
39:35You might feel some chicken after this.
39:37I'm not home.
39:37But I like it.
39:38I'm eating right now.
39:39Oh, great.
39:40Thanks.
39:40Fabio's, really good.
39:42Well.
39:43It's delicious.
39:44So good.
39:45They're so sweet.
39:46I personally like the flavor, but we're not the judges.
39:49We're not the judges.
39:55So, what do you guys think of the quality of the bakes today as a whole?
40:00We saw some really good skills today.
40:03Amy and Sally, when I walked past their station, I was like,
40:07oh, these ladies know what they're doing.
40:12Gabriel and Ben really struggled in the first task.
40:15And then in the second task, they were just kicking into fifth gear and doing it.
40:18I think Susan and Saman really, really impressed me.
40:23India and Armon, their Yule log was quite thin, and then there was really missing filling.
40:31My Fabio's struggled for me personally in this, and I thought it was overwhelmingly sweet.
40:37I didn't mind their Yule log, except it didn't have a swirl.
40:39Yeah.
40:40Kristen and Debbie, there's so much heart.
40:43I know, that's why I'm doing this.
40:44But peppermint and raspberry is just not it.
40:49We know that we have to send one of the teams home.
40:52Did you feel the love in all of it?
40:54One thousand percent.
40:57All right.
40:57Are you guys ready?
40:59Okay.
41:00Cheers.
41:00Cheers.
41:01Cheers.
41:01Cheers.
41:06I just want to say thank you so much for sharing your family's recipes,
41:13and their stories.
41:16Let's start with the good news first.
41:18So we evaluated the performances from every single team for both challenges today.
41:26We think that there is one team that in particular stood out.
41:34It is Susan and Saman.
41:36We thought that Susan and Saman captured the festive feeling, the festive flavors.
41:48They really showed a lot of skill.
41:51We did something.
41:51We did it well.
41:53Now that we know we can do that here, we can just keep carrying that forward.
41:58Unfortunately, this is a competition.
42:00Sadly, one team will be going home today.
42:06And it was a very hard decision.
42:11And the team that leaves this week is...
42:18Fabio and Fabio Jr.
42:21May you please hang up your aprons.
42:25Sadly, your time is up, but we hope you will continue to bake at home with love.
42:30Fabio Jr.: Thank you all.
42:35We are kind of sad that we are going home.
42:39But we came and we baked, we gave our best.
42:43Even though we lost, it was fun getting to do this with my dad.
42:47Fabio Jr.: I feel so proud of my son.
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