- 8 hours ago
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00Previously on Sweet Empire...
00:02Are you ready, kids?
00:04Aye, aye, Captain.
00:06Four teams continued their quest
00:08to dominate this epic snowy showdown.
00:11You want a little patty-krabby?
00:12With the empires established,
00:14only the strong will survive.
00:16The empire shifted.
00:18Some crumbled and some gained new teammates.
00:20Your mission remains the same.
00:22Get on and stay on the winning empire.
00:25He's falling.
00:26What do you want me to hold so you can...
00:27Nothing.
00:28Okay.
00:28I got it.
00:29Where's his hat?
00:29I don't have it done yet.
00:31The pressure to prevail was at an all-time high
00:33as they created theatrical showstoppers
00:36worthy of a red-carpet debut.
00:38I love the color.
00:39I love the movements.
00:40Patrick is larger than life.
00:42The chocolate work is great.
00:44The wood, the anchor, the sugar work is beautiful.
00:47Overall, it's very bright and colorful.
00:50Ultimately, all teams were deemed worthy
00:53to advance in their pursuit of victory in the Winter Wars.
00:57All four empires will move on intact.
00:59It continues.
01:00This is Sweet Empire.
01:03Your delightfully naughty host, Lord Gingerton.
01:16I guess we're having dinner today.
01:17Hello, Bakers.
01:21Hey.
01:21We've got four teams standing strong.
01:26Is everyone still relieved to be in the game?
01:28Yes.
01:29Yes.
01:30You guys?
01:30Yes.
01:31Yes.
01:32We finished last, which was very disappointing.
01:35We have the chance to continue the competition.
01:38But in the next challenge, we have to be in the first place.
01:41How's everyone feeling about their empires?
01:43Completed.
01:44Amazing.
01:45Good.
01:45Our team, one last challenge.
01:47So we are the team to beat right now.
01:49I'm really surprised that none of the empires are dissolving
01:52because I was kind of looking forward to plucking somebody
01:54to put on our team.
01:55So I wouldn't be like the third sister wife.
01:57Like, we could add a fourth.
01:59And then that would give me a little bit of rank.
02:01The best part of the holidays is gathering with your loved ones
02:04at the dinner table.
02:06So today, you'll need to create a hyper-realistic holiday feast.
02:11Ooh.
02:12Nice.
02:13This next challenge is right up my alley.
02:15I specialize in hyper-realistic food.
02:19Like, this is my jam.
02:22Each team will create realistic seasonal dishes,
02:27including one main entree and one side dish big enough
02:30to feed an entire family.
02:32We feel a little bit uncomfortable.
02:34Some of the other teams are much more suited for this.
02:37This is going to be the one that's going to, like,
02:39make or break us.
02:40You guys ready to find out what's on the menu?
02:41Absolutely.
02:42Yes.
02:43We'll be serving glazed ham, roast turkey,
02:47whole fish, and rack of lamb.
02:50And the side dish is up to your team.
02:52Nice.
02:54Team Elizabeth, you are the winning empire last round.
02:56That gives you an important advantage in this challenge.
03:01You get the first choice of entree.
03:03Ooh.
03:05OK.
03:06I know which one I want.
03:07Which one?
03:08Ham.
03:09Ham.
03:10Glazed ham.
03:11All right.
03:11The glazed ham.
03:14I'm not going to lie.
03:15I am not a ham kind of a girl.
03:16But ham is quite an easy shape to carve.
03:19So if we can pull this off, I think it definitely should be a winner.
03:23Team Aaron, you were second in the last challenge.
03:25What are you hungry for?
03:27So we have fish, lamb, and turkey.
03:30Which one do you think would be easiest of the time?
03:33I will take the fish or lamb.
03:34Let's do lamb.
03:35Let's do lamb.
03:36OK.
03:37We're going to take the rack of lamb.
03:39Ooh.
03:40All of them.
03:41We picked a very ambitious piece.
03:43But you want to be ambitious.
03:45We're not in a small competition.
03:47We are working towards big win.
03:50Everybody's going to do something extra.
03:51And if we don't put anything extra, you know, we're going to be the only ones.
03:55Team Holly, you were third.
03:57What's it going to be?
03:58We're going to go the gobble gobble turkey.
04:00Team Francois, how do you guys feel about seafood?
04:03Do not eat fish, but it's OK.
04:08The judges are going to be taking a close look at just how similar your dishes are to the real deal.
04:14Make sure your flavors are worthy of a second helping, because today one of your empires will be eliminated, and you'll be going home.
04:23Holy .
04:25This next challenge, someone's going home, and not just one, the whole empire.
04:29So we need to bust ass to get on top.
04:31You've got nine hours to bake your holiday feast.
04:34Your time starts now.
04:37Let's go.
04:38Let's go.
04:40Chocolate fondant.
04:42Oh, there it is.
04:43Thank you so much.
04:44You got it.
04:46Holly, what are you doing?
04:47I'm going to make us a maple cake.
04:51Oh.
04:52Do you know how often I make turkey cakes?
04:53How often do you make turkey cakes?
04:55Every Thanksgiving, around about 60 of them.
04:58Seriously?
04:59Why did they leave turkey for me?
05:02Like, seriously?
05:03I'm sorry, guys, but that was a dumb decision.
05:07I literally do about 60 turkey cakes every Thanksgiving.
05:10And I do them really fast, and I do them really well.
05:14So, I've got this in the bag.
05:16Going with some, like, candied bacon.
05:18Bacon.
05:19Bacon.
05:20It's my favorite, man.
05:21For our turkey cake, we're making a maple cake with candied bacon bits, candied pecans.
05:28And then Lou is bringing her Chinese tradition and doing the lo mein.
05:32And Sarah's bringing her Christmas tradition and a shrimp cocktail.
05:36I'm going to be making some, like, egg noodles for lo mein.
05:40More yellow.
05:41Okay.
05:42We are doing so many different things.
05:44This is really going to push to the judges all the different techniques that we can do
05:48to make this hyper-realistic cake come to life.
05:51Holly's working on the tasting element, and Sarah and I are sharing all the sides.
05:56I feel like I can't disappoint my dad at home.
05:58For our lo mein cake, we're doing a cornbread cake with a thyme and blackberry jam
06:04with a vanilla buttercream.
06:05And a bowl made out of muddling chocolate.
06:08What all is going in the maple besides the candied bacon, though?
06:11I think I'm going to be Vegemite.
06:13Vegemite?
06:14Vegemite.
06:15Vegemite.
06:16Those look on Lou's face is like, why?
06:18I've never had Vegemite.
06:19Trust me, you might not like Vegemite, but you'll like the cow.
06:22Vegemite in baking?
06:23Vegemite, it doesn't even sound appealing.
06:25It's not an appealing name.
06:26It isn't.
06:27I have faith in me, man.
06:28I have faith in you.
06:29That's why I'm like, okay, I will try one.
06:30I'm excited to try it myself.
06:32Don't lie.
06:33Clearly in all the other challenges, Holly's definitely very knowledgeable in her tasting
06:38elements and just pairing things.
06:40She's very wild and I love it.
06:42But at the same time, this is also an elimination challenge and it's not the most popular choice,
06:47I guess you could say, in a baked good.
06:50Really?
06:51Yeah.
06:52Try it.
06:53Just do a little lick.
06:56Oh!
06:57Oh!
06:58Oh!
06:59Why?
07:00Why do you do this to yourself?
07:02Really?
07:03It's good.
07:04I'm a little concerned because that Vegemite is still on my tongue.
07:06The Aussie in me.
07:07The Aussies would be so proud.
07:09I hope she pulls this off.
07:11I don't want to go home.
07:13All right, Tommy.
07:14All right, let's hear it.
07:15So I think if we do a big platter, I think we're going to have to have more than one.
07:18Okay.
07:19Because we're supposed to feed a family.
07:21Our team is doing Branzino, sweet potato casserole in a Dutch oven, some cherries on the side
07:27and a side of butter.
07:29I think you could potentially mold the fish out of chocolate.
07:33Well, we got to juge it up.
07:35Well, obviously, do you think that you guys could make a casserole dish out of chocolate?
07:40Of course.
07:41Yes.
07:42I'm going to take a lot of time to make sure that the plate is beautiful and the casserole
07:46is really amazing.
07:48I think we feel the pressure a little more because we just got a taste of what the bottom
07:52tastes like.
07:53And I don't think we want that anymore because if the empire doesn't win, it crumbles.
07:57Let's bring it back.
07:58You ready?
07:59Redeem ourselves.
08:00Redemption.
08:01Redemption.
08:02Lots of things.
08:05All of the things.
08:07So how y'all feel about rack of lamb?
08:09I like rack of lamb.
08:10It's my favorite.
08:11I think we got to put some mint jelly with it.
08:13That's classic.
08:14Absolutely.
08:15Yeah, 100%.
08:16I think it'd be nice to kind of fill the cavity with a little bit of couscous situation.
08:20Oh.
08:21Sounds good.
08:22They probably wouldn't expect that.
08:23That sounds excellent.
08:24I think I'm going to do tapioca pearls for it.
08:25But I want to make sure that they're flavored and they complement the things inside the lamb.
08:28Yeah, I agree.
08:29So in case they get any of that, it'll make sense.
08:31For this challenge, we are going to be doing roasted rack of lamb with a couscous salad,
08:36mint jelly, some gnocchi with peas and carrots, and then our main side dish, our potatoes
08:41are gratin.
08:42I'm going to get this mint jelly taken care of.
08:44That's our mint.
08:45Six sheets of sheet gelatin.
08:47We're pouring in a little bit of apple cider vinegar.
08:50You can't have mint jelly without a little tang.
08:52Okay, guys, I'm starting with the ribs, okay?
08:54For something like this, I would probably take at least two days.
08:58So many details have to be perfect.
09:00There is bones.
09:01The texture of the bone, you have the inside marrow.
09:04You have that layer of fat that has to stick out from the meat.
09:09You really have to nail every detail.
09:11Otherwise, you know, we are going home.
09:14So right now I'm getting started on the tasting element because I want to kind of focus on
09:21some of the flavors that you would get in the rack of lamb.
09:25I'm going to go with the chocolate cake as the base.
09:27I think that'll be really nice.
09:29For a textural element, I'm going to be doing some black pepper candied cacao dibs.
09:34We're going to be taking some very calculated risks with this one.
09:37I trust my palate because I've done a lot of weird things with my bakes.
09:43I've put ham in a cake.
09:44I've put hot dogs in a cake.
09:46I've used chicken skin and fat in cakes before.
09:48So I'm excited to really kind of walk that line between sweet and savory for this particular flavor challenge.
09:55So for my other tasting cake, because we've landed on potatoes au gratin,
10:01as our side, I kind of want to lean into some of the flavors you'll see.
10:04Some cheese, some black pepper, olive oil ricotta cake.
10:08And I want to do a Parmesan streusel.
10:11We haven't won anything yet, and the lamb is obviously the most difficult of the pieces to pull off.
10:16So if we can do that successfully, it would really impress the judges.
10:20This might just be what we need to kick us into the semi-finals.
10:25More relaxed.
10:27Here we go.
10:29I'm going to lean on you guys a lot more.
10:31We're going to help each other.
10:32Absolutely, and no chocolate today.
10:34I am dishing out more responsibility, and I'm taking on less on myself.
10:38So we're going to be more calm and collected today.
10:41For our dinner, we're doing the ham.
10:43We're also going to have two side dishes.
10:45One of classic cheesy mac and cheese with little bits of bacon bits in it.
10:50And we're also going to have a brussel sprout dish with cranberries and pecans.
10:54I've never made a ham before, so nervous.
10:56We'll see how this goes.
10:58Jonathan, you're focusing on my tasting cake.
11:00Yep.
11:01You're going to make our chocolate bowls.
11:03Yes.
11:04I'm making a full sphere, so I'm getting two for the price of one.
11:06I'm going to make two bowls out of this.
11:08I've tempered some white chocolate.
11:10The key to this is to go slow and agitate it very slowly.
11:17I can agitate it.
11:18You suck.
11:19You're worthless.
11:20You're not very good.
11:21This chocolate is not the right color of cream.
11:24That is agitating.
11:25Why don't you stop now?
11:26You're silly.
11:27You're stupid.
11:28I'll take over.
11:29There you go.
11:30All right, you guys good?
11:31Yep.
11:32All right, good.
11:33Hyper-realistic food.
11:34That's not what I do.
11:35So guys, I'm going to make the cake now.
11:37Okay.
11:38Yeah, perfect.
11:39I'm definitely in trouble.
11:40I know that Holly and especially Elizabeth do hyper-realistic food a lot.
11:46So I hope I can do my team justice again.
11:49How are we doing, Cammie?
11:50Good.
11:51Making the cherry compote for Francois' cake.
11:55We have a similar division of labor.
11:57Francois is going to handle the tasting elements.
11:59Cammie is going to get all the side stuff together.
12:01And then I'm going to shift a little bit more onto cake.
12:04See that little sugar bubble?
12:05All right.
12:06So here we have a nice apple confit with some brinoises of apple.
12:11That's going to give our sour taste.
12:13I'm doing two cakes.
12:14The first one's going to be a marzipan cake with green apple ganache and green apple confit.
12:19I wonder when they bite in this cake, they're like, oh my God, this is apple.
12:23He has to jump in their face.
12:25The second cake will be a Black Forest-inspired sour cake, a mascarpone cream, and a cherry confit.
12:31I will make pain de jeanne, which is a biscuit that is made of marzipan.
12:35Okay, guys?
12:36Sounds great.
12:37I have no clue what he's doing.
12:39So I'm doing one vanilla, and at the same time I'm going to do one chocolate.
12:43That's his name is, um, Sarer Tarte.
12:47So this is really German, too.
12:49I can't even pronounce it.
12:51Sarer Tarte is almost the same.
12:52It's with marzipan, but we're going to add some chocolate inside.
12:55How do you even say it?
12:56Your tastings are always amazing, Francois.
12:59So I have, like, all the confidence.
13:02So right now I'm going to do a chocolate and wine cake with a blackberry bacon jam and some candied bacon.
13:08Yum.
13:09And then I'm going to do, I'm thinking for, like, the other tasting, we'll do a strawberry walnut cake with a strawberry fig and sumac jam.
13:17Oh, wow, sumac.
13:18I love that.
13:19And collided cream mousse.
13:20And while we're at it, you know.
13:24Jonathan, are you drinking the ingredients?
13:26No, I would never do that.
13:28Not sharing?
13:29I...
13:30Uh-oh.
13:31You're going to have to ask.
13:32I'll pour you some, you know?
13:34Cheers.
13:35Cheers.
13:36Wait, wait.
13:37We don't get a drink?
13:38I got you.
13:39Cheers.
13:40Thanks.
13:41Mmm.
13:42A little wine never hurt anybody.
13:45Come on, Jonathan.
13:46My gosh.
13:47Oh, nice.
13:48Come on.
13:49Cheers.
13:50Cheers.
13:51Oh, my blooming gosh.
13:54Time's ticking.
13:55We've got to get on here.
13:56Jonathan needs to start making our cakes.
13:58The main entree of this is the ham.
14:01And I can't start carving a ham until I have cake.
14:04So, I'm kind of worried.
14:09Hey, Elizabeth, my other cake is going into the oven as well.
14:11Okay, good.
14:12See, I'm getting stuff done, I promise.
14:16Focus.
14:17Five hours left, bakers.
14:20You guys having fun?
14:21I'm having a blast.
14:22This is my jam.
14:24Like, this is literally my jam.
14:26I love making hyper-realistic food, which is my love language.
14:30Think this is enough shrimp?
14:32Scramps?
14:33Oh, that is, like, some healthy amount.
14:36Like, I'm an organic sculptor.
14:37I feel super confident in my abilities.
14:39Can we just take a moment to look at these adorable carrot tops?
14:42Ugh!
14:43They are very creative.
14:44They're so cute.
14:45They're very creative.
14:46I think we got a good shot.
14:47Yeah.
14:48Are you making a bowl, Sarah?
14:49Yeah.
14:50Casting a chocolate bowl?
14:51What?
14:52How big do you want this bowl?
14:53Like, this size is fine, right?
14:54Yeah.
14:55Okay.
14:56We don't need to be too thick.
14:58So, I'm using a cake clay to sculpt the turkey and to really give it that, you know,
15:04gobble-gobble look.
15:06I don't know what you call it.
15:08What do you call that, Sarah?
15:09The lovely lady lumps.
15:11The pumps and a bump.
15:13Pump and a bump.
15:14This fish is so important.
15:18Most important fish of my life.
15:21Since we're doing the fish, I think one thing that we really need to maybe try to do is get the pin bones coming out.
15:27So, in the fin, there's always a little bit of bones.
15:29I'm not a big fisherman, so I'm not 100% sure where the little gills and frills go.
15:36For the eyeballs of the fish, when you cook fish, they go white.
15:39So, I think we're just going to use a little ball of modeling chocolate because the eyeballs don't stay clear looking after you if it's cooked right.
15:44I don't eat fish, so I don't know about that.
15:46All right.
15:47I do, so I can help.
15:49Having Nils know all the things is incredibly helpful because we have to bring it with the realism.
15:57If we don't nail this, we could be going home.
15:59So, basically, I'm getting the fish carved, and then I'm going to cover it in modeling chocolate, and then I got to do a lot of scales.
16:06Cam is going to color it and finish it.
16:08No pressure.
16:09Yeah, I'm going to do orange, the red, and the black, and I'm finished with the compressor.
16:13Part of the challenge of doing a hyper-realistic food is to make, like, realistic container.
16:19So, my goal is to make them in chocolate and paint them in a way that it looks like it's a real Dutch oven.
16:25Now I can assemble the cake.
16:27We are making a dish for our kaiser roll.
16:31For our kaiser roll?
16:32Kaiser roll.
16:33Or is that casserole?
16:34Shut up!
16:35Kaiser roll.
16:36A carrot has multicolored oranges inside.
16:40And you're going to slice it, correct?
16:42Yeah, we're going to slice it on the bias.
16:44Get some texture.
16:46Right now, I'm working on the couscous that's going to go inside of our lamb.
16:50So, the main thing is I need to get the color for that right.
16:54I'm going to be using oil colors for this just because I think they're going to stick to the tapioca a little better.
17:00White to make them opaque.
17:03It's looking couscous-y, yeah?
17:05Mm-hmm.
17:06Looks good.
17:07And then I'm going to add in the peppers and stuff.
17:09How are you feeling, Dana?
17:10Good.
17:11So, I'm going to make some gnocchi to go with these peas and carrots.
17:14You got to roll them down the fork just like you would a regular gnocchi.
17:19Make sure it's got that flavor dimple in there.
17:21That's the sauce catcher, as I call it.
17:23How are you feeling right now, Tatiana?
17:25I'm okay right now.
17:26I have my ribs down.
17:27I'm going to start working on the texture.
17:29And start working on all of the details that goes in.
17:32And there's a lot of details.
17:35We got to start picking it up.
17:37Turn it up.
17:38Starting on the ham.
17:40Yeah.
17:41Nice.
17:42I was waiting for you to take some.
17:43Get out of here.
17:45You know how good this goes with wine, right?
17:48Get out of here.
17:51Structural-wise, ham is quite a nice, easy shape to kind of carve.
17:55But it's not easy to portray as a nice, glossy baked ham because of all the different textures
18:00with the skin and things.
18:01So, I'm not going to have as much time to detail it.
18:05Okay.
18:06What are you doing now?
18:07I am starting on my sugar now.
18:08Cooking isomalt Renu.
18:09Getting ready to cast this bottle.
18:11Oh, fancy.
18:12This makes me nervous.
18:13Making a mold in a short amount of period is not easy.
18:16Blowing a wine bottle out of sugar is not very hyper-realistic.
18:20You can never get that shape perfect.
18:21So, we're going to be trying to make a mold in the middle of competition, which is a very
18:25risky move when you have only so much time.
18:28This is a competition that I'm trying to win a lot of money.
18:32And we're all ready to over-deliver.
18:34Like, that's how winners are born.
18:35I look over to Lisbeth, and I mean, to be completely honest, I'm not impressed with the ham.
18:40I cook a ham every year, right?
18:41My ham is darker.
18:43It's charred around all the scoring.
18:45It's got pineapples, whole cloves, cherries.
18:48I feel like if she doesn't put something on to garnish this ham, this might play in our favor.
18:55I see a lot going on, a lot happening.
18:58My only concern is, are they making too much and not going to detail it?
19:02In the end, it's supposed to be hyper-realism.
19:04So, if they make a lot of stuff, does that give you more points, but it's not hyper-realistic?
19:08Do you lose the details?
19:09I don't know.
19:10Holly's team, they seem to be doing a lot more garnish work than we need to.
19:15And we're really being judged on these two components.
19:17So, it's kind of interesting.
19:19We need to remember that teams have gotten dinged for not meeting the bare minimum criteria.
19:23The whole point is, we have to have a main and a side, and it's realism.
19:27So, if we do them well, that could be a huge difference between staying and going home.
19:34Me and Elizabeth, this is a little bit of rivalry.
19:37Elizabeth does exactly what I do.
19:39Her cake skills and my cake skills are quite similar.
19:42I really want to beat her.
19:43I beat her once, but now I want to beat her every time.
19:47Three hours.
19:48You have three hours left.
19:49Plenty of time.
19:50I'm here for this.
19:51I'm here for this.
19:52I'm here for this.
19:53You know, Chevy's Tim?
19:54We're going to just pop, pop, pop.
19:55Trying to get them to look like the marshmallows that we all know.
19:59Okay, guys.
20:00Now it's all to details.
20:01We don't have time.
20:02Let's just boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.
20:03Time is ticking.
20:04Peas done, carrots done, gnocchi done.
20:05So, right now I'm working on kind of stacking my potatoes in here.
20:08And I really want to put them in here in a way that looks like they've settled into each other as they've cooked.
20:25I'm happy with how the layered look of the potatoes are starting to look.
20:30I think it's really important that I have some drips and stuff running over the side because you never come out of the oven with a clean pan.
20:37Okay.
20:39I actually kind of love this stuff.
20:41It's like stage props.
20:42At school, we used lots of theatre stuff.
20:44So I was painting props and sets and this is like a prop, but just like real size and hyper real.
20:50I'm sitting here spending a lot of time on these fondant Brussels sprouts.
20:54You can't do these things quickly.
20:55If you do, it gets sloppy and your colours become muddy.
20:58So I'm going to take the time it needs to make them look hyper real because that is the challenge.
21:03Hyper real, not mediocre real.
21:05Good.
21:06Love it.
21:07Good.
21:08That's my favourite one.
21:09That's going to go right in the middle.
21:10Is it?
21:11Perfect.
21:12I'm going to go ahead and start making some of the little garnishes that are going to go around my ham.
21:14The magic is in those details, hey?
21:16It is.
21:17With hyper realism.
21:18Yeah.
21:19It's all about the details.
21:20Yeah.
21:21The oranges are glistening.
21:22I made sure to make them look wet looking like they've been sliced over.
21:25There's texture.
21:26There's orange peel.
21:27Those look great.
21:29You guys feel good about where you're at?
21:31Yep.
21:32I'm getting a lot of the details finished up so then I can focus on the fish.
21:37Oh, that spatula looks amazing.
21:39We're going to airbrush it silver, handle on either side.
21:43Good to go.
21:45Oh, those look amazing.
21:46It looks like a cherry.
21:49And we have cherries in the cake.
21:52I think those will tie in good together.
21:54So the goal is to make a sweet potato casserole with burnt marshmallow.
21:57So it's going to look like it's a real sweet potato casserole.
22:00But actually I'm going to remove the top of the marshmallow and under is going to be the black forest cake.
22:05So layering the cake inside the Dutch oven, any pressure that's going against the wall of the Dutch oven can break the chocolate.
22:12I have to be very delicate.
22:14Make sure that I won't ruin my chocolate.
22:17Now time for the tedious part.
22:19Here we go.
22:20I'm about to be in 40,000 scales over here.
22:23You know, it's just going to be just top, top, top, top, top.
22:26So the scales on the head of the fish are always a little bit smaller.
22:30So you got to use tiny little goes.
22:33Just want to do my best fish I've ever made.
22:38Okay, I'm doing noodles.
22:41I've never worked so fast in my life.
22:43You like it?
22:44Yeah, it's lovely.
22:46We got some lemons.
22:48I love that we can work together.
22:50Yes.
22:51As a team and like I'll sculpt something and you paint it and it's like perfect harmony.
22:55It is.
22:56Do you know what I mean?
22:57Yes it is.
22:58So good.
22:59Bakers, you have 45 minutes.
23:0045 minutes remaining.
23:02Yeah.
23:03I feel like a doctor over here having surgery.
23:07This is done.
23:08This is done.
23:09Is it dark enough?
23:10Does it need a little brown in it?
23:11No.
23:12It's not too bright?
23:13Elizabeth, look.
23:14I'm looking.
23:15I'm looking.
23:16Just focus.
23:17You focus.
23:18Look.
23:19My bottle.
23:20It's amazing.
23:21Okay, guys.
23:22It's done.
23:23It's done.
23:24I'm going to start coloring now.
23:25My light is color.
23:26You keep going.
23:27And your darkest color, like the burning, that stuff is going to be all the way at the end.
23:32Doing the lemon, doing all those little details, like you really have to focus.
23:36We got two more layers at least to go?
23:38Yeah.
23:39Okay.
23:40Everybody thinks we're the underdog.
23:41We haven't taken first yet.
23:43We have a legit chance of winning.
23:46The question is, can we finish this thing?
23:48I think it got a little too dark for me.
23:51Incredible.
23:52Incredible work.
23:53What makes cakes hyper-realistic is you have to match every single detail.
23:58Where it bakes, the oven typically would be hotter on one side.
24:01So there's going to be one side of everything that's going to be darker and a little bit lighter on the other.
24:06I can't just do a solid colored ham.
24:08That's not realistic.
24:09I need to keep the cracks lighter, because that's where the meat splits open.
24:13So if I airbrushed it all, then all my cracks would be the same shade as everything else.
24:16And then also, I'm making sure that I've got a nice glaze on there, because it is a honey-baked ham.
24:21And they look very, very glossy.
24:23So I need to make sure that I have that gloss on there, otherwise it's not going to read as realistic.
24:28That does look pretty darn tasty and crispy.
24:31We got to get the little pin bones going.
24:34You just kind of let gravity do the work there.
24:36Click.
24:37Click.
24:38I'm so glad you're good at airbrushing colors.
24:45That's a cute looking fish.
24:47Don't eat him.
24:49You guys, we've got 20 minutes left.
24:51No pressure.
24:52Thanks.
24:53Whoever said no pressure.
24:54No pressure, no diamonds.
24:58Getting the cheesy sauce on here now.
25:01Pin bones.
25:02There we go.
25:05What do you think about those little...
25:07Yeah, that's good.
25:08All right.
25:09Details, details.
25:10We've got to do these fish perfect.
25:12They have to be excellent.
25:13Oh, it's like juicing like a fish.
25:15Yeah, I know.
25:16Gross.
25:17Hit the eyeball again.
25:19Okay.
25:20They have to stand up to all of the other main dishes.
25:23We really have to, like, make this count.
25:25Otherwise, it is finuto.
25:27Your time is up.
25:28Cooked.
25:29Get out.
25:30You don't want to put any more lemon?
25:31I would not.
25:32It looks nice the way it is.
25:33More is not always better, you know?
25:35No.
25:36You got the glaze free?
25:41Made them a little flat.
25:43Not realistic enough.
25:44I hate this glaze now.
25:46One thing I'm really nervous about is that this glaze that I'm putting on this turkey will not hold up and it will soak into the fondant.
25:54I'm so scared of glazing anything right now.
25:56If it does that, it's definitely going to turn into a matte looking turkey.
25:59It's going to look like a turkey that's sat out for about five days.
26:02Nobody wants that.
26:03I don't like that.
26:06How long does it take to glaze to dry?
26:08Bakers, we're getting down to it.
26:10Ten minutes.
26:11Stay calm.
26:12Stay calm.
26:13Oh, that lo mein bowl needs cleaned up.
26:15What?
26:16Oh, .
26:17No, guys.
26:18Too much sauce.
26:19It's literally running down the side of the bowl.
26:21Give me a paper towel.
26:22It's okay.
26:23Let's get it.
26:24No, it's not.
26:25There goes all our hard work.
26:27I wish we had a syringe or something to suck this sauce out.
26:31It's just too much .
26:32It's okay.
26:33It's not.
26:34I am so stressed.
26:35That's going to be front anyway.
26:36Yeah.
26:37Nobody's really looking at the back.
26:38There's always a front and a back to a cake.
26:40You smell the lamb.
26:41I smell the lamb.
26:42Front, front, front.
26:47Bakers, you have five minutes.
26:49We're running out of time.
26:51I'm getting so overwhelmed.
26:52This competition is definitely getting to people, especially because this is an elimination challenge.
26:57Everything is on the line.
26:58Don't forget your cranberries.
26:59Are they on there?
27:00Yeah, they're on there.
27:01Just making sure.
27:02Bacon bits.
27:03I didn't know we had bacon bits.
27:04Of course we have bacon bits.
27:06At this point, I really don't care what everybody else is doing.
27:09I am focusing on my lamb.
27:11You got to get it done.
27:12Make sure it's finished.
27:13I don't want you to freak out, but one minute remaining.
27:18Yes.
27:19Everyone is stressed at this point, and this is where things count.
27:23Watch out behind.
27:24Bakers, put those finishing touches on.
27:27Do you have any more salt?
27:29Five, four, three, two, one.
27:33Hands up, Bakers.
27:37I can't reach.
27:38All right, now we can hug.
27:45Everyone has done a pretty damn good job.
27:48I'm not going to lie.
27:49That's a honey, juicy ham.
27:51Got it tight.
27:52Made it nice.
27:53Boom, boom.
27:54The judges are going to say what the judges are going to say.
27:57Tough decisions have to be made sometimes.
27:59We don't want to go home.
28:00No one wants that.
28:01What do you guys think?
28:02I mean, could it use a touch more red, maybe?
28:04I think I'd use a touch more red.
28:05I need a drink.
28:06Where was that wine?
28:12Hello.
28:13Dinner is served.
28:18Bakers, you were tasked today with creating a hyper-realistic holiday feast.
28:23Big enough to feed a bunch of hungry judges.
28:28This challenge is all about illusion and execution.
28:32You all prove that you can make delicious desserts.
28:36But the detail is going to make the difference.
28:39Let's dig in.
28:41Holly, Sarah and Lou, you're first.
28:43We got together and decided what we all have on our holiday table.
28:49So we have made your traditional holiday turkey with all of the trimmings.
28:54We've got some stuffing, lemons, potatoes, carrots, garlic.
28:58And then we made a vegetarian saucy lo mein.
29:02And then shrimp cocktail.
29:04Let's talk about the way your turkey looks.
29:06I love that it's extremely well presented.
29:08Even though you didn't make your own platter, you've completely covered it.
29:13The lemon is beautiful.
29:15The carrots are gorgeous.
29:16I understand you didn't use any mold.
29:18You shape everything by hand.
29:19Those details are really fantastic.
29:22I do feel that the turkey itself needs a little more glisten and shine.
29:28I would love to see it just sort of hot out of the oven.
29:32I also think the turkey, in terms of its shape, could be a little higher on the end.
29:38I love dark meat.
29:39And this turkey is all breast here.
29:41It's more of a goose maybe than a turkey.
29:44You know, the goose is a little bit more elongated.
29:46Also, the indent itself is a little too deep.
29:49And I think that's just what's missing for me.
29:51The garnishes are overshadowing the turkey.
29:54So after hearing the judges' critiques, I'm a little bit disappointed in myself.
29:59Mostly because I make these cakes all the time.
30:02You know, maybe I got too cocky with myself.
30:04But fingers crossed, Vegemite gets me through.
30:07The lo mein looks beautiful.
30:10And then the addition of the vegetables, the garnish.
30:14It's just such beautiful work.
30:17The bowls are gorgeous.
30:18I thought they were real bowls.
30:20And I like that.
30:21All the bowls go together.
30:22The color, the design that you did.
30:24That's just beautiful.
30:26Let's try this turkey and lo mein.
30:29So we did a maple cake with Vegemite caramel buttercream with candied bacon and candy pecans.
30:38It's a bold move going with Vegemite.
30:40This one is a cornbread cake.
30:43We decided to add a little bit of a savory element with blackberry thyme jam and a vanilla buttercream.
30:50I was worried when I saw the Vegemite.
30:53It's quite a unique taste.
30:54But in this cake, it's delicious.
30:57If I didn't know it was Vegemite, I would just think this was a really unique sort of burnt caramel inside the cake.
31:04One thing that I will say is the cornbread cake.
31:07It's a little bit heavier, a little bit drier.
31:09But all those flavors work well together.
31:12Congratulations.
31:13Thank you so much.
31:15Team Francois, you're up.
31:19Today we got some grilled branzino and sweet potato casserole in an old Dutch oven.
31:26You didn't find a new Dutch oven to cook your sweet potatoes.
31:31You had to take the oldest one that you find in the kitchen and bake in it.
31:35Family heirloom.
31:36Yeah.
31:37And the branzino, beautiful skin coming out.
31:40You know when you grill a fish, some of the skin stick to the grill and you have exactly that.
31:46And the eye, the eye became very white and round like that when you grill a fish.
31:50Now I can justify to my wife that the fishing time was worthwhile.
31:55I really enjoy the difference in texture and sheen on the face and tail
32:00because that's exactly what would happen when you're grilling a fish.
32:03The spatula and spoon are incredible.
32:06Well, I'm hungry.
32:08Can we have some of this?
32:09Of course.
32:10We went a little difference in the flavor for this one.
32:13I made one of the desserts that is very popular in my region when I'm coming from,
32:18which is the black forest.
32:19So inside you get a sarah cake, some mascarpone whip, and some cherry compote.
32:24Now we're going to cut the fish.
32:26So the fish is going to be made with a pain de jean.
32:29And inside you're going to have an apple ganache and an apple confit.
32:33No bone, you okay?
32:35I got a bone.
32:38The granny smear come true at the first bite.
32:42It's really fitting that you chose such a light, bright cake for the fish.
32:47You know, I grew up with black forest cake.
32:50One little thing that I can mention is we don't have any crunchiness into that cake.
32:55And you know, I love contrast in cake.
32:57So maybe a little crunchiness always is interesting.
33:01Otherwise, you know, it's just delicious.
33:05Very well done. Thank you.
33:09Team Aaron.
33:11Today we have for you a roasted lamb crown.
33:14With that we have a couscous salad with some cranberries, peppers, some herbs in there.
33:18Our side dish is a potatoes au gratin with some lovely melted cheese, some of the herbs.
33:22And then we have the gnocchi with some peas and carrots and some mint jelly for you as well.
33:28That pack of lamb is just a beautiful dish.
33:31It looks really fresh and coming out of the oven.
33:34I mean, I'm looking at it here and I'm pretty close and it looks fantastic.
33:39Aaron, I will say I wish I could see more of the texture of the beautiful potatoes.
33:45I love the drips over the side though.
33:48Absolutely love it.
33:49And the gnocchi looks beautiful.
33:53Let's eat this then.
33:54I agree.
33:55So for our tasting elements, we have two very different cakes and I wanted to take some risks for this.
34:00So for the inside of our rack of lamb, we have a chocolate mud cake.
34:04We have a balsamic soak on the cake.
34:07A red wine and cherry compote.
34:10A whipped rosemary ganache.
34:12And then there are black pepper candied cacao nibs in there for some texture.
34:17And then inside the potatoes au gratin, we have a almond and ricotta cake with a lemon soak.
34:25A thyme whipped ganache.
34:27And then we have some parmesan streusel on the inside of that.
34:31I always get worried when people work savoury into sweet.
34:36Because it's a very fine line, especially with herbs like rosemary.
34:39A very powerful, pungent herb.
34:42And I think that's why the dense chocolate cake, which is fudgy and almost like a brownie,
34:46really stands up and meets the mark.
34:49Your cake in particular, because of the savoury, it's really playing with my mind.
34:54I know I'm eating cake.
34:55The texture, the crumb feels like cake, but I'm getting those little savoury hits
34:59that remind me of lamb.
35:01For the almond ricotta cake with the thyme and the parmesan, it's delicious.
35:07I have to be honest, it didn't sound delicious when you mentioned the parmesan.
35:12It sounded cheesy.
35:14It's a strong cheese, but it works here.
35:16What you did is very well balanced.
35:18And the parmigiano, you can taste it a little bit, but it's very faint.
35:22So the balance is very well done.
35:25These are two of the most interesting cakes I've ever tasted.
35:28You say, I want to take a risk today.
35:30You did.
35:31And you did well.
35:33Well done, everyone.
35:34Thank you so much.
35:36I'm proud of my empire.
35:39We've executed a piece that all three of us are extremely proud of,
35:43especially with the feedback we got from the judges.
35:46It's only going up from here.
35:47Team Elizabeth, you're up.
35:51For our holiday dinner, we are having a honey glazed ham with a side of classic cheesy mac and cheese with bacon bits.
36:01And also Brussels that are roasted with pecans and cranberries.
36:06The ham looks like a big chunk of ham.
36:09The color from here is great.
36:11And I love from the front that it's a little bit crack and you can see some of the fat.
36:16It's beautiful.
36:17But to me, it's like a little bit of garnish.
36:19I would picture a garnish of cloves poked into the ham itself or pineapple slices.
36:26Pineapple.
36:27Yes, you're right.
36:28Candy cherries just sort of dressing up the ham from the outside.
36:33Perhaps the platter could have been a bit smaller because I am seeing a lot of the base of the platter.
36:39Whereas if you look at the turkey platter.
36:41You don't see the platter actually.
36:42It looks very full.
36:44Yeah.
36:45I think the macaroni, the noodles themselves look too white.
36:48Even though they're dressed in the sauce, the sauce is not disguising the white color of the noodle.
36:53Maybe same thing for the bowl.
36:55Maybe a little color on it to make that white bowl disappear a little bit.
36:59The Brussels sprouts and pecans look beautiful.
37:03I love the color of the bottle.
37:05Is the label wafer paper?
37:07Yes.
37:08I do think the green label is a bit high.
37:10I have studied wine bottles.
37:13In school, of course.
37:16Let's cut into this ham.
37:18All right.
37:19So I did a chocolate and wine cake with a chambord ganache and then a blackberry bacon jam and candied bacon also.
37:27And then with our mac and cheese, I did a strawberry and walnut cake with a clotted cream mousse.
37:34And then I did a strawberry fig and sumac jam.
37:37The strawberry cake, it's delicious.
37:40It has a very strong strawberry flavor.
37:43And I find out of all the berries, strawberry is the hardest one to come through.
37:47It's the most subtle in cake, but not here.
37:50Filled with strawberry flavor.
37:52The chocolate cake, the cake itself, the crumb is delicious.
37:55It's wonderfully moist yet dense.
37:58I like the chocolate cake.
37:59I like the flavor of the ganache.
38:01The bacon, I can do without it.
38:04The rest of it, it's really good.
38:06Amazing job, y'all.
38:07Thank you so much.
38:08The judges loved the way everything looked, but I didn't have enough garnish around my hand.
38:14I stand by my choice.
38:16I would hate to go home just because of that.
38:23Bakers, what an amazing holiday feast.
38:27We were super impressed and it looked so freaking real.
38:32Well done.
38:33For us, the Winning Empire had a beautiful main course as well as sides to accompany it.
38:40They showcased flavor and technique.
38:44And the winning team is...
38:52Aaron's Empire.
38:53Awesome!
38:55Awesome!
38:56Yes!
38:57We won!
38:59Finally!
39:00It's very validating seeing that our hard work is paying off moving forward.
39:05Continuing to take those risks with flavors, but then also being able to showcase what the three of us can do best.
39:11We are relieved and elated that we are going to be in the semifinals.
39:16This is kind of the first time that Dana, Tatiana and I have looked at each other like, we can actually win this thing.
39:22The next safe empire is a team that put a lot of attention to the details of their walk, but also had a really delicious cake.
39:32And this team is...
39:36Team Francois.
39:37Team Francois.
39:38Team Francois.
39:39Team Francois.
39:40Yes!
39:41Yes!
39:42Oh!
39:43Got it!
39:44The second place is good.
39:45It's not first place, but we're intact.
39:46We're good.
39:47We're still here.
39:48You know, we're alive.
39:49We're not on the bottom.
39:50We don't have to deal with that stress.
39:52I feel relieved, because we lost the last one, and I was so afraid to go home this time.
39:58I'm so happy for my team. We're still on competition. It's amazing.
40:03Cammie, you're sandwiched in this bromance. How are you feeling?
40:06The bromance lives.
40:09Second place is fine, but I think we deserved that win.
40:13Team Holly, Team Elizabeth, this means one of your teams will be eliminated.
40:19I'm shocked that Elizabeth and Holly are in the bottom. This is interesting.
40:25This was an incredibly difficult decision, particularly because we feel like each empire had the opposite problem today.
40:39Holly, your team made stellar sides, incredible garnishes.
40:44The table was complete, but unfortunately, the turkey fell flat.
40:49Elizabeth, the opposite is true for your team.
40:56The whole point of hyperrealism is not just the meal itself, but the entire presentation.
41:03The ham most definitely looked like a baked ham, but the sides fell flat.
41:08And your choice of serveware was also quite plain for the occasion.
41:14I mean, at the end of the day, the challenge was hyperrealism, and we pulled off hyperrealistic.
41:20We gave you everything you wanted, except for apparently more garnish and prettier bowls.
41:28Judges, who is our final safe empire?
41:31I do not want to go home.
41:39I want to see it through at least one more challenge.
41:42Seriously, I have no idea, like, what's going to happen next.
41:46This could be the end of, you know, my empire.
41:49The final safe empire is...
41:52Team...
41:56Team...
41:57Team...
41:59Team...
Be the first to comment