- 1 day ago
Holiday Baking Championship - Season 12 Episode 7 -
Retro Christmas
Retro Christmas
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00:00filled the village with sweets repeat after me oh galah you have to make a
00:00:04real nice the judges tasted blind beautiful work oh yeah so tender I think
00:00:12it's the best doughnut on the table and the nice team down to only two bakers
00:00:16saw a much-needed win chase I have to give you this there's no filling but for
00:00:25Alex from the Naughty team it was a tearful goodbye Alex thank you guys
00:00:33so I have to pay no yeah we need it I'm on the top six I made it
00:00:48okay welcome to the semi-final naughty and nice bakers and guess what what
00:00:58that's the last time I'm gonna be saying that because as of this moment no more
00:01:05teams on your own now from here on out okay thank your former teammates for
00:01:12helping you get this far thank you thank you bring it in buddy I'm gonna miss
00:01:18being all naughty I don't know I enjoyed being naughty I thought it was a really
00:01:21fun theme to play into but I'm excited to represent myself okay bet bet okay it's
00:01:27time to grab your new aprons right in that basket go ahead help yourselves I'm so
00:01:31excited excited for my new apron my new baking identity that everything I do like
00:01:35I'm doing it but wow smells like semi-finals all right so bakers for this
00:01:42preheat please oh and that's right I said we are going to vintage today in the
00:01:51semi-final and we want you to put a Christmas spin on some old-fashioned
00:01:56desserts now of course the judges want you to create the actual vintage desserts
00:02:00and then decorate it for the holidays love it so the person who won the last
00:02:05challenge chase you get the naughty advantage not the advantage you may
00:02:12choose your own dessert and also assign desserts to the rest of our bakers
00:02:18remember oh no so chase come on up you have all the power I want to choose what I
00:02:26think the judges have the least opinion or experience with I'm gonna go grasshopper
00:02:32torts Wow okay now comes the fun part oh I'm gonna start with Giancarlo yeah coconut cake coconut cake
00:02:43for his old nice teammate who's getting the champagne cake Charles okay Charles and champagne cake all right
00:02:51he needs some bubbles in his life he knew he was giving me one of the harder ones it's a very delicate
00:02:56flavor next pineapple upside down it's gonna go to Nico he always flips me on my head laughing so I'll take it
00:03:06bread pudding with brandy sauce to Tariq thought it might throw him off can't wait all right I guess that means
00:03:14Ashley German chocolate thank you I know you've been dying to I have been this is a very sacred family recipe I love you thank you
00:03:25that was so nice of you I'm gonna cry actually oh my god Ashley why are you getting emotional
00:03:33I just I didn't think I was gonna get here and I'm grateful it's like my five brothers all over again
00:03:43you deserve to be here thanks we are really cranking up the difficulty factor here
00:03:48we've got three different challenges today we missed the breeds but we didn't need three
00:03:56heats now I'm really gonna cry you've got a preheat a chance heat and of course the main heat and there
00:04:06is an enormously important advantage for the winner of this preheat it's so huge that it could send one
00:04:15of you straight to the finale gag all right bakers you got two and a half hours and your baking time
00:04:26starts now let's do it to the pineapple
00:04:40I'm so excited to be in the semifinals I didn't think that I would get here and
00:04:45I'm making it to the finale there's no question about it I'm making it I'm getting there I got
00:04:52German chocolate which is actually a family favorite so my grandmother made German chocolate
00:04:58cake a lot when we were kids because she was German and a lot of people don't know that it's
00:05:02not from Germany but it's actually from Dallas Texas and so it's a little full circle for me now
00:05:08living there German chocolate cake is made with kind of like a custard with toasted coconut and pecans
00:05:14evaporated milk and egg yolks it's really rich and creamy and that's the filling in between like
00:05:20an old-fashioned buttermilk cake I'm making a German chocolate cake with a salted ganache I'm gonna keep
00:05:26it still traditional and I'm going to make rich chocolate frosting and then make sure that the
00:05:31top still has the coconut filling on top and I'm gonna do a reindeer face coating chocolate antlers and
00:05:37I'm gonna do some beautiful eyelash eyes and pink ears bows and a nose all girly to tie in the fact
00:05:44that I'm the last girl in the competition Ashley how we doing hi Jesse man that was a close one yeah
00:05:51that leaves Alex and Ashley please step forward you two
00:05:55I didn't feel to be standing there in the bottom two unreal actually I could see it on your face yeah
00:06:02I don't think you didn't really enjoy that I didn't at all actually and it's you know the mindset has to
00:06:08change last challenge I was in the bottom two and it's now my time to shine German chocolate cake
00:06:15is one of those cakes that brings fond memories and I have a parent that deals with bipolar disorder
00:06:21so holidays were kind of rough yeah yeah this is the good memories of the holidays wow yep the only
00:06:28female baker left by the way it's like me and my five brothers this feels very familiar right so you're
00:06:35sort of on this island but it but in your life you've kind of been on this island too this is sort of
00:06:40apropos in some ways this is uh it's uh it's poetic it's poetic in some ways today is definitely a
00:06:48redemption challenge have an amazing babe thank you hey happy new year a lot to do I got assigned
00:07:00champagne cake I am reducing some champagne to really concentrate the flavor just because I don't
00:07:07add too much just water to my cake so reduce it by half concentrate the flavor and then add it to
00:07:12the batter Chase told me that he thinks I was a strong contender to successfully make a champagne
00:07:19cake he's stealthy he's good at what he does I'll take the compliment um but maybe he just thinks I'm
00:07:25pink and bubbly we'll see I am making a retro champagne cake which is a champagne sponge cake
00:07:33champagne cremeux all stacked up and decorated with champagne rosé colored buttercream retro piping
00:07:39and then I'll do some shavings on the outside but I want to do some champagne bubble ornament to really
00:07:45tie in the bubbles plus Christmas tastes like champagne champagne is a tricky ingredient to work
00:07:55with because it's so subtle there's a lot of like sugar flour butter that can overpower champagne
00:08:00that's why I really want to concentrate the flavors there we go I have never been in the bottom two
00:08:06like Ashley which gives me some confidence going into the semi-final I wish I could cake as fast as
00:08:12Ashley no more naughty versus nice there's no more teams it's just you versus everybody else now I like
00:08:20being like an independent I like baking on my own I like having an apron that isn't an ugly shade of red
00:08:26Tariq which retro Christmas dessert did you get assigned by Chase I got bread pudding with brandy
00:08:32sauce but to kind of judge it a little bit I'm soaking some dried cranberries in some brandy and
00:08:37some orange juice oh yeah then I caramelized some apples after like sauteing them I'm gonna decorate
00:08:41by making some orange vanilla shortbread cookies and then making the top look like a wreath keep going
00:08:47keep doing what you're doing dude thanks Jesse I really really want to make it to the finale at the
00:08:52very least being like a finalist twice would be pretty cool I was a runner-up on kids baking
00:08:56championship and making it to the semi-finals means I'm one step closer to redeeming myself
00:09:01yay like I made it this far you know it's just one more right just like one more and I'll be happy
00:09:07hey since you gave me something I can't taste will you taste this for me sure just like cranberry
00:09:14soaked with brandy they're brandy perfect they're boozy this bake can help one of us go straight to the
00:09:23finale I want that advantage I chose the grasshopper tort the components of a grasshopper tort are two
00:09:31layers of flourless chocolate cake and essentially like a mint flavored no bag cheesecake in the center
00:09:39it's a chocolate and mint dessert I'm making my head grasshopper tort filling this is I started this
00:09:51procedurally raw I started with the booze instead of the cream cheese which isn't going to end up
00:09:56smooth most of my tort is the filling so I just want it to be luscious smooth creamy gonna have to
00:10:02restart I make it in the correct order I add the sugar the fluff then I will add my gelatin and my
00:10:16alcohol hello hello you did it dude I'm here you've got a lot in the tank physically I don't know if
00:10:24that's the yogurt or whatever it is but dude up here that's part of your inner strength you did it I did
00:10:29so now you got to pick the retro Christmas dessert you wanted yeah and you took I took grasshopper
00:10:35tort so yeah that was interesting I think the judges have the least amount of opinion about this dessert
00:10:41how come potentially because like German chocolate cake is so love coconut cake is so classic so is
00:10:47pineapple upside down like all of these are made in restaurants all across America right grasshopper
00:10:52tort is kind of slept on so I feel like they'll come in with the least amount of bias for the cake
00:10:58so let's give you some strategy tell me about this what are you doing I'm making two layers of a
00:11:02flourless chocolate tort with a mint cream cheese mousse ganache on top I'm gonna decorate with like
00:11:09a modern take on a Christmas tree that still feels retro and peppermint marshmallows okay keep that
00:11:16mental toughness going man you're doing so good thank you so much oh that's quite green
00:11:24wrong that's too green we might have to start again for the third time there's a lot at stake
00:11:30here I need to get this right I have to stop wasting time
00:11:33you have one hour left bakers this is insanity retro Christmas desserts
00:11:46the grasshopper tort is iconically green and I have to deliver there I made a filling with forest
00:11:55green and I had to throw it out because it was too green so this is my third time and I'm over it
00:12:02third time's the charm yeah we got it oh third time's the charm I said I was gonna be just calm cool and
00:12:10collected today but clearly the universe said you did great under pressure really the grasshopper tour is
00:12:18screaming peppermint hot chocolate and that's my inspiration for this dessert I am pouring my hot
00:12:26corn syrup and sugar into my bowl and then I'm gonna whip in my gelatin to make my marshmallows I'm going
00:12:33to dye my marshmallows lightly pink give it a peppermint candy vibe oh a soak my pineapple upside down cake
00:12:47just came out of the oven and I just put a very gentle light coat of a rum syrup in there to soak in
00:12:52I think it'll just help add to that pineapple flavor and it's still gonna bleed pineapple upside
00:12:57down cake but just with a little twist oh cool we see a cake popping out this is not good the whole
00:13:06point of a pineapple upside down cake is pineapples upside down on the cake and my pineapples are in
00:13:09the pan I have to try to fix this I'll put them on top and it's like they'll never know so I am going
00:13:21to make it look like Christmas at the beach that's what a lot of my Christmases were like growing up I
00:13:27lived in Chicago so every winter we would escape to a little tropical vacation and have Christmas in
00:13:35the Sun I'm gonna plan to use the pineapple rings themselves and make them resemble kind of like
00:13:39wolf loadies I'm going to add three reindeer to represent myself and my two sisters and I will dry
00:13:46out some pineapples put them on candy cans and that's gonna resemble some poor side umbrellas we make it
00:13:51white plus brown we making life brown I am so excited to be in the semi-finals did not think I
00:13:58was gonna get here but now I'm here so he's gonna keep doing us and having a good time throughout my
00:14:02life I definitely created a narrative that if I was myself people would respond negatively to it so I
00:14:07just kind of like hid in the corner was super shy didn't talk to anyone didn't really have much
00:14:12friends in high school and coming in this competition and not having any of those narratives
00:14:17like going on in my head I'm learning me being me is something that is getting like I don't know
00:14:24respected and like giving me friends and like I don't know it just feels good right now they kind
00:14:30of look like bears but they won't forever they're gonna be reindeers full T I really think my biggest
00:14:35competition is chase I I think that he and I are similar in a lot of ways in terms of really focusing in
00:14:44on like more like classical homey type things with really good flavors so he's the one I'm keeping my
00:14:50eye on I'm adding a little bit more sugar because the coconut it's very strong on this mix and I want
00:15:00to be strong and a little bit sweet I'm making a coconut layer cake with coconut caramel and a diplomatic
00:15:09coconut cream and my country we eat a lot of coconut cake I want to represent my country I want to
00:15:16represent my culture and I want to make my mom proud hey mom this is for you I'm here to prove
00:15:25everything you've been through all over the years to raise me it's worth right now your son is on the big
00:15:34platform on this beautiful village cooking and crowd with everything that I made oh JC you're gonna
00:15:43make me cry that was so cute I love JC JC is a sweetheart he is such an incredible like decorator
00:15:49and like makes such visually pleasing things for decoration I'm taking advantage of the white of
00:15:55the coconut and I will play with white some shades of blue to create like a winter wonderland and I
00:16:04will decorate with sugar dome for my snowman Nico what's up can you please help me yes what do you need
00:16:12turn the fan on and put on top of my my ball oh it's gonna be so cool what are you guys what are you
00:16:18doing right seeing work he's pulling my sugar dome because if the sugar domes not cool properly we'll
00:16:25fell apart yeah this looks delicate so I'm just gonna back up slowly take a dinner yeah oh my god let's go
00:16:33that's the sound of Christmas I am doing some bubble ornaments this is white chocolate I added a little pink
00:16:43so it's like a beautiful pastelli champagne color all right freezer 30 minutes to go
00:16:50time to get started exciting all right bakers remember the best retro Christmas dessert is going
00:17:01to earn a major advantage in the next heat he's good to me why do you so many layers my biggest competition
00:17:09is Ashley and Chase it's different but it's good just because of track record they have the most wins
00:17:14in this arena so I'm looking out for them I haven't made a reindeer decorated cake before a little bit of
00:17:23this but the biggest risks I've taken in life have brought me the greatest rewards Ashley those antlers
00:17:31look cute I decided to make the rest of the components out of gum paste there's the decorating
00:17:38that was the moment I was scared about ten minutes left bakers
00:17:55judging we'll be one-on-one in this challenge no coffee shop looky-loos
00:18:04oh that's pretty green
00:18:09Chase where is your dessert where did it go it's in the blast chiller why is it in there
00:18:16it needs to be cold cold and the outer edges running a little bit okay well you got three minutes you
00:18:21think that's enough time I hope so careful steady hands steady hands this is me and my sisters
00:18:30chillin in the pool here it goes the sugar dome for Gian Carlos look at that I'm in the game you are in
00:18:40the game my friend ten seconds three two one times up I'm nervous about this
00:18:57all right so judges we got retro Christmas desserts
00:19:03Niko welcome back
00:19:12Christmas elf he is a little Christmas elf oh wait okay with the looks cute cute of course you know
00:19:21Nancy Fuller Cartier Brown joining us for this retro fest this pastry chef Stephanie Boswell hi hi
00:19:29nice to meet you I've seen her on Halloween baking championship unfortunately Duff is a bit under the
00:19:34weather today all right so what did chase dawn on to you a pineapple upside-down cake I took a lot
00:19:42of inspiration from a vacation that we took to Mexico growing up as kids during Christmas and this is three
00:19:49little reindeers representing myself and my two sisters chilling in the pool it's adorable I like your
00:19:56umbrella stand I do see pineapple upside-down cake and it is definitely retro but it's a little bit messy
00:20:04mm-hmm all right I'm ready to taste so I wanted to keep a real classic real retro with my pineapple
00:20:11upside-down cake so the cake itself is very traditional mm-hmm but the one addition I made to it I made a
00:20:17pineapple on glaze great sponge I love the caramelization that you got on the pineapple needs more goo
00:20:28hmm needs more rum sauce it's so good I want more that's it the first bite I ate I got a really nice
00:20:36big piece of pineapple with the cake and it was divine but the ratios for me are a little bit off
00:20:43I just wish there was like a bite of pineapple for every bite of that cake because it's so good with
00:20:48that pineapple Nico thank you thank you Charles how we doing doing well I got champagne cake it's the
00:20:58semi-finals so go big or go home so I went for five tiers just because and then I tied into the pink
00:21:04decoration it traditionally has but turned some of the champagne bubbles into ornaments to bring
00:21:09that Christmas flair pop the bubbly that's a groovy cake I love it I think it's fun I think it's very
00:21:17festive I like the bubbles I think if you would have added a little like more shimmer a little more
00:21:22luster dust or something that would have given it more of a champagne vibe yeah ready for a champagne
00:21:27campaign let's pop some cake I made a champagne sponge a champagne promo and champagne buttercream
00:21:39champagne's a tough flavor right to make come through in any kind of cooking process especially
00:21:47in baking I'm not getting a lot of champagne flavor yeah that said this is a delightful cake
00:21:53I want this on baby showers weddings it should absolutely go in your back pocket it's something
00:21:58you do all the time because this is fantastic thank you I got the champagne maybe I got all the
00:22:03champagne this is one stunning and delectable cake thank you all right Charles thanks so much
00:22:09thank you judges I don't know if I have it in the bag but I had one of the harder flavors we'll see
00:22:15if they take that into account I'm trying to stay optimistic John Carlos welcome back oh yeah
00:22:22hi hi all right so what retro Christmas dessert did you get assigned coconut cake and for the
00:22:28decoration I made a snow globe I have snow flakes around the cake the mountains in here and the tree
00:22:38such a magical winter wonderland and let's give a round of applause for your isomalt I mean that's
00:22:46tough to do and it could be a little cleaner it could be a little tighter it definitely reads
00:22:51something that's coconut and joyful in the center well we're ready to taste whenever you are John
00:22:56I made a coconut cake with a coconut caramel and a diplomatic cream
00:23:05I think I was expecting a bigger flavor profile okay I want more coconut got it this cake tastes so much
00:23:18like a dosa de leche tres leches thank you thank you tons of coconut tons of the caramel I'd get the
00:23:26diplomat cream I think this is one of the best tasting cakes you've made thus far
00:23:30chase is up chase how are we doing hi you won the last challenge I did you got to choose which
00:23:41retro Christmas dessert you wanted to make and I chose the grasshopper tort I've never seen it on a
00:23:48menu only as a pie that should have been your first should have what I dished out to people I know it
00:23:55all right I think there's a lot of things here to celebrate right we see what the mistakes are of course
00:24:00I think your marshmallows on top look beautiful and your piping work is phenomenal basically it looks
00:24:07all really great except for that filling thank you well let's see how it tastes
00:24:13it's two layers of flourless chocolate tort with a mint cream cheese mousse and mint marshmallows on top
00:24:24I get a lot of mint and I get a lot of chocolate therefore you have redeemed yourself
00:24:34to some degree to some degree this is like a retro grasshopper tort thank you that tort is like melt in
00:24:46your mouth chocolatey your mint mousse is so light and airy it's delicious yeah all right Chase thank
00:24:54you this was fun I am glad that I nailed the flavors but I wish I would have taken any of the other
00:25:02desserts Tarek welcome back okay so which dessert did Chase assign to you Chase gave me bread pudding
00:25:11with brandy sauce I went for like a little cookie wreath the cookies look adorable I love the fact
00:25:18that you've covered up sort of a very brown and beige dessert and given it a lot of life and a lot of
00:25:23color and a lot of festivity okay let's get in there Tarek let's do it I made a bread pudding with
00:25:29brandy sauce oh yeah I'll pay the 50 cents for extra gravy there's some apples some brandy cranberries
00:25:37and then a vanilla and orange shortbread cookie this is delicious I'm tasting your caramelized apples
00:25:47and I'm tasting your soaked cranberries I actually think that I could have more brandy but maybe I just
00:25:57want it to be a little thicker okay this bread pudding is bomb.com thank you it is amazing oh my gosh
00:26:06I felt like my grandma made this the cookie is sandy it's buttery definitely retro I love it
00:26:14thank you Tarek thanks so much thank you
00:26:16hi judges Ashley welcome back I had a traditional German chocolate cake for my dessert today we grew up
00:26:27having this cake so I decided to go a little bit Christmas Eve and and happy because I've been
00:26:32on team naughty this entire time by doing a reindeer face and tying in the pink because I'm the last
00:26:39female standing it's the cutest reindeer I've seen ever with the cat eyes that represent the retro I see
00:26:47German chocolate cake and I love your antlers thank you let's see how it tastes perfect the flavors are
00:26:55your traditional German chocolate coconut and pecan oh and then I also did a salted chocolate ganache layer
00:27:04on the inside as well and the cake is a old-fashioned buttermilk chocolate cake what about you Stephanie
00:27:13you know what you've done here you've ruined German chocolate cake that isn't this for me forever
00:27:24it is the classic I love the fact that you chose a vintage chocolate cake recipe too the filling is
00:27:30perfect it's amazing and you also gave us these ribbons of this beautiful salted ganache in there
00:27:36because it just dials it up that much more and makes it so moist and perfect it's absolutely fantastic
00:27:42I would do nothing differently thank you this is you showing us why you belong in the semifinal
00:27:48that was hard for you to be in the bottom and so you came back it's like no that that Ashley that
00:27:55you all saw struggle in that that's not me I have something to prove this is it you are believing in
00:28:01yourself again all right Ashley really nice work thank you I definitely feel like I have a chance now
00:28:12all right all right bakers your retro desserts really took the judges way back and the bakers who
00:28:21were tops in this challenge are Charles I'll take it I'll take this and Ashley good job you two
00:28:32ultimately though one baker bridged the past and the present beautifully and that was Ashley
00:28:41I definitely think Nana's proud I think that she is just beaming up there oh Ashley your German
00:28:49chocolate cake it was decadent and it was delicious congratulations you have earned an advantage
00:28:56oh yay and it is huge okay in the next bake which we are calling the chance heat okay it is going to be
00:29:05you versus everyone else oh crap what does this mean it's pretty great advantage right sure
00:29:19if you can manage to come out on top again you are going straight to the finale
00:29:27that's crazy you don't have to bake in a main heat you have no chance at elimination
00:29:35it's huge so all you have to do is win two bakes in a row
00:29:42no pressure I'm like nervous but also excited so bakers for our retro chance heat
00:29:52we're celebrating old-timey great anti-approved gelatin molds and all their jiggly glory
00:30:01by creating holiday desserts with a gelatin component
00:30:06I grew up eating soda gelatin salad with mayonnaise which all sounds so strange but weirdly sometimes
00:30:14works together you can make any dessert you like as long as it has a gelatin layer
00:30:19I do not like gelatin this challenge is not for me now placed all around this village our traditional
00:30:28gelatin mold flavors like lime cream cheese peach buttermilk and orange marshmallow
00:30:35okay when time starts grab one and make a dessert featuring that flavor combo
00:30:41it's ashley versus all of you and it's for a trip straight to the finale
00:30:48you got 90 minutes for this challenge and there's an advantage at stake for the main heat as well
00:30:55okay so we get and your baking time starts now
00:31:01all we gotta do is beat ashley everybody
00:31:04pineapple yogurt oh cranberry
00:31:07i got beach buttermilk gelatin gelatin gelatin when in doubt do a little bit more
00:31:13i need more i need more oh my god i'm more wow gelatin set desserts in 90 minutes you all
00:31:19that's crazy i got lime and cream cheese i'm gonna make a lime and cream cheese panna cotta
00:31:28there's gonna be two layers to the panna cotta the cream cheese panna cotta will be on the base
00:31:32the lime curd will be on the top just sat with gelatin and then i'm gonna decorate with a lime
00:31:37and almond biscotti and then i'm gonna make the chocolate pointed star panna cotta is a gelatin
00:31:44set cream i usually do this with buttermilk but i need to incorporate cream cheese so i'm just going
00:31:49to adapt my recipe i don't want it to not set up i don't want to be that guy i was that guy last round
00:31:56i can't be that guy this time that can't possibly be too much i'm looking for redemption from the
00:32:03preheat and i'm also looking to not give ashley a direct pass to the finals you need to be mindful
00:32:11to bloom it properly if you don't hydrate it enough you're going to have gummy gelatin
00:32:17that won't dissolve and there's not a lot of wiggle room in 90 minutes to adjust and fix
00:32:22i'm making my lime curd and i'm adding gelatin in i'm scared i'm coloring my curd with some green
00:32:31food coloring so i can get that retro pukey green vibe ashley is this giving lime or puke i mean it's
00:32:39giving lime what is it for i mean it's like i'm mimicking this color yeah yeah well hello there pre
00:32:45heat champion how you feeling i'm feeling great german chocolate cake redemption redemption i was
00:32:53so happy with that one well yeah it got you a really interesting advantage here because of course
00:32:58if you win this challenge straight on in straight on into the finale and i am not taking that lightly
00:33:04the self-doubt is leaving me today you're in sort of the pole position right yep and who do you
00:33:10think are your biggest challengers right now going into this charles and chase he's great at old
00:33:16school desserts like i am and then we've got fancy pants mcgee over here with his love for fine dining
00:33:23what flavor did you get for your job i got pineapple yogurt and i'm feeling really good about it i'm
00:33:28gonna do a graham cracker crust with a no-bake cheesecake and then pineapple yogurt gelée on top and then
00:33:35toasted meringue around the edge the kind of theme to it is we're going to nana's house and the wreath
00:33:44on her door is dried out it's been the longest winter ever and we're looking for summer of course
00:33:51well let's go ashley you got it appreciate you turn this marshmallow into an orange marshmallow that's
00:33:57what my card says i have never eaten a gelatin wall gelatin walls were just not a part of my household
00:34:05going up i have never seen one in real life i got assigned orange marshmallow as my flavor so i'm
00:34:14going to take it very literally i'm making an orange marshmallow and i will be putting that on top of
00:34:17a brownie and for my retro design i'm going to make it in the shape of a retro style polka dot poodle
00:34:23dress i will add a white chocolate poodle and bow and take some red and green chocolate candies to
00:34:31add some christmas polka dots that looks like a dress i'm going on holiday design championship after
00:34:36this marshmallows are so annoying they are not the nice fluffy marshmallows that i would have liked them
00:34:46to be i think there may be one or two sheets too many gelatin in here okay you're seeing none of this
00:34:55you're seeing none of this charles how we doing man we're hanging in there what did you decide to
00:35:01do i got cranberry and whipped cream i'm making a layered jelly panna cotta i have a angel food cake
00:35:08that's gonna be on the bottom and then i'm doing a vanilla bean panna cotta a blended cranberry vanilla
00:35:14panna cotta and then a cranberry jelly on top very mild scotch so we'll go heavy i want to let
00:35:22the cranberry shine in this chili by adding a lot of secondary flavors to just round out the flavor
00:35:30dude you're this close again i know to winning a challenge i know you're putting your best bakes
00:35:34together now yeah over and over and over again picking at the right time yeah sorry ashley
00:35:39if you're able to pull this one off uh yeah it's a double win i get to steal her advantage and
00:35:44hopefully get another one so i love the way you think fingers crossed just just right here
00:35:52no okay i'll get out of here don't overdo it okay thanks jesse
00:35:5745 minutes left bakers i'm just like on the struggle bus here gelatin is not my expertise
00:36:04hey everything about it it's texture is so gross i'm actually gonna cry there instead of
00:36:09you know my flavor combo is cherry sour cream i'm making a brownie with a sour cream and cherry
00:36:19gelée on it i'll add a white chocolate collar some chrome cherries and a white chocolate tree when
00:36:26i was a kid my siblings and i you had a tradition where we were to watch like retro cartoons on
00:36:31christmas morning so my inspiration is this one cartoon that's like the past thought the future
00:36:36would be like i'm gonna try to make this like very techy looking that'll do it's not a christmas
00:36:43without the christmas tree every single year you used to use a really old fake christmas tree and
00:36:51look crazy so that's my inspiration my flavor is peach and buttermilk and guess what i'm come from
00:36:59georgia my first city to live in america so this is flavors i very used to use i'm going to make a
00:37:07sablé dough in the bottom buttermilk panna cotta peach jelly chunks of peaches and a buttermilk cream
00:37:16to decorate i will make a christmas light with different colors of chocolate and a big star on the top to
00:37:24make this tree look like a real christmas tree 30 minutes left
00:37:34i think this is going to be too sad i added too much gelatin when i put my gelatin into my curd and
00:37:42put my curd into the freezer it all seized up not again this is just why i hate gelatin i cannot serve
00:37:49the judges a chunky gelatin holiday desserts with a gelatin component i don't like you at all i'm
00:38:00really trying to find the right mixture of gelatin to liquid essentially so i'm adding some more liquid
00:38:05back to this mixture in the hopes that i will reheat the gelatin disperse it and change the texture
00:38:12of the curd itself remember ashley you can skip the main heat if you win this challenge no pressure
00:38:19just hope that she fails and we prevail i don't know that's not nice i don't want you to fail but
00:38:25i also don't want to send you straight on you know that's okay i still want you to fail too
00:38:30what kind of sister would i be if i didn't want my brothers to fail fair enough
00:38:35unfortunately i think i've added so much gelatin that this is going to be bouncy and hard no matter what
00:38:40but i don't really have time to remake the curd i'm gonna have to go with it
00:38:49bakers you got 15 minutes to go now let's do it if one of you can take down ashley there's a big
00:38:54advantage waiting for you in the main heat oh yeah not the flattest cake but she's good
00:39:00i guess it kind of looks like light bulbs everything's on the line my brain is so focused
00:39:05on how can i make this the best got one gelay liar and just really kind of immerse everybody not only
00:39:12in the textures the flavors the actual retro part of it i think that my meringue is a little over whipped
00:39:20but i have to go with it 10 minutes left bakers
00:39:25oh biscottis yummy yummy
00:39:27say a prayer say a prayer say a prayer say a prayer okay not embarrassing but not great
00:39:40i need this to work it's not 100 set i have to make this tree look like a real christmas tree
00:39:49and i use the velvet spray to give me that vibe this one is for all the american grandmas i love y'all
00:39:57the biggest question is how i go from here on to platter
00:40:04slip in here yeah okay you're smart you're smart you're smart oh my god jc i love you
00:40:10me
00:40:17tark how we doing don't want to talk about it could be worse could be so much better but could be so much
00:40:25worse
00:40:27She did not set properly.
00:40:35I'm just gonna go with it.
00:40:43Two minutes left.
00:40:44Whatever I gotta do to beat Ashley,
00:40:47whatever I gotta do,
00:40:49scramble to the finish.
00:40:51Holiday desserts with a gelatin component.
00:40:54We're all kind of just like over Christmas
00:40:58and all we want is a summer picnic.
00:41:03Let's get those desserts decorated, everybody.
00:41:08It just isn't gonna be the prettiest,
00:41:09but it's gonna taste fine.
00:41:13Get it done!
00:41:14I know none of you thought this was gonna work.
00:41:17Ten seconds.
00:41:18Everybody have a crazy Christmas treat.
00:41:22Charles, how you doing down there?
00:41:25I have a good feeling.
00:41:27Time's up.
00:41:28Let's see what the judges think.
00:41:30Good job, everybody.
00:41:32I am praying I don't have to go into the main heat.
00:41:38You guys will be watching from the coffee shop
00:41:40as the judges taste.
00:41:43Decorate retro, decorate Christmas,
00:41:47and put together a story.
00:41:48Yeah.
00:41:48All in 90 minutes.
00:41:49All right, Chase, come on in.
00:41:50Oh, there it is.
00:41:51Bye, everybody.
00:41:53Good luck.
00:41:53Good luck.
00:41:54Judges, holiday desserts with a gelatin component.
00:41:57Ooh.
00:41:59Hello, judges.
00:42:00Chase, welcome back.
00:42:00Hi, Chase.
00:42:01What gelatin flavor did you get?
00:42:03I got lime and cream cheese.
00:42:05I made a cream cheese panna cotta flavored with vanilla,
00:42:09a lime curd gelatin layer on top.
00:42:11Then the deco on top is inspired by this crazy light fixture my mom has.
00:42:16And then there's an almond biscotti that's served with your panna cotta.
00:42:20This is gonna sound so weird.
00:42:21I can smell the carpet of the house that this is served in.
00:42:27You know, it's like green carpet.
00:42:29There's green everywhere.
00:42:31This is so cool, Chase.
00:42:34Retro all day holiday.
00:42:38Let's give it a taste.
00:42:41Whoa.
00:42:42Oh, whoa.
00:42:44Oh, wow.
00:42:45That is gelatinous.
00:42:46Well, I certainly get the lime.
00:42:57Mm-hmm.
00:42:58And I certainly get the cream cheese.
00:43:01But the consistency.
00:43:03You have too much gelatin.
00:43:05And it's seized.
00:43:06And it's very difficult to eat.
00:43:08Yeah.
00:43:09You know.
00:43:09I do know, yeah.
00:43:11Flavor-wise, it's spot on.
00:43:13But yes, it's overstabilized.
00:43:14Yeah.
00:43:15The biscotti, on the other hand, perfect.
00:43:18Flawless.
00:43:18I want this with all of my coffees.
00:43:22Giancarlos, good to see you again.
00:43:24What flavor did you get?
00:43:25Peaches and buttermilk.
00:43:27And I make a crazy, tacky, retro Christmas tree.
00:43:33I absolutely get Christmas.
00:43:34I just think the execution could have been a little bit tighter.
00:43:37Okay.
00:43:38All right, let's give it a taste, Giancarlos.
00:43:39I make peat chile, buttermilk panna cotta, and a buttermilk cream.
00:43:45And on the bottom, I have a sablé dough.
00:43:48Ooh.
00:43:50I love the fact that you've got these beautiful layers.
00:43:54I'm not a huge fan of the flavors or textures on this, though.
00:43:58It's all the same.
00:43:59It's a little too thick, a little too gummy, a little too much gelatin.
00:44:06That's hard.
00:44:07They are honest.
00:44:08I want your POV in your food.
00:44:10So whatever you make back home or whatever is, like, tried and true in your family, give us that.
00:44:16You've got to bring it in the main heat, okay?
00:44:18I will.
00:44:22Charles, what flavor did you get?
00:44:24My flavor was cranberry and whipped cream.
00:44:27I made a cranberry-layered panna cotta on top of angel food cake with some whipped cream.
00:44:33Vintage AF.
00:44:34I mean, this screams vintage.
00:44:37I'm excited about the consistency, the jiggle.
00:44:40Jiggle, jiggle, jiggle.
00:44:42You guys want to taste it?
00:44:44Yes.
00:44:46Oh, there's a cake at the bottom.
00:44:48I love this entire dish from start to finish.
00:44:54I want to be transported back to the 60s right now.
00:45:00Nance, how about you?
00:45:02This is exquisite.
00:45:04I mean, it's just perfect.
00:45:06The panna cotta's perfect.
00:45:07I think if you had just used something a little bit crunchy, that would be great.
00:45:11Crunchy or another texture in there.
00:45:14But I could eat this all day long.
00:45:17Charles, well done.
00:45:19Thank you, sir.
00:45:20Thank you, Charles.
00:45:21I'm feeling good.
00:45:23That was great.
00:45:24So, so retro.
00:45:26Okay.
00:45:27I'll take it.
00:45:27Good job, buddy.
00:45:28I'll take it.
00:45:29It was fabulous.
00:45:32All right, Nico, join us.
00:45:34Let's go, Nico.
00:45:35Good luck, buddy.
00:45:36Oh.
00:45:37Skip and slide.
00:45:43Hi.
00:45:43Hi.
00:45:46So, I got orange marshmallow.
00:45:49So, I took it very literally.
00:45:50I made orange marshmallow atop of a walnut brownie.
00:45:55When I heard that the challenge was retro, I wanted to go for, like, a very late 50s, early 60s-style polka dot poodle dress.
00:46:05I think that it needs some Nico oomph.
00:46:11Hud.
00:46:11This isn't making a statement.
00:46:13It's too pale, too kind of monochromatic.
00:46:17You really need to step it up.
00:46:19Let's try it.
00:46:22I feel like this is going to be a sticky mess.
00:46:25I think so, too.
00:46:30Whoa.
00:46:31Marshmallow-y.
00:46:34Nico.
00:46:36Yes, ma'am?
00:46:37Should the marshmallow...
00:46:38Yeah.
00:46:40Oh, my God, this is so cringy.
00:46:43I don't know.
00:46:43I think there might be a little too much gelatin.
00:46:50The marshmallow is quite sticky and stretchy, and I don't really get much orange.
00:46:57All right.
00:46:58Your brownie is great.
00:46:59Your marshmallow doesn't taste like much of anything.
00:47:02Okay.
00:47:03All right.
00:47:03Nico, thank you.
00:47:05We were supposed to be beating Ashley in this challenge, and a lot of us are not.
00:47:08You're not doing the job here.
00:47:11Tariq.
00:47:12So, I got sour cream and cherry, and I have a, get ready, a post-apocalyptic, retro-futuristic
00:47:22holiday dessert.
00:47:27I love where your head was at with this.
00:47:29I think it's very funny.
00:47:30It's very tongue-in-cheek.
00:47:31I think the execution could have been a little better.
00:47:34I know.
00:47:34It's a mess.
00:47:35I know.
00:47:36You know.
00:47:36You know.
00:47:36I know.
00:47:37What is it?
00:47:38There's a milk chocolate brownie, and then there's a sour cream and cherry gelée, and
00:47:43then a mascarpone cream as well.
00:47:46Ooh.
00:47:47The color is...
00:47:49It's giving zombie brain a little bit.
00:47:51Chicken liver pie.
00:47:52The gelatin didn't gel, but you get cherry, you get sour cream, and then you get that delicious
00:48:06brownie.
00:48:07I love this brownie.
00:48:09It's fantastic.
00:48:11I'm not getting a huge amount of cherry flavor from your little wobbly center.
00:48:16Tariq, have your homework in by tomorrow.
00:48:18I don't know your excuse.
00:48:24Charles, how does it feel to know how to use gelatin?
00:48:26You might be the only one.
00:48:27I think mine was a good use of gelatin.
00:48:28My years of Michelin training has really paid off.
00:48:32I'm feeling nervous.
00:48:33Until Charles, I was pretty confident that I, you know, was on the right path.
00:48:38All right, Ashley, come on in.
00:48:39Ashley.
00:48:40Good job, Ash.
00:48:40Oh, kidding.
00:48:41And now, I don't know.
00:48:44Ashley, welcome back.
00:48:46Preheat champion.
00:48:47Okay.
00:48:47So tell us what flavor you got.
00:48:49So I got pineapple yogurt, and I went back to my naughty roots a little bit because living
00:48:55in northern New Hampshire as kids, we were so sick of winter, and we just wanted those
00:49:00summer flavors.
00:49:01Pineapple, and this is just the end of the rope.
00:49:04So I did the picnic table for, like, the, hey, bring on summer.
00:49:08She can sell popsicles to a woman in white gloves.
00:49:12Bring it on.
00:49:16I love the way this looks.
00:49:17Totally get the story.
00:49:18I think this is really funny and really well executed.
00:49:21You guys want to give it a try?
00:49:22Yeah.
00:49:23Sure.
00:49:24I did a no-bake cheesecake, and then I did a pineapple yogurt gelée on top, and then
00:49:30toasted meringue around the edge.
00:49:34Ashley, if you have the best bite of the day, you can go straight into the finale.
00:49:41Yeah.
00:49:45This is good.
00:49:46Your no-bake cheesecake is excellent.
00:49:49Your crust has a nice amount of salt.
00:49:50I like that you kind of kept it natural with a crushed pineapple layer.
00:49:55This is really good, Ashley.
00:49:57Okay.
00:49:57But there's another dessert that was very good, too.
00:50:01I know exactly who you're talking about, Charles.
00:50:03Correct.
00:50:04If she wins this one, our odds go from a one in six to getting eliminated to a one in five.
00:50:10What you were selling is what is in front of us.
00:50:14It's that crushed canned pineapple texture.
00:50:17I absolutely love this.
00:50:19I think your no-bake cheesecake is amazing.
00:50:21Your meringue is a little broken.
00:50:23Okay.
00:50:24Wow.
00:50:25This pineapple, it's refreshing.
00:50:27Your textures are smooth and silky.
00:50:30You did a good job.
00:50:32You're going to make me cry again.
00:50:34Nice work.
00:50:35Thank you, Ashley.
00:50:37I think we've got a horse race.
00:50:39I think so, too.
00:50:39Bakers, well, in one of the closest challenges we've ever had, it ultimately came down to Ashley versus Charles.
00:50:52Good job, buddy.
00:50:54I'm feeling pretty confident I have to beat Ashley at some point.
00:50:58No pressure.
00:51:00And the winner of the Chance Heat is...
00:51:02All right, Bakers.
00:51:12I know we're all wondering the same thing.
00:51:16Did Ashley pull out the win to secure herself a spot in the finale and a reprieve from the main heat?
00:51:23And the winner of the Chance Heat is...
00:51:25Ashley.
00:51:35Stop.
00:51:36Congrats.
00:51:37You killed it, baby.
00:51:38I am floored.
00:51:39I didn't think that I had the top dessert.
00:51:42Good job.
00:51:45My dessert was almost perfect, so this is not easy.
00:51:49The judges just felt that Ashley put together a more realized dessert that just told a complete story.
00:51:55Oh, my God.
00:51:56I'm, like, shaking.
00:51:58This is my version of my biggest Christmas present.
00:52:02Ashley, you are now sitting pretty with a spot in the finale.
00:52:06I can't believe this.
00:52:07I have never felt so successful, and I've never felt so worthy.
00:52:13It was a very close call, and so I'm happy to be second place to Ashley again.
00:52:18Oh, and Charles, here's the thing, though.
00:52:19For being in the top two in that Chance Heat, you won a little naughty advantage for this main heat.
00:52:25I'll take it.
00:52:25Oh, yay.
00:52:26Just hold that thought for a second, though.
00:52:27Got it.
00:52:28Got it.
00:52:29What is going to be thrown our way?
00:52:33I'll be right back.
00:52:34Just excuse me, guys.
00:52:36Sorry.
00:52:36Okay.
00:52:37A little work to do.
00:52:39Man with a mission.
00:52:40What on earth are we going to do?
00:52:42Oh, my God.
00:52:43Efficiency shopper.
00:52:45He goes in, he comes straight out, code full of goodies.
00:52:47Oh, peaches, apple pie filling, cherry pie filling.
00:52:52It's all pie filling.
00:52:54We only did pie day.
00:52:56Well, bakers, we are still in retro mode.
00:52:59Clearly.
00:53:00And these are your vintage ingredients for the main heat.
00:53:03Now, if you hope to make it into the finale, you each must make a delicious and beautiful
00:53:09holiday dessert featuring one of these retro ingredients.
00:53:12Okay.
00:53:14Oh, and Charles, because you did so well in the Chance Heat, you get to assign the ingredients
00:53:19to everyone.
00:53:20Oh, ho, ho.
00:53:20Come on up here and take a look.
00:53:23Which one would you like to take for yourself first?
00:53:25I think I'm going to do mandarin oranges.
00:53:28Mandarin oranges?
00:53:30Yes.
00:53:30That's you.
00:53:31That's a good one.
00:53:32Solid one.
00:53:33How come?
00:53:34I like the citrus.
00:53:35You can play a lot with it, and I think it's the least altered.
00:53:38A lot of these fillings have a lot of stuff added to it, so.
00:53:41That's a smart choice, then.
00:53:43Okay.
00:53:43Let's start dishing out some ingredients.
00:53:45Hmm.
00:53:47Chase apple pie filling.
00:53:49Okay.
00:53:49Oh, okay.
00:53:51Hey.
00:53:52How come?
00:53:52Canned pie filling kind of can taste artificial, so I want to give him a little bit of a challenge.
00:53:56It's about time Chase had a good challenge.
00:53:59I know how to work with this.
00:54:01Nico will do chocolate pudding.
00:54:02Oh, my God.
00:54:04I've expressed to him that I'm not a huge fan of chocolate, and he gives me the only chocolate
00:54:08option.
00:54:08Hey.
00:54:09Apparently, Nico, you did not love that.
00:54:13Sorry.
00:54:13It is still a competition.
00:54:16Tark, let's do canned peaches.
00:54:19Canned peaches for my man.
00:54:22I think it's going to be sweet, not super flavorful.
00:54:25He might struggle with that.
00:54:27And we'll do pineapple for Giancarlos.
00:54:32I love it.
00:54:33Thanks, Charles.
00:54:34Okay.
00:54:34Back in line with you, Charles.
00:54:36I don't think it's going to really be easy for any of us.
00:54:39Man, Ashley, it must feel nice.
00:54:40It kind of does.
00:54:41I'm not going to lie.
00:54:43All right, guys.
00:54:44This is it.
00:54:45Unfortunately, one baker is going to be leaving the Holiday Village for good, just
00:54:49short of the finale.
00:54:50Ashley, this is the biggest one yet.
00:54:53You all have two and a half hours to make any kind of holiday dessert you want.
00:55:00You just have to use your retro ingredient.
00:55:02And this is for a spot in the finale.
00:55:06And your baking time starts now.
00:55:09Ashley, you can go hang out in Jingle Java.
00:55:12Ha, ha, ha.
00:55:12Oh, yes.
00:55:16Okay, we're going shopping.
00:55:18Shopping, shopping.
00:55:19No.
00:55:20Oh, my God.
00:55:20It's like Black Friday.
00:55:22How many do I really need?
00:55:23Okay, I don't think I need any more than that.
00:55:24I'm taking them all.
00:55:25I'm going to help you today.
00:55:26I'm going to be your little helper.
00:55:28And I'm going to take a iced peppermint mocha.
00:55:32So excited.
00:55:34Okay, I think we have enough instant pudding.
00:55:36I so badly want to do well here.
00:55:39I desperately want to be in the finale.
00:55:43This one is the most important challenge we've had so far because it's literally do good or don't be in the finale.
00:55:51Stakes are huge.
00:55:52The judges really want me to tap back into Nico.
00:55:55I'm going to make flavors that I like.
00:55:58I'm going to have it be inspired by my family.
00:56:00And I'm going to do a little silly goofy with it.
00:56:03My retro ingredient today is an instant pudding mix.
00:56:08I'm going to make layers of a hazelnut and milk chocolate sponge.
00:56:11I'm going to be using the chocolate pudding as a filling as well as a hazelnut for 18 crunch layer.
00:56:17A pale coulis with fresh pails folded in to give two textures of pail.
00:56:22Hi, guys.
00:56:23Hey.
00:56:24I will be taking your coffee order for today.
00:56:28What can I get for you?
00:56:28I would love a nice Americano.
00:56:30You got it.
00:56:32I want to pay tribute to this classic holiday song, 12 Days of Christmas, and the most famous line from it being partridge in a pear tree.
00:56:40I'm so over everyone thinking holiday just means red and green.
00:56:45My plan is to decorate it to kind of look like a log.
00:56:47I'm going to carve into it to resemble the logs of a tree.
00:56:51I'm going to be making a chocolate ganache frosting.
00:56:53I will be putting a modeling chocolate partridge on top.
00:56:56So I remember growing up, and whenever I visited my safta, which is grandma in Hebrew, back in Israel, there was a pear tree in her backyard.
00:57:05I would always want to pick them, and she would be like, no, they're not ripe yet.
00:57:08It's too early.
00:57:08And I would just try to take them anyway.
00:57:10So I'm drawing a lot of inspiration for my safta today.
00:57:12Ow.
00:57:12Jeez, that was hot.
00:57:16Let's play around with this pudding.
00:57:18All right, holiday bakers, be sure the judges taste your assigned ingredient in the dessert.
00:57:32Oh my god, this tastes so bad.
00:57:36Why is it so grainy?
00:57:38It tastes really artificial.
00:57:40It tastes like fake chocolate.
00:57:41I am worried about the judges just hating, like, the texture and mouthfeel of this.
00:57:47I'm going to have to doctor this off by putting some chocolate hazelnut spread.
00:57:52And in the meanwhile, I'm going to curse out Charles.
00:57:55I can handle it.
00:57:58I had a little bit of strategy handing it out.
00:58:01A lot of these bakers do come forward with the flavors, and I'm hoping they might overdo it a little bit and end up covering up these retro foods.
00:58:08Charles, you suck.
00:58:10Damn.
00:58:11Naughty team's over, apparently.
00:58:13There's no other option.
00:58:15I need to be in that finale, and I think I can do it.
00:58:19I chose mandarin oranges because I just love citrus.
00:58:23I haven't done much citrus in this competition yet, so I wanted to do something different for the judges.
00:58:28I ate them a lot as a kid.
00:58:32Tastes like my childhood.
00:58:35I am making a speculose cookie crust mandarin spiced cheesecake.
00:58:39I'm going to make a mandarin jelly on top.
00:58:41I'm going to decorate it with a gum paste figurine, and I'm going to do a whipped sour cream as the snow.
00:58:48It's a little self-portrait of me learning to ski for the first time.
00:58:52I am torching my cream cheese because it's from the fridge.
00:58:56I just want to make sure it's super smooth and no lumps.
00:58:59My perfectionism comes from my parents.
00:59:02Sorry, Mom and Dad.
00:59:03My mom was in the medical field before she had kids.
00:59:06My dad's a structural engineer, and they're both pretty type A.
00:59:10I think I have gone even further than what they are.
00:59:13That molded me into the person I am now, which I think benefits me.
00:59:18I love the pairing of citrus with cream cheese.
00:59:21It's that fatty, rich texture, and the acidity from citrus really brightens it up.
00:59:26And then batter in.
00:59:28I want to get this cheesecake in the oven so I have time to decorate.
00:59:30All right, so that's the cappuccino.
00:59:36Yep.
00:59:37All right, JC, here's your iced cap.
00:59:41I got canned pineapples.
00:59:45Pineapple is a big thing in Brazil.
00:59:48I grew up eating canned pineapples because it was more cheap.
00:59:52I like the texture, the flavor, the fake flavor.
00:59:56It's really good.
00:59:57I'm making today a pineapple tart.
01:00:03My tart will be a layer of sablé dough, pineapple curd, cherry gelée, and the flambé pineapples on the top.
01:00:11To decorate, I'm making mascarpone mousse reindeer.
01:00:16I need to be on the finale.
01:00:18When I start watching this show, it changed my life drastically.
01:00:23I start having dreams.
01:00:26I want to be a pastry chef.
01:00:27I will work hard for that.
01:00:29And here I am in the village today.
01:00:32I came with a purpose.
01:00:34I want to be the first Brazilian to win this show.
01:00:37Imagine how important this is.
01:00:38Every Sunday, my mom makes a really interesting dessert with canned pineapples.
01:00:46It needs to be the canned pineapples and the really cheap cherries on the top.
01:00:52That dessert was my inspiration.
01:00:55It's been naughty versus nice, but now it's every baker for themselves.
01:00:59Hop behind.
01:01:00All right.
01:01:04Let's get this going.
01:01:06Life or death, baby.
01:01:07This is make it to the finale or don't.
01:01:10I got apple pie filling.
01:01:14I grew up eating this kind of apple pie.
01:01:17So it is nostalgic.
01:01:18I just want to make sure that I deliver on a better flavor.
01:01:22I mean, they're just so thick and sweet in a way that doesn't make the adult chase happy.
01:01:27It makes the little kid happy.
01:01:29So I want to meet right in the middle of that.
01:01:32It's not an easy challenge.
01:01:33You have to be very considerate with how you maintain the integrity of your ingredient.
01:01:38I don't want to stray too far from apple pie, but I have made plenty of pies in this competition.
01:01:44And I would like to give my go at a tart.
01:01:48I am inspired by my grandma's retro starburst-y ornaments that were red and green.
01:01:54I am making an apple crumb tart with brown butter pecan streusel and pecan praline.
01:02:00To decorate, I am adding whipped cream with some retro ornaments.
01:02:04I am making my pie filling.
01:02:07And then we will add the rest of the pie filling so it will be starchy and bubbly in the oven.
01:02:14Kind of like the iconic American apple pie, you know?
01:02:19One hour left.
01:02:24You know, it's weird to just sit here while I just watch the boys battle it out.
01:02:36For my hazelnut chocolate cake, I'm going to floss it with a chocolate ganache.
01:02:40Nico, are you okay?
01:02:42Nope.
01:02:44This ganache is not cool enough.
01:02:46It's not going to whip.
01:02:48Okay.
01:02:49It needs more time to chill, and I don't have more time.
01:02:52That was going to be my frosting, and now I just don't have a frosting, and I just need
01:02:56to assemble a cake.
01:02:57I don't like when things don't go according to plan.
01:02:59I'm feeling very stressed right now.
01:03:01Just...
01:03:01It's over.
01:03:03I'm done.
01:03:10I just need a frosting.
01:03:11If I don't have a frosting, I don't have a cake.
01:03:13Remember, bakers, this is your last chance to get into the finale.
01:03:15Everything is fine.
01:03:21Everything is fine.
01:03:24I need to pivot.
01:03:25I can fix this.
01:03:29I am just making a new frosting.
01:03:32This was not the original plan.
01:03:34The original plan was just the ganache itself being the frosting.
01:03:37This should be okay.
01:03:3945 minutes to go.
01:03:40You are making holiday desserts using your assigned retro ingredient.
01:03:47I'm just making a quick cream cheese bottle, cream chocolate.
01:03:52I was assigned canned peaches.
01:03:54They're not that bad, and once you get rid of the syrup, you can really do anything you
01:03:58want with them.
01:03:59Every year at my grandparents' house, we have, like, a big Christmas party, and I do,
01:04:02like, a showstopper dessert.
01:04:03And a couple years in there, I've made almond and white cake desserts, and they were fabulous.
01:04:11I'm going to make a white cake with a very decadent, spiced, beech pie filling in the
01:04:15middle, some candied almonds, then almond, swiss brewing buttercream, and I'm going to
01:04:18decorate it with Christmas trees, some, like, nice holiday colors.
01:04:21After the chance heat, I'm really going to focus on my decorations because it was such
01:04:26a hot mess, and I kind of want to redeem myself and do something, like, very elegant,
01:04:30very pretty, and very holiday.
01:04:32Tarek, you're one bake away from going to the finals of the Holiday Baking Championship.
01:04:37So what would you do with 25,000 bucks?
01:04:39Step one is getting through college first.
01:04:41So Yale's not cheap, is what you're saying?
01:04:44No, definitely not.
01:04:45Flavors we always know you got.
01:04:46The decorating, though, is the X Factor.
01:04:49This one has to be good.
01:04:50That's why I chose a cake.
01:04:51Yeah.
01:04:51But I can usually do good cake.
01:04:52I hope this is the one, man.
01:04:54Good luck, Tarek.
01:04:55Thanks, Jesse.
01:04:59Oh, that's so good.
01:05:01God, I love clove and mandarin.
01:05:03Hey, Ashley, come join me over here.
01:05:05You got a bunch of free time on your hands.
01:05:08This is so strange.
01:05:10It's like the battle of the boys today.
01:05:11It is.
01:05:12It really is.
01:05:13You know, Charles, I was shocked you chose mandarin.
01:05:15I was, too.
01:05:16This is my jelly layer on top.
01:05:17That's a pretty unique flavor.
01:05:20I know.
01:05:21I need this thing to cool down or my jelly won't set up.
01:05:24It's a little bit of a gamble.
01:05:25This is gum paste.
01:05:28So now I'm going to work on all my decorations.
01:05:32When we were old enough to sign up for little kid ski lessons, my parents put us in there.
01:05:37And I just, like, jetted straight down the mountain.
01:05:42I want it to look perfect.
01:05:45So shaky.
01:05:46There's a lot of pressure.
01:05:48They're crushing it.
01:05:48It's awfully quiet.
01:05:50I hope you're doing all right, Charles.
01:05:52We'll see.
01:05:55Judges have told me continuously to work on my textures.
01:05:58Not my flavors, my textures.
01:06:01So I need to make something to give this tart more texture.
01:06:07I want to make a praline layer to go on top of my pie.
01:06:12That definitely brings it to life.
01:06:14Baker's 30 minutes.
01:06:16They will not miss out on the peaches here.
01:06:18Very, very retro.
01:06:20I am making my ornaments.
01:06:24Or at least trying to.
01:06:26Look how cute these are.
01:06:29And now we put some of this bad boy.
01:06:33I'm dipping my mascarpone mousse for my reindeers.
01:06:38That will be part of my decoration.
01:06:42I hope I still have my eyebrows.
01:06:44And I'm flambéing the pineapples with rum.
01:06:51When everything is ready, I put the pineapple curds on the tart shell.
01:06:56And I'm adding my cherry jelly.
01:06:58And on top of that, my pineapple flambé.
01:07:02I feel confident using a palette knife to paint on my cake because you can get some good texture with the frosting and it's not super hard to mess up.
01:07:13And I've done this before.
01:07:15Now I'm just getting a base layer just to cover everything and then I'm going to logify it.
01:07:24Why did I do a gelatin dessert again?
01:07:26Oh, boy.
01:07:31All right.
01:07:36Charles, how was the transfer?
01:07:39A little rough.
01:07:4015 minutes left.
01:07:42Okay, we got 15 minutes.
01:07:43Let's try to make it pretty.
01:07:46I do two strokes of my palette knife and a little red candy to look like holly.
01:07:51It's time for me to turn this cake into a tree trunk.
01:07:59I take a fork and I give it some, like, wooden texture on the side of the cake.
01:08:04This is the last chance to get to the finale so the heat is on.
01:08:10Nico, how we doing?
01:08:12Better than we were 30 minutes ago.
01:08:15What are you making?
01:08:16Making it from a blob into a bird.
01:08:19Two minutes left.
01:08:22I have to be very delicate in my decorations.
01:08:24They're not too bulky because it can sink into the cheesecake.
01:08:28They can fall over.
01:08:29I try to make them thin and delicate so they have a good chance of staying upright.
01:08:35I'm placing my ornaments very carefully, very meticulously with my designer's eye.
01:08:42Unfortunately, one baker is going to be leaving the holiday village for good.
01:08:45Three, two, one.
01:08:52That is it.
01:08:53Let's find out who makes it into the finale.
01:08:57Oh, man.
01:08:58Good job, everybody.
01:08:59I feel all right.
01:09:04I was planning to have a lot more time for decoration.
01:09:07And I just feel like I didn't get all the decor on there that I wanted to.
01:09:11Oh, boy.
01:09:15Oh, boy.
01:09:16Okay, you all.
01:09:17How's everyone feeling?
01:09:19I feel okay.
01:09:20I feel nervous.
01:09:21Yeah, there's a lot riding on this bake.
01:09:23No matter what, even if you feel good about your dessert, it's still like, ugh.
01:09:27Yeah, I feel good.
01:09:31Charles, come on in.
01:09:34Hello, judges.
01:09:35Hi, Charles.
01:09:36Charles, good to see you.
01:09:37Charles won the advantage in the chance seat, and in doing so, he got to choose his retro flavor
01:09:43and also assign the other retro flavors to the other bakers.
01:09:47So, the flavor he chose is...
01:09:50Mandarin oranges.
01:09:51I made a mandarin spiced cheesecake with mandarin jelly and a whipped sour cream.
01:09:58So, this is a little cartoon representation of myself as a six-year-old learning to ski.
01:10:02I like to french fry more than I pizzaed, so I flew down the mountain in a reckless fashion.
01:10:08I had to just tie in that knotty flair.
01:10:10It's adorable.
01:10:11This is the most decorative cheesecake I've ever seen.
01:10:15I love the incorporation of the trees, and I love that you can see the mandarin oranges on top.
01:10:20I will french fry those slices over here.
01:10:23Kudos to him for being able to do a cheesecake in that time frame.
01:10:27Mm-hmm.
01:10:28Yeah, I did it in round two.
01:10:34All right.
01:10:35He's shaking like crazy.
01:10:36My nerves are all over the place.
01:10:38Okay.
01:10:40There we go.
01:10:45I'm trying to pretend that I'm a lady.
01:10:47I love the way you all eat on the back of your fork.
01:10:51It's so classy.
01:10:53How do you eat?
01:10:54Regular.
01:10:55Oh, where?
01:11:01Mandarin oranges have arrived.
01:11:05The mandarin orange on top with the gelée is so brilliant.
01:11:09Did you put the mandarin oranges in the cheesecake batter as well?
01:11:12There's some zest in there.
01:11:13Zest.
01:11:13Okay, but there's a grittiness about the cheesecake batter.
01:11:17Texture-wise, something happened.
01:11:20You've given us all of these warm spices and the speculose crust instead of just a regular graham cracker.
01:11:25Every choice you've made here is smart.
01:11:27Like, reincorporating orange zest into your cheesecake batter, so that way we're not just getting this single-note artificial mandarin orange.
01:11:34I think it's fantastic.
01:11:36Charles, thank you so much.
01:11:38I thought this was delicious.
01:11:39The texture of the cheesecake, it's gritty.
01:11:42I didn't get it.
01:11:43I think it's a hair overbaked.
01:11:46But I could eat the crust by itself.
01:11:48I love this.
01:11:50Tara, come on in.
01:11:51Let's do it.
01:11:52Good luck, buddy.
01:11:53Good luck.
01:11:55So which retro ingredient were you assigned?
01:11:57Canned peaches.
01:11:58So for my decor, I really try to put in the holiday spirit with my very white, snowy cake with, like, palette knife Christmas trees as well.
01:12:06I am so impressed with the delicacy with which you created this beautiful holiday canned peach dessert.
01:12:18This is what I mean when I say you listen.
01:12:21You took the feedback that we gave you in the previous round, and you said, that was not my best work, and I'm going to show the judges my best work.
01:12:30And here it is.
01:12:32This is why, at 19 years old, you are here competing against people that are probably 10, 15 years your senior.
01:12:39Aw.
01:12:4020.
01:12:41Hopefully.
01:12:43But the trees are beautiful.
01:12:45I need more of those.
01:12:46Noted.
01:12:47All right.
01:12:48Let's slice it up.
01:12:49All right.
01:12:51I decided to make a white cake.
01:12:53Ooh.
01:12:54Oh.
01:12:55Yes.
01:12:56With a, like, spiced peach pie filling, some candied almonds, and then a Swiss meringue buttercream.
01:13:03I love this.
01:13:04I think this is canned peaches.
01:13:06You ticked that box.
01:13:07Your cake was ever so slightly overbaked, just because I'm seeing a little extra caramelization around the outside, and it's beautifully baked on the inside.
01:13:16Okay.
01:13:17I love the texture that you got with the almonds in there.
01:13:20You elevated it.
01:13:22I think it's gorgeous.
01:13:24This cake is delicious.
01:13:26And those peaches came right out of the can.
01:13:35And your little crunch, perfect amount.
01:13:39All right, Tarek.
01:13:40Thanks so much.
01:13:41Thank you, Tarek.
01:13:42Oh, man.
01:13:44I think he hit the nail on the head.
01:13:47That was pretty good.
01:13:48I taste his newfound confidence.
01:13:52How do you feel?
01:13:53I feel good.
01:13:56Giancarlos, welcome back.
01:13:57Oh, yay.
01:13:57Hi, Giancarlos.
01:13:58Hi, hi, hi.
01:13:59Which retro flavor were you assigned?
01:14:02I got canned pineapples.
01:14:04What did you make?
01:14:05And I make a pineapple tart with cherry.
01:14:11The decoration on the top, I use the deers because I think it's very Christmas.
01:14:16I think this is super successful.
01:14:18I love the little reindeer party that you have going on.
01:14:21I think it's smart and effective use of those molds.
01:14:24All right, let's give it a taste, Giancarlos.
01:14:27The first layer of my tart is pineapple curd, second layer cherry gelée, and I have flambe pineapples.
01:14:38And my cutie reindeers is a mascarpone mousse.
01:14:44Mm, that reindeer is delicious.
01:14:47I get canned pineapple on top.
01:14:50The crust is pretty good.
01:14:51It's a little blonde at the bottom, but your edge is successful.
01:14:55Your curd is a little too set up.
01:14:58It might have been too much gelatin because it's too rubbery.
01:15:01I understand.
01:15:03I got your pineapple right out of the gate, and your reindeer is wonderful.
01:15:08Oh.
01:15:09But the jam was a little too sweet.
01:15:13Giancarlos, thank you.
01:15:15Thank you, Giancarlos.
01:15:15Bye.
01:15:16We are in the semifinals, and you attempt another custard or something that requires gelatin, and then you do the same mistake again.
01:15:26Have you earned your spot in the final if you're repeating the same mistakes?
01:15:29All right, Chase.
01:15:37Hi, Judges.
01:15:38Hi.
01:15:38Arts, what retro flavor were you assigned?
01:15:40Apple pie filling.
01:15:42I'm inspired by the old school ornaments, and they always have this funny star shape on them.
01:15:48Mm-hmm.
01:15:48The decor reminds me of sort of old school Vegas.
01:15:52Mm-hmm.
01:15:52I love the fact that you took this St. Honoré tip and did this sort of ribbon pattern.
01:15:57I think it's great.
01:15:59I can't wait to try whenever you're ready, Chase.
01:16:01I made an apple crumb tart with a brown butter pecan crumb and pecan praline.
01:16:39Something so simple has so much flavor and texture and character.
01:16:45This is canned apple pie filling in the most beautiful way possible.
01:16:50Chase, nice work.
01:16:51I appreciate it.
01:16:52Thank you, Chase.
01:16:52Walk away before you get more compliments.
01:16:54Run.
01:16:55You wanted more spice, really?
01:16:57The cream was heavier than the pie for me.
01:17:01Well, decent people can disagree.
01:17:03That's right.
01:17:05All right, Nico, come on in.
01:17:07Bye.
01:17:07Good luck.
01:17:08Just in case.
01:17:14I get it.
01:17:14Just in case.
01:17:15Yeah, you know.
01:17:17All right, Nico, welcome back.
01:17:19So I was assigned instant chocolate pudding.
01:17:22And what did you make?
01:17:23So I present to you what I call a partridge in a pear tree.
01:17:26Real story.
01:17:27My grandma in Israel, she has been living in the same house for 79 years now.
01:17:32And there was actually a pear tree in her backyard.
01:17:35And I really wanted to honor her with this dessert.
01:17:37And then, obviously, in the 12 days of Christmas, the partridge in a pear tree.
01:17:43I get the partridge in a pear tree nod.
01:17:45I love that.
01:17:46Your stomp isn't bad, but it could be cleaner.
01:17:49Yeah.
01:17:49Whenever you're ready.
01:17:50So it is layers of milk chocolate and hazelnut sponge.
01:17:55Inside, there is a hazelnut fruit in crunch layer.
01:18:01The chocolate instant pudding, I lightened it up a little bit.
01:18:05And I folded in some hazelnut and chocolate paste.
01:18:07And then there's also a pear coulis that I made.
01:18:12It is a wonderful cake.
01:18:13I would eat it all day.
01:18:14The texture, the layers of flavor are gorgeous.
01:18:18You've elevated it so much, though, that now it is no longer chocolate pudding.
01:18:24Chocolate pudding has left the chat.
01:18:25Yeah.
01:18:26Okay.
01:18:26I hear that.
01:18:26And I think all of that elevation has also left the pears behind a little bit.
01:18:31It's practically all hazelnut.
01:18:33Mm-hmm.
01:18:34No chocolate pudding.
01:18:35I definitely get the pudding.
01:18:37More so when I take it apart.
01:18:39I love this bite of food.
01:18:41Yeah.
01:18:43All right, Nico, thank you.
01:18:45Thank you, Nico.
01:18:47It tastes like hazelnut spread.
01:18:49Yeah.
01:18:50Okay, Nico, how do you feel?
01:18:51I don't know.
01:18:52I don't know.
01:18:53It's not good.
01:18:54They didn't get chocolate pudding, which, like, I altered it because I thought it was
01:18:57really gross.
01:18:58I guess it just didn't meet the challenge.
01:19:00So, I don't know.
01:19:03Bakers, for your first outing without your team, you all really can be proud of what you
01:19:08did, especially you, Ashley, because you're showing in the chanty, you've moved directly
01:19:13to the finale.
01:19:14Now, as for the main heat retro ingredient challenge, two of you hit a very nostalgic
01:19:20chord with our judges.
01:19:24Charles.
01:19:25Yay.
01:19:28When I heard my name, it was, like, this huge relief.
01:19:31You chose mandarin oranges, and they served you well.
01:19:38And?
01:19:39Good luck, you guys.
01:19:42Tarek.
01:19:42How many years ago were you eating canned peaches in a cafeteria?
01:19:51Three?
01:19:52Like, less than one.
01:19:53Well, your familiarity with them showed.
01:19:56Good job, Tarek.
01:19:58But only one baker's retro ingredient dessert brought it all together.
01:20:03And that baker is...
01:20:07Tarek!
01:20:08I was so surprised that Charles didn't beat me.
01:20:16Really?
01:20:17Good job, buddy.
01:20:18Yeah!
01:20:18Really!
01:20:19I'm so proud of myself, because I totally redeemed myself from the gelatin-based dessert
01:20:25challenge.
01:20:26Congrats!
01:20:28This is such, like, a good confidence boost for me.
01:20:30You are joining Ashley in the finale.
01:20:33That's a big deal.
01:20:36Charles.
01:20:39I'm at number two again.
01:20:41Your top two placement landed you a spot in the finale.
01:20:48And another baker also did well enough to join you.
01:20:56Chase.
01:20:59Congratulations.
01:21:02Okay.
01:21:04That obviously leaves Giancarlos and Nico.
01:21:06Please step forward, guys.
01:21:07I would be devastated if I went home right now.
01:21:14To be so close to the finale and to go home now would be heartbreaking.
01:21:20Giancarlos, the pineapple curd in your tart was over-sucked.
01:21:26And the jam was a little too sweet.
01:21:29Nico, the hazelnut overwhelmed your chocolate pudding flavor.
01:21:33You both had a rough day today.
01:21:37But unfortunately, the baker leaving us today is...
01:21:42Giancarlos.
01:21:56Oh, my God.
01:21:57Amazing.
01:22:01Amazing.
01:22:02I don't have words.
01:22:05It's not just because I don't speak English properly,
01:22:07but I really don't have words to measure how proud I am about my journey.
01:22:13I just want to say one thing.
01:22:15Never stop making this show.
01:22:18Because I used to be a little boy in Brazil with no hope, no dreams.
01:22:25I changed my life.
01:22:28I have a career.
01:22:29I worked so hard.
01:22:30Being in this village, it's my lifetime dream.
01:22:36Thank you so much.
01:22:37This means a lot to me.
01:22:39I will never forget.
01:22:41For real.
01:22:42I need a family hug, please.
01:22:45I'm really going to miss Giancarlos.
01:22:47He brought so much fun energy and good aura into the kitchen.
01:22:50Heal this.
01:22:51Heal this.
01:22:52Love you.
01:22:53Bye.
01:22:54Bye.
01:22:55Bye, village.
01:22:56I love you.
01:22:57This experience was great for me.
01:23:03You're welcome.
01:23:03Thank you so much.
01:23:08Bye.
01:23:10This is a big moment.
01:23:12You are the final five.
01:23:17I am stoked that I am making it into the finale.
01:23:22I am really, really happy and proud of myself.
01:23:25Because if you thought today was tough,
01:23:28we'll just wait until you see what we've got in store for you.
01:23:32You may exit the kitchen.
01:23:33Great job, everyone.
01:23:35Thank you so much.
01:23:36Next on Holiday Baking Championship,
01:23:38it's finale time in the Holiday Village.
01:23:41In a Holiday Baking First,
01:23:43the bakers trade time for ingredients.
01:23:47And Naughty and Nice come together in the biggest bake of all.
01:23:51And the Holiday Baking Champion is...
Be the first to comment