Holiday Baking Championship S12E07

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00:00:00Previously on Holiday Baking Championship...

00:00:04Chris Mika filled the village with sweets.

00:00:06Repeat after me. Rogalach.

00:00:08You have to make a real nasty...

00:00:09Rogalach.

00:00:10Rogalach.

00:00:11The judges tasted blind.

00:00:13Beautiful work.

00:00:15Oh, yeah. So tender.

00:00:17I think it's the best doughnut on the table.

00:00:19And the nice team, down to only two bakers,

00:00:22saw a much-needed win.

00:00:24Chase.

00:00:25I have to give you the...

00:00:26There's no filling.

00:00:30But for Alex from the naughty team,

00:00:32it was a tearful goodbye.

00:00:34Alex.

00:00:35I love you.

00:00:36Thank you, guys.

00:00:38I love you.

00:00:47Yeah, we made it.

00:00:48I'm on the top six.

00:00:50I made it.

00:00:52Oh!

00:00:54Okay, Spiffy.

00:00:56Okay.

00:00:57Welcome to the semifinal,

00:00:58Naughty and Nice Bakers.

00:01:02And guess what?

00:01:03What?

00:01:04That's the last time I'm gonna be saying that.

00:01:07Because as of this moment,

00:01:09no more teams.

00:01:11Oh!

00:01:12You're on your own now,

00:01:13from here on out.

00:01:14Okay.

00:01:15Thank your former teammates

00:01:16for helping you get this far.

00:01:19Thank you, thank you, thank you.

00:01:21Bring it in, buddy.

00:01:22I'm gonna miss being naughty.

00:01:23I don't know.

00:01:24I enjoyed being naughty.

00:01:25I thought it was a really fun theme to play into.

00:01:27But I'm excited to represent myself.

00:01:29Okay, bet, bet.

00:01:30Okay.

00:01:31It's time to grab your new aprons

00:01:33right in that basket.

00:01:34Go ahead, help yourselves.

00:01:35I'm so excited.

00:01:36Excited for my new apron,

00:01:38my new baking identity,

00:01:39that everything I do,

00:01:40I'm doing it.

00:01:42Wow.

00:01:43Smells like semifinals.

00:01:45All right, so bakers,

00:01:46for this preheat.

00:01:47Preheat?

00:01:48Uh-oh.

00:01:49And that's right,

00:01:50I said preheat.

00:01:51Oh, yay!

00:01:54We are going vintage today

00:01:55in the semifinal,

00:01:56and we want you to put a Christmas spin

00:01:59on some old-fashioned desserts.

00:02:01Now, of course,

00:02:02the judges want you to create

00:02:03the actual vintage desserts,

00:02:05and then decorate it for the holidays.

00:02:07Love it.

00:02:08So, the person who won the last challenge,

00:02:11Chase, you get the naughty advantage.

00:02:14Naughty advantage?

00:02:16Oh, God.

00:02:17You may choose your own dessert,

00:02:19and also assign desserts

00:02:21to the rest of our bakers.

00:02:23Remember?

00:02:24Oh, boy.

00:02:25Oh, no.

00:02:26So, Chase, come on up.

00:02:28You have all the power.

00:02:30I want to choose what I think

00:02:32the judges have the least opinion

00:02:34or experience with.

00:02:36I'm going to go grasshopper tort.

00:02:39Wow.

00:02:41Okay.

00:02:42Now comes the fun part.

00:02:43Oh.

00:02:44I'm going to start with Giancarlo.

00:02:46Yes.

00:02:47Coconut cake.

00:02:48Coconut cake for his old nice teammate.

00:02:51Ooh.

00:02:52Who's getting the champagne cake?

00:02:53Charles.

00:02:54Okay.

00:02:55Charles and champagne cake.

00:02:56All right.

00:02:57He needs some bubbles in his life.

00:02:59He knew he was giving me

00:03:00one of the harder ones.

00:03:01It's a very delicate flavor.

00:03:02Next, pineapple upside down.

00:03:04It's going to go to Nico.

00:03:07He always flips me on my head laughing.

00:03:09So.

00:03:10I'll take it.

00:03:11Bread pudding with brandy sauce.

00:03:13Ooh.

00:03:14To Tarek.

00:03:15Thought it might throw him off.

00:03:17Can't wait.

00:03:18All right.

00:03:19I guess that means Ashley.

00:03:20German chocolate.

00:03:22I know you've been dying to make the cake.

00:03:24I have been.

00:03:25This is a very sacred family recipe.

00:03:27I love you.

00:03:29Can we trade?

00:03:30That was so nice of you.

00:03:32I'm going to cry, actually.

00:03:33One little comment.

00:03:34Ashley, why are you getting emotional?

00:03:36I just, I didn't think I was going to get here.

00:03:41And I'm grateful.

00:03:44It's like my five brothers all over again.

00:03:47You deserve to be here.

00:03:49Thanks.

00:03:50We are really cranking up the difficulty factor here.

00:03:53We've got three different challenges today.

00:03:58We missed the preheats, but we didn't need three heats.

00:04:02Now I'm really going to cry.

00:04:04You've got a preheat, a chance heat, and of course, the main heat.

00:04:10And there is an enormously important advantage for the winner of this preheat.

00:04:15It's so huge that it could send one of you straight to the finale.

00:04:22Gag.

00:04:26All right, bakers.

00:04:27You've got two and a half hours.

00:04:29And your baking time starts now.

00:04:32Let's do it.

00:04:38To the pineapple.

00:04:45I'm so excited to be in the semifinals.

00:04:47I didn't think that I would get here, and I'm making it to the finale.

00:04:51There's no question about it.

00:04:53I'm making it.

00:04:54I'm getting there.

00:04:55I got German chocolate, which is actually a family favorite.

00:05:00So my grandmother made German chocolate cake a lot when we were kids because she was German.

00:05:05And a lot of people don't know that it's not from Germany, but it's actually from Dallas, Texas.

00:05:10And so it's a little full circle for me now living there.

00:05:14German chocolate cake is made with kind of like a custard with toasted coconut and pecans, evaporated milk and egg yolks.

00:05:21It's really rich and creamy, and that's the filling in between like an old-fashioned buttermilk cake.

00:05:27I'm making a German chocolate cake with a salted ganache.

00:05:30I'm going to keep it still traditional, and I'm going to make rich chocolate frosting and then make sure that the top still has the coconut filling on top.

00:05:38And I'm going to do a reindeer face, coating chocolate antlers, and then I'm going to do some beautiful eyelash eyes and pink ears, bows, and a nose.

00:05:47All girly to tie in the fact that I'm the last girl in the competition.

00:05:52Ashley, how are we doing?

00:05:53Hi, Jesse.

00:05:54Man, that was a close one.

00:05:55Yeah.

00:05:56That leaves Alex and Ashley.

00:05:58Please step forward, you two.

00:06:02How did it feel to be standing there in the bottom two?

00:06:04Unreal, actually.

00:06:05I could see it on your face.

00:06:06Yeah.

00:06:07I don't think you didn't really enjoy that.

00:06:09I didn't at all, actually.

00:06:10No.

00:06:11And it's, you know, the mindset has to change.

00:06:14Last challenge, I was in the bottom two, and it's now my time to shine.

00:06:19German chocolate cake is one of those cakes that brings fond memories.

00:06:23And I have a parent that deals with bipolar disorder.

00:06:26So holidays were kind of rough.

00:06:28Yeah, yeah.

00:06:29So this is the good memories of the holidays.

00:06:31Wow.

00:06:32Yep.

00:06:33You're the only female baker left, by the way.

00:06:35I know.

00:06:36It's like me and my five brothers.

00:06:37This feels very familiar.

00:06:38Right.

00:06:39So.

00:06:40You're sort of on this island.

00:06:41But in your life, you've kind of been on this island, too.

00:06:44Yeah.

00:06:45This is sort of apropos in some ways.

00:06:46This is, uh, it's, uh...

00:06:48It's poetic.

00:06:49It's poetic in some ways!

00:06:52Today is definitely a redemption challenge.

00:06:55Have an amazing bake.

00:06:57Hey!

00:06:58Happy New Year!

00:07:01A lot to do.

00:07:03I got assigned champagne cake.

00:07:06I am reducing some champagne to really concentrate the flavor.

00:07:11Just because I don't want to add too much water to my cake.

00:07:14So reduce it by half, concentrate the flavor, and then add it to the batter.

00:07:19Chase told me that he thinks I was a strong contender to successfully make a champagne cake.

00:07:25He's stealthy.

00:07:26He's good at what he does.

00:07:27I'll take the compliment.

00:07:28Um, but maybe he just thinks I'm, uh, pink and bubbly.

00:07:31We'll see.

00:07:32I am making a retro champagne cake, which is a champagne sponge cake.

00:07:38Champagne cremeux.

00:07:39All stacked up and decorated with champagne rose colored buttercream.

00:07:43Retro piping.

00:07:44And then I'll do some shavings on the outside, but I want to do some champagne bubble ornament to really tie in the bubbles plus Christmas.

00:07:57Tastes like champagne.

00:07:59Champagne is a tricky ingredient to work with because it's so subtle.

00:08:02There's a lot of, like, sugar, flour, butter that can overpower champagne.

00:08:06That's why I really want to concentrate the flavors.

00:08:09There we go.

00:08:10I have never been in the bottom two like Ashley, which gives me some confidence going into the semifinal.

00:08:15I wish I could cake as fast as Ashley.

00:08:18No more naughty versus nice.

00:08:20There's no more teams.

00:08:21It's just you versus everybody else now.

00:08:25I like being, like, an independent.

00:08:27I like baking on my own.

00:08:28I like having an apron that isn't an ugly shade of red.

00:08:31Tarek, which retro Christmas dessert did you get assigned by Chase?

00:08:35I got bread pudding with brandy sauce, but to kind of judge it a little bit,

00:08:39I'm soaking some dried cranberries in some brandy and some orange juice.

00:08:42Oh, yeah.

00:08:43Then I caramelize some apples after, like, sauteing them.

00:08:46I'm going to decorate by making some orange vanilla shortbread cookies and then making the top look like a wreath.

00:08:52Keep going. Keep doing what you're doing, dude.

00:08:54Thanks, Jesse.

00:08:55I really, really want to make it to the finale.

00:08:57At the very least, being, like, a finalist twice would be pretty cool.

00:09:00I was a runner-up on Kids Baking Championship and making it to the semifinals means I'm one step closer to redeeming myself.

00:09:06Yay!

00:09:08Like, I made it this far. You know, it's just one more, right? Just, like, one more and I'll be happy.

00:09:13Hey, since you gave me something I can't taste, will you taste this for me?

00:09:16Sure.

00:09:17It's like cranberries soaked with brandy.

00:09:20They're brandy.

00:09:21Perfect.

00:09:22They're boozy.

00:09:24This bake can help one of us go straight to the finale.

00:09:29I want that advantage.

00:09:31I chose the grasshopper torte.

00:09:34The components of a grasshopper torte are two layers of flourless chocolate cake and essentially, like, a mint-flavored nail-baked cheesecake in the center.

00:09:44It's a chocolate and mint dessert.

00:09:50I'm making my grasshopper torte filling.

00:09:53This is... I started this procedurally raw.

00:09:57I started with the booze instead of the cream cheese, which isn't going to end up smooth.

00:10:01Most of my torte is the filling, so I just want it to be luscious, smooth, creamy.

00:10:06Gonna have to restart.

00:10:08I make it in the correct order.

00:10:15I add the sugar, the fluff, then I will add my gelatin and my alcohol.

00:10:22Hello, hello.

00:10:23You did it, dude.

00:10:25I'm here.

00:10:26You've got a lot in the tank physically.

00:10:28I don't know if that's the yogurt or whatever it is, but dude, up here, that's part of your inner strength.

00:10:33You did it.

00:10:34I did it.

00:10:35So now you got to pick the retro Christmas dessert you wanted.

00:10:38I did, yeah.

00:10:39And you took?

00:10:40I took grasshopper torte.

00:10:41Yeah, that was interesting.

00:10:43I think the judges have the least amount of opinion about this dessert.

00:10:46How come?

00:10:47Potentially.

00:10:48Because, like, German chocolate cake is so loved.

00:10:50Yeah.

00:10:51Coconut cake is so classic.

00:10:52So is pineapple upside down.

00:10:53Like, all of these are made in restaurants all across America.

00:10:56Right.

00:10:57Grasshopper torte is kind of slept on, so I feel like they'll come in with the least amount of bias for the cake itself.

00:11:03That's interesting strategy.

00:11:04Tell me about this.

00:11:05What are you doing?

00:11:06I'm making two layers of a flourless chocolate torte with a mint cream cheese mousse, ganache on top.

00:11:13I'm going to decorate with, like, a modern take on a Christmas tree that still feels retro.

00:11:18And peppermint marshmallows.

00:11:20Okay.

00:11:21Keep that mental toughness going, man.

00:11:22Oh, I will.

00:11:23Because that is paying off.

00:11:24You're doing so good.

00:11:25Thank you so much.

00:11:26All right, bud.

00:11:27Ooh, that's quite green, bro.

00:11:30That's too green.

00:11:31We might have to start again for the third time.

00:11:34There's a lot at stake here.

00:11:36I need to get this right.

00:11:37I have to stop wasting time.

00:11:43You have one hour left, Bakers.

00:11:48This is insanity.

00:11:49Retro Christmas desserts.

00:11:55The grasshopper torte is iconically green, and I have to deliver there.

00:11:58I made a filling with forest green, and I had to throw it out because it was too green.

00:12:04So this is my third time, and I'm over it.

00:12:08Third time's the charm.

00:12:10Yeah, we got it.

00:12:11Let's go.

00:12:12Phil time's the charm.

00:12:13I said I was going to be just calm, cool, and collected today, but clearly, the universe

00:12:18said, you did great under pressure.

00:12:21Really, the grasshopper torte is screaming peppermint hot chocolate, and that's my inspiration

00:12:28for this dessert.

00:12:30I am pouring my hot corn syrup and sugar into my bowl, and then I'm going to whip in my gelatin

00:12:35to make my marshmallows.

00:12:37I'm going to dye my marshmallows lightly pink, give it a peppermint candy vibe.

00:12:44Marshmallow.

00:12:46Marshmallow.

00:12:50Ooh, a soak.

00:12:51My pineapple upside down cake just came out of the oven, and I just put a very gentle light

00:12:55coat of rum syrup in there to soak in.

00:12:58I think it'll just help add to that pineapple flavor, and it's still going to bleed pineapple

00:13:02upside down cake, but just with a little twist.

00:13:05Oh, ooh.

00:13:06We see a cake popping out.

00:13:09This is not good.

00:13:10The whole point of a pineapple upside down cake is pineapples upside down on the cake,

00:13:13and my pineapples are in the pan.

00:13:15I have to try to fix this.

00:13:20I'll put them on top, and it's like they'll never know.

00:13:25So I am going to make it look like Christmas at the beach.

00:13:29That's what a lot of my Christmases were like growing up.

00:13:32I lived in Chicago, so every winter we would escape to a little tropical vacation and have

00:13:39Christmas in the sun.

00:13:40I'm going to plan to use the pineapple rings themselves and make them resemble kind of like

00:13:44whirl floaties.

00:13:45I'm going to add three reindeers to represent myself and my two sisters, and I will dry out

00:13:50some pineapples, put them on candy cans, and that's going to resemble some poor side umbrellas.

00:13:55We make it white plus brown.

00:13:58We make it light brown.

00:14:00I am so excited to be in the semifinals.

00:14:02Did not think I was going to get here, but now I'm here, so we're just going to keep doing

00:14:05us and having a good time.

00:14:07Throughout my life, I definitely created a narrative that if I was myself,

00:14:10people would respond negatively to it, so I just kind of like hid in the corner,

00:14:14was super shy, didn't talk to anyone, didn't really have much friends in high school,

00:14:18and coming in this competition and not having any of those narratives going on in my head,

00:14:23I'm learning me being me is something that is getting like, I don't know, respected and like,

00:14:31giving me friends and like, I don't know, it just feels good.

00:14:34Right now they kind of look like bears, but they won't forever.

00:14:37They're going to be reindeers.

00:14:38Full T, I really think my biggest competition is Chase.

00:14:41I think that he and I are similar in a lot of ways in terms of really focusing in on like,

00:14:49more like classical homey type things with really good flavors.

00:14:53So he's the one I'm keeping my eye on.

00:14:55I'm adding a little bit more sugar because the coconut, it's very strong on this mix,

00:15:04and I want to be strong and a little bit sweet.

00:15:07I'm making a coconut layer cake with coconut caramel and a diplomatic coconut cream.

00:15:16In my country, we eat a lot of coconut cake.

00:15:19I want to represent my country.

00:15:21I want to represent my culture.

00:15:23And I want to make my mom proud.

00:15:25Hey mom, this is for you.

00:15:28I'm here to prove everything you've been through all over the years to raise me.

00:15:35It's worth right now.

00:15:37Your son is on the big platform on this beautiful village,

00:15:42cooking and proud with everything that I made.

00:15:46Oh, JC, you're going to make me cry.

00:15:48That was so cute.

00:15:49I love JC.

00:15:50JC is a sweetheart.

00:15:51He is such an incredible like decorator and like makes such visually pleasing things.

00:15:57For decoration, I'm taking advantage of the white of the coconut.

00:16:01And I will play with white, some shades of blue to create like a winter wonderland.

00:16:08And I will decorate with sugar dom for my snowman.

00:16:13Nico.

00:16:14What's up?

00:16:15Can you please help me?

00:16:16Yes.

00:16:17What do you need?

00:16:18Turn the fan on and put it on top of my bowl.

00:16:20Oh, this is going to be so cool.

00:16:22What are you guys doing right now?

00:16:23What are you doing right now?

00:16:24Seeing work.

00:16:25He's pulling my sugar dom because if the sugar dom's not cool properly, we'll fell apart.

00:16:31Yeah.

00:16:32This just looks delicate, so I'm just going to back up slowly.

00:16:34Slowly back up.

00:16:37Yeah?

00:16:38Oh my god, let's go.

00:16:39That looks so cool.

00:16:40That's the sound of Christmas.

00:16:42I am doing some bubble ornaments.

00:16:45This is white chocolate.

00:16:47I added a little pink, so it's like a beautiful pastel-y champagne color.

00:16:51All right, freezer.

00:16:5330 minutes to go.

00:16:55Time to get started.

00:17:00How exciting.

00:17:01All right, bakers.

00:17:02Remember, the best retro Christmas dessert is going to earn a major advantage in the next heat.

00:17:09He's good to me.

00:17:10Why do you do so many layers?

00:17:12My biggest competition is Ashley and Chase.

00:17:15It's different, but it's good.

00:17:16Just because of track record.

00:17:18They have the most wins in this arena, so I'm looking out for them.

00:17:22I haven't made a reindeer-decorated cake before.

00:17:27Just a little bit of this.

00:17:30But the biggest risks I've taken in life have brought me the greatest rewards.

00:17:35Ashley, those antlers look cute.

00:17:37I decided to make the rest of the components out of gum paste.

00:17:41There's the decorating.

00:17:43That was the moment I was scared about.

00:17:5810 minutes left, bakers.

00:18:05Judging we'll be one-on-one in this challenge.

00:18:07No coffee shop looky-loos.

00:18:13Oh, that's pretty green.

00:18:16Chase, where is your dessert?

00:18:18Where did it go?

00:18:19It's in the blast chiller.

00:18:20Why is it in there?

00:18:21It needs to be cold, cold.

00:18:23And the outer edge is running a little bit.

00:18:25Okay, well, you got three minutes.

00:18:26You think that's enough time?

00:18:28I hope so.

00:18:30Careful.

00:18:31Steady hands.

00:18:32Steady hands.

00:18:33This is me and my sisters chilling in the pool.

00:18:38Here it goes.

00:18:40The sugar dome for Giancarlos.

00:18:42Look at that.

00:18:44Having the game.

00:18:45You are in the game, my friend.

00:18:4810 seconds.

00:18:553, 2, 1.

00:18:58Time's up.

00:19:01I'm nervous about this.

00:19:03All right, so judges, we got retro Christmas desserts.

00:19:09Mm-hmm.

00:19:10Wow.

00:19:12Nico, welcome back.

00:19:18Christmas elf.

00:19:20He used a little Christmas elf.

00:19:21I mean...

00:19:22Oh, wait.

00:19:23Okay.

00:19:24With the looks.

00:19:25Cute, cute.

00:19:26Of course you know Nancy Fuller, Cartier Brown.

00:19:29Joining us for this retro fest is pastry chef Stephanie Boswell.

00:19:33Hi.

00:19:34Hi, nice to meet you.

00:19:35I've seen her on Halloween Baking Championship.

00:19:37Unfortunately, Def is a bit under the weather today.

00:19:40All right, so what did Chase dawn on to you?

00:19:43A pineapple upside down cake.

00:19:45I took a lot of inspiration from a vacation that we took to Mexico growing up as kids during

00:19:51Christmas, and this is three little reindeers representing myself and my two sisters chilling

00:19:56in the pool.

00:19:58It's adorable.

00:19:59I like your umbrella stand.

00:20:02I do see pineapple upside down cake, and it is definitely retro, but it's a little bit messy.

00:20:08All right, I'm ready to taste.

00:20:11So I wanted to keep it real classic, real retro with my pineapple upside down cake, so the cake itself is very traditional.

00:20:18Mmm.

00:20:19But the one addition I made to it, I made a pineapple rum glaze.

00:20:27Great sponge.

00:20:28I love the caramelization that you got on the pineapple.

00:20:31Needs more goo.

00:20:33Needs more rum sauce.

00:20:35It's so good, I want more.

00:20:37That's it.

00:20:38That's it.

00:20:39The first bite I ate, I got a really nice big piece of pineapple with the cake, and it

00:20:44was divine.

00:20:46But the ratios for me are a little bit off.

00:20:48I just wish there was like a bite of pineapple for every bite of that cake, because it's so

00:20:52good with that pineapple.

00:20:54Nico, thank you.

00:20:55Thanks, y'all.

00:20:59Charles, how we doing?

00:21:00Doing well.

00:21:01I got champagne cake.

00:21:02It's the semifinals, so go big or go home.

00:21:05So I went for five tiers, just because.

00:21:07And then I tied into the pink decoration it traditionally has, but turned some of the champagne

00:21:12bubbles into ornaments to bring that Christmas flair.

00:21:15Pop the bubbly.

00:21:16That's a groovy cake.

00:21:20I love it.

00:21:21I think it's fun.

00:21:22I think it's very festive.

00:21:23I like the bubbles.

00:21:24I think if you would have added a little, like, more shimmer, a little more luster dust

00:21:28or something, that would have given it more of a champagne vibe.

00:21:31Yeah.

00:21:32Ready for a champagne campaign?

00:21:35Let's pop some cake.

00:21:37Ooh.

00:21:38Wow.

00:21:40I made a champagne sponge, a champagne cremeau, and champagne buttercream.

00:21:45Champagne's a tough flavor, right, to make come through in any kind of cooking process,

00:21:52especially in baking.

00:21:53I'm not getting a lot of champagne flavor.

00:21:55Yeah.

00:21:56That said, this is a delightful cake.

00:21:58I want this on baby showers, weddings.

00:22:00It should absolutely go in your back pocket as something you do all the time, because this

00:22:04is fantastic.

00:22:06I got the champagne.

00:22:07Maybe I got all the champagne.

00:22:09This is one stunning and delectable cake.

00:22:13All right, Charles.

00:22:14Thanks so much.

00:22:15Thank you, judges.

00:22:17I don't know if I have it in the bag, but I had one of the harder flavors.

00:22:20We'll see if they take that into account.

00:22:22I'm trying to stay optimistic.

00:22:25Giancarlos, welcome back.

00:22:26Oh, yay.

00:22:27Hi.

00:22:28All right, so what retro Christmas dessert did you get assigned?

00:22:31Coconut cake.

00:22:32And for the decoration, I made a snow globe.

00:22:37I have snow flakes around the cake, the mountains in here, and the tree.

00:22:44Such a magical winter wonderland.

00:22:47And let's give a round of applause for your isomalt.

00:22:51I mean, that's tough to do.

00:22:52And it could be a little cleaner.

00:22:53It could be a little tighter.

00:22:54It definitely reads something that's coconut and joyful in the center.

00:22:59Well, we're ready to taste whenever you are, Giancarlos.

00:23:02I made a coconut cake with a coconut caramel and a diplomatic cream.

00:23:09I think I was expecting a bigger flavor profile.

00:23:17Okay.

00:23:18I want more coconut.

00:23:19Got it.

00:23:20This cake tastes so much like a dosa de leche, tres leches.

00:23:28Tons of coconut, tons of the caramel.

00:23:30I'd get the diplomat cream.

00:23:32I think this is one of the best tasting cakes you've made thus far.

00:23:39Chase is up.

00:23:40Chase, how are we doing?

00:23:41Hi.

00:23:42You won the last challenge.

00:23:44I did.

00:23:45You got to choose which retro Christmas dessert you wanted to make.

00:23:49And I chose the grasshopper torte.

00:23:52I've never seen it on a menu, only as a pie.

00:23:55That should have been your first clue.

00:23:57That should have what I dished out to people.

00:23:59I know it.

00:24:00All right.

00:24:01I think there's a lot of things here to celebrate, right?

00:24:03We see what the mistakes are.

00:24:05Of course.

00:24:06I think your marshmallows on top look beautiful.

00:24:09And your piping work is phenomenal.

00:24:11Basically, it looks all really great except for that filling.

00:24:16Well, let's see how it tastes.

00:24:19It's two layers of flourless chocolate torte with a mint cream cheese mousse and mint marshmallows on top.

00:24:32I get a lot of mint and I get a lot of chocolate.

00:24:36Therefore, you have redeemed yourself.

00:24:39To some degree.

00:24:42To some degree.

00:24:43This is like a retro grasshopper torte.

00:24:49That torte is like melt in your mouth, chocolatey.

00:24:53Your mint mousse is so light and airy.

00:24:56It's delicious.

00:24:57Yeah.

00:24:58All right, Chase. Thank you.

00:24:59Thank you, judges.

00:25:00This was fun.

00:25:01I am glad that I nailed the flavors.

00:25:04But I wish I would have taken any of the other desserts.

00:25:09Tarek, welcome back.

00:25:11Okay, so which dessert did Chase assign to you?

00:25:15Chase gave me bread pudding with brandy sauce.

00:25:18I went for like a little cookie wreath.

00:25:20The cookies look adorable.

00:25:22I love the fact that you've covered up sort of a very brown and beige dessert and given it a lot of life and a lot of color and a lot of festivity.

00:25:29Okay.

00:25:30Let's get in there, Tarek.

00:25:31Let's do it.

00:25:32I made a bread pudding with brandy sauce.

00:25:34Oh, yeah.

00:25:35I'll pay the 50 cents for extra gravy.

00:25:38There's some apples, some brandy cranberries, and then a vanilla and orange shortbread cookie.

00:25:45This is delicious.

00:25:50I'm tasting your caramelized apples, and I'm tasting your soaked cranberries.

00:25:56I actually think that I could have more brandy, but maybe I just want it to be a little thicker.

00:26:04Okay.

00:26:05This bread pudding is bomb.com.

00:26:09It is amazing.

00:26:10Oh, my gosh.

00:26:11It felt like my grandma made this.

00:26:13The cookie is sandy.

00:26:15It's buttery.

00:26:16Definitely retro.

00:26:18I love it.

00:26:20Tarek, thanks so much.

00:26:25Hi, judges.

00:26:26Ashley, welcome back.

00:26:27I had a traditional German chocolate cake for my dessert today.

00:26:31We grew up having this cake.

00:26:33So I decided to go a little bit Christmas Eve and happy because I've been on Team Naughty this entire time by doing a reindeer face

00:26:41and tying in the pink because I'm the last female standing.

00:26:46It's the cutest reindeer I've seen ever with the cat eyes that represent the retro.

00:26:51I see German chocolate cake, and I love your antlers.

00:26:56Let's see how it tastes.

00:26:57Perfect.

00:26:58The flavors are your traditional German chocolate, coconut, and pecan.

00:27:03Oh.

00:27:04Ooh.

00:27:05Ooh.

00:27:06And then I also did a salted chocolate ganache layer on the inside as well, and the cake is a old-fashioned buttermilk chocolate cake.

00:27:17What about you, Stephanie?

00:27:19You know what you've done here?

00:27:24You've ruined German chocolate cake that isn't this for me forever.

00:27:30It is the classic.

00:27:31I love the fact that you chose a vintage chocolate cake recipe, too.

00:27:34The filling is perfect.

00:27:35It's amazing.

00:27:36And you also gave us these ribbons of this beautiful salted ganache in there because it just dials it up that much more and makes it so moist and perfect.

00:27:45Yes.

00:27:46It's absolutely fantastic.

00:27:47I would do nothing differently.

00:27:49This is you showing us why you belong in the semifinal.

00:27:53That was hard for you to be in the bottom.

00:27:57And so you came back and was like, no, that Ashley that you all saw struggle in that, that's not me.

00:28:02I have something to prove.

00:28:03This is it.

00:28:05I appreciate that.

00:28:06You are believing in yourself again.

00:28:08All right, Ashley.

00:28:09Really nice work.

00:28:13I definitely feel like I have a chance now.

00:28:15All right, bakers, your retro desserts really took the judges way back.

00:28:25And the bakers who were tops in this challenge are...

00:28:29Charles.

00:28:31I'll take it.

00:28:32I'll take it.

00:28:33And...

00:28:35Ashley.

00:28:36Good job, you two.

00:28:37Ultimately though, one baker bridged the past and the present beautifully and that was...

00:28:45Ashley.

00:28:47Good job, Ash.

00:28:49I definitely think Nana's proud.

00:28:50I think that she is just beaming up there.

00:28:53Oh, Ashley, your German chocolate cake, it was decadent and it was delicious.

00:28:58Yay.

00:28:59Congratulations.

00:29:00You have earned an advantage.

00:29:01Ooh.

00:29:02Yay.

00:29:03And it is huge.

00:29:04Okay.

00:29:05Okay.

00:29:06In the next bake, which we are calling the chance heat...

00:29:09Okay.

00:29:10It's going to be you...

00:29:13Versus...

00:29:16Everyone else.

00:29:20Oh crap.

00:29:21What does this mean?

00:29:22It's a pretty great advantage, right?

00:29:24Sure.

00:29:26If you can manage to come out on top again, you are going straight to the finale.

00:29:33That's crazy.

00:29:35You don't have to bake in a main heat.

00:29:38You have no chance at elimination.

00:29:41It's huge.

00:29:43So all you have to do is win two bakes in a row.

00:29:47No pressure.

00:29:49I'm like nervous, but also excited.

00:29:53So, bakers, for our retro chance heat, we're celebrating old-timey, great anti-approved

00:30:01gelatin molds and all their jiggly glory by creating holiday desserts with a gelatin component.

00:30:12I grew up eating soda gelatin salad with mayonnaise, which all sounds so strange, but weirdly sometimes works together.

00:30:21You can make any dessert you like as long as it has a gelatin layer.

00:30:26I do not like gelatin.

00:30:28This challenge is not for me.

00:30:29Now, placed all around this village are traditional gelatin mold flavors like lime cream cheese, peach buttermilk, and orange marshmallow.

00:30:41Okay.

00:30:42When time starts, grab one and make a dessert featuring that flavor combo.

00:30:47It's Ashley versus all of you.

00:30:50Dun, dun, dun.

00:30:51And it's for a trip straight to the finale.

00:30:54Oh.

00:30:56You got 90 minutes for this challenge, and there's an advantage at stake for the main heat as well.

00:31:00Okay, so we get some.

00:31:02And your baking time starts now.

00:31:05All we gotta do is beat Ashley, everybody.

00:31:09Pineapple yogurt.

00:31:11Oh, cranberry.

00:31:12I got peach buttermilk.

00:31:15Gelatin, gelatin, gelatin.

00:31:17When in doubt, do a little bit more.

00:31:19I need more! I need more!

00:31:20Oh, my God, more!

00:31:22Wow, gelatin set desserts in 90 minutes, you all.

00:31:25That's crazy.

00:31:27I got lime and cream cheese.

00:31:31I'm gonna make a lime and cream cheese panna cotta.

00:31:33There's gonna be two layers to the panna cotta.

00:31:35The cream cheese panna cotta will be on the base.

00:31:37The lime curd will be on the top, just set with gelatin.

00:31:41And then I'm gonna decorate with a lime and almond biscotti.

00:31:44And then I'm gonna make the chocolate-pointed star.

00:31:48The panna cotta is a gelatin set cream.

00:31:50I usually do this with buttermilk, but I need to incorporate cream cheese,

00:31:54so I'm just going to adapt my recipe.

00:31:57I don't want it to not set up.

00:31:58I don't want to be that guy.

00:32:00How was that guy last round?

00:32:01I can't be that guy this time.

00:32:04That can't possibly be too much.

00:32:06I'm looking for redemption from the preheat,

00:32:09and I'm also looking to not give Ashley a direct pass to the finals.

00:32:14You need to be mindful to bloom it properly.

00:32:18If you don't hydrate it enough, you're going to have gummy gelatin that won't dissolve,

00:32:24and there's not a lot of wiggle room in 90 minutes to adjust and fix.

00:32:27I'm making my lime curd, and I'm adding gelatin in.

00:32:32I'm scared!

00:32:34I'm coloring my curd with some green food coloring,

00:32:37so I can get that retro pukey green vibe.

00:32:42Ashley, is this giving lime or puke?

00:32:44I mean, it's giving lime. What is it for?

00:32:46I mean, it's like I'm mimicking this color.

00:32:48Yeah.

00:32:49Well, hello there, preheat champion.

00:32:51Hi.

00:32:52How are you feeling?

00:32:53I'm feeling great.

00:32:54German chocolate cake.

00:32:55Redemption!

00:32:57Redemption!

00:32:59I was so happy with that one.

00:33:01Well, it got you a really interesting advantage here.

00:33:03It did.

00:33:04Because, of course, if you win this challenge...

00:33:06Straight on in.

00:33:07Straight on into the finale.

00:33:08And I am not taking that lightly.

00:33:10The self-doubt is leaving me today.

00:33:12You're in sort of the pole position, right?

00:33:14Yep.

00:33:15And who do you think are your biggest challengers right now going into this?

00:33:18I'm still going.

00:33:19Charles and Chase.

00:33:20He's great at old-school desserts like I am,

00:33:22and then we've got Fancy Pants McGee over here.

00:33:25With his love for fine dining.

00:33:28What flavor did you get for your gelatin?

00:33:30I got pineapple yogurt, and I'm feeling really good about it.

00:33:33I'm gonna do a graham cracker crust with a no-bake cheesecake,

00:33:37and then pineapple yogurt gelée on top,

00:33:40and then toasted meringue around the edge.

00:33:41The kind of theme to it is we're going to Nana's house,

00:33:48and the wreath on her door is dried out.

00:33:50It's been the longest winter ever, and we're looking for summer.

00:33:54Of course.

00:33:56Well, let's go, Ashley.

00:33:57You got it.

00:33:58Thanks, Jesse.

00:33:59Appreciate you.

00:34:00Turn this marshmallow into an orange marshmallow.

00:34:02That's what my card says.

00:34:05I have never eaten a gelatin wool.

00:34:07Gelatin wools were just not a part of my household growing up.

00:34:10I have never seen one in real life.

00:34:15I got assigned orange marshmallow as my flavor,

00:34:18so I'm gonna take it very literally.

00:34:19I'm making an orange marshmallow,

00:34:21and I will be putting that on top of a brownie,

00:34:23and for my retro design,

00:34:24I'm gonna make it in the shape of a retro-style polka dot poodle dress.

00:34:29I will add a white chocolate poodle and bow,

00:34:33and take some red and green chocolate candies

00:34:35to add some Christmas polka dots.

00:34:38That looks like a dress.

00:34:39I'm going holiday design championship after this.

00:34:44Marshmallows are so annoying.

00:34:47They are not the nice fluffy marshmallows

00:34:50that I would have liked them to be.

00:34:53I think there may be one or two sheets too many gelatin in here.

00:34:57Okay.

00:34:58You're seeing none of this.

00:35:00You're seeing none of this.

00:35:01Charles, how we doing, man?

00:35:04We're hanging in there.

00:35:05What did you decide to do?

00:35:06I got cranberry and whipped cream.

00:35:08I'm making a layered jelly panna cotta.

00:35:11I have a angel food cake that's gonna be on the bottom,

00:35:14and then I'm doing a vanilla bean panna cotta,

00:35:16a blended cranberry vanilla panna cotta,

00:35:19and then a cranberry jelly on top.

00:35:23Very mild scotch, so we'll go heavy.

00:35:26I want to let the cranberry shine in this jelly

00:35:30by adding a lot of secondary flavors

00:35:33to just round out the flavor.

00:35:35Dude, you're this close again.

00:35:36I know.

00:35:37To winning a challenge.

00:35:38I know.

00:35:39You're putting your best bakes together now.

00:35:40Yeah.

00:35:41Over and over and over again.

00:35:42Picking at the right time.

00:35:43Yeah.

00:35:44Sorry, Ashley.

00:35:45If you were able to pull this one off.

00:35:46Yeah.

00:35:47It's a double win.

00:35:48I get to steal her advantage

00:35:49and hopefully get another one.

00:35:50I love the way you think.

00:35:51Fingers crossed.

00:35:52Just right here.

00:35:53No, okay.

00:35:57I'll get out of here.

00:35:58Don't overdo it.

00:35:59Okay.

00:36:00Thanks, Jesse.

00:36:0245 minutes left, bakers.

00:36:04I'm just, like, on the struggle bus here.

00:36:07Gelatin is not my expertise.

00:36:09I hate everything about it.

00:36:11Its texture is so gross.

00:36:13I'm actually gonna cry if it wasn't set up.

00:36:16My flavor combo is cherry sour cream.

00:36:19I'm making a brownie with a sour cream and cherry gelée on it.

00:36:25I'll add a white chocolate collar, some chrome cherries, and a white chocolate tree.

00:36:30When I was a kid, my siblings and I, we had a tradition where we used to watch, like, retro cartoons on Christmas morning.

00:36:37So my inspiration is this one cartoon.

00:36:39It's like the past thought the future would be like.

00:36:42I'm gonna try to make this, like, very techy looking.

00:36:45That'll do.

00:36:46It's not a Christmas without the Christmas tree.

00:36:50Every single year, we used to use a really old, fake Christmas tree and look crazy.

00:36:57So that's my inspiration.

00:36:59My flavor is peach and buttermilk.

00:37:02And guess what?

00:37:03I'm coming from Georgia, my first city to live in America.

00:37:07So this is flavors I very used to use.

00:37:11I'm going to make a sablé dough in the bottom, buttermilk panna cotta, peach gelée, chunks of peaches, and a buttermilk cream.

00:37:21To decorate, I will make a Christmas light with different colors of chocolate and a big star on the top to make this tree look like a real Christmas tree.

00:37:3430 minutes left.

00:37:39I think this is going to be too sad.

00:37:41I added too much gelatin.

00:37:43When I put my gelatin into my curd and put my curd into the freezer, it all seized up.

00:37:50Not again.

00:37:51This is just why I hate gelatin.

00:37:53I cannot serve the judges a chunky gelatin.

00:38:00Holiday desserts with a gelatin component.

00:38:03I don't like you at all.

00:38:05I'm really trying to find the right mixture of gelatin to liquid, essentially.

00:38:09So I'm adding some more liquid back to this mixture in the hopes that I will reheat the gelatin, disperse it, and change the texture of the curd itself.

00:38:19Remember, Ashley, you can skip the main heat if you win this challenge.

00:38:23No pressure.

00:38:24Just hope that she fails and we prevail. I don't know.

00:38:27That's not nice.

00:38:28I don't want you to fail, but I also don't want to send you straight on, you know?

00:38:32That's okay. I still want you to fail, too.

00:38:35What kind of sister would I be if I didn't want my brothers to fail?

00:38:38Fair enough.

00:38:39Unfortunately, I think I've added so much gelatin that this is going to be bouncy and hard no matter what, but I don't really have time to remake the curd.

00:38:48I'm going to have to go with it.

00:38:54Bakers, you've got 15 minutes to go now.

00:38:56Let's do it.

00:38:57If one of you can take down Ashley, there's a big advantage waiting for you in the main heat.

00:39:01Oh, yeah.

00:39:02It's not the flattest cake, but she's good.

00:39:04I guess it kind of looks like light bulbs.

00:39:07Everything's on the line.

00:39:08My brain is so focused on how can I make this the best.

00:39:13I've got one gelée layer.

00:39:15And just really kind of immerse everybody, not only in the textures, the flavors, the actual retro part of it.

00:39:21I think that my meringue is a little over whipped, but I have to go with it.

00:39:26Ten minutes left, bakers.

00:39:30Oh, biscottis. Yummy, yummy.

00:39:33Say prayer, say prayer, say prayer, say prayer.

00:39:38Okay, not embarrassing, but not great.

00:39:46I need this to work.

00:39:48It's not 100% set.

00:39:50I have to make this tree look like a real Christmas tree.

00:39:55And I use the velvet spray to give me that vibe.

00:39:58This one is for all the American grandmas.

00:40:01I love y'all.

00:40:02The biggest question is how I go from here on to platter.

00:40:09Sleep in here.

00:40:10Yeah.

00:40:11Okay.

00:40:12You're smart.

00:40:13You're smart.

00:40:14You're smart.

00:40:15Oh, my God.

00:40:16JC, I love you so much.

00:40:17Ugh.

00:40:22Tarek, how we doing?

00:40:23Don't want to talk about it.

00:40:25Could be worse.

00:40:27Could be so much better, but it could be so much worse.

00:40:30She did not set properly.

00:40:40I'm just gonna go with it.

00:40:47Two minutes left.

00:40:48Whatever I gotta do to be Ashley, whatever I gotta do, scramble to the finish.

00:40:55Holiday desserts with a gelatin component.

00:40:59We're all kind of just like over Christmas, and all we want is a summer picnic.

00:41:05Let's get those desserts decorated, everybody.

00:41:10It just isn't gonna be the prettiest, but it's gonna taste fine.

00:41:17Get it done.

00:41:19I know none of you thought this was gonna work.

00:41:22Ten seconds.

00:41:23Everybody have a crazy Christmas tree.

00:41:27Charles, how you doing down there?

00:41:30I have a good feeling.

00:41:32Time's up.

00:41:33Let's see what the judges think.

00:41:35Good job, everybody.

00:41:37What?

00:41:38I am praying I don't have to go into the main heat.

00:41:43You guys will be watching from the coffee shop as the judges taste.

00:41:48Decorate retro, decorate Christmas, and put together a story.

00:41:52Yeah.

00:41:53All in 90 minutes.

00:41:54All right, Chase, come on in.

00:41:55Oh.

00:41:56There it is.

00:41:57Bye, everybody.

00:41:58Good luck.

00:41:59Judges, holiday desserts with a gelatin component.

00:42:04Hello, judges.

00:42:05Chase, welcome back.

00:42:07What gelatin flavor did you get?

00:42:08I got lime and cream cheese.

00:42:10I made a cream cheese panna cotta flavored with vanilla, a lime curd gelatin layer on top.

00:42:16Then the deco on top is inspired by this crazy light fixture my mom has.

00:42:21And then there's an almond biscotti that's served with your panna cotta.

00:42:25This is going to sound so weird.

00:42:27I can smell the carpet of the house that this is served in.

00:42:32You know?

00:42:33It's like green carpet.

00:42:34There's green everywhere.

00:42:36This is so cool, Chase.

00:42:39Retro all-day holiday.

00:42:42Let's give it a taste.

00:42:43Whoa, whoa, whoa, oh.

00:42:44Oh, wow.

00:42:45That is gelatinous.

00:42:46Well, I certainly get the lime and I certainly get the cream cheese, but the consistency.

00:42:55You have too much gelatin and it's seized and it's very difficult to eat.

00:43:00Yeah.

00:43:01You know.

00:43:02I do know, yeah.

00:43:03Flavor-wise, it's spot on.

00:43:04But yes, it's overstabilized.

00:43:05Yeah.

00:43:06The biscotti, on the other hand, perfect.

00:43:07Flawless.

00:43:08I want this with all of my coffees.

00:43:10Giancarlos, good to see you again.

00:43:11What flavor did you get?

00:43:12Bitches and buttermilk.

00:43:13And I make a crazy, tacky, retro Christmas tree.

00:43:15I absolutely get Christmas.

00:43:16I just think the execution could have been a little bit tighter.

00:43:19I think the execution could have been a little bit tighter.

00:43:21Yeah.

00:43:22It's very difficult to eat.

00:43:23It's very difficult to eat.

00:43:24Yeah.

00:43:25You know.

00:43:26I do know, yeah.

00:43:27Flavor-wise, it's spot on.

00:43:28But yes, it's overstabilized.

00:43:29Yeah.

00:43:30The biscotti, on the other hand, perfect.

00:43:31Flawless.

00:43:32I want this with all of my coffees.

00:43:34Giancarlos, good to see you again.

00:43:35What flavor did you get?

00:43:36Bitches and buttermilk.

00:43:37And I make a crazy, tacky, retro Christmas tree.

00:43:41A little bit tighter.

00:43:42Okay.

00:43:43All right.

00:43:44Let's give it a taste, Giancarlos.

00:43:45I make beet chile, buttermilk panna cotta, and a buttermilk cream.

00:43:50And on the bottom, I have a sablé dough.

00:43:53Ooh.

00:43:56I love the fact that you've got these beautiful layers.

00:43:59I'm not a huge fan of the flavors or textures on this, though.

00:44:04It's all the same.

00:44:07It's a little too thick, a little too gummy, a little too much gelatin.

00:44:10That's hard.

00:44:11They are honest.

00:44:12I want your POV in your food.

00:44:14So whatever you make back home or whatever is, like, tried and true in your family, give us that.

00:44:21You've got to bring it in the main heat, okay?

00:44:23I will.

00:44:26Charles, what flavor did you get?

00:44:29My flavor was cranberry and whipped cream.

00:44:31I made a cranberry layered panna cotta on top of angel food cake with some whipped cream.

00:44:37Vintage AF.

00:44:39I mean, this screams vintage.

00:44:41I am excited about the consistency.

00:44:44The jiggle.

00:44:45Jiggle, jiggle, jiggle.

00:44:46Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

00:44:48You guys want to taste it?

00:44:49Yes.

00:44:50Oh, there's a cake at the bottom.

00:44:55I love this entire dish from start to finish.

00:44:59I want to be transported back to the 60s right now.

00:45:03Nance, how about you?

00:45:06This is exquisite.

00:45:08I mean, it's just perfect.

00:45:10The panna cotta's perfect.

00:45:12I think if you had just used something a little bit crunchy, that would be great.

00:45:16Crunchy or another texture in there?

00:45:18Yes.

00:45:19But I could eat this all day long.

00:45:22Charles, well done.

00:45:24Thank you, sir.

00:45:25Thank you, Charles.

00:45:27I'm feeling good.

00:45:28That was great.

00:45:29So, so retro.

00:45:30Okay.

00:45:31I'll take it.

00:45:32Good job, buddy.

00:45:33I'll take it.

00:45:34It was fabulous.

00:45:38Alright, Nico, join us.

00:45:39Let's go, Nico.

00:45:40Good luck, buddy.

00:45:41Oh.

00:45:45Skip and slide.

00:45:48Aye.

00:45:49Aye.

00:45:51So, I got orange marshmallow.

00:45:54So, I took it very literally.

00:45:55I made orange marshmallow atop of a walnut brownie.

00:46:01When I heard that the challenge was retro, I wanted to go for like a very late 50s, early 60s style polka dot poodle dress.

00:46:10I think that it needs some Nico oomph.

00:46:16Hud.

00:46:17This isn't making a statement.

00:46:18It's too pale, too kind of monochromatic.

00:46:22You really need to step it up.

00:46:25Let's try it.

00:46:27I feel like this is going to be a sticky mess.

00:46:30I think so, too.

00:46:31Whoa.

00:46:32Marshmallow it.

00:46:33Nico.

00:46:34Yes, ma'am.

00:46:35Should the marshmallow...

00:46:36Yeah.

00:46:37Oh my God, this is so cringy.

00:46:38I don't know.

00:46:39I think there might be a little too much gelatin.

00:46:44The marshmallow is quite sticky and stretchy and I don't really get much orange.

00:47:01Your brownie is great.

00:47:03Your marshmallow doesn't taste like much of anything.

00:47:06Okay.

00:47:07Nico, thank you.

00:47:09We were supposed to be beating Ashley in this challenge and a lot of us are not doing this.

00:47:13A lot of us are not doing the job here.

00:47:16Tarek.

00:47:17So I got sour cream and cherry and I have a...

00:47:21Get ready.

00:47:22A post-apocalyptic retro-futuristic holiday dessert.

00:47:32I love where your head was at with this.

00:47:34I think it's very funny.

00:47:35It's very tongue-in-cheek.

00:47:36I think the execution could have been a little better.

00:47:38I know.

00:47:39It's a mess.

00:47:40I know.

00:47:41You know.

00:47:42I know.

00:47:43What is it?

00:47:44There's a milk chocolate brownie and then there's a sour cream and cherry gelée and then

00:47:49a mascarpone cream as well.

00:47:51Ooh.

00:47:52Ah.

00:47:53The color is...

00:47:54It's giving zombie brain a little bit.

00:47:56Chicken liver pie.

00:47:57The gelatin didn't gel, but you get cherry, you get sour cream and then you get that delicious brownie.

00:48:12I love this brownie.

00:48:14It's fantastic.

00:48:16I'm not getting a huge amount of cherry flavor from your little wobbly center.

00:48:21Tark, have your homework in by tomorrow.

00:48:23You're excused.

00:48:25Charles, how does it feel to know how to use gelatin?

00:48:31You might be the only one.

00:48:32I think mine was a good use of gelatin.

00:48:33My years of Michelin training has really paid off.

00:48:37I'm feeling nervous.

00:48:38Until Charles, I was pretty confident that I, you know, was on the right path.

00:48:43All right, Ashley, come on in.

00:48:44Ashley.

00:48:45Good job, Ash.

00:48:46Okay.

00:48:47And now, I don't know.

00:48:49Ashley, welcome back.

00:48:51Preheat champion.

00:48:52Okay.

00:48:53So tell us what flavor you got.

00:48:54So I got pineapple yogurt and I went back to my naughty roots a little bit because living in northern

00:49:01New Hampshire as kids, we were so sick of winter and we just wanted those summer flavors,

00:49:06pineapple, and this is just the end of the rope.

00:49:09So I did the picnic table for like the, hey, bring on summer.

00:49:13She can sell popsicles to a woman in white gloves.

00:49:17Bring it on.

00:49:20I love the way this looks.

00:49:22Totally get the story.

00:49:23I think this is really funny and really well executed.

00:49:27You guys want to give it a try?

00:49:28Yeah.

00:49:29Sure.

00:49:30I did a no-bake cheesecake and then I did a pineapple yogurt gelée on top and then toasted meringue around the edge.

00:49:39Ashley, if you have the best bite of the day, you can go straight into the finale.

00:49:46Yeah.

00:49:51This is good.

00:49:52Your no-bake cheesecake is excellent.

00:49:54Your crust has a nice amount of salt.

00:49:56I like that you kind of kept it natural with a crushed pineapple layer.

00:50:00This is really good, Ashley.

00:50:02Okay.

00:50:03But there's another dessert that was very good too.

00:50:06I know exactly who you're talking about, Charles.

00:50:08Correct.

00:50:09If she wins this one, our odds go from a one in six to getting eliminated to a one in five.

00:50:16What you were selling is what is in front of us.

00:50:19It's that crushed canned pineapple texture.

00:50:22I absolutely love this.

00:50:24I think your no-bake cheesecake is amazing.

00:50:26Your meringue is a little broken.

00:50:28Okay.

00:50:29Wow.

00:50:30This pineapple, it's refreshing.

00:50:32Your textures are smooth and silky.

00:50:35You did a good job.

00:50:37You're going to make me cry again.

00:50:39Nice work.

00:50:40Thank you, Ashley.

00:50:42I think we've got a horse race.

00:50:44I think so too.

00:50:47Bakers.

00:50:48Well, in one of the closest challenges we've ever had, it ultimately came down to Ashley versus Charles.

00:50:57Yeah.

00:50:58Good job, buddy.

00:51:00I'm feeling pretty confident.

00:51:01I have to beat Ashley at some point.

00:51:03No pressure.

00:51:05And the winner of the Chance Heat is...

00:51:08Oh, my goodness.

00:51:09Whew.

00:51:16All right, Bakers.

00:51:17I know we're all wondering the same thing.

00:51:21Did Ashley pull out the win to secure herself?

00:51:23A spot in the finale and a reprieve from the main heat.

00:51:28And the winner of the Chance Heat is...

00:51:31Ashley.

00:51:32Stop.

00:51:33Congrats.

00:51:34You killed it, baby.

00:51:35I am floored.

00:51:36I didn't think that I had the top dessert.

00:51:37Good job.

00:51:38My dessert was almost perfect, so this is not easy.

00:51:54The judges just felt that Ashley put together a more realized dessert that just told a complete story.

00:52:01Oh, my God.

00:52:02I'm, like, shaking.

00:52:03This is my version of my biggest Christmas present.

00:52:07Ashley, you are now sitting pretty with a spot in the finale.

00:52:11Good job.

00:52:12I can't believe this.

00:52:13I have never felt so successful and I've never felt so worthy.

00:52:18It was a very close call and so I'm happy to be second place to Ashley again.

00:52:23Oh, and Charles, here's the thing, though.

00:52:24For being in the top two in that Chance Heat, you won a little naughty advantage for this main heat.

00:52:30I'll take it.

00:52:31Oh, yay.

00:52:32Just hold that thought for a second, though.

00:52:33Got it.

00:52:34Got it.

00:52:35What is gonna be thrown our way?

00:52:39I'll be right back.

00:52:40Just excuse me, guys.

00:52:41I'm sorry.

00:52:42Okay.

00:52:43A little work to do.

00:52:44Man with a mission.

00:52:45What on earth are we going to do?

00:52:47Ooh.

00:52:48Efficiency shopper.

00:52:50He goes in, he comes straight out, coat full of goodies.

00:52:53Peaches, apple pie filling, cherry pie filling.

00:52:57It's all pie filling.

00:52:59We only did pie day.

00:53:02Well, bakers, we are still in retro mode.

00:53:04Clearly.

00:53:05And these are your vintage ingredients for the main heat.

00:53:10Now, if you hope to make it into the finale,

00:53:12you each must make a delicious and beautiful holiday dessert

00:53:15featuring one of these retro ingredients.

00:53:17Okay.

00:53:18Oh, and Charles, because you did so well in the chant seat,

00:53:22you get to assign the ingredients to everyone.

00:53:24Oh, ho.

00:53:25Come on up here and take a look.

00:53:28Which one would you like to take for yourself first?

00:53:30I think I'm gonna do mandarin oranges.

00:53:33Mandarin oranges?

00:53:34Yes.

00:53:35That's you.

00:53:36That's a good one.

00:53:37Solid one.

00:53:38How come?

00:53:39I like the citrus.

00:53:40You can play a lot with it.

00:53:41And I think it's the least altered.

00:53:43A lot of these fillings have a lot of stuff added to it, so.

00:53:46That's a smart choice then.

00:53:47Okay.

00:53:48Let's start dishing out some ingredients.

00:53:50Hmm.

00:53:51Chase apple pie filling.

00:53:54Okay.

00:53:55Oh, okay.

00:53:57Hey.

00:53:58How come?

00:53:59Canned pie filling kind of can taste artificial,

00:54:00so I want to give them a little bit of a challenge.

00:54:01It's about time Chase had a good challenge.

00:54:03I know how to work with this.

00:54:05Nico will do chocolate pudding.

00:54:07Oh my God.

00:54:08Ooh.

00:54:09I've expressed to him that I'm not a huge fan of chocolate,

00:54:11and he gives me the only chocolate option.

00:54:13Hey.

00:54:14Apparently, Nico, you did not love that.

00:54:18Sorry, it is still a competition.

00:54:20Tark, let's do canned peaches.

00:54:24Canned peaches for my man.

00:54:27I think it's gonna be sweet, not super flavorful.

00:54:30He might struggle with that.

00:54:32And we'll do pineapple for Giancarlos.

00:54:37I love it.

00:54:38Thanks, Charles.

00:54:39Okay.

00:54:40Back in line with you, Charles.

00:54:41I don't think it's gonna really be easy for any of us.

00:54:44Man, Ashley, it must feel nice.

00:54:45It kind of does.

00:54:46I'm not gonna lie.

00:54:48All right, guys.

00:54:49This is it.

00:54:50Unfortunately, one baker is gonna be leaving the Holiday Village

00:54:53for good, just short of the finale.

00:54:56This is the biggest one yet.

00:54:58You all have two and a half hours.

00:55:01Okay.

00:55:02To make any kind of holiday dessert you want,

00:55:04you just have to use your retro ingredient.

00:55:07And this is for a spot in the finale.

00:55:11And your baking time starts now.

00:55:14Ashley, you can go hang out in Jingle Java.

00:55:17Oh, yes.

00:55:18Okay, we're going shopping.

00:55:22Shopping, shopping.

00:55:23Oh.

00:55:24Oh my God, it's like Black Friday.

00:55:26How many do I really need?

00:55:27Okay, I don't think I need any more than that.

00:55:29I'm taking them all.

00:55:30I'm gonna help you today.

00:55:31I'm gonna be your little helper.

00:55:33And I'm gonna take a iced peppermint mocha.

00:55:36So excited.

00:55:39Okay, I think we have enough instant pudding.

00:55:41I so badly want to do well here.

00:55:44I desperately want to be in the finale.

00:55:48This one is the most important challenge we've had so far

00:55:51because it's literally do good or don't be in the finale.

00:55:55The stakes are huge.

00:55:57The judges really want me to tap back into Nico.

00:56:00I'm gonna make flavors that I like.

00:56:02I'm gonna have it be inspired by my family

00:56:05and I'm gonna do a little silly-goofy with it.

00:56:08My retro ingredient today is an instant pudding mix.

00:56:12I'm going to make layers of a hazelnut and milk chocolate sponge.

00:56:16I'm gonna be using the chocolate pudding as a filling

00:56:19as well as a hazelnut 14 crunch layer,

00:56:22a pale coulis with fresh pails folded in

00:56:25to give two textures a pale.

00:56:27Hi, guys.

00:56:28Hey.

00:56:29I will be taking your coffee order for today.

00:56:32What can I get for you?

00:56:33I would love a nice Americano.

00:56:35You got it.

00:56:37I want to pay tribute to this classic holiday song,

00:56:4012 Days of Christmas,

00:56:41and the most famous line from it being

00:56:42partridge in a pear tree.

00:56:46I'm so over everyone thinking holiday just means red and green.

00:56:50My plan is to decorate it to kind of look like a log.

00:56:52I'm gonna carve into it to resemble the logs of a tree.

00:56:56I'm gonna be making a chocolate ganache frosting.

00:56:58I will be putting a modeling chocolate partridge on top.

00:57:02So I remember growing up and whenever I visited my safta,

00:57:05which is grandma in Hebrew back in Israel,

00:57:08there was a pear tree in her backyard.

00:57:10I would always want to pick them and she would be like,

00:57:12no, they're not ripe yet.

00:57:13It's too early.

00:57:14And I would just try to take them anyway.

00:57:15So I'm drawing a lot of inspiration for my safta today.

00:57:17Ow.

00:57:18Geez, that was hot.

00:57:21Let's play around with this pudding.

00:57:26All right, holiday bakers.

00:57:27Be sure the judges taste your assigned ingredient in the dessert.

00:57:30Oh my God, this tastes so bad.

00:57:40Why is it so grainy?

00:57:43It tastes really artificial.

00:57:45It tastes like fake chocolate.

00:57:46I am worried about the judges just hating like the texture and mouthfeel of this.

00:57:52I'm gonna have to doctor this off by putting some chocolate hazelnut spread.

00:57:57And in the meanwhile, I'm gonna curse out Charles.

00:58:00I can handle it.

00:58:02I had a little bit of strategy handing it out.

00:58:05A lot of these bakers do come forward with the flavors,

00:58:08and I'm hoping they might overdo it a little bit

00:58:11and end up covering up these retro foods.

00:58:14Charles, you suck.

00:58:15Damn.

00:58:16Naughty team's over, apparently.

00:58:18There's no other option.

00:58:19I need to be in that finale, and I think I can do it.

00:58:24I chose mandarin oranges because I just love citrus.

00:58:28I haven't done much citrus in this competition yet,

00:58:30so I wanted to do something different for the judges.

00:58:33I ate them a lot as a kid.

00:58:34Tastes like my childhood.

00:58:40I am making a speculose cookie crust mandarin spice cheesecake,

00:58:44a mandarin gelie on top.

00:58:46I'm gonna decorate it with a gum paste figurine,

00:58:49and I'm gonna do a whipped sour cream as the snow.

00:58:53It's a little self-portrait of me learning to ski for the first time.

00:58:58I am torching my cream cheese because it's from the fridge.

00:59:01I just wanna make sure it's super smooth and no lumps.

00:59:03My perfectionism comes from my parents.

00:59:07Sorry, mom and dad.

00:59:08My mom was in the medical field before she had kids.

00:59:11My dad's a structural engineer, and they're both pretty type A.

00:59:15I think I have gone even further than what they are.

00:59:18That molded me into the person I am now, which I think benefits me.

00:59:23I love the pairing of citrus with cream cheese.

00:59:26It's that fatty, rich texture, and the acidity from citrus really brightens it up.

00:59:31And then batter in.

00:59:33I wanna get this cheesecake in the oven so I have time to decorate.

00:59:35All right, so that's the cappuccino.

00:59:41Yep.

00:59:42All right, JC.

00:59:43Here's your iced cap.

00:59:45I got canned pineapples.

00:59:48Pineapple is a big thing in Brazil.

00:59:52I grew up eating canned pineapples because it was more cheap.

00:59:56I like the texture, the flavor, the fake flavor.

01:00:01It's really good.

01:00:02I'm making today a pineapple tart.

01:00:07My tart will be a layer of sablé dough, pineapple curd, cherry gelée, and the flambe pineapples on the top.

01:00:16To decorate, I'm making mascarpone mousse reindeer.

01:00:21I need to be on the finale.

01:00:23When I start watching this show, it changed my life drastically.

01:00:28I start having dreams.

01:00:31I want to be a pastry chef.

01:00:32I will work hard for that.

01:00:34And here I am in the village today.

01:00:37I came with a purpose.

01:00:39I want to be the first Brazilian to win this show.

01:00:41Imagine how important this is.

01:00:44Every Sunday, my mom makes a really interesting dessert with canned pineapples.

01:00:51It needs to be the canned pineapples.

01:00:53And the really cheap cherries on the top.

01:00:56That dessert was my inspiration.

01:00:59It's been naughty versus nice, but now it's every baker for themselves.

01:01:03Hop behind.

01:01:04All right.

01:01:05Let's get this going.

01:01:06Life or death, baby.

01:01:07This is make it to the finale or don't.

01:01:08I got apple pie filling.

01:01:09I grew up eating this kind of apple pie.

01:01:10So it is nostalgic.

01:01:11I just want to make sure that I deliver on a better flavor.

01:01:12I mean, they're just so thick and sweet in a way that doesn't make the adult chase happy.

01:01:15It makes the little kid happy.

01:01:16So I want to meet right in the middle of that.

01:01:17It's not an easy challenge.

01:01:18You have to be very considerate with how you maintain the integrity of your ingredient.

01:01:22I don't want to stray too far from apple pie, but I have made plenty of pies in this competition.

01:01:29And I would like to give my go at a tart.

01:01:30I am inspired by my grandma's retro starburst-y ornaments that were red and green.

01:01:35I'm making an apple crumb tart with brown butter pecan streusel and pecan praline.

01:01:42I'm inspired by my grandma's retro starburst-y ornaments that were red and green.

01:01:48I'm making an apple crumb tart with brown butter pecan streusel and pecan praline.

01:01:53To decorate, I'm adding whipped cream with some retro ornaments.

01:02:09I'm making my pie filling.

01:02:12And then we will add the rest of the pie filling so it'll be starchy and bubbly in the oven.

01:02:18Kind of like the iconic American apple pie, you know?

01:02:22One hour left.

01:02:33Textbook.

01:02:34You know, it's weird to just sit here while I just watch the boys battle it out.

01:02:41For my hazelnut chocolate cake, I'm gonna floss it with a chocolate ganache.

01:02:45Niko, are you okay?

01:02:46Nope.

01:02:49This ganache is not cool enough.

01:02:51It's not gonna whip.

01:02:53Okay.

01:02:54It needs more time to chill and I don't have more time.

01:02:57That was gonna be my frosting and now I just don't have a frosting and I just need to assemble a cake.

01:03:01I don't like when things don't go according to plan.

01:03:04I'm feeling very stressed right now.

01:03:07It's over.

01:03:08I'm done.

01:03:09I just need a frosting.

01:03:10If I don't have a frosting, I don't have a cake.

01:03:11Remember, bakers, this is your last chance to get into the finale.

01:03:25Everything is fine.

01:03:26Everything is fine.

01:03:27Everything is fine.

01:03:29I need to pivot.

01:03:30I can fix this.

01:03:35I am just making a new frosting.

01:03:37The frosting.

01:03:38This was not the original plan.

01:03:39The original plan was just the ganache itself being the frosting.

01:03:43This should be okay.

01:03:4445 minutes to go.

01:03:45You are making holiday desserts using your assigned retro ingredient.

01:03:50I'm just making a quick cream cheese bottle cream chocolate.

01:03:57I was assigned canned peaches.

01:03:59They're not that bad.

01:04:00And once you get rid of the syrup, you can really do anything you want with them.

01:04:03Every year at my grandparents' house, we have like a big Christmas party and I do like a showstopper dessert.

01:04:08And a couple years in there, I've made almond and white cake desserts and they were fabulous.

01:04:15I'm going to make a white cake with a very decadent spice beach pie filling in the middle.

01:04:19Some candied almonds.

01:04:20Then almond swissing buttercream.

01:04:22And I'm going to decorate it with Christmas trees, some like nice holiday colors.

01:04:26After the Chansey, I'm really going to focus on my decorations because it was such a hot mess.

01:04:32And I kind of want to redeem myself and do something like very elegant, very pretty, and very holiday.

01:04:37Tarek, you're one bake away from going to the finals of the Holiday Baking Championship.

01:04:42So what would you do with $25,000?

01:04:44Step one is getting through college first.

01:04:46So Yale's not cheap is what you're saying?

01:04:48No.

01:04:49Definitely not.

01:04:50Flavors we always know you got.

01:04:52The decorating though is the X Factor.

01:04:54This one has to be good.

01:04:55That's why I chose a cake.

01:04:56Yeah.

01:04:57But I can usually do good cake.

01:04:58I hope this is the one, man.

01:04:59Good luck, Tardy.

01:05:00Thanks, Jesse.

01:05:05Oh, that's so good.

01:05:06God, I love clove and mandarin.

01:05:08Hey, Ashley, come join me over here.

01:05:10You got a bunch of free time on your hands.

01:05:12This is so strange.

01:05:14It's like the battle of the boys today.

01:05:16It is.

01:05:17It really is.

01:05:18You know, Charles, I was shocked he chose mandarin.

01:05:20I was too.

01:05:21This is my jelly layer on top.

01:05:22That's a pretty unique flavor.

01:05:24I know.

01:05:25I need this thing to cool down or my jelly won't set up.

01:05:29It's a little bit of a gamble.

01:05:31This is gum paste.

01:05:33So now I'm going to work on all my decorations.

01:05:37When we were old enough to sign up for little kid ski lessons,

01:05:40my parents put us in there and I just like jetted straight down the mountain.

01:05:45I want it to look perfect.

01:05:48So shaky.

01:05:51There's a lot of pressure.

01:05:52They're crushing it.

01:05:53It's awfully quiet.

01:05:54I hope you're doing all right, Charles.

01:05:56We'll see.

01:06:00Judges have told me continuously to work on my textures.

01:06:03Not my flavors, my textures.

01:06:06So I need to make something to give this tart more texture.

01:06:10I want to make a praline layer to go on top of my pie.

01:06:16That definitely brings it to life.

01:06:19Baker's 30 minutes.

01:06:21They will not miss out on the beaches here.

01:06:23Very, very retro.

01:06:25I am making my ornaments, or at least trying to.

01:06:31Look how cute these are.

01:06:34And now we put some of this bad boy.

01:06:36I'm dipping my mascarpone mousse for my reindeers.

01:06:42That will be part of my decoration.

01:06:47I hope I still have my eyebrows.

01:06:51And I'm flambé the pineapples with rum.

01:06:56When everything is ready, I put the pineapple curds on the tart shell,

01:07:01and I'm adding my cherry gelée.

01:07:04And on top of that, my pineapple flambé.

01:07:08So far, everything's going pretty smoothly.

01:07:10I feel confident using a palette knife to paint on my cake

01:07:13because you can get some good texture with the frosting

01:07:16and it's not super hard to mess up.

01:07:18And I've done this before.

01:07:21Now I'm just getting a base layer just to cover everything

01:07:23and then I'm going to logify it.

01:07:25Why did I do a gelatin dessert again?

01:07:34Oh, boy.

01:07:36All right.

01:07:41Charles, how was the transfer?

01:07:44A little rough.

01:07:4515 minutes left.

01:07:47Okay, we got 15 minutes.

01:07:48Let's try to make it pretty.

01:07:50I do two strokes of my palette knife

01:07:53and a little red candy to look like holly.

01:08:00It's time for me to turn this cake into a tree trunk.

01:08:04I take a fork and I give it some, like, wooden texture

01:08:08on the side of the cake.

01:08:10This is the last chance to get to the finale,

01:08:12so the heat is on.

01:08:15Rico, how we doing?

01:08:16Uh, better than we were 30 minutes ago.

01:08:20What are you making?

01:08:21Making it from a blob into a bird.

01:08:24Two minutes left.

01:08:27I have to be very delicate in my decorations.

01:08:29They're not too bulky because it can sink into the cheesecake.

01:08:33They can fall over.

01:08:34I try to make them thin and delicate,

01:08:36so they have a good chance of staying upright.

01:08:40I'm placing my ornaments very carefully,

01:08:43very meticulously with my designer's eye.

01:08:47Unfortunately, one baker is going to be leaving

01:08:49the Holiday Village for good.

01:08:53Three, two, one.

01:08:57That is it.

01:08:58Let's find out who makes it into the finale.

01:09:02Oh, man.

01:09:03Good job, everybody.

01:09:07I feel all right.

01:09:08I was planning to have a lot more time for decoration,

01:09:12and I just feel like I didn't get all the decor on there

01:09:15that I wanted to.

01:09:19Oh, boy.

01:09:21Okay, you all.

01:09:23How's everyone feeling?

01:09:25I feel okay.

01:09:26I feel nervous.

01:09:27Yeah, there's a lot riding on this bake.

01:09:29No matter what, even if you feel good about your dessert,

01:09:31it's still like, ugh!

01:09:33Yeah.

01:09:34Yeah, I feel good.

01:09:35Charles, come on in.

01:09:39Hello, judges.

01:09:40Hi, Charles.

01:09:41Charles, good to see you.

01:09:42Charles won the advantage in the chant seat,

01:09:43and in doing so,

01:09:45he got to choose his retro flavor

01:09:48and also assign the other retro flavors

01:09:51to the other bakers.

01:09:53So, the flavor he chose is...

01:09:55Mandarin oranges.

01:09:57I made a mandarin spiced cheesecake

01:10:00with mandarin jelly and a whipped sour cream.

01:10:02So, this is a little cartoon representation of myself

01:10:06as a six-year-old learning to ski.

01:10:08I like to french fry more than I pizzaed,

01:10:10so I flew down the mountain in a reckless fashion.

01:10:13I had to just tie in that knotty flair.

01:10:15It's adorable.

01:10:17This is the most decorative cheesecake I've ever seen.

01:10:20I love the incorporation of the trees,

01:10:22and I love that you can see the mandarin oranges on top.

01:10:25I will french fry those slices over here.

01:10:28Kudos to him for being able to do a cheesecake in that timeframe.

01:10:32Mm-hmm.

01:10:33Yeah, I did it in round two.

01:10:39All right.

01:10:40He's shaking like crazy.

01:10:42My nerves are all over the place.

01:10:44Okay.

01:10:46There we go.

01:10:47I'm trying to pretend that I'm a lady.

01:10:53I love the way you all eat on the back of your fork.

01:10:57It's so classy.

01:10:59How do you eat?

01:11:00Regular.

01:11:01Oh, of course.

01:11:07Mandarin oranges have arrived.

01:11:10The mandarin orange on top with the gelée is so brilliant.

01:11:14Did you put the mandarin oranges in the cheesecake batter as well?

01:11:17There's some zest in there.

01:11:18Zest, okay.

01:11:20But there's a grittiness about the cheesecake batter.

01:11:23Texture-wise, something happened.

01:11:25You've given us all of these warm spices and the speculose crust

01:11:29instead of just a regular graham cracker.

01:11:31Every choice you've made here is smart.

01:11:33Like, reincorporating orange zest into your cheesecake batter

01:11:35so that way we're not just getting this single-note artificial mandarin orange.

01:11:40I think it's fantastic.

01:11:42Charles, thank you so much.

01:11:43I thought this was delicious.

01:11:45The texture of the cheesecake, it's gritty.

01:11:48I didn't get it.

01:11:49I think it's a hair overbaked.

01:11:51But I could eat the crust by itself.

01:11:53I love this.

01:11:55Tara, come on in.

01:11:57Let's do it.

01:11:58Good luck, buddy.

01:12:00So which retro ingredient were you assigned?

01:12:03Canned peaches.

01:12:04So for my decor, I would really try to put in the holiday spirit

01:12:07with my very white, snowy cake with, like, palette knife Christmas trees as well.

01:12:11I am so impressed with the delicacy with which you created this beautiful holiday canned peach dessert.

01:12:24This is what I mean when I say you listen.

01:12:27You took the feedback that we gave you in the previous round, and you said,

01:12:31that was not my best work, and I'm going to show the judges my best work.

01:12:36And here it is.

01:12:38This is why, at 19 years old, you are here competing against people that are probably 10, 15 years your senior.

01:12:44Aw.

01:12:4520.

01:12:47Hopefully.

01:12:49But the trees are beautiful.

01:12:50I need more of those.

01:12:52Noted.

01:12:53All right.

01:12:54Let's slice it up.

01:12:55All right.

01:12:57I decided to make a white cake.

01:12:58Ooh.

01:13:00Yes.

01:13:01With a, like, spiced peach pie filling, some candied almonds, and then a Swiss meringue buttercream.

01:13:09I love this.

01:13:10I think this is canned peaches.

01:13:11You ticked that box.

01:13:13Your 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 insides.

01:13:22Okay.

01:13:23I love the texture that you got with the almonds in there.

01:13:26You elevated it.

01:13:28I think it's gorgeous.

01:13:30This cake is delicious.

01:13:35And those peaches came right out of the can.

01:13:40And your little crunch, perfect amount.

01:13:45All right, Tarek.

01:13:46Thanks so much.

01:13:48Thank you, Tarek.

01:13:49Oof.

01:13:50Man.

01:13:51I think he hit the nail on the head.

01:13:53That was pretty good, Adam.

01:13:54I taste his newfound confidence.

01:13:57How do you feel?

01:13:58I feel good.

01:14:01John Carlos, welcome back.

01:14:02Oh, yay.

01:14:03Hi, John Carlos.

01:14:04Hi, hi, hi.

01:14:05Which retro flavor were you assigned?

01:14:07I got canned pineapples.

01:14:09What did you make?

01:14:10And I make a pineapple tart with cherry.

01:14:16The decoration on the top, I use the deers because I think it's very Christmas.

01:14:22I think this is super successful.

01:14:23I love the little reindeer party that you have going on.

01:14:26I think it's smart and effective use of those molds.

01:14:29All right.

01:14:30Let's give it a taste on Carlos.

01:14:32The first layer of my tart is a pineapple curd.

01:14:37Second layer, cherry, chile.

01:14:40And I have flambe pineapples.

01:14:43And my cutie reindeers is a mascarpone mousse.

01:14:50Mmm.

01:14:51That reindeer is delicious.

01:14:52I get canned pineapple on top.

01:14:55The crust is pretty good.

01:14:56It's a little blonde at the bottom, but your edge is successful.

01:15:00Your curd is a little too set up.

01:15:03It might have been too much gelatin because it's too rubbery.

01:15:06I understand.

01:15:08I got your pineapple right out of the gate and your reindeer is wonderful.

01:15:14Oh.

01:15:15The jam was a little too sweet.

01:15:18Sean Carlos, thank you.

01:15:19Thank you, Sean Carlos.

01:15:20Bye.

01:15:24We are in the semifinals, and you attempt another custard or something that requires gelatin,

01:15:28and then you do the same mistake again.

01:15:31Have you earned your spot in the final if you're repeating the same mistakes?

01:15:41All right, Chase.

01:15:42Hi, judges.

01:15:43Hi.

01:15:44What retro flavor were you assigned?

01:15:45Apple pie filling.

01:15:47I'm inspired by the old-school ornaments, and they always have this funny star shape on them.

01:15:53Mm-hmm.

01:15:54The decor reminds me of sort of old-school Vegas.

01:15:57Mm-hmm.

01:15:58I love the fact that you took this St. Honoré tip and did this sort of ribbon pattern.

01:16:02I think it's great.

01:16:04I can't wait to try.

01:16:05Whenever you're ready, Chase.

01:16:07I made an apple crumb tart with a brown butter pecan crumb and pecan praline.

01:16:14If I taste just the apple, I'm definitely getting canned apple pie.

01:16:26Mm-hmm.

01:16:27I think I wanted maybe some cinnamon or maybe more of the spices that you had.

01:16:32Mm-hmm.

01:16:33I disagree.

01:16:34Okay.

01:16:35I thought this was absolutely delightful.

01:16:38Yes.

01:16:39This is absolutely delicious, Chase.

01:16:44Something so simple has so much flavor and texture and character.

01:16:50This is canned apple pie filling in the most beautiful way possible.

01:16:55Chase, nice work.

01:16:56I appreciate it.

01:16:57Thank you, Chase.

01:16:58Walk away before you get more compliments.

01:16:59Run.

01:17:01You wanted more spice?

01:17:02Really?

01:17:03The cream was heavier than the pie.

01:17:05Mm.

01:17:06For me.

01:17:07Well, decent people can disagree.

01:17:08That's right.

01:17:10All right, Nico, come on in.

01:17:12Good luck, bud.

01:17:13Good luck.

01:17:17What?

01:17:18Just in case.

01:17:19I get it.

01:17:20Just in case.

01:17:21That's it, you know.

01:17:22All right, Nico, welcome back.

01:17:24So, I was assigned instant chocolate pudding.

01:17:27And what did you make?

01:17:28So, I present to you what I call a partridge in a pear tree.

01:17:31Real story, my grandma in Israel, she has been living in the same house for 79 years now,

01:17:38and there's actually a pear tree in her backyard, and I really wanted to honor her with this dessert.

01:17:43And then, obviously, in the 12 days of Christmas, the partridge in a pear tree.

01:17:48I get the partridge in a pear tree nod.

01:17:51I love that.

01:17:52Your stomp isn't bad, but it could be cleaner.

01:17:54Yeah.

01:17:55Whenever you're ready.

01:17:56So, it is layers of milk chocolate and hazelnut sponge.

01:18:00Ooh.

01:18:01Inside, there is a hazelnut 14 crunch layer.

01:18:06The chocolate instant pudding, I lightened it up a little bit, and I folded in some hazelnut and chocolate paste.

01:18:12And then, there's also a pear coulis that I made.

01:18:17It is a wonderful cake.

01:18:18I would eat it all day.

01:18:19The texture, the layers of flavor are gorgeous.

01:18:23You've elevated it so much, though, that now it is no longer chocolate pudding.

01:18:29Chocolate pudding has left the chat.

01:18:30Yeah.

01:18:31Okay, I hear that.

01:18:32And I think all of that elevation has also left the pears behind a little bit.

01:18:36It's practically all hazelnut.

01:18:38Mm-hmm.

01:18:39No chocolate pudding.

01:18:40I definitely get the pudding, more so when I take it apart.

01:18:44I love this bite of food.

01:18:46Yeah.

01:18:47All right, Nico.

01:18:50Thank you, Nico.

01:18:51It tastes like hazelnut spread.

01:18:53Yeah.

01:18:54Okay, Nico.

01:18:55How do you feel?

01:18:56I don't know.

01:18:57Whatever.

01:18:58I don't know.

01:18:59Not good.

01:19:00They didn't get chocolate pudding, which, like, I altered it because I thought it was really gross.

01:19:03I guess it just didn't meet the challenge, so I don't know.

01:19:08Bakers, for your first outing without your team, you all really can be proud of what you did.

01:19:13Especially you, Ashley.

01:19:14Because you're showing in the chanty, you've moved directly to the finale.

01:19:19Now, as for the main heat retro ingredient challenge, two of you hit a very nostalgic chord with our judges.

01:19:29Charles?

01:19:30Yay.

01:19:34When I heard my name, it was, like, this huge relief.

01:19:36You chose mandarin oranges, and they served you well.

01:19:43And?

01:19:44Good luck, you guys.

01:19:47Tarek.

01:19:50Good job.

01:19:52How many years ago were you eating canned peaches in a cafeteria?

01:19:56Three?

01:19:57Like, less than one.

01:19:59Well, your familiarity with them showed.

01:20:01Good job, Tarek.

01:20:04But only one baker's retro ingredient dessert brought it all together.

01:20:08And that baker is...

01:20:13Tarek!

01:20:14Whoa!

01:20:15I was so surprised that Charles didn't beat me.

01:20:21Really?

01:20:22Good job, buddy.

01:20:23Yeah!

01:20:24Really!

01:20:25I'm so proud of myself, because I totally redeemed myself from the gelatin-based dessert challenge.

01:20:31Congrats!

01:20:33This is such a good confidence boost for me.

01:20:35You are joining Ashley in the finale.

01:20:38That's a big deal.

01:20:41Charles?

01:20:44I'm at number two again.

01:20:46Your top two placement landed you a spot in the finale.

01:20:52Thank you. Thank you.

01:20:55And another baker also did well enough to join you.

01:21:01Chase.

01:21:05Congratulations.

01:21:07Okay.

01:21:08That obviously leaves Giancarlos and Nico.

01:21:11Please step forward, guys.

01:21:17I would be devastated if I went home right now.

01:21:20To be so close to the finale and to go home now would be heartbreaking.

01:21:26Giancarlos.

01:21:28The pineapple curd in your tart was over-set.

01:21:31And the jam was a little too sweet.

01:21:34Nico.

01:21:36The hazelnut overwhelmed your chocolate pudding flavor.

01:21:40You both had a rough day today.

01:21:42But unfortunately, the baker leaving us today is...

01:21:51Giancarlos.

01:21:52I don't have words.

01:21:53It's not just because I don't speak English properly, but I really don't have words to measure how proud I am about my journey.

01:22:09I just want to say one thing.

01:22:10Never stop making this show because I used to be a little boy in Brazil with no hope, no dreams. I changed my life. I have a career. I worked so hard. Being in this village, it's my life.

01:22:26Time dream. Thank you so much. This means a lot to me. I will never forget. Thank you. For real. Thank you.

01:22:43I need a family hug, please.

01:22:47I'm really going to miss Giancarlos. He brought so much fun energy and good aura into the kitchen.

01:22:52Heal this. Love you. Bye. Bye, village. I love you.

01:23:04This experience was great for me.

01:23:12Okay, bakers. Shake it out because this is a big moment. You are the final five.

01:23:22I am stoked that I am making it into the finale. I am really, really happy and proud of myself.

01:23:30Because if you thought today was tough, oh, just wait until you see what we've got in store for you.

01:23:37You may exit the kitchen. Great job, everyone. Thank you so much.

01:23:41Next on Holiday Baking Championship, it's finale time in the Holiday Village.

01:23:47In a holiday baking first, the bakers trade time for ingredients.

01:23:51And Naughty and Nice come together in the biggest bake of all.

01:23:57And the Holiday Baking Champion is...

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