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00:00T'was the night before Christmas on our show, Baked With Love.
00:13Four pairs of contestants compete for what they dreamed of,
00:16making their families cherish festive bakes.
00:20A place in the final.
00:21There can be no mistakes.
00:23So settle down on the sofa with something sweet.
00:26You're in for a joyous Christmas treat.
00:30This is Baked With Love.
00:37Last week...
00:39Can't see.
00:40The teams tried to keep a cool head.
00:43This is okay.
00:43No, they're not hard.
00:45But struggled with their cold cheesecakes.
00:48It reminds me of a shard of glass stabbing this and the blood run.
00:53Oh, no.
00:54That's not a white Christmas.
00:56Amy and Sally impressed with their baked Alaska.
00:59I mean, well done.
01:01But there was a meltdown for the rest.
01:03Okay.
01:04Didn't freeze at all.
01:05It's literally dying.
01:07And one more team left the competition.
01:10Marco and Steven.
01:11Ooh.
01:12Woo!
01:12Woo!
01:13Woo!
01:17Woo!
01:17Semi-finals.
01:19So many things went into getting here.
01:22It's kind of unbelievable that it's here.
01:26Today feels like the day of competition.
01:28Today we really need to bring everything we've got just to be able to get to the finale.
01:32Does that feel good?
01:34Yeah.
01:34It's great.
01:34Perfect.
01:35I'm really getting to do this.
01:37We are in the semi-finals and amazingly happy.
01:41Yeah.
01:41Today is very much that anticipation and excitement and nervousness of Christmas Eve.
01:47And so we're just hoping that Santa will come through for us and that we will be here for
01:52that finale.
01:53Well, welcome back, semi-finalist teams.
01:57Woo!
01:58You have mixed, whipped, whisked, and baked your way into the semi-finals.
02:05I know it feels like you can just touch the $50,000 prize.
02:10And also, one of your bakes will be featured in a Hallmark Christmas movie.
02:15And that's a pretty big deal around Christmas time.
02:19So, Anna and Vaughn, please come to the barn.
02:25Hi.
02:27Good morning.
02:28So, the theme for this week is the night before Christmas.
02:32Vaughn, can you please tell the teams what they will be baking today for the Holiday Classic
02:38round?
02:38We are going to take a trip to Paris because we are making 12 beautifully decorated macarons
02:44today.
02:46Oh, I love that.
02:48Very magnifique.
02:49You call them macaron.
02:51In Ireland, we call them macaroons.
02:52I like to say macaron because I like to feel like I am French.
02:57Oh, you're a fancy girl.
02:57We want 12 perfectly identical macaroons in size, shape, and color.
03:08You need two fillings.
03:09One that is a chocolate ganache, and the other one can be a curd, a jam, or a homemade spread.
03:16What's really important is that you give yourself enough time to do really beautiful finesse
03:23finishing on top of your macaroons.
03:25Okay.
03:26Good luck, everyone.
03:28Stay calm and macaron.
03:32You have an hour and 45 minutes for this challenge.
03:36Off you go.
03:38All right.
03:39Here we go.
03:40Have you guys made this before?
03:42No, sir.
03:43This is our first time making macaroons, but we're excited.
03:47Okay.
03:47Do you think that's enough to make the compote?
03:49I think so.
03:50Yeah.
03:51I'm not experienced in macaroons, but there's a first time for everything.
03:56Preheat oven to 300.
03:58Okay.
03:59So I'm mixing up some pistachios, a little bit of cocoa nibs, pour in some tahini for hold,
04:05and this is inspired by my dad's famous nut spreads.
04:09Hopefully I could make him proud here.
04:13Susan and Salmon.
04:14Oh, those look great, Susan.
04:16Thank you, chef.
04:16Have been consistently strong with their flavors.
04:19I love that.
04:20I think that was really good.
04:21But issues with timing and finesse.
04:24Five minutes?
04:25Could cost them a place in the final.
04:28If you'd had more time, I think you would have executed it well.
04:32Okay, we can't get too cocky right now.
04:34I know.
04:35A macaron, there's definitely a lot that could go wrong.
04:39What could go wrong in this is in the macaronage itself, which is the actual act of mixing the
04:45macaron better.
04:45When they're folding in their Italian meringue mix, if they underfold it, the macaroons will
04:51not work.
04:52It will not work.
04:52You cannot have any type of roughness in there.
04:55But if you overwork it, then they become sloppy and wet.
04:59So what you want is to have this perfect balance of a light, crisp coating and a lovely, soft center.
05:06It's the semi-final.
05:07There's a lot at stake for them.
05:09We don't want an easy challenge where everybody just nails it and then you go, oh, well.
05:12Oh, okay.
05:13It has to be tough.
05:15Come on.
05:16So far, all I've done for this entire challenge is sieve.
05:21You've got a sieve.
05:22It's important, apparently.
05:24Gabriel and Ben.
05:25Our oven was not on.
05:27Often struggled in the surprise challenge.
05:29Our dough is not going well and I don't know what we're going to do.
05:33But after turning a corner.
05:34You got this.
05:36Christmas.
05:37They improved their time management.
05:39I am in awe of you.
05:41My comeback kids.
05:42That's right.
05:43But is this enough to secure a place in the final?
05:45I love it.
05:46I think it's really good.
05:48Great job, guys.
05:48Yeah, great job.
05:49We will sieve.
05:51We will keep calm and sieve on.
05:53Doing all this sifting makes me think this is just going to be a very delicate, delicate shell.
06:00We're going to have to pipe with ease.
06:04When I mentioned macarons, you seemed really excited.
06:07We actually made them together for our wedding because we had a Christmas time wedding.
06:11What they really love about you two is the fact that you do go for it with your flavors.
06:17Are those pistachios?
06:18They are.
06:18So you're doing pistachios and dates?
06:21Dates, cocoa nibs, tahini.
06:23Your flavors are very diverse.
06:26And that's what I think sets you guys apart.
06:29Fingers crossed.
06:31Bye.
06:31Bye.
06:32When we think of Christmas Eve, we think of a Christmas Eve dinner, and we do Feast of
06:39the Seven Fishes, which involves a lot of lemons and herbs.
06:44So we're going to do a white chocolate ganache with a lemon and thyme curd.
06:49A lot of Christmas desserts can be a little heavy, so it's nice to have that one refreshing
06:53dish.
06:55Drawing on their heritage flavors...
06:57Beautiful.
06:58Italian food?
06:59You can't ever go wrong.
07:00Rosa and Rosanna...
07:01Gotta hustle, Mommy.
07:02You really gotta hustle.
07:03...have consistently wowed the judges.
07:06That is amazing.
07:08It's the kind of cookie that gets you in trouble.
07:10But their communication will need improvement.
07:13Oh.
07:14What did I do wrong?
07:15You were supposed to put it on opposite sides to make it look like a sandwich.
07:18I did?
07:19No.
07:19If they're to reach the final.
07:21Yes, Mother.
07:22Good job.
07:23Oh, okay.
07:27There we go.
07:29Okay, so macaron.
07:30Yes.
07:30How are you feeling?
07:31Have you made them before?
07:33We have not.
07:33Never made, enjoyed eating quite a few.
07:36Yes, okay.
07:37Love to eat them, never made them.
07:38But we're going to incorporate strawberry and dark chocolate.
07:43Ooh, yum.
07:44We love strawberries and chocolate together.
07:46It's a romantic flavor.
07:47Paris being a special place for us.
07:49Kind of makes this an extra fun one.
07:52I'm really excited to try everything that you're making today.
07:54Good luck.
07:55Balance out timing.
07:56Yes.
07:56In addition to precision.
07:57Yes.
07:57Timing for sure.
07:59Come on.
08:00Come on.
08:03The water and the sugar, is it on, Mommy?
08:06Yes, it is.
08:07It's boiling.
08:07I just have to pour the sugar into the egg white.
08:10We are currently making the Italian meringue to fold into our macaroni mixture.
08:16I'm just whipping the meringue until we get stiff peaks here, which were just about there.
08:22And then I'm going to fold it into our flour-sugar mixture with the egg.
08:29And then we're about ready to go.
08:31Semi-finals.
08:33Y'all are coming in on a high note, which is great.
08:36Last week was really fantastic.
08:40I'm really proud of you guys.
08:42Okay, so, macarons.
08:44Yes.
08:44How are we feeling?
08:45I feel all right right now.
08:47I'm working on getting the actual shells made.
08:50Mom's working on the compote.
08:51I always err on the side of making more shells because you never know.
08:56Amy and Sally set an early high bar.
08:59Coming first in the last round adds a little more pressure.
09:03She's in.
09:04Let's say a little prayer.
09:05But after playing it safe too many times...
09:08I'm over the vanilla with the vanilla frosting.
09:12Can their bold new approach?
09:14We're working on flavor.
09:15That's our focus.
09:16See them through?
09:20It's starting to thicken up.
09:22I have to make sure you don't get it too gummy.
09:24We are folding our Italian meringue into our almond-based mixture for our macaroons.
09:31Because you don't want to over or under mix according to the recipe.
09:34We're folding, preserving all of that air that we just incorporated into our egg whites.
09:40So it's all in the flick of the wrist.
09:44Do you feel good about the texture?
09:45Yeah, this is good stiff peaks.
09:47Okay, let's get that piped.
09:49And then just pipe like the wind.
09:50So I am making the tops and the bottoms of the macaroons now.
09:57It's a little tricky.
09:59Take your time with these.
10:00This is very important.
10:01They're all consistent, right?
10:02Pipe and flick.
10:05This is tough.
10:06The batter's too loose, so it's still creating peaks when I do that.
10:09It's okay.
10:10We just gotta keep going.
10:11Okay, we'll just leave it.
10:12They're all setting anyway.
10:14Let's pop them in the oven.
10:17You are halfway through.
10:20Mommy, since I have both ovens done and I have so much, I'm just going to make two
10:24batches just in case.
10:25Yep.
10:26But I need you to really focus.
10:32I have messed up.
10:35I grabbed the wrong sugar.
10:37I'm going to have to redo that or they're not going to cook.
10:39I was supposed to combine the icing sugar and the ground almond and I did not.
10:47I need help.
10:48Okay, let's go.
10:49We can stop what we're doing and fix it.
10:52Lord, help me.
10:53I'm struggling.
10:55You're fine.
10:56It's okay.
10:59All right, let's ganache.
11:00Go.
11:01Go work.
11:02These all cracked.
11:03I need to make another tray.
11:04No, honey, we have so many extra.
11:05Come on, come on.
11:06You got this.
11:14With 45 minutes left, most macarons are baking in the oven.
11:18Well, they're cuties.
11:20Bunch of cuties in there.
11:22We need another mixing bowl up here because we've got to make eight whites and the dough separate.
11:26I thought it was all one bowl.
11:27Okay.
11:28Sorry, Mom, I just didn't.
11:30Sadly, that's fine.
11:32I accidentally mixed an ingredient wrong.
11:35I'm glad I discovered it before I went all the way through.
11:38So we're getting a fresh start.
11:41We have definitely practiced communicating.
11:44Even though we're under a time constraint, to take our time to read our recipe.
11:50At the end of the day, it's just cake and cookies and pies.
11:53So there's no need for us to get upset with each other.
11:56One hundred.
11:58Thanks, Mom.
11:59No problem.
12:00I'm just about to turn on my turbojet.
12:03What are you making there?
12:04What's that?
12:05I'm making the curd for our macaroons.
12:08Is it lemon?
12:09It's lemon and thyme.
12:11Ooh.
12:12So what are the other flavors in the macaroon?
12:15White chocolate ganache.
12:16Gorgeous.
12:17Keep up the good work, guys.
12:18I'm looking forward to your macaroons.
12:19Thank you so much, Leslie.
12:23They're working?
12:24They're getting little feet.
12:25They bake quickly, which is good.
12:27Okay.
12:28They're like your babies.
12:29With cakes, with anything, really, the edges bake the quickest.
12:33So the ones on the edges are kind of the sacrificial lambs.
12:35They're blowing up, like, literally.
12:37They have a lot of air and a lot of heat that hits them first.
12:40But the ones in the center, no cracks.
12:42They have their feet.
12:43They are doing what they're supposed to.
12:46I think being part of people's lives through baking is really fun and rewarding to serve
12:51people food.
12:51And it's something that you've made.
12:54And it's something special and kind of elevated in a way that desserts, they're just a little
12:58extra fancy.
12:59They're a little extra fun.
13:01Compared to other foods, we love all food.
13:03But desserts, they get an extra love.
13:07Man, those all cracked, Gaby.
13:09It's fine.
13:10They count how many are good, and that's all we need.
13:12I think we overcooked these a little bit because they cracked.
13:16Gaby, I think I'm going to put another batch in.
13:19Okay.
13:20All right.
13:22We have macarons, people.
13:23Yay!
13:25Macarons.
13:2530 minutes left!
13:28We haven't even got ours cooked.
13:3030 minutes!
13:3130 minutes.
13:33We'll do eight minutes on these guys.
13:36All right.
13:36Are we close, Mom?
13:37Okay.
13:3839, 240.
13:41Thank you, Mom.
13:42You're welcome.
13:42But it's not too much of this, right?
13:44But it has to have the flavor in there.
13:46Okay.
13:50All right.
13:51We're there with the meringue, Mom.
13:53Okay.
13:53Get those in.
13:55How's it coming?
13:59I don't know.
14:00They both came out the same.
14:01It's the best I could do.
14:02I don't think we have time to make another batch.
14:04No.
14:05It'll be too warm.
14:06I'm just going to keep what we have.
14:07Oh, these all cracked.
14:09Well, not all of them, so the good ones we'll keep.
14:12I mean, we have so many.
14:12I need to make another tray.
14:13No, honey, we have so many extra.
14:15Gaby, I think I'm going to put another batch in.
14:17Bubby!
14:18I just feel like we don't have a lot of good ones.
14:21Ben is making another batch.
14:23He wants to be certain we've got perfect macaroons that aren't split.
14:27I think he just wants a couple solid ones.
14:30I think they are.
14:31But he's striving for perfection here, and I applaud that.
14:36You're going in.
14:37You need to really keep an eye on those little boogers.
14:40Okay, they're rising.
14:42I don't know if I should make another ganache.
14:43I don't really like it at all.
14:45No, it is no time.
14:48Not even to make, like, a quick one?
14:50If you make it, like, really quick.
14:52All right, we need to pull that next batch out.
14:57Ten minutes!
14:59You have ten minutes left!
15:01Here, let me have it.
15:02Go.
15:03Go work.
15:04Just do a tree?
15:05Yeah, a tree.
15:06And then we'll dot it with gold.
15:07Okay.
15:08Oh, goodness.
15:09We just got to start decorating, I think.
15:10All right, let's go.
15:14So at the moment, we're currently redoing our ganache,
15:16because I'm not quite happy with how the first batch turned out.
15:19Back to square one.
15:20All right, that's 12, I believe.
15:22Okay, here's the white chocolate.
15:25Okay, here's the ganache.
15:27Just go like the wind.
15:29And I'm going to follow behind you with the cream cheese.
15:31All right, let's ganache.
15:33Five minutes!
15:34Perfect.
15:35Just go fast, go fast, go fast, go fast.
15:36Let me clean this one.
15:37No.
15:37It's coming out.
15:38So then just get another one.
15:39Don't even clean it.
15:40If it's coming out, just get another one.
15:42Very careful.
15:43Mm-hmm.
15:45Some on this is too thick.
15:47Okay, Susan, we've got to get it on.
15:49Yep.
15:49Come on, come on.
15:50We got this, girl.
15:51One minute!
15:52Oh, God.
15:53One minute!
15:55Come on, Sally, get it on.
15:57Okay, just get them all topped and pretty.
15:59Cute.
16:00Oh, I love them so much.
16:01Nothing like a little hairspray to hold it in place.
16:04How about like a little swirl?
16:06Silver swirl?
16:07Just hustle, mama, hustle.
16:09Rose petals.
16:10These are just signifying the romance.
16:13The dish.
16:13Okay, that's good, honey.
16:14There's no wiping.
16:15There's no wiping.
16:16There's no wiping.
16:16Just leave it, please.
16:17Don't touch it.
16:18Don't touch it?
16:18Do you want outer sugar?
16:19No.
16:20Make it snow?
16:21Nope.
16:21Don't touch.
16:22Don't touch.
16:23Time's up.
16:24Step away from your macarons.
16:28Wow.
16:29Oh, it's nice.
16:31Uh-oh.
16:31Uh-oh.
16:32We're done.
16:33I'm so proud of you.
16:35Sally and Amy, please tell the judges about your macarons.
16:44The flavors are white chocolate ganache.
16:47The filling is a mixed berry compote.
16:50These are gorgeous.
16:52They look like they were professionally made.
16:54Wow.
16:54Okay.
16:55Oh, that looks really good.
16:56Yeah, that's a nice cross-section.
16:58I think they've got a really nice texture.
17:00The acidity of your jam is exactly what you need with a macaroon, because macaroons are sweet.
17:06I just think they are absolutely stunning.
17:09Thank you so much.
17:10Great job.
17:11Well done.
17:13Good job, mom.
17:15Inside of the macarons incorporates a ring of chocolate ganache, and inside of that we have a dollop of pistachio spread.
17:23I love the trees.
17:25I think the trees are so cute.
17:28Also, your plating is really nice.
17:30It's clever, yeah.
17:30Yeah.
17:31We going for the same one?
17:31Oh, yeah, I was going to go for that one.
17:35Wow.
17:37I do actually really like this.
17:39I think often with pairing it with something that's, like, acidic to balance those, but you paired it with kind of like a nut butter of sorts, which I think is really nice.
17:49I think the flavor is so delicious.
17:50I just wish you'd made them a little bit bigger, because I think the bake would have been more even.
17:54I still think it's a great attempt at a macaroon.
17:58We have a strawberry cream cheese filling and a dark chocolate salted ganache.
18:08I do think that the powdered sugar is maybe not necessary.
18:14The presentation's nice with the rose petals, but, yeah, you haven't really decorated them.
18:18You know, my top shell is really rather baked.
18:25I think because you made them smaller, you ran the risk of overbaking them.
18:29I do like the flavor, though.
18:31I think you had a good use of the acidity of the strawberry and the bitterness of the chocolate kind of helps balance out the macaroon.
18:36It's too crunchy.
18:37It is too crunchy, and it's a little bit dry.
18:40You can see it.
18:41I think that they've just been in the oven too long.
18:43But the flavor is good.
18:45Yeah, the flavor is nice.
18:48Good job, honey.
18:49Good job, honey.
18:49Good job, honey.
18:50Inside is a lemon and thyme cream with a white chocolate ganache.
18:56I'm excited to try them because lemon and thyme sounds delicious.
18:59You do see some that are bigger than others.
19:03They're not all quite uniform.
19:06So you do have some filling that is spilling out, and also your ganache does look split.
19:12Yes.
19:13There is a little bit of inconsistency with some colors.
19:16I think they look really good.
19:18I think your white chocolate looks like, can you see the way it's a little bit grainy?
19:22I liked the flavor a lot.
19:24I loved that thyme in there.
19:25It was a really nice flavor to get.
19:27And very innovative.
19:29Texturally wise, if you eat this, you'll enjoy it.
19:31Like, it is really nice, but it's a little bit cheerier than I would expect.
19:35Oh, we did it.
19:37Oh, we did it.
19:39One of those times where we're like, yeah, we're in a competition.
19:41They didn't explode.
19:42That is just a win for us.
19:44Big time.
19:45Next time, we would not make a chocolate ganache out of white chocolate.
19:49I think the feeling that I would describe myself right now feeling is relieved.
19:54With capital letters, relief.
19:57Yes.
19:57That was definitely the low point for us, but we still held it together.
20:00They still said it was good flavors.
20:03It's the semifinals, and we've worked so hard to be here, and I think we're not ready to go home.
20:07We have the same message.
20:09Yeah.
20:09Last bake of the semifinal.
20:11Three hours long.
20:13I have a little surprise for you.
20:16Y'all are good.
20:25Welcome back to the barn, guys.
20:27Now it's time for your ultimate festive baking challenge.
20:31But before we begin, I have a little surprise for you.
20:37Salman and Susan.
20:39Hi, Susan and Salman.
20:40Are you surprised to see us?
20:41Well, we are really surprised you made it this far into the competition.
20:45Come on.
20:46Okay.
20:47I'm just kidding.
20:48Sorry.
20:48We miss you.
20:50We love you.
20:51And I wish you all the best for the rest of the show.
20:55Good luck.
20:56Bye.
20:59That's pretty cool.
21:00Hi, girls.
21:01I know y'all are doing well.
21:03I couldn't be prouder for both of you.
21:05I just want to let you know I'm cheering for you.
21:08And you'll do great.
21:10I love you.
21:12And have a great day.
21:14Hi, Mommy.
21:15And hi, Rosanna.
21:16You guys are doing great.
21:18We love and we miss you so, so much.
21:20You're almost there.
21:21You got this.
21:22Oh, goodness.
21:23Hey, Gaby, Ben, and Baby B.
21:25We want you to know that we are rooting for you
21:28and we are so excited to see the results.
21:31And you know you'll always be our family's top baker.
21:35We love you.
21:35We love you.
21:36I love you.
21:40Y'all are good.
21:43Ah, you guys are all truly, truly loved.
21:47Now, the theme for this week is the night before Christmas.
21:50So, judges, what festive treats would you like our teams to make
21:56for their ultimate festive baking challenge?
21:59We would like you to make a Christmas snow globe
22:02inspired by the night before Christmas.
22:04It must have two tiers and each tier must have two layers.
22:09And the decoration needs to be exquisite.
22:12We would like the flavors of this cake
22:14to be inspired by your favorite festive holiday beverage.
22:19The sugared dome on top will create the effect of a snow globe
22:25encapsulating your night before Christmas scene.
22:28That is so cool.
22:29Yeah.
22:30I love that.
22:31I cannot wait to see your Christmas Eve scenes.
22:34You have three hours for this challenge
22:37and a place in the final is at stake here.
22:41So, good luck, everyone, and off you go.
22:48We got this to mama.
22:49All right, I got the mixer.
22:51There you go.
22:53The last bake of the semifinal.
22:55Three hours long.
23:00Our bacon's being inspired by a rainbow cookie espresso martini
23:04that we make during Christmas time.
23:06The sponge itself is just almond,
23:08and then the espresso flavor comes from the buttercream,
23:10and we're going to make a raspberry compote to go with it as well.
23:13All of our flavors have proven to be true time and time again,
23:17so I'm not worried about the flavor combination.
23:24We are making a hot chocolate peppermint cake
23:27made with hot chocolate poured into it.
23:30With peppermint chocolate buttercream.
23:33The inspiration behind the cake is for Ben and I's big family party every year.
23:38Him and I sub in for Santa and Mrs. Claus.
23:42The moment where I knew that Gabi was the one
23:45was our Christmas party with my family
23:48where she dressed up as Mrs. Claus and I was Mr. Claus,
23:51and just the way that she committed to the role
23:53and that moment for me was like, that was everything.
23:57We actually are going to carve the cake into a chimney
24:00with a fireplace on it,
24:03and at the top, we're going to have Santa going down the chimney.
24:07Yeah, this is a fun one for us.
24:09Hi, ladies.
24:10Hi.
24:11What is your signature drink that is inspiring?
24:15Pink champagne.
24:17The flavor is a pink champagne cake.
24:20The little cookies are lemon crisp cookies
24:22that have a lemony royal icing.
24:26Gathering with family and cheersing to Christmas
24:29and the whole season that we've been working towards celebrating.
24:33Treat yourself.
24:34Absolutely.
24:37So tell us, what's the flavors in your Christmas snow globe?
24:43It's chai and espresso powder coming together
24:46in marbled cake layers for the base and the top tier.
24:49And the upper tier will have buttercream transfers.
24:52So you've gone for three layers in each tier.
24:55Yes.
24:56Okay.
24:56So you're making it harder for yourself.
24:58I know, we keep doing that.
24:59You guys always do seem to really just make things
25:02a little bit more difficult.
25:03So, you know, you sound like you've got a lot to be doing.
25:06We do.
25:07Good luck.
25:08I feel like when you go back home, you're going to bake so quickly.
25:11I'm going to bake quickly.
25:12Yeah.
25:13I'm going to think I'm on a timer for the rest of my baking life.
25:15Yeah.
25:16Your unsweetened cocoa powder.
25:18I'm starting with the batter, the champagne cake batter.
25:21Mmm, the espresso powder is very fancy.
25:24Chai.
25:26Also very nice.
25:27Keep going.
25:28Keep going fast.
25:29One more of those big scoops and you're good.
25:31All right, I'm almost done.
25:32And then we can put them in the oven.
25:33Good, good, good, good.
25:36We just want to make sure we've got this in, then out, and cooled as quickly as possible.
25:41Is that okay?
25:42He's going to bake fast.
25:45All right.
25:46Sponges in the oven.
25:47So I'm working on our sugar cookie dough.
25:55It's delicious.
25:55It's got almond in it.
25:57These are definitely the sugar cookies that I love to lay out for Santa.
26:01So I figured these would be perfect to decorate as the stockings that are going to go on our chimney.
26:09This will be for the meringue that we're going to place around our ballet scene here.
26:15So I'm going to make some trees and pipe them onto these popsicle sticks so then we can quickly place them once they are done baking.
26:23I'm going to check on these cakes.
26:24Good.
26:25Good?
26:26Yeah.
26:29Our cakes are finished.
26:31They're cooling.
26:32We're melting down our isomalt at the moment to make our snow globes.
26:35Because it's such a crucial element of the cake, I just want it to be done with.
26:39So we could just pop it on the cake right before we present it to the judges.
26:42Today's my first day ever working with isomalt.
26:44So we'll see how it goes.
26:47To create their domes, the teens can either use sugar caramel.
26:51I've chosen granulated sugar, corn syrup, and water.
26:55And I chose that because I have not worked with isomalt before.
26:59We'll see.
27:00No promises.
27:01Or the less temperamental substitute, isomalt.
27:04So isomalt, as I understand it, has better clarity than going with sugar.
27:09So I am going to try this with, uh, isomalt.
27:14The thing is, when you're using different sugars to make sugar work, they react at different times.
27:19So if they use something like isomalt, it takes a lot longer to actually cool down and set than normal kind of sugar caramel.
27:26Oh, she's doing the water balloon method as well.
27:30All right.
27:32We have the same method.
27:33Yeah.
27:34I think a couple of the sugar domes look like they might be maybe not fully domed or, uh, a little bit small.
27:42Mm-hmm.
27:43I've also seen some domes that they went over it once, the sugar's set, and then they're kind of going over it again.
27:49So you get, like, little ripples, and it's not going to be as clear as the other sugar domes, where it's just one kind of thinner layer of isomalt or sugar, and you can see really nicely inside.
28:03I would have liked to try the balloon, because that looks like people got yours going, at least.
28:08Um, but, you know, we're out here trying to...
28:12I'm going to let this bad boy cool to room temp before I'm allowed to touch her.
28:16Must be one of these.
28:19Or both of these.
28:21Okay.
28:22Just pop the balloon gently and let the water out.
28:24Yes, very gently, the mama.
28:29She's never done it before.
28:31We all have to push ourselves today.
28:38Oh, I knew that was going to happen.
28:41I knew it.
28:43How are you looking, Susan?
28:44Oh!
28:45Shoot, shoot, shoot.
28:46Spin, spin, spin, spin.
28:48Uh-oh, the star fell on.
28:58Rosanna, the whole thing shattered.
29:01It popped.
29:02The whole thing was cracked?
29:02The purple one did.
29:04I have the pink one on there.
29:06Okay, listen, I'm going to go do that.
29:07Yep.
29:08I think mom's feeling the pressure only because she wants to make me proud, but I'm already
29:11proud of her, of how far we've come, you know?
29:14But at the same token, I'm trying to make her proud.
29:16So, it's a two-way street.
29:19Forty-five minutes left!
29:25Is that right?
29:31It can be saved.
29:33Actually, it looks kind of cool.
29:35Looks kind of cool.
29:37It's water broke.
29:39Just have to move on.
29:40I have one that I think will work for what we need.
29:45Sally, Amy, how are you feeling?
29:47Great.
29:48Feeling busy.
29:49Feeling busy?
29:49Yeah.
29:50Let's be honest.
29:50The night before Christmas, you're usually pretty busy.
29:52And we're still wrapping the presents.
29:54Yeah.
29:54What about your snow globe?
29:56Yeah, what's the scene?
29:57It's going to be a little marzipan red rug, a little tree, some presents decorated.
30:03Santa's already been by.
30:05Oh, nice.
30:05And if you'll notice, it's named Becky's Winter Wonderland.
30:10I had a special needs sister.
30:12She couldn't hear and talk, but visual was very important to her.
30:16So, my mom, through the years, bought her snow globes with different scenes in it.
30:21She loved them.
30:22So, we thought, snow globes?
30:23That makes me think of Becky.
30:25Becky's gone now, and each of us got a snow globe from Becky's collection.
30:30Well, we're going to keep that great Becky spirit alive.
30:34Okay.
30:34I hope so.
30:35Good luck, guys.
30:36Thank you so much.
30:41It's snowstorm.
30:42It's snowing.
30:44It's like milking a cow.
30:45There you go.
30:46You can take the boy out of the farm, but you can't take the farmer out of the boy.
30:49So, now we are getting our icing to color.
30:52We're going to next start on our crumb coat of our cake, and then I'm going to start icing our sugar cookies.
30:58Just starting to crumb coat our cake so that we can frost it and decorate it.
31:06Right now, I am making nice, pretty candy cane colored layers for when Vaughn and Anna cut into the cake.
31:14They'll get an extra surprise.
31:16We want to be the star students of the day, so we're going for extra credit.
31:19We are.
31:20This is extra credit now.
31:21We just thought of this, so.
31:23So, gold.
31:24Gold, red, green.
31:26Gold, white, green, white.
31:28So, we are creating the, um, some of the characters from the nutcracker, and with buttercream, adding them onto the upper tier of our two-tier cake.
31:39That's pretty cool.
31:4115 minutes!
31:44We have more coffee buttercream, right?
31:46Yeah.
31:46Okay.
31:47How are you looking, Susan?
31:49I'm doing okay.
31:50Okay, are you comfortable?
31:51Yep, I'm about to put the other layer on top of this.
31:53We're just gonna...
31:54Do you need help, or you got it?
31:55I'm gonna just do it, because I know you're busy, so.
31:57Thank you so much.
31:58Oh!
31:59Shoot, shoot, shoot.
32:00I had a similar situation.
32:02It just happened.
32:02Just keep moving it for me.
32:04Yes.
32:04Perfect.
32:06A little faster than that.
32:09Are you okay that we haven't popped the balloon yet, honey?
32:12Yeah, can you do this?
32:12Yeah.
32:13All right.
32:14Really thin on the top.
32:17Shoot.
32:18I hope that one's all right, because...
32:20It's fine.
32:21That's a good one.
32:21There's holes in the top.
32:23Just let it drain slow.
32:25I'm going to smooth.
32:26Careful.
32:26Careful.
32:28Okay, that's nice.
32:29You got it?
32:30Yeah, but...
32:30All right, let's put it on top.
32:31That kind of works.
32:33Uh-oh, the star fell off.
32:34Here, let me put it back.
32:36Five minutes!
32:38Santa's pants.
32:41You better stay Santa.
32:45Perfect.
32:47I feel like our Christmas tree needs a little shush.
32:49Two minutes!
32:51Can you spin it, please?
32:53You're doing that one again?
32:54Yeah.
32:54Just spin.
32:55Spin, spin, spin, spin.
32:57Oh, no other thing.
32:59That's good.
33:01Okay.
33:01One more.
33:02One minute!
33:03Yep, just help me with this.
33:04Could you pull some trees for me, please?
33:06Get those snow globes on your boards!
33:10One minute, they said.
33:12Okay, Susan, I'm just going to put the...
33:13Hold on.
33:14I'm putting her on.
33:15Oh, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on.
33:17And then, they're doing...
33:19Oh, the stocking just fell.
33:21What?
33:22I don't know.
33:22Is it okay?
33:25Cool, cool.
33:28Let's take her off.
33:29I'll cover it.
33:30Time!
33:31Okay.
33:32Susan and Solomon, we see you!
33:38Good job, the mama.
33:41It's fine.
33:41Okay.
33:42With their ultimate festive bake complete,
33:51there's one last judging before determining our finalists.
33:55Rosa and Rosanna,
33:57so today we present to you our Vigila di Natale,
34:01also the night of Christmas Eve.
34:03I think it looks really good.
34:06I think your colours are lovely.
34:07I can see through your snow globe.
34:09I feel that seeing so much of the silver boards
34:12kind of takes your eyes away
34:15from all the beautiful work that you've put in.
34:17Your piping is beautiful.
34:19Okay.
34:23That's delicious.
34:24Oh, my goodness.
34:26I love that.
34:29The raspberry cuts through.
34:31It all just works super, super well together.
34:33All of your flavours are elegant.
34:36Everything is kind of like high-fiving each other in the background
34:39as opposed to fighting for attention.
34:41That was delicious.
34:42Thank you guys so much.
34:45This is our waltz of the buttercream dancers,
34:48buttercream ballerinas.
34:50We have a chai and coffee cake flavouring.
34:54I definitely think there's flashes of brilliance.
34:57You can see that you have some really nice transfers here.
35:01I think your meringue lollipops look very nice,
35:05but the back is missing a few elements to it.
35:09Your sugar dome is difficult to see through,
35:12and then there's some icing missing.
35:14Mm-hmm.
35:16Oh, that's gorgeous.
35:17Mm.
35:20The cake itself has a really nice flavour.
35:23I'm getting a lot of those chai spices.
35:25I wish that the buttercream were a coffee buttercream.
35:29I think it would have really bolstered that flavour.
35:31The pipework on the side is really impressive.
35:34And the meringue.
35:35Crispy and crunchy.
35:36Very nice.
35:39The flavour is a pink champagne cake.
35:42The little cookies are lemon crisp cookies
35:44that have a lemony royal icing.
35:48The thing was Becky's Winter Wonderland.
35:51You can eat it.
35:53Yes.
35:54That's mom's light sister.
35:56My light sister, she was special needs in snow globes.
35:59That was her thing, so we call it Becky's Winter Wonderland.
36:04Yes.
36:04This cake just makes you really happy to look at.
36:07I love it being a champagne cake,
36:09and being Becky's cake is such a celebration of life.
36:12I am very impressed that you've used sugar for your snow globe
36:16because it shows a lot more skill,
36:18and I think it gives a beautiful, brilliant effect.
36:24Look at the little pooch.
36:28I just thought it was the same as the face.
36:29Oh!
36:29Oh!
36:31I love the look of that.
36:33It's beautiful.
36:38I think it's great.
36:40It's looking good.
36:40Yeah.
36:40The flavor is delicate.
36:44I think it's a smart use of lemon and other flavors
36:48to really bolster that champagne effect as well.
36:52So, really good job.
36:54It's great.
36:55I think it's still a little bit sweet.
36:57I just would have liked maybe an extra little flavor profile in there.
37:01Okay.
37:02I think, visually-wise, it's stunning.
37:04And the love and the heartbeat of what Christmas represents,
37:08100%.
37:09Remembering the people who matter to us.
37:12I have, in my life, had many people who have extra needs,
37:16who are so celebrated and so loved,
37:20and their stories have to be told
37:21because they're such a vital part for our society
37:24and what makes us better people.
37:26I mean, that's true.
37:28Amazing job, ladies.
37:35Good job.
37:37Last but not least, Gabriel and Ben.
37:42Christmas Eve is all about Santa Claus coming down the chimney.
37:46And our flavors we incorporated for our favorite beverage
37:49is a hot cocoa cake and a peppermint buttercream.
37:54Like, wow.
37:55Yeah.
37:56It's so good.
37:56Your cookies look great.
37:59Such amazing flooding.
38:01Oh, thank you.
38:02That is so skillful.
38:04Okay.
38:04Oh.
38:05Oh.
38:06Yeah.
38:07Oh.
38:08Look how cute that is.
38:10Oh, my goodness.
38:11Oh, my goodness.
38:12Oh, that's fantastic, guys.
38:14Well, where I come from, we call this flexing.
38:16Oh.
38:18It's the same thing here.
38:23It's so good.
38:24It's so good.
38:24The sponge is really nice and moist without being dense.
38:29And the buttercream is really light.
38:31It really does taste like a mug of hot cocoa with peppermint in it.
38:36It's so good.
38:37I think the creativity in it was excellent.
38:39The only thing I will say is that your sugar dome was a little bit damaged, but we could see through it.
38:45So that was good.
38:46All in all, this has to be one of the best bakes that we've seen in the competition.
38:52Wow.
38:53Get down there, Santa.
38:54They deserve it.
38:56They need their present.
38:58Amazing job, guys.
38:59And to hear that feedback at this point in the competition, that was worth $50,000.
39:08It was worth $100,000.
39:10My biggest goal was to actually get to this point.
39:13We gave it our best, and we're just happy to make it to this point.
39:16Next week's the final, and if we do get to go, I'd just be so incredibly proud of ourselves.
39:23It's incredibly surreal.
39:24It's a very surreal moment.
39:29Today was a really technical day.
39:37I feel like everyone rose to the occasion.
39:39Yes.
39:40Today really felt like a semifinal.
39:43They all really impressed me.
39:45I mean, to think of how far these teams have come from week one, I just can't believe it.
39:50Yeah.
39:50They are just inspirational.
39:53So do you have an idea of who you think might be going home?
39:56I think it's difficult because they've all improved so much, but I think maybe there's
40:02a team that might have dropped the ball a little bit.
40:08Bakers, what a magical day it's been.
40:12You brought Christmas Eve to life with your skill, your imagination, and every bake has
40:20such a beautiful story.
40:21Judges, what did you think?
40:23It's really making me proud to see how far all of you have come in this competition.
40:30Amy and Sally, starting off the competition so strongly, there's a lot of mounting pressure.
40:36But the last couple of weeks, I have really seen that spark come back in both of you, and
40:42you're making Alabama proud.
40:45Rosa and Rosanna, the first couple of weeks, you were just nailing it, and then you just
40:50had a dip, and I was so worried that you'd give up the fight.
40:55But resilient returners, you just take the knocks, and you keep coming back.
41:01Well done.
41:01Thank you so much.
41:02Susan and Salman, you came in with tempered chocolate, and it blew my mind.
41:07I consider you flavor alchemists.
41:11Sometimes the timing is the thing that gives me a little bit of heart palpitations, but
41:18the precision in executing flavor has always been there.
41:24Gabriel and Ben, you just scare us and then wow us back in week two.
41:30I was like, 15 minutes to go, there's going to be no cookies.
41:34You should be very proud of your comeback kid status.
41:40Okay, it is the semi-finals.
41:43Only three pairs can move forward.
41:46So sadly, one pair will have to say goodbye.
41:53The pair that will be going home today is Susan and Salman.
42:02Please hang up your aprons and come and say goodbye.
42:07We are so sorry to see you go, but we really hope you continue to bake at home with love.
42:21What a whirlwind.
42:22Yeah.
42:23We had a good run.
42:24We are just still so in awe that we made it all this way.
42:28And how, what other feeling could you have besides gratitude?
42:32I'm just so proud that I really feel like we earned our spot in the finale.
42:38Our family will be proud of us.
42:40They'll be excited to see us go into the finals.
42:44This is the biggest challenge that we're going to face yet.
42:49The cakes are getting bigger.
42:51The judges are getting more strict about what they're looking for.
42:54And so, you know, this is far from over.
42:57We've got a lot of work to do next week.
42:58We've got a lot of work to do next week.
43:28We'll be part in theendiary寿es kitty.
43:30We'll be right back to you.
43:31We'll be right back to you.
43:33Here we go.
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