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The Ultimate Baking Championship - Season 1 - Episode 08: The Deep Freeze
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00:00Previously, on the Ultimate Baking Championship.
00:04In the quarterfinals, the chefs faced a combination skills challenge and master challenge
00:09entirely focused on sugar.
00:13Juan's light as air lemon cake with his sugar work dandy line got him to number one.
00:18But mistakes from Molly and Chris.
00:20They broke.
00:21Sent them to the bottom of the leaderboard.
00:23It just needs a little more.
00:25And the once perfect Chris was eliminated.
00:41I am in the semifinals.
00:43Are you kidding me?
00:44This is unreal.
00:45I'm so excited.
00:46I'm so proud of myself.
00:47Welcome back, chefs.
00:49You are the last four chefs standing.
00:51You are all each so close to taking home $50,000.
00:56Oh, no, no, no.
00:57And the Ultimate Baking Championship gold medal.
01:00Mamma mia.
01:01Mamma mia.
01:02So here's how we ended the competition last time.
01:05Well, as always, every day is a new bake and a new chance to be at the top of this
01:09board.
01:09So let's wipe the scores.
01:11Let's get right to it.
01:13Today is all about temperature.
01:17Okay.
01:17So you're going to show us your mastery of the deep freeze by making frozen desserts.
01:25Oh, my God.
01:27I'm excited.
01:27We haven't been able to do this yet.
01:29For your master challenge, you'll each make one sensational frozen dessert.
01:33It is imperative you make something that blows our judges away because the top two chefs in
01:39the master challenge will automatically go through to the finale, while the bottom two
01:44chefs will have to prove themselves one more time by going head-to-head in a skills challenge.
01:51Oh, my God.
01:53Don't want to be in the bottom.
01:54No, definitely.
01:56The winning chef will then automatically move on to the finale, while the other, sadly,
02:01will exit the competition.
02:02We've got two big names to tell you more about this master challenge.
02:06He's seen everything you've created since your very first challenge, and he expects perfection
02:10from all of you.
02:11Duff Goldman.
02:14I can't believe you guys are still clapping for me.
02:19Now, your second judge is a James Beard nominee, who's best-selling book, Sweet Farm,
02:25contains over 100 innovative dessert recipes, including some of her most popular frozen
02:31desserts.
02:32Please welcome Molly Yeh.
02:34Hi, Molly.
02:35Hi, guys.
02:37Hey, good to see you.
02:38Good to see you.
02:39The inspiration for your frozen desserts will be the most frigid features of the natural
02:44world.
02:47Okay.
02:47Let's find out which frozen world theme has been randomly assigned to each of you.
02:52Oh, okay.
02:54Okay.
02:54I'm going to go hide in my cave.
02:59Now, as with all master challenges, each judge will give a score of up to 15 points
03:04for flavor, execution, and technical difficulty.
03:07You have two and a half hours to demonstrate your mastery of temperature by creating a fantastic
03:12frozen world cake.
03:14And your time starts now.
03:18Ready to do this?
03:26Last challenge, I landed in last place on the leaderboard, and that was not fun.
03:31I think I do have something to prove.
03:33I'm here to win that $50,000.
03:35I really want to reward myself for all the hard work I've put in over the last 12 years
03:39of my career, and prove it to myself that I can be the ultimate baking champion at the
03:44age of 29.
03:45The ice cream, I'm going to do two flavors.
03:47I'm going to do a light lemon cream gelato, and then a blueberry swirl gelato.
03:51The difference between ice cream and gelato is your fat content and your mouthfeel.
03:56All right, so I'm just making my base here.
03:58I'm doing a gelato base.
04:00Ice cream is a little bit more fluffy and airy, but has a ton more fat packed into it.
04:06And gelato is a little bit more dense, but kind of silky and smooth.
04:09What's the story behind your dessert, Florencia?
04:12When I have a coconut sorbet and a dark chocolate and tonka bean gelato.
04:17Do you have a preference?
04:18Gelato versus ice cream?
04:20Well, it depends.
04:21It depends.
04:22There's some very good ice creams.
04:23But yeah, the first thing I do when I go to Italy is, like, just skip dinner, go to gelato
04:29directly.
04:36When it comes to frozen desserts, what are things you're looking for?
04:40Well, frozen desserts are so challenging because you basically have to recalibrate your taste
04:45buds.
04:45Things taste sweeter when they're hot.
04:48And then when they cool down and they're frozen, those flavors are dampened.
04:52Baking is such a science, but I feel like making frozen dessert brings it to an entirely
04:56new level.
05:00My desserts, I like really exotic flavor.
05:02I think I'm exotic.
05:03So I like exotic flavor.
05:05I'm going to go with mango sorbet.
05:07Ice cream, basically, it's like a milk base.
05:10And then for the sorbet, it's like instead of the milk, basically, you put the fruit.
05:14So it's like very fruity.
05:16It's going to be really mango-y.
05:24I work for a restaurant group where I have to create the menus for all of us.
05:30I love them, and part of that is making ice cream.
05:33It's a really fundamental skill for pastry chefs.
05:36Last week, I was at the top of the leaderboard, and that puts a lot of pressure on me.
05:41It's been hard.
05:42My co-life has been such a roller coaster.
05:45But I have grown so much as a chef, as a person, and right now, I'm in a great spot
05:52in my life
05:52where I have a great partner, and honestly, I want him to be proud of me, and I want to
05:58show everyone I deserve that, and I deserve to be here.
06:01Right now, I have a charcoal ice cream.
06:05So it's going to be nice and dark.
06:07I'm going to have a buttermilk ice cream as well.
06:09There's going to be little pieces of mochi inside.
06:11Juan, what's this frozen world that you have to release?
06:14So I have to make a glacier.
06:15So I'm going to have a chocolate sponge, then black sesame praline, and then I am going
06:20to take inspiration to my trip that I did to Iceland, and I was actually on top of a glacier.
06:25I'm going to be using a black sesame crunchy streusel, and then I'm going to spray it with
06:29black and white velvet spray.
06:31Right now, I'm working on my mochi.
06:33I love mochi.
06:36Sorry.
06:36That's okay.
06:37I hate touching cornstarch.
06:40You literally just had a visceral...
06:42Look, I get...
06:44That is so weird.
06:48What is it about it that makes you...
06:50Like, he's not pretending.
06:51This is...
06:52Look at my skin.
06:53I can tell.
06:54What is it about cornstarch?
06:56I don't know.
06:56It's just the filling.
06:58I don't know.
06:59But it tastes...
06:59But mochi tastes amazing.
07:01It's worth it.
07:01I know.
07:01If you don't mind, can I go and wash my hands?
07:03Please go wash your hands.
07:04Thank you, Jesse.
07:04Sorry, bye.
07:06Coming through.
07:08I thought he was having, like, an allergic reaction or something or hurt himself.
07:11That was unbelievable.
07:18Perfect.
07:19When I first got here, I saw all those bakers, like, very good with sugar, very good with
07:24chocolate.
07:25I was very intimidated.
07:26Each challenge, like, really taught me something about skills, about techniques.
07:31I am proud of myself for making it to the semi-final.
07:35What theme did you get, Clermont?
07:36Cave ice.
07:37Cave ice?
07:38Yeah.
07:39So what are you making?
07:39For my baked element, I have a coconut d'aquas.
07:42Beautiful.
07:43Coconut and mango is, like, my two best pair flavor.
07:45Yeah.
07:46For the crunch, I made a coconut straddle.
07:48The top, I'm going to make a very thin layer of passion fruit jelly to recreate the ocean.
07:52It's going to be blue.
07:53So I'm going to make a chocolate belt that's going to be white and blue.
07:57On the top, I'm going to create a cave with stalactic and stalact meat out of white chocolate.
08:03This could take you right into the finale, obviously.
08:05Yes.
08:05Who's the biggest competition?
08:07I mean, at this point, everybody's the biggest competition, but obviously Juan always impresses
08:11me each challenge.
08:12But I've heard about the cornstarch.
08:14So I start to put cornstarch everywhere in the kitchen.
08:17So that's my strategy.
08:18That's mean.
08:19One.
08:19Whatever it takes.
08:25Ah, la, la.
08:28Well, well, well.
08:29Here we are.
08:30Here we are.
08:31We made it through.
08:32We're here at the semi-finals.
08:33We are.
08:34We're making a Frozen World dessert.
08:36Which theme did you get?
08:37I got an iceberg.
08:38Wow.
08:39And I decided to do this one as, like, a little bit of an homage to my grandpa.
08:44He passed away this year, but he was my biggest fan when it came to baking and pastry.
08:49Really?
08:50The man had the biggest sweet tooth on the planet.
08:52So are you making something that you think your grandpa would love to eat?
08:55Oh, 100%.
08:56For his 90th birthday, I made him a blueberry pie.
08:58So I'm going to make a blueberry pie-steamed ice cream cake.
09:02Oh, I love that.
09:03So we're going to do a lemon cream gelato, a blueberry compote, like a pie filling,
09:07and then a blueberry swirl cream gelato.
09:09Wow.
09:10And then I'm going to do a lemon thyme cake and an almond fouillotine crunch.
09:14And then decoration-wise, is it going to say iceberg?
09:16Oh, it's going to say iceberg.
09:18It is.
09:18It's going to be like iceberg ahead.
09:19I'll wrap my cake in a chocolate band to emulate the ocean.
09:23I'll add some blue-colored piping gel and finish with a white chocolate iceberg.
09:29Got to bring this one home for grandpa.
09:31It really sounds like you're baking with your heart.
09:32So keep it up.
09:33I will.
09:34This is so cool.
09:35Thanks, Jessie.
09:40So far, the competition has been kind of a roller coaster.
09:44I'm the only one chef that never made it to the top of the leaderboard.
09:48I struggled with my decorations, so I'll try to do my best on presentation, but I will really
09:54focus on flavors.
09:55Florencia, what's your frozen world theme here?
09:58Sea ice.
09:59What does sea ice look like?
10:00It's very flat.
10:01It's very linear.
10:03What did you decide to do?
10:04Almond and coconut cake.
10:05I'm going to have a spread of marzipan.
10:07Beautiful.
10:08And then a yogurt and coconut sorbet and a dark chocolate and tonka bean gelato.
10:12Back in Italy when I was probably like in the very beginning of my career, I went to the
10:17gelato school in Italy.
10:19Wow.
10:19And I learned a bit about the bases, and I really fell in love with it.
10:23These were the first two flavors I learned to do.
10:26I just want to pay homenage to that experience.
10:28That's amazing.
10:29Yeah.
10:30I'm going to use a mold that looks like cracked ice.
10:33I'm going to do blue gel and then my chocolate truffles to resemble a snowball.
10:39How nice would it be for you to just crush this assignment and head right into the finale?
10:47Oh, that would be amazing.
10:48That would be the best thing that can happen today, really.
10:51Yeah, for sure.
10:52I can't wait for the gelato.
10:53Thank you.
10:5490 minutes left in the semifinal master challenge.
10:58I'm starting assembling my ice cream cake.
11:02Honestly, I don't know.
11:04We'll see if it's going to sit on time.
11:05We'll see.
11:06We'll find out.
11:07I hope it does.
11:08And if it does, I'm going to be really happy.
11:11And if it doesn't, I'm going to be really sad.
11:17My ice cream looks great.
11:18So I'm going to start with my lemon cream.
11:21Blueberry can be really sweet.
11:22So I wanted to have a little bit of acidity.
11:24And then this is a blueberry swirl.
11:30I'm taking my passion food jelly for the top of my cake out of the mold.
11:38Man.
11:39It's not set at all.
11:41It's still liquid.
11:43To be honest, I don't know what happened.
11:46It needs to recreate the frozen water.
11:49This technique, maybe it's going to make the difference in between me
11:52and having to bake against someone.
11:53I need to get this right.
11:56This is a total mess.
12:04So my jelly didn't set.
12:05I definitely don't want to be in the bottom.
12:07So I'm just going to have to start over.
12:09I'm just going to boil it more and add a little bit more gelatin.
12:12So I'm using a ring because it was pretty tough, actually, to remove from this silicone mold.
12:17This is what makes a really great baker, is to know how to fix the problem as soon as you
12:24can.
12:24The last four years with my business, I'm just figuring out problems and I solve it.
12:29That's basically what is helping me during this competition.
12:3530 minutes left.
12:38To make the iceberg, I'm going to use a technique where I build a cube out of acetate
12:44and I start heating the acetate from afar because what it does is shrinks the acetate
12:49and kind of makes these really organic, flowing shapes.
12:52Oh, that's so cool.
12:53That's very cool.
12:54We're going to pray that it works.
12:56I've never done this before.
12:57If there's someone that can make that work, it's you, Molly.
13:00It's the semifinals.
13:01We've got four chefs left.
13:03I'll bring it back to you.
13:04No, don't worry.
13:04I don't need any more.
13:04Okay.
13:04Four different frozen world desserts.
13:08The top two go right into the finale.
13:10They're all thinking a little bit differently.
13:12Lots of different flavors.
13:14Lots of different ingredients.
13:16Lots of different construction.
13:17Visually, this is going to all look different too.
13:20They really have to show up.
13:22This is when you show out right now.
13:25Big time chefs, big desserts, and big bags.
13:28And this is the biggest one yet.
13:32This is an extruder, and what it does is helps me making really cool shapes.
13:38So they're always perfect.
13:40So especially when you're making really nice spaghetti type.
13:42So when I went to the glacier in Iceland, there was these sticks.
13:46So you have to hold it.
13:47So I'm going to be making that, kind of like making a path of life when you walk around the
13:50glacier.
13:51Perfect.
13:54I'm going to do chocolate snowballs.
13:56It's the, when they break through it, there is the same thing of the cake in a truffle, basically.
14:03I have my white chocolate shell, which I'm going to pipe the two different ice creams inside.
14:08I'm going to put some of the almond cake with the marzipan.
14:12My specialty is definitely chocolate.
14:15So I'm really focusing on doing the best presentation I can right now.
14:20There's a lot at stake.
14:34I'm trying to build my cave.
14:37It's white chocolate in the food processor.
14:39So it's going to set very fast.
14:43My little cave.
14:46Cute.
14:48So right now I'm doing my little stalactite.
14:51This with chocolate too.
14:53This is the semi-final.
14:54I need to make sure the judges are going to really see this cave that was very realistic.
15:00Perfect.
15:01Only 15 minutes to go.
15:04Juan.
15:05What are you doing right now?
15:07I am creating rough shapes that looks like a glacier.
15:12So a gray glacier.
15:14The thing is that they are black or gray because it's the dirt.
15:18And am I going to scrape off some charcoal ice cream to see something blue underneath?
15:22No.
15:22The idea is really to make it really organic.
15:24Oh.
15:27I am freaking out right now that my cake doesn't look like a glacier.
15:31But this is the glacier that I saw in Iceland.
15:34So I'm hoping that the judges are going to appreciate it.
15:46This is a chocolate band.
15:48I wanted to represent the layers of the ocean.
15:51How it goes from really light to very dark.
15:56Is that your iceberg?
15:57That's my iceberg.
15:58I hope it comes out.
16:00Yeah.
16:01So as I'm going around here, I'm just trying to release the pressure of the acetate.
16:05It's a very organic shape.
16:10Oh, my God.
16:12It broke a little.
16:15This is the semifinals.
16:17Like, I can't have broken chocolate garnishes.
16:20I'm going to spray it with cocoa butter so you don't have to temper it.
16:24It sets directly and it stays together.
16:27A little organic, but hey, we're going to go for it.
16:29Just 10 minutes left.
16:31Oh, my God.
16:33So I'm going to unmold my passion food jelly for the top of my cake.
16:40I really need it to come out of the mold.
16:43I don't have time to make another one.
16:50Oh, yeah.
16:51It's set and it looks great.
16:54I'm super happy about it.
16:56It looks pretty cool.
16:57I mean, it looks like a cake.
17:00Five minutes left.
17:06I'm trying to unmold the top of the cake.
17:10Oh, no.
17:12It is completely stuck.
17:14Wow.
17:17Florencia's cake completely falling apart.
17:20Not a lot of time left.
17:21She's got to figure something out.
17:23I feel panic.
17:27So I immerse it in a bath of liquid nitrogen,
17:31hoping to give it an extra shock.
17:33So it's going to release from the mold.
17:40This mold is terrible.
17:48It didn't work.
17:51It looks very rough when I take the mold out.
17:54Oh, no.
17:55There is a high chance that it's definitely going to send me to the bake-off.
18:01Oh, my God.
18:08The cake is falling apart.
18:11I'm starting to freak out because I have no backup plan.
18:15I decided to cover those edges with some extra cake I had.
18:20And then on the side, some chocolate decorations.
18:24I really hope I don't have to be in the bake-off.
18:26I really don't want to do that.
18:28It's going to be so stressful.
18:31But it's what it is.
18:35Two minutes left.
18:41Right now, I'm sticking my black sesame crumble.
18:44The idea is to really bring the texture of a glacier,
18:47which is really crunchy, really crackling.
18:49It feels like you're about to fall into the ice.
18:5330 seconds.
18:55Pretty good.
18:56It's giving ice cream.
18:59My white chocolate truffle snowball.
19:01I pipe the blue gelatin to resemble sea ice.
19:07Five, four, three, two, one.
19:12That's it.
19:14Two of you have created finale-worthy desserts.
19:17It's time to find out who.
19:19I'm so nervous.
19:21Really not happy with the way it looks.
19:23But I'm pretty confident with the flavor.
19:25This is the most pressure I ever felt until now in the competition.
19:33All right, judges, it's time to taste these frozen world desserts.
19:36I'm so excited.
19:38Chef Clement.
19:39I got cave ice.
19:41And so on the top, we have the cave out of chocolate
19:45and a very thin layer of passion food jelly.
19:48to recreate the ice.
19:50You totally made a cave.
19:52Yes.
19:53I want to kind of get it there with my kids and, like, go hunting around.
19:57That's so cool.
19:58Thank you.
19:59All right, let's give this ice cave a taste.
20:01There you go.
20:03Whoa.
20:04That looks beautiful.
20:05That looks great.
20:07Merci.
20:07Nice, Clement.
20:08Thank you, Chef.
20:09I made the coconut daquoise, coconut frozen crunchy, mango sorbet, and a passion fruit jelly on the top.
20:18Seeing the ice cave, I was not expecting my mouth to take me to Hawaii.
20:24But I am pleasantly surprised by that.
20:26That mango sorbet is the creamiest sorbet I've ever had.
20:30Thank you.
20:31I don't think I've ever had a frozen daquoise before.
20:36I love it.
20:38You know?
20:38Because, like, the texture of a daquoise is, like, beautiful, right?
20:41Soft and kind of chewy.
20:42But frozen, it's like a sugar cookie almost.
20:46It's delicious.
20:47Thank you.
20:48The only thing I want is a little bit more passion fruit.
20:52Really kind of amp up that acidity.
20:54It's pretty mellow.
20:56Clement, thank you.
20:57Thank you so much, guys.
20:57Thanks, Clement.
21:02You see?
21:03You did great.
21:05Bellissimo.
21:08Chef Florencia.
21:10I got the sea ice.
21:12I envision blocks of ice moving in the water.
21:16The center part, the square, really smart.
21:19I mean, that looks like sea ice breaking up.
21:22Once you get past the edges, though, it's just like pastry gone wrong.
21:26I know this doesn't look like the way you wanted it to.
21:29Yeah.
21:32They did almond and coconut cake, dark chocolate gelato with tonka bean, crunchy marzipan, and coconut and yogurt sorbet.
21:43All the flavors are in such a nice flavor world together because you have the warmth of the coconut and
21:49the almond from the marzipan, and that tang from the yogurt gives it a beautiful balance.
21:55The chocolate is really coming through.
21:57It's really nice.
21:59I agree with Duff.
22:00This is one of the best chocolate ice creams I've ever had.
22:02Oh, mama mia.
22:04Florencia, thank you so much.
22:05Thank you.
22:12I don't know what I think.
22:16Chef Molly.
22:18I had icebergs.
22:20I like that you have the three-dimensional top of the iceberg, and then the bottom is more of like
22:27that hand-painted two-dimensional visual.
22:30The only thing is your chocolate kind of doesn't quite go all the way around.
22:34There's a big hole in the back of that iceberg.
22:37There is.
22:37It fell.
22:38It went into the water.
22:40Let's give it a taste.
22:41Okay.
22:43On the bottom, you have a white chocolate almond fouillatis crunch, and then you have a lemon sponge with some
22:49thyme and lemon cream ice cream on top, a blueberry compote, and then a blueberry swirl gelato.
22:57I'm having a moment.
22:59The blueberry is truly front and center.
23:02The lemon and the almond are supporting.
23:05It's light, but it's still like creamy and luscious and smooth and velvety, and you're right.
23:10I mean, the blueberries are right up front.
23:13Good job.
23:14Yeah.
23:14The only thing I'd say is that the whole thing is relatively sweet.
23:17You know, it gives you a little bit of salt.
23:20Really nice job.
23:21Thank you so much, guys.
23:23Thanks, Molly.
23:28Good job, Molly.
23:29You killed it.
23:30Thank you, guys.
23:31That is so delicious.
23:31I'm feeling pretty good about my flavors.
23:34The only thing I'm worried about is the messiness.
23:36There's a possibility I could be in third place.
23:39Okay.
23:42Juan, welcome back.
23:43I got the glacier.
23:45I really want to take inspiration on my trip that I did to Iceland.
23:52Duff.
23:53I don't know.
23:54Like, to me, it doesn't really scream glacier.
23:57It looks like a rock.
23:59When I went to Iceland, when you see a glacier, it's not actually pretty and white.
24:04It's actually just rocks and a bunch of dirt.
24:07I've seen glaciers all over.
24:10I've never really seen one that looks like that.
24:12He's not going to be happy when he comes back.
24:15He's not, no.
24:16All right, Juan.
24:18Let's cut it open.
24:19Let's do this.
24:21We're going to have chocolate sponge, mochi pieces, buttermilk ice cream, charcoal ice cream,
24:27black sesame praline with a black sesame crunch.
24:32The ice cream is beautiful, man.
24:34Really soft, really creamy, just luscious.
24:38Sponge is really tender.
24:40A really good chocolate flavor.
24:42Mochi kind of throws me off a little bit.
24:44I'm not sure if I would put that in something frozen.
24:47Black sesame is my favorite flavor in the entire world.
24:52But you have so many elements going on that the charcoal is getting masked.
24:58Oh, my God.
25:00All right, Juan.
25:01Thank you so much.
25:02Thank you, chef.
25:02Thank you.
25:03Thank you.
25:05I really brought everything that I can into securing my spot in the finale, and I'm just
25:10hoping it's going to pay off.
25:13All right, judges.
25:13If you feel like you're ready, you can put in your scores.
25:16You've each got 15 points to award.
25:18Just to remind you here, you're judging these chefs to find out which two of them will go
25:22right to the finale, and which two will have to go to an elimination skills challenge.
25:36Chefs, the judges thoroughly evaluated your frozen world desserts.
25:39The two chefs with the highest scores will earn a ticket to the Ultimate Baking Championship
25:45finale.
25:46Out of 30 possible points, let's see who got the top score.
26:01Clemant, you will advance to the finale.
26:04Good job.
26:05Thank you.
26:06I really gave my best during this whole competition, and now I'm going to the final.
26:12That's amazing.
26:13Like, I'm so happy.
26:15You know, my mom's going to be so proud of me when she's going to see that.
26:20Thank you.
26:21Now, one other chef will be going straight through to the championship as well, and the
26:25two chefs on the bottom will have to fight it out in a do-or-die skills challenge.
26:30So let's get to it.
26:41Oh, my God.
26:49Molly, your second-place finish means you will join Clemant in the finale.
26:54How do you feel?
26:55Feels really surreal.
26:57If you would have asked me last time, I would have said no way.
27:00So I'm really proud of myself.
27:02Good job, Molly.
27:03Good job.
27:05Juan and Florencia, one of you is going to be eliminated from this competition.
27:10And to find out who, you'll now have to face off in a skills challenge.
27:16Each of you will create a plate of dessert that features a frozen center.
27:21That frozen center must be encased in a delicate edible shell that is designed to melt away dramatically
27:28under a warm pour.
27:31The judges will have 10 points apiece to award to your desserts, and it's very simple.
27:36The points awarded will not be added to your previous score, making this an all-or-nothing challenge.
27:44So the chef with the highest score in this skills challenge alone will advance to the finale.
27:50And there's one more thing you should know.
27:52This is going to be a blind judging.
27:56The judges won't know who created which dessert.
27:58Clemant and Molly, you can both watch this battle from the back kitchen.
28:02You're going to crush it.
28:04Good luck.
28:06Juan, Florencia, you have 90 minutes to earn your way back into contention.
28:13Let the baking time begin.
28:18It all comes down to this.
28:20This has to be the best dessert I ever did.
28:32It is a little bit surprising, maybe, to some that Juan finds himself in this position right
28:37now in this elimination skills challenge.
28:40I think he was probably the odds-on favorite to get that bid into the finale.
28:44There were some missteps in our master challenge.
28:47He finds himself here now one bake away from potentially going home.
28:51It has to be daunting, though, if you're Florencia, right?
28:54Not only are you in this do-or-die skills challenge, but you're going up against Juan.
28:59It's got to be tough.
29:01Oh, my God.
29:02Okay, Alora.
29:03Juan is very strong about flavors, textures.
29:08He does chocolate, sugar, everything, really.
29:11It's all good.
29:13And so my strategy is to do something I'm comfortable with that is going to showcase my strengths.
29:20So I'm going to be doing chocolate spheres.
29:22I'm doing a passion fruit and aizanat semifreddo.
29:25And I'm going to do a microwave sponge cake.
29:28It's going to be encapsulated in a dark chocolate shell.
29:31And then some aizanat crumble on the bottom.
29:34Which is going to melt with some passion fruit sauce.
29:37Okay, passion fruit.
29:40Semifreddo is in between a mousse and a frozen dessert.
29:42So it's a texture that is frozen, but it's still very spoilable.
29:48This dessert was one of the signatures of the restaurant I used to work at.
29:53So I know the flavors are going to be good.
29:55I just hope that this is good enough to get the last spot in the finale.
30:01Mamma mia, this is like the most stressful thing I ever did.
30:15Right now the only feeling I have is just really to skip everything.
30:19So I can hopefully stay, but it's going to be tough.
30:22I'm going to be doing vanilla sponge, a raspberry compote, a raspberry pink peppercorn streusel.
30:28For my constant element, I'm going to be doing mascarpone, cream cheese, semifreddo.
30:32I'm going to be encased it with chocolate shell.
30:34I'm going to make a full flower out of it.
30:36The element to be dropped on top will be raspberry pink peppercorn sauce.
30:41I love the flavor and the sweetness that the pink peppercorn gives to fruit.
30:45So I'm really just continuing bringing both flavors into the competition.
30:49No time to stop, just continue pushing.
30:52It's high stakes.
30:53They're both in their own heads.
30:55I know they are.
30:55I would be so in my head.
30:57I mean, I know they're both incredibly talented and they're both going to put something unreal out.
31:02Florencia, tell me, what are you doing over here?
31:04I'm tempering the chocolate for the element that is going to be melting.
31:08It's going to be like a chocolate sphere.
31:10How are you going to decorate it?
31:11I will not.
31:13I will just put the sphere on the plate.
31:15I'm going to keep them wondering what's inside.
31:17Is it a strategic decision on your part to really go minimalist with this?
31:21Yes.
31:21It's very risky at this point to be minimal, but I really want to showcase my chocolate work.
31:29How are you feeling, understanding what's at stake right now?
31:31Oh my God, I feel so stressed and mostly because I'm against one, which is like a chef.
31:37Well, besides the two that are already in the final, the one that I admire the most.
31:42Oh, thank you.
31:44You've been going 100 miles an hour since the very, very first bake.
31:47Do you have enough gas left in the tank for one more here to get to the finale?
31:51I think, yes.
31:52I'm taking all the energy left and putting it into this.
32:04Right now, I am doing my chocolate shell that will melt.
32:07I need a really thin layer of that.
32:09The challenge is something that needs to melt.
32:11The chocolate is too thick.
32:13It's not going to melt completely.
32:15And that can send me home.
32:17So I have my mascarpone cream cheese semifreddo, raspberry compote, my sponge.
32:24I am putting the raspberry king peppercorn crunch on top.
32:28I really need to get this in the blast freezer so it can set in time.
32:34Just 30 minutes remaining now in your final skills challenge.
32:38I'm working on the passion fruit sauce.
32:42How are you doing, Juan?
32:43I'm about to make my raspberry chocolate petals.
32:47I really want to be in the finale.
32:50So I need to push myself to show off an extra technique.
32:55I'm thinking to do some bonbons.
32:57Right now, I'm doing the ganache for the bonbons.
33:00It's going to be a passion fruit, azanata, and black sesame seed.
33:07I am going to finish with my petals.
33:10The rose is extremely important to me because my mom always loved flowers.
33:15And flowers to me are always going to have the most huge significance.
33:19Okay.
33:20That's risky to do all those petals and hope they come off.
33:23She can't break any of them.
33:24Nope.
33:25I know it's really fragile.
33:26I know it can break at any time.
33:28But I really want to showcase this for my mom.
33:3315 minutes to go to redeem yourself with a frozen surprise dessert.
33:38Perfect, perfect.
33:39I'm going to cover the semifreddo with some edible gold to step up my game and make it more elegant.
33:49Right now, I'm making the center of my flower.
33:52I'm spraying with the white chocolate cocoa butter.
33:56And then I'm using some yellow luster dust to give it the feeling of the call-in.
34:00Five minutes left.
34:03You can tell the level of focus that they both have right now.
34:07They knock this thing out of the park.
34:09They're going into the finale.
34:10This is really where they both have to dig deep.
34:13To assemble my flowers, I am going to finish with my petals.
34:17And I have to do one by one, really fragile.
34:20Oh my God.
34:21Oh, this is so hard to watch.
34:2830 seconds.
34:30They are fighting for their life right now.
34:34This is orange jelly to look like a dewdrop.
34:38Five, four, three, two, one.
34:43Time is up.
34:46Chefs, the judges will be tasting your desserts blind.
34:49So please exit the kitchen for now.
34:52Great job.
34:52You are amazing.
34:53I want to hug them too.
34:55Me too.
34:56I'm so honored to do this with you.
34:59Oh, la, la.
35:00You guys did great.
35:01Oh my God.
35:02Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
35:04I know I baked with my heart.
35:06Watching you guys, that felt more stressful than the first challenge we did.
35:09Now that I'm so close to it, I really want it.
35:12Like, I have to make it.
35:14You guys should feel really proud of yourselves.
35:15I am happy with what I've done.
35:17I've been really killing every single challenge and showcasing a lot of technique.
35:21It's all now up to one dessert.
35:27Duff and Molly, this skills challenge will determine which of these two chefs go to the finale.
35:32Time for you both to go to the frozen center of two extraordinary desserts.
35:35This is going to be a blind judging.
35:38Let's talk about the first dessert.
35:40Duff will start with you.
35:41How does this look?
35:42This is dramatic.
35:46It is so impactful.
35:48I love the way that the hazelnut crunch on the bottom is creating this textural contrast to the very smooth
35:55chocolate.
35:57Oh, yeah.
35:58You feel like you're ready to get interactive with this dessert?
36:00I am, Chef.
36:01100%.
36:01White chocolate passion fruit sauce.
36:07We have melted cheese.
36:10Oh, oh.
36:13Oof.
36:15There you go.
36:15You've got it.
36:16All right.
36:17You are tasting for chocolate sphere with passion fruit semifredo, hazelnut crumble, praline microwave cake, hazelnut and black sesame seed
36:26bonbons, and white chocolate passion fruit sauce.
36:30Mmm.
36:31All of these flavors together are balanced perfectly.
36:34The semifredo is tangy, and then the nuttiness of the hazelnut at the bottom kind of bringing up the undertones
36:42of everything.
36:43It's a stunning dessert.
36:46This was a good, dark, earthy chocolate.
36:49It was really rich.
36:50Man, you put this passion fruit on top of it.
36:53Just perfect.
36:55The one thing I'm missing from this, the black sesame.
36:59I didn't really taste it.
37:00Oh.
37:02All right, judges, it's time to taste this final dessert.
37:05Presentation.
37:06How does this dessert look?
37:08This is absolutely beautiful.
37:11Design-wise, it is so simple, but so clean.
37:15So pretty.
37:16I really love the color.
37:18I love the little bit of sparkle all over it.
37:20It makes it feel more realistic, like a real flower.
37:24Let's do the sauce.
37:25Pink peppercorn chocolate sauce.
37:27Little, little flower.
37:29You can do it.
37:38The chocolate sauce kind of stayed right on top of the dome, and it didn't really reveal anything.
37:43Okay.
37:45You're tasting for vanilla sponge, mascarpone cream cheese semifredo, raspberry compote, pink peppercorn raspberry crunch, and pink peppercorn chocolate sauce.
37:54She's loving it.
37:56The semifredo is creamy, really crunchy bottom, and then the snappy chocolate.
38:02I cannot imagine a more perfect combination of textures.
38:06Yes.
38:07The thing about this dessert that confuses me is that this was supposed to be a frozen dessert.
38:11Like, I was expecting to get that coldness in between the hot sauce and the cake and everything else, and
38:17that wasn't there, let alone something that has this theatrical element to it.
38:22If you feel like you're ready, you can input your scores.
38:25There's 20 points at stake for each dessert.
38:28Okay.
38:36Juan and Florencia, you have created so many stunning pastries over the course of this competition, but it's your frozen
38:43surprise desserts alone that will decide who will advance to the final stage of the competition.
38:49But before we reveal your scores, I know the judges are dying to know who made which frozen dessert.
38:56So, who is the chef behind this semifredo with pink peppercorn?
39:00That was me.
39:01Juan!
39:02Wow.
39:03The clean, minimalist plating made everything look so elegant.
39:08Thank you, chef.
39:09Florencia, your chocolate sphere was so incredibly beautiful.
39:15Thank you.
39:15Okay, chefs, it's now time for the scores.
39:19The chef with a higher score will advance to the finale.
39:23Let's see who got the top score.
39:36Florencia, you are going to the finale.
39:40Thank you, guys.
39:42Thank you so much.
39:47Thank you so much.
39:55Thank you so much.
39:56Thank you so much.
40:00I'm just kidding.
40:03I am really happy with what I did.
40:05I'm really proud with everything that I did.
40:07I'm just happy that I was able to showcase my love for my craft, and I did it all my
40:12style.
40:12It was an honor to do this video.
40:15This competition was so great, and I learned so much about myself, and I'm just going to really just continue
40:22working on my craft, and just continue following my dream.
40:26Thank you.
40:28Thank you.
40:29Thank you.
40:37Florencia, ¿cómo te sientes?
40:41Of course, it's becoming very difficult
40:45to go against these chefs.
40:50I'm feeling so happy.
40:53I can't believe it.
40:54I just can't believe it.
40:55Well, does winning that skills challenge
40:57give you some confidence now
40:59heading into the finale?
41:00Yeah, of course.
41:01Yeah, that was...
41:03Oh, my God.
41:04Mamma mia.
41:05That was so stressful.
41:09All right, congratulations, chefs.
41:12The three of you will be competing
41:13to become the ultimate baking champion.
41:17What?
41:18Let's do it.
41:19Oh, that's crazy.
41:21Off you go.
41:21Get some rest.
41:22Thank you so much.
41:24Come on, come on.
41:25Give it to you, dude.
41:27Give it to you, dude.
41:31Next time.
41:32They look great.
41:33Welcome to the ultimate baking championship finale.
41:37How are we talking?
41:38Today is the most important bake of your lives.
41:41I really want it.
41:42I have to do what I gotta do to survive.
41:44Just one more, you know, to get to the win.
41:47Drop the mic.
41:50Yeah!
41:51Reckless.
41:52Yes!
41:53This cake is kind of shocking.
41:55It is absolutely the best thing you've made.
41:57Wow.
41:58Only one of you is gonna leave here today.
42:00The ultimate baking champion.
42:03Wow.
42:04Yeah!
42:05Yeah!
42:05Yeah!
42:06Yeah!
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