Spring Baking Championship season 9 episode 2: Sweet and spicy

Spring Baking Championship was back for episode 2 of season 9 and this week, it was all about aphrodisiacs and sweet and spicy desserts. And unlike last week, many of the bakers struggled with their bakes. It was a bit of a disaster.

In the Preheat challenge, the bakers had to make bento cakes using a specific aphrodisiac. They had to choose from saffron, chocolate, avocados, chickpeas, cinnamon, and figs.

Bento cakes are simply very small cakes  (about four inches around) that can fit into a small box. You might have seen them on Instagram or TikTok. And as the bakers learned, a smaller cake does not mean it’s easier to make or decorate.

Bakers still ran out of time, messed up their decorations, and had cakes that were falling apart. It was chaos. But someone had to come out on top and for this challenge, it was Molly with her chocolate saffron cake with orange buttercream filling. The judges loved it!

Passion, heat, and aphrodisiacs on Spring Baking Championship this week

On to the Main heat! For this challenge, the bakers had to combine passionfruit with a type of chili pepper. The peppers they had to choose from included ancho chili, Aleppo, chile de árbol, cayenne, and guajillo peppers.

Sadly, there were some less-than-stellar bakes during this challenge as well. Some had too much passionfruit, some had too much chili, and some had the judges wondering where the flavor was. Others were just…a bit of a mess

But who was at the top of that pack? It was Jai! For the second week in a row! She made a coconut tart with passionfruit mango curd. She put her chile de árbol in her jam and her mousse. The judges lost their minds over it!

Unfortunately, as is the case every week, someone had to go home and this time, it was Victoria. She made a chocolate chiffon swiss roll with a chile de árbol ganache. The judges thought it looked more like a winter holiday cake than a spring one and it had more than its fair share of heat.

Next week, the remaining bakers must make Spring Fling Napoleons and then team up into pairs to make break-up cakes.

What did you think of this week’s episode of Spring Baking Championship? What was your favorite dessert? Let us know in the comments below!