Spring Baking Championship season 10 was back for the second episode, and this week was all about ube and flowers. There was also plenty of stress and a few small mistakes in this episode.
First up, let's talk about the Preheat challenge! The remaining 11 bakers had to make ube desserts. Ube is pretty much a sweet-ish purple potato. The desserts also had to represent the spring equinox. Their creation had to show the daytime, the nighttime, or both.
These desserts were beautifully purple, and they ranged from eclairs and tarts to cake and Napoleons. Most bakers did pretty well, but there were a few where the ube flavor didn't come through or the decorations were less than appealing.
But who took the top spot? That was Robert and his celestial equinox ube pana cotta. It looked absolutely gorgeous and based on the judges' remarks, it tasted just as good.
Spring Baking Championship features ube and floral dome cakes
Onto the elimination challenge! For this challenge, the bakers had to make dome cakes that needed to be flavored and decorated with a specific flower. Their choices included lavender, hibiscus, elderflower, thyme blossom, rose, and jasmine.
As Robert won the first challenge, he was able to pick his flower and he chose lavender. That meant no one else could use it or decorate with it.
But how did the baking go? Most bakers did incredibly well. There were a few issues with things not coming out of pans, but that seemed to work itself out. That said, Michael just did not do well at all during the challenge. He barely finished in time and his final jasmine dome cake definitely looked like he finished it quickly.
Oh and there was a twist! They had to include almonds somewhere in their cake.
Besides Michael's creation, everyone else's looked gorgeous. it was like a garden had exploded over all the cakes. The flavors, on the other hand, were hit or miss. Some flavors stood out, while others the judges could barely taste.
And speaking of the judges...their critiques seemed pretty harsh for being only the second episode of the show. They were being needlessly nitpicky and that's usually reserved for when we are more than just two episodes in.
But who won that challenge? That was Steven! His elderberry dome cake may not have turned out how he wanted it, but the judges loved it anyone.
So, who went home? It should be no surprise that it was Michael who was sent home this week.
Next week, the ten remaining bakers will have to make a berry-filled pie envelope and two-tiered bubble cakes inspired by a cocktail.