You know spring is (un)officially here when Spring Baking Championship comes back to Food Network. The show returned on Monday, March 4 and a new group of bakers arrived in the kitchen to make the ultimate in spring desserts. And, of course, Jesse Palmer is back as host.
First was the Preheat! The 12 bakers had to create a dessert celebrating spring break and include a specific tropical fruit and flower. Their flavor choices included papaya, macadamia nuts, lilikoi, pineapple, mango, and guava. The flower options included Hawaiian ginger, plumeria, hibiscus, birds of paradise, and anthurium.
As this was the first episode, it was as chaotic as you might expect. At least two bakers had to redo major aspects of their dessert, but not too many people made the same thing. There was puff pastry, macarons, entremets, Swiss rolls, panna cotta, and much more. And of course, with some of the bakers, as is the case every season, the more confidence they had in what they were making, the more likely they were to make a huge mistake.
But what did the judges think? There were mixed reviews, but there were definitely some standouts, and the baker to win this challenge was Anna with her pineapple and lime Swiss roll. It looked delicious, and the judges could not have given better feedback.
Food Network's Spring Baking Championship returns for season 10
Onto the elimination challenge! For this challenge, the bakers had to make spring break adventure cakes using a type of citrus. Because Anna won the challenge, she got to choose her citrus first. She chose Meyer lemons. The other options were cara cara orange, kumquat, pomelo, key lime, and tangerine.
The bakers chose personal spring break adventures to beaches, mountains, campgrounds, and tropical locations to show off on their cakes and most of them looked spectacular. There were a few issues, but nowhere near as much as in the first challenge.
The flavors...well, that was another issue altogether. There were a few cakes that the judges did not like, and it was usually due to an imbalance of flavors or a lack of a certain ingredient.
But who came out on top? That was Alex with his beach-inspired coconut and kumquat cake. Considering how poorly he did in the Preheat, this was definitely a pleasant surprise.
And who went home? Unfortunately, the final two wasn't a huge shock. It turned out to be Ericka and Michael. Their cakes just did not meet the judges' expectations. The flavor was off and the theme didn't come across as much as they wanted. In the end, it was Ericka who went home.
Next week, the remaining bakers will have to make something with one of the trendiest ingredients. They will also need to create a flower-covered dome cake.