The American Baking Competition: The End of the Line

Brian winning the competition was a gutsy move, especially considering the way the episodes had been edited. Francine, a fan favorite, never received much acclaim for her desserts throughout the competition, even if her creativity was coveted. Arguably, Darlene "needed" the win the most, and had been steadily impressing the judges bit by bit. Brian came off cocky from the beginning, and his demand to be considered for "Star Baker" was very off-putting, though it may be that he really only excels at certain items, clenching his win. Had the final winner been determined over how the bakers did through all bakes, the outcome might have been different.

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My sister and I have been having weekly conversations about the events transpiring on this show, as we both love baking. We dish about the desserts the bakers choose to make, the nitpicks Paul and Marcela point out, the personalities of the contestants, and tried to predict what other items might be coming up. Well, we had decided that doughnuts would be an interesting challenge, so it was nice to see those appear in the finale. I personally struggle with doughnuts, but after hearing the judges' advice, I bet it was a proofing issue. Similarly, I made a strawberries-and-chantilly-cream rolled cake for my last birthday and found it rather difficult to roll, so I was very impressed with Brian and Darlene's versions. Not with peanuts, though... blech! I'm actually intrigued that the show would have a nut in such a featured role, what with so many allergies in this day and age...

Remaining Contestants:
Brian, 43, advertising executive who works from home. He's a gym rat and was recently injured so he is currently using crutches. He won the first technical bake and got Star Baker last week.
Darlene, 51, project manager from Georgia. Recently divorced, recently lost her dad, and won Star Baker two weeks in a row. 
Francine, 44, homemaker (kids ages 22 and 18) from Pickens, SC. She doesn't have any big week wins, but her flavor combinations have been fascinating and she has the most experience in competitions. [though I doubted her phrasing of HUNDREDS of cooking competitions!]

The American Baking Competition "Finale" (S01E07):
The Signature Bake: The bakers can make anything that includes peanuts, though it should be sophisticated. Time: 2 hours and 30 minutes. [I don't use nuts at all so I would have had no good ideas for this one!]
Brian makes a Peanut Vanilla Chiffon Roll with a peanut ganache mousse inside and peanut praline on top. [I would have appreciated more coverage of his topping.] Marcela doesn't like that he used a mint leaf for garnish. [me neither. I agree that garnishes should fit with the ingredients in the dish!] The mousse flavor is spectacular, and the overall flavor is great.
Darlene makes a Peanut Cake Roll with a peanut cream filling and a whipped cream topping. [the layer looked a little thick at first, but it didn't rise much when baked.] The appearance is too 70s classic. The taste is great, although it is a little dry and maybe too much peanut. 
Francine makes a Spiced Peanut, Peanut Butter Torte with a cookie shell, peanut butter cream cheese filling, and a truffle topping with candied peanuts. [that's a lot of flavors!] Great presentation, but the texture should have been thicker. [I think it would have worked...] The crust is a little overcooked, and the ganache is too thick. For Marcela, the flavors don't go well together, and for Paul, the peanuts aren't strong enough.
  
The Technical Bake: Make a dozen Boston Cream Pie Doughnuts in 2 hours, 45 minutes. The trick: the chocolate glaze directions are the missing bit, including how to apply the glaze so that they're glossy. Tips: If the doughnuts don't proof long enough, they won't puff up when fried; a properly proofed doughnut should float above the oil enough that a white ring forms around the center. And, they must cool completely in order to fill properly; use vegetable oil in the glaze for shine.
Brian's are dark and the ganache isn't smooth. He gets third place for being under-proofed. 
Francine's don't have a white ring, but her chocolate is shiny and the custard is nice. [what was with her comeback, "does a fat baby fart?" gross!] She earns second place, again for under-proofing. 
Darlene has never fried anything so she doesn't know when to take out the doughnuts, but she has a nice white ring, and they're good and uniform, even if there is too much cream and ganache. First place!

The Showstopper Bake: Make 72 miniature desserts inspired by America's flag. There must be 24 of three kinds: meringue, pastry (choux, shortcrust, or puff pastry), and cake. Time: five hours. 
Brian does raspberry white chocolate genoise mini-cakes topped with berries, mascarpone & berry tartlets, and mini-meringues topped with white chocolate-dipped popcorn.The tarts need to be sweeter, the popcorn was a bit soft, but the genoise is too thick for the filling.
Darlene does white chocolate mini-meringues with popping candy, almond mini-cakes with strawberry preserves, and peach & grit tartlets. [neat idea to imitate fireworks, but Paul had never had them!] The meringues were salty, the peach was overpowering and the dough was raw inside, the fondant is crystallized but the almond is lovely. [I would have liked to see her applying the fondant to the mini-cakes.]
Francine does coconut mini-cakes with cream cheese frosting and blueberry and raspberry flavoring, peaches & cream choux puffs, and blueberry cream meringues with mixed berries on top. The meringues have the wrong texture and the cream cheese is too heavy, the cream puffs are under-baked, and the mini-cakes are great. [her choux puffs were fine last time, I wonder what changed...]

The Final Results: While the results are being tallied, the bakers join their families and the eliminated contestants for a picnic. [I didn't like the timing of this at all. it just seemed weird for everyone.] Darlene had the lead going in, but each of her final items were flawed. Francine really has an "average" finish. Brian's items really fit the "American flag" theme, even if his other items were second-place. Brian wins, with the showstopper really separating him from the pack. Paul even offers him a job.

American Baking Competition: The Semi-Finals

Had it been anyone but James, I don't think Brian would've helped a fellow baker. But, because he's out to prove that men can bake as well as women, he boasted "bromance" and took quite a bit of time to show James how to make cream puffs. It makes me wonder if I would have needed as much assistance... I mean, I've never made cream puffs, but I also have never thoughts about them being challenging... and certainly not as difficult as custards and souffles! It does make me a little sad, however, that I have no experience with French pastries, as I cannot say how I'd do in any of the challenges this episode. I don't believe that I had ever even heard of a "tarte tatin" before! That one didn't excite me too much, and neither did the napoleons, so be honest. And then I begin to wonder what sort of items will be featured in the finale... either the series will continue down the more obscure path with difficult items or it will go obvious to encourage viewers to attempt baking them at home. (some of the recipes are available on CBS, by the way!) Which do you think is more likely?

Remaining Contestants:
Brian, 43, advertising executive who works from home. He's a gym rat and was recently injured so he is currently using crutches.
Darlene, 51, project manager from Georgia.
Elaine, retired university administrator with a large family including great grandkids.
Francine, 44, homemaker from Pickens, SC. Has kids ages 22 and 18. [they made her out to seem very ADD with that squirrel comment!]
James, 26, photographer from Morristown, IN.

The American Baking Competition "Patisserie" (S01E06): It's time for the semi-finals, and it's French pastry week!

The Signature Bake: The bakers have 2 hours and 15 minutes to do a Tarte Tatin, which is like an upside-down pie, with the fruits (or vegetables) carmelized on the bottom before it was baked. [interesting!] It needs to be shiny and the fruits need to be placed well. [really? we watched ALL of the contestants flip them over??]
Brian goes the savory route with a French Onion Tarte Tatin with gruyere, and he knows it's a bit of a gamble. [he's really into onions, huh?] He uses sherry vinegar in his. [I didn't know that existed.] It looks great and has a nice taste.
Darlene adds oatmeal to her crust for her Apple, Pear, Cranberry Tarte Tatin. The color is good and the taste is nice, but the crust could have used more butter.

http://www.cbs.com/shows/american-baking-competition/recipe-blog/1000894/

Elaine makes Barlett Pear Tarte Tatin with cinnamon and cognac, but forgot to flip her pears before she put the crust on. In trying to go under the crust to fix them, she ruins her crust and the end result is too raw. [awww.] 
Francine makes Peach Tarte Tatin, that also features berries. She worries that it'll be too much like a cobbler, but bakes hers for half an hour. She has way too much blueberry juice coming out, so it makes the pastry soggy. [and kinda gross.]
James makes an Asian Pear Tarte Tatin with crushed almonds and rum. It's gorgeous and symmetrical, but there's too much rum and the crust is salty. [salty? that's weird!]
 
The Technical Bake: Bake 4 perfect Napoleons, using Paul's recipe, in 2.5 hours. Time management is key here, otherwise the heat of the pastries will force the cream and ganache to melt. 
Brian has never made them before but is confident about his. They're great, light, and flaky. He also is the only one to finish with time to spare. [how?? I wish they would have looked more at this!]
Francine makes a great tasting Napoleon, even if it's ugly and not flaky.
Elaine has never made them before, and hers turn out melty and uneven, with thick icing. 
Darlene has trouble getting her pastries to puff up, so it's very soft. She does have a nice decoration and her cream is good.
James plans to bake the squares of puff pastry first and cut them into rectangles later, to help plan against uneven sizes. But, he runs out of time and the dough is still raw. 
The worst is James's, followed by Elaine's. Brian's was the best, then Francine's.

The Showstopper Bake: Make a Choux Tower, containing 80 show pastries, filled with baker's choice filling. [I would not have guessed you could spell a word that sounds like "shoe" c-h-o-u-x, LoL.] They're tons of cream puffs, basically, that need to be baked and browned, then held together with caramel. 
Brian doesn't use a mixer and fills them with Chocolate Mousse. He uses semi-sweet chocolate and white chocolate to cover the outside of the tower, resulting in nice flavors.
Darlene does an Orange and Grand Marnier Cream Choux Tower. She tries to spin the sugar around the tower, but it doesn't work out. Her presentation is nice and the flavor is good, but a heavier crust would have been better. 
Elaine does Chocolate Espresso Cream, and because hers are small, her pyramid is short. Plus, the puffs are a little raw inside.
Francine did a Choux Tower for her wedding, so she's familiar with these. [I don't believe I've ever seen one...] She's making Vanilla Cream Choux Tower with caramel ribbons. She has 171 small puffs, which is not enough to cover her cone. [dang! that's SO MANY!]   
James has a runny batter, leading to flat pancake-like cream puffs. So, Brian helps him make a new batch, even piping a few for him. [showing him the batter technique is one thing, but demonstrating the piping??] His tower isn't bound together, as he ran out of time to use caramel. Plus, his mousse is terrible AND there isn't enough in the puffs. [lost all around there!]

The Final Results: Darlene and Brian are near the top going in, and Brian wins, making him very happy. The bakers sent home are James and Elaine. [double whammy! I thought it was weird though that James's parting comments addressed how he'll now be able to win dates with more recipes than just apple pie...]

American Baking Competition: Custards, Souffles, and Meringues

Those Georgia ads at the end of every episode are hideous. But, the show isn't exactly wonderful, either. This episode was a little more advanced, in that the foods created aren't items that people in every home across America bake. Sure, cookies and pies can be difficult, but most people can manage these without incident. Custards, souffles, and meringues are definitely stepping it up a notch! I know that I was intimidated, and would likely have performed poorly in this areas. I've made two meringue desserts to my recollection, neither of which would have qualified as a "layered creation." I've made several items that included a custard component, but only one which really turned out magnificently... fortunately, I now know that my flaw was likely a failure to stir enough to prevent it from getting too eggy. I've never actually made a souffle, but it's been on my list for a while... Regardless, I was interested in watching the bakers, but I can't say I'm really pulling for anyone, which makes the experience less exciting. What about you, any competitors strike your fancy?

Remaining Contestants:
Brian, 43, advertising executive who works from home. He's a gym rat and was recently injured so he is currently using crutches.
Darlene, 51, project manager from Georgia.
Effie, 40, attorney from Tennessee. Born in Israel to a Palestine father and a Persian mother. Her husband loves custard, but she's used to baking without eggs for her child.
Elaine, retired university administrator with a large family including great grandkids.
Francine, 44, homemaker from Pickens, SC. Has kids ages 22 and 18.
James, 26, photographer from Morristown, IN.

The American Baking Competition "Desserts" (S01E05): Custard tips: You must constantly stir as the eggs are added to the warm liquids. Use a water bath to bake them evenly. Souffle tips: Make sure you have really stiff egg whites. Consider making a parchment paper collar for a nice rise

The Signature Bake: In 90 minutes, bake eight custards - sweet or savory. [I wish more contestants had chosen savory!]
Brian makes Mexican Jalapeno and Chorizo Custard. They look dry and are overcooked. [I wasn't wow-ed by them, either.]
Darlene makes Vanilla Custard with Coconut Cookie Crumb. They're beautiful and delicious.
Effie makes Lime Pots de Creme with blackberry and caramel sauces. They are very undercooked, though the flavor is good. [I'm surprised they were even tried! Raw egg is terrible for you, isn't it?].
Elaine makes Crab and Corn Custard. Great flavor but it's too moist, curdling the egg.
Francine makes Dreamsicle Custard. The tops aren't ideal-looking, and the flavor is eggy and grainy.
James makes Caramel Espresso (two of his favorite flavors) Custard topped with Whipped Cream and Candied Lace. They don't have enough time to cool, so the whipped cream melted. The custard has a nice texture and the flavor is great, though the presentation sucks.
 
The Technical Bake: Bake a chocolate souffle in 1 hour, 45 minutes. Because they must be judges quickly, the start times are staggered. [I'm guessing by like half an hour.]
Brian starts. He's made a few before but isn't an expert, and second-guesses how much liquid should be in the recipe. He also takes it out to check on it and it falls, plus it wasn't mixed properly.
Francine is second, and she worries because souffles never work out for her. Hers is beautiful but could have been lighter.
Elaine starts next. She has made souffles before and knows what she's doing, resulting in a very tall and delicious souffle, though it is underbaked.
Darlene has only done a cheese souffle in the past, but her chocolate souffle is beautiful and tastes good.
James has hardly even seen a souffle. [yikes!] But, the color and flavor are is great. 
Effie forgets to add sugar to hers, so it winds up raw inside and very bitter. [I agreed with the judges... she should still have presented the best product possible!]
The worst souffle is Brian's, followed by Effie's. James's was the best, then Elaine's.

The Showstopper Bake: In five hours, make a layered dessert using meringue as a major component. [I might have even needed an example of what they were going for with that description!]  
Brian does an Almond Meringue Cake with Orange Buttercream Frosting. [sounds interesting.] The look is okay, the meringue taste is hidden, and the item isn't "a showstopper."
Darlene does a Chocolate Meringue Cake. The look is okay and the flavor is good.  
Effie does a Hazelnut Meringue Creation with Chocolate Ganache and Vanilla Buttercream. [lovely look, see below!] The presentation is gorgeous and the flavors are good.

http://www.cbs.com/shows/american-baking-competition/photos/1000446/baked-good-beauties/39231/

Elaine does a Nutty Mergingue Stack with Dark Chocolate Buttercream. She didn't have a meringue recipe with her so she has to go outside the box. [you have to wonder how varied the recipes are that the bakers brought...] It's called too simple, and the flavor isn't special.  
Francine does a Raspberry Lemon & Meringue Chiffon Cake. It's a messy presentation, but the flavors are great.
James does a Pavlova & Lemon Cake with Berries. He thinks it's too tall so he disassembles it to trim the layers. [that really looked like a bad idea!] This causes him to not have enough time to finish the icing, so the presentation is hideous. It's overbaked, dry, has no flavor, and every component is off. [that really sucks.]

The Final Results: Darlene and Francine are near the top going in, and Darlene wins, with Francine close behind. The baker sent home is Effie, who had two poor bakes but one good bake, compared to Brian's two "completed" bake.

American Baking Competition: Baking Bread

I sometimes hate the editing in competition shows. It's quite clear at this point that the producers want viewers to dislike Brian, as his confrontation with the judges over how he deserves to be Star Baker was obscene. On the other end, I am SO GLAD that Kolette is gone. From the beginning, she has not seemed like she belonged with the lead competitors, so I'm excited that the level of competition will really become more intense now. That said, I wouldn't have made the cut on these particular challenges, either. I have an excellent clover roll recipe, and because banana bread isn't what they're looking for, I guess I'd go with a potato bread. But it's not a free-form bread, so it probably wouldn't work out, either. The croissants would have been a struggle for me because I've never made them before. I've actually done pretzels a couple of times, but the amount of work involved is so extreme. Fortunately, I do know how to do the twist, so at least I'd have that advantage! And, speaking of pretzels, I used to live in Pennsylvania (and I adored the Keystone State!), so I found it interesting that PA makes 80% of the nation's pretzels and those who live in PA eat 12x more than the rest of the country!

Remaining Contestants:
Brian, 43, advertising executive who works from home, is a gym rat, and was recently injured so he is currently using crutches.
Darlene, 51, project manager from Georgia.
Effie, 40, attorney from Tennessee. Born in Israel to a Palestine father and a Persian mother.
Elaine, retired university administrator with a large family including great grandkids.
Francine, 44, homemaker from Pickens, SC. Has kids ages 22 and 18.
James, 26, photographer from Morristown, IN.
Kolette, 30, home care provider from Norco, CA, who is a diabetic vegetarian. She misses her cats terribly. [seriously?]

The American Baking Competition "Breads" (S01E04): A tough one because Paul's specialty is breads.
The Signature Bake: In three hours, bake a free-form loaf of yeast bread, hand-shaped.
Brian makes a Cheese and Onion Braided loaf that includes caramelized onions and a powdered mix. It's bland and could use raw onion to permeate the dough. [I add raw onions to my onion bread, LoL.]
Darlene makes a Twist-and-Turn Pesto Wheel. It includes cashews instead of pinenuts. [I thought this was a cool take on the assignment.]
Effie makes bread weekly and goes with her Enriched Challah bread for this competition. It normally rises twice as long and bakes longer, but she goes with the flow, resulting in a bread that looks great but isn't baked through.
Elaine makes Old Fashioned Potato Loaf, with a great braid. It's loved, dense, and moist.
Francine grinds up red hots for Red Hot and Pecan Bread. [sounds crazy!] Paul was suspicious, but the flavor was good. However, he says the texture is wrong and it's under-proofed.
James makes bread more than anything else, so he does a Prosciutto, Capicola, Pepperoni Loaf. He preheats a second pan and throws some ice onto it just as the bread goes in to add some steam. [I might try that!] It's foccacia-like with a great texture.
Kolette doesn't bake much bread, but she does dark breads for her brother and goes with a German Pumpernickel for this. Unfortunately, it is a time-consuming project and is under-proofed and under-baked. [and it looked funny.] 

The Technical Bake: Bake eight soft pretzels in the classic looped design in 1 hr, 45 min. The exterior should be crispy, the interior should be chewy, and the color should be strong. How long to plunge the pretzels into the water is left our of the recipe, as well as the proofing time. Thirty seconds in the water is all that's needed! Effie's over-proofs, Elaine's twists aren't right, and James' and Kolette's fall apart because they spent too much time in the water. [ what was with her comment, "I've never boiled anything before" ??] The worst pretzels are James', as he didn't even get them all on display, having burned himself. [and he's actually made pretzels in the past!] Effie's are under-baked, making hers the second-worst. Darlene's were the best (and had the best color), with Francine's close behind. [haha, like Francine, I also learned pretzel-twisting  at an Amish factory during a vacation!] 

The Showstopper Bake: There's no break between the technical and the showstopper this time! The challenge is to make 24 croissants - half plain and half filled. The contestants get two hours immediately, then three more the next day. The doughs are very labor-intensive, and you have to add a lot of butter into the dough so that the final product comes out buttery, golden, and flaky. 
Brian does a filling of ham, cheddar, and chives.
Darlene does a filling of apricots and toasted pecans.  
Effie does Pear Feuilletes with poached bosc pears, which she's never done before. [I guess, like me, she doesn't have a croissant recipe?] She has issues with uniformity, color, and sogginess.
Elaine bakes raspberry-and-white-chocolate-filled croissants, but the flavor doesn't work out right. It could be because she froze her dough, having never made croissants in the past. Another problem is that she ran out of time and only had nine to present. 
Francine knows that croissants are tough, and has a date-nut-honey filling that she has used before. They turn out not flaky enough and too much like bread. 
James makes chocolate-filled croissants. [I think that may be the only type of "filled croissant" that I've had!] His dough is very sticky and he takes a slightly different approach to the shape. [I don't think they turned out differently, though...] The plain ones are just right but the chocolate is too bitter.
Kolette makes almond-filled croissants but uses too much butter (almost double at 1 c. butter to 2 sticks butter). She also has uniformity issues.

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The Final Results: Darlene wins, with Brian close behind. Low-ranking bakers this episode were Kolette (constantly in trouble), Effie (did poorly in the technical and the showstopper), and Elaine (didn't finish). The baker sent home is Kolette. 

American Baking Competition: Surprise Cakes

I was a little surprised that "cakes" is a one-episode specialty. I would have expected them to be broken down into multiple, as there are so many different kinds! What other topics for episodes will there be... breads for sure, probably cupcakes, probably muffins, maybe quiches, maybe generic pastries, maybe scones/biscuits? I must say, however, that I found the tips to be very helpful this time around: Start with butter and sugar, then alternate adding wet and dry ingredients; over-mixing the cake makes it dense. Plus, the history of Baked Alaska was thrown in, which I especially loved because I was just in Alaska three weeks ago! For what it's worth, I'm sad my Amaretto Divine cake wouldn't have qualified for the Signature Bake (three layers and all), but I think I would have made a Pineapple Upside-Down Cake, even if it's a bit more cliche. I probably would have flunked the technical bake, as I most likely would have greased the pan. I'm at a bit of a loss as far as what I would have done for the Showstopper, but I would have probably gone with a rainbow cake, even if those have a tendency to bake unevenly. What would you have made, and how do you think the judges might perceive it?

Remaining Contestants:
Brian, 43, advertising executive who works from home, was recently injured and is currently using crutches.
Darlene, 51, project manager from Georgia.
Effie, 40, attorney from Tennessee.
Elaine, retired university administrator with great grandkids.
Francine, 44, homemaker from Pickens, SC.
James, 26, photographer from Morristown, IN.
Jeremy, 35, firefighter from San Diego who lost 60 pounds in the last few years. He has been married for 13 years and has four kids.
Kolette, 30, home care provider from Norco, CA, who is a diabetic vegetarian.

The American Baking Competition "Cakes" (S01E03):
The Signature Bake: Be creative with a one-layer cake in 90 minutes.
Brian does a Chocolate Truffle Cake, which has a long baking time. He decorates it with "edible pansies", but they're just pulled from the ground. [gross!] The cake is a bit bland.
Darlene makes Banana, Pineapple and Pecan Tiki-Time Cake. Good texture, color, and icing. [I would have liked to see more of the "during" for this one, as pineapple and banana would result in a really sweet flavor, no?]
Effie makes Orange Cardamom Pistachio Cake, which is lovely.
Elaine makes Pineapple Upside-Down Cake with Coconut. She uses 1 cup flour and 1 tsp baking powder, which makes a short cake. It's a sweet cake but very good.
Francine makes Cherry Soda Pop Cake, which is topped with roasted pecans. The soda flavor was too sweet. [I've wanted to try a soda cake in the past but never have...]
James makes Grandma Nannie Coffee Cake, which he burnt. [I thought it was UGLY.]
Jeremy makes his mother-in-law's Cinnamon Chocolate Cake, which is warm because his time management isn't the best. The middle is a little raw, as there is no crumbing.
Kolette makes Oatmeal Spice Cake with Cinnamon. The topping is ugly and the cake is too wet/raw. [I didn't think it looked or sounded that great.] 

The Technical Bake: Make a chiffon cake with a tequila-orange glaze in 2 hrs, 15 min. There are almost no directions this time (and no listed baking time, either!), and several bakers haven't made chiffon cakes before. The important things are to use oil, not butter, not to grease the pan, and to carefully incorporate the beaten egg whites into the rest of the mixture. Francine's oven has oil on the bottom, so it smokes, but her cake is lovely. Effie doesn't drink so she doesn't know how much tequila to use, plus she overbakes the cake. Kolette removes some dark spots from the sides, but it looks TOO trimmed. [agreed.] It's also too moist. Darlene's is dense because it wasn't cooled properly. The worst cake is Kolette's, then Effie's. The best is Francine's, followed by James's.

The Showstopper Bake: In 5 hours, bake a cake that has a surprise design inside. [I learned a lot in this one, as I've done a bunch of cakes that have had "holes" baked inside that I filled with ice cream or something, but never something exactly like this.
Brian does an all-American lemon cake with a cheeseburger inside. [I thought it was plain.] The cake was a little dry, and too simplistic for Paul.
Darlene does a "Give a Dog a Bone" cake. Her frosting was REALLY runny. It has a lot of rum but a nice bone inside. [very centered.]
Effie does an "I Loves You to the Moon & Back" cake, with a moon and stars inside. [didn't come out great.] The presentation is deemed beautiful, the texture is great, but there's no flavor. [she better stop with that no-egg stuff.]
Elaine does a Chocolate and Vanilla Valentine's Day Cake, with the interior hearts made of strawberry mousse. The taste and texture are nice, and the mousse works out, too. [I would have liked to see how she did her mousse!]
Francine does a Floating Hearts lemon cake will have chickens and hearts. [I thought it was ugly.] The inside is nice but the outside is too much.
James does an Underground Surprise cake, designed to be like the Earth. [neat idea. I love gummy worms!] The exterior looks great, but the layers are very dense/dry.
Jeremy does a red-white-and-blue Single-Layer Cherpumple Cake, which has a cherry pie baked inside. [I've seen there before but they seem so complicated!] The top takes forever to bake and the sponge is ultimately raw, though the flavor is nice. 
Kolette does a 12-layer "Check, Check, Check It Out" cake with pink, green, and white. [I've never done a checkerboard cake with three colors!] Her frosting contains 48oz of cream cheese! The look is great and it tastes good.

The Final Results: Elaine is the Star Baker (I agree completely!) but Francine was kinda close. Kolette was in trouble but her showstopper was great, forcing Jeremy to go home.

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NEW SHOW: The American Baking Competition

Longtime readers know that I enjoy baking competition shows because I'm an amateur baker myself (who has sold one cake, LoL). Because the bakers on this show claim to be hobby bakers and not professionals, I was particularly interested in seeing what they can do. Combine that with a tagline like "Who Will Rise and Who Will Crumble," and I'm hooked. Two episodes in, I think that the competition rounds are interesting, even if I'm not rooting for anyone in particular just yet. Speaking of which, here's a little run-down on the contestants:

Brian, 43, advertising executive who was recently injured and is currently using crutches.
Carlo, 35, social marketing consultant from Connecticut who dreams of owning a bakery.
Darlene, 51, project manager from Georgia.
Effie, 40, attorney from Tennessee. Makes Apple Quince Rose Pie.
Elaine, retired university administrator with great grandkids.
Francine, 44, homemaker from Pickens, SC.
James, 26, photographer from Morristown, IN.
Jeremy, 35, firefighter from San Diego who lost 60 pounds in the last few years.
Kolette, home care provider. [no age or location?] She's a diabetic vegetarian.
Whitney, 22, student at Texas Tech.

Heather Wines / CBS

Each round will feature three different bakes - a signature recipe competitors have mastered, a technical bake where everyone gets the same recipe but there are missing instructions, and a showstopper round where the goal is to "wow" the judges: Marcela Valladolid and Paul Hollywood. Every week, there will be one "star baker" and one baker sent home from Atlanta. In the end, the prize will be a publishing cookbook for their recipes and $250,000.

The American Baking Competition "Pies & Tarts" (S01E01): First, the important things about making pies: be sure to crumb the flour with the butter for a dough, then refrigerate so it's easier to roll out; to avoid a soggy bottom, bake the base of the pie separately 10-20 min with parchment paper and baking beads; there's a fine line between working the dough enough and making it too gummy. 

The Signature Bake: Your personal spin on the American Pie in 2 hours. The bakers struggle to finish the pies, especially the cooling process for those with toppings. [for what it's worth, I would have made my Rainier Cherry Pie for this.]

Brian makes Maple Bourbon Chocolate Pecan Pie, which had a good texture but too much liquor. [I thought it was beautiful.] 
Carlo makes an Italian Easter Pie with Ricotta. The judges find the look too "busy," the bottom too soggy, and the texture undesirable.
Darlene makes Sweet Potato Pie which the judges think is great in looks and taste.
Effie makes Apple Quince Rose Pie, which looks professional and has a great ingredient combination.
Elaine makes Peach Cobbler Pie, which wasn't baked properly and is too liquidy yet burned on top.
Francine makes Chocolate Peanut Butter Bacon Pie, which turns out lovely in appearance and tastes great, too. [not my kinda thing, but it was pretty.]
James makes Mile High Apple Pie with a great crust and simple filling.
Jeremy makes Sweet Potato Pie that's too simple and without decoration. The judges also feel there's too much nutmeg.
Kolette makes Chocolate Hazel pie, which is very rich but the flavors are good.
Whitney makes lemon pie with meringue, which is not the most tried-and-true recipe for her. The bottom is soggy and the lemon flavor didn't come through enough.

The Technical Bake: Create a meat pie with a free-standing-hot-water-crust in 2 hours. The judges know that the crust is particularly difficult without the proper directions, as the dough must be rolled out and put in the pan before it starts to cool. Plus, getting the pies out of the mini-springform pans is difficult. The bakers have problems ranging from smoke from not putting a pan in the oven, thick dough, soggy bottoms, and uneven cooking because the vegetables aren't uniformly chopped. Carlo's is the worst and James's is the best, with Elaine coming in a close second. [I think I would have failed in this category, as I've never really done a savory pie.]

The Showstopper Bake: (held on a different day than the first two rounds) Make 36 sweet tartlets (basically miniature pies) in 3 hours. Going into this round, Carlo, Jeremy, and Whitney are in danger. [I don't have a great tartlet, but I think I would have gone with miniature versions of my triple chocolate mousse pie.]

Brian's Raspberry and Dark Chocolate Tartlets have tough crusts.
Carlo's Calabrese Pite Tartlets (fig, cocoa, marsala, coffee, spices, orange rind) look dark and the flavor combinations don't work.
Darlene's Blooming Apple Tarlets don't look uniform, but the flavor is nice.
Effie's Orange, Almond, Vanilla, & Ricotta Tartlets are great.
Elaine's Meyer Lemon with Crystallized Ginger Tarlets are fantastic.
Francine's Chocolate Cherry Shortbread Tartlets are great.
James' Ricotta and Greek Yogurt Honey Tartlets don't have the shine you get from apricot jam.
Jeremy's Blueberry, Kiwi, Mango tartlets have custard in them, which is easy to burn. This causes him to have to start over, and then he runs out of time. The fruit is unevenly cut, the pastry is nice, but time management killed him.
Kolette's Goat Cheese and Cherry Tartlets lack good flavor.
Whitney's Rum Coconut Tartlets with Custard and Orange Zest have an overworked pastry but a good filling.

The Final Results: Francine and Elaine are early favorites, with Jeremy, Carlo, and Whitney at the other end of the spectrum. Francine wins Star Baker, and Carlo is sent home, shocking Jeremy, whose time management problem isn't as big as Carlo's skill problem. [experienced reality viewers may have been able to guess this, based on the amount of information we got from each competitor.]

The American Baking Competition "Cookies" (S01E02): Only a few tips... ground almond works to dry things a little. Perfect graham cracker dough is really dry, and many people add more milk, which makes it too sticky. [Also, general note, I wasn't a huge fan of Kolette's "homesick" stuff.]

The Signature Bake: In 90 minutes, 12 cookies must be baked, and every single one presented to the judges. [that's a touch rule! with that in mind, I would have gone with my S'mores Cookies, as they turn out more uniformly pretty than my other best cookies.]

Brian thinks he has a great chance at winning this one with his Cakey Chocolate Chip Cookies, but they are underbaked. He actually hides a batch of six and makes six more, hoping they turn out better. He knows it's cheating, he's caught, and he's told not to do it again. [I'm surprised that the punishment wasn't greater!]
Darlene makes Red Rose Crumbles, which are too crumbly. [I feel like they were supposed to be in this case, though....]
Effie makes Rosemary Cherry Meyer Lemon Shortbread Cookies, a dessert made without eggs. They turn out beautiful.
Elaine makes Ginger Cookies, which are lovely.  
Francine makes Slap-Ya-Mama Chocolate Fudge Cookies, which contain chipotle. It's a complex cookie, which the judges like. [I like how her recipes are unique.]
James makes Brutti ma Buoni with Hazelnut Ganache, which are good. [I won't even pretend to know much about this cookie!]
Jeremy makes Fat Pills, which are loved. [I wasn't quite clear on why they're called that.]
Kolette makes White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies. The look isn't consistent but they taste good. [I've made that cookie a couple of times, and I'll second that it IS a challenge to chop the nuts uniformly.]
Whitney makes Lemon Poppyseed Cookies, but she added more juice to add more flavor and the cookies spread. [another lemon choice? is that her thing?] The cookies are almost too cakey. [I like that but not everyone does.]

The Technical Bake: The competitors have 2 hours, 15 minutes to replicate "Sophisticated S'mores," a recipe which is temperamental and has a tough marshmallow technique. [getting the history of graham crackers was interesting.] Brian scratches off some burned bits, and also has floppy marshmallows. [I liked learning more about what defines the "soft ball" stage.] Francine's are crispy but the marshmallow is correct. Brian's are too sweet. Kolette's don't look the best and are messy, but they're good. Jeremy's don't look ideal. Darlene's are overbaked. Effie's look good and the ratio is good. Whitney's don't have enough marshmallow and the cracker is underbaked. James's are the worst because you can see the graham cracker. Francine's come in second, with Effie's winning for smooth tops, great graham, and best ratio.

The Showstopper Bake: Make 20 each of two different sandwiched macarons in four hours. [yikes. tough cookie!] Piping the cookies is tough, with some bakers tracing a cutter to make the cookies even, but others eye-balling it. [personally, I've never attempted macarons. the closest I've come is probably Pumpkin Cream Cheese Whoopie Pies, which aren't really comparable, LoL.]

Brian makes Coffee & Cream and Mint & Chocolate Macarons. The cookies aren't dried out enough. [the flavors sounded good, though!]
Darlene makes Black Sesame and Chocolate Cinnamon Macarons, which are bland. [I think that cinnamon-chocolate is a tough combo.]
Effie makes Saffron Rose & Curry Coconut Lime Macarons. The curry flops, and the other ain't great, either. 
Elaine makes Coconut Ganache & Lemon Buttercream Macarons. They turn out great, and the presentation is also appreciated.
Francine makes Drunken Orange & Raspberry Pistachio Macarons. They look underbaked and taste very moist, with the filling being too strong.
James makes Clementine and Early Grey Macarons. [didn't like the tower presentation.] The tea is too "perfume-y" for Marcela but Paul likes them.
Jeremy makes Strawberry & Peanut Butter Macarons, which are great.
Kolette makes Candied Ginger and Meyer Lemon Macarons. Her cookies aren't uniform and they also crack. [she was SO upset. Perhaps she's not ready for this type of competition...]
Whitney makes Mocha and Chai Macarons. They're rough and could taste better.

Final Results: Elaine and Jeremy are in the lead, with Elaine winning Star Baker. Brian, Whitney, and Kolette are in the bottom, with Whitney going home.