Wedding Cake Championship recap: Who made the finale?

This week’s Wedding Cake Championship recap has gone to the dogs. Which three teams made next week’s finale on the Food Network.

Only one more Wedding Cake Championship recap till a winner is crowned in this first season. Which three teams made next week’s finale? This week’s episode seemed to have gone to the dogs, but in a good way.

In the opening wedding cake topper challenge, the bakers were inspired by a very important part of many people’s family, pets. In many weddings, dogs, cats and other pets are a major part of the celebration. It makes sense that those adorable animals could be incorporated into a wedding cake.

Hosts Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir with Tara Lipinski’s dog Dublin during the Topper Round, Precocious Pets Cake Topper, Puppy Love, as seen on Wedding Cake Championship, Season 1.

For the wedding cake toppers, three of the four teams created animal pairs for the wedding cake topper. Love birds seemed like an obvious choice. While these two wedding cake toppers were pretty, they were a little expected. Sometimes going with the cliché isn’t a smart idea.

Jared and Stephen’s unicorn wedding cake toppers were adorable. While they were cartoon like, it was sweet. Sure, no one really has a unicorn as a pet, but unicorns are everywhere. That trend hasn’t, and won’t, go away. It was a cute interpretation of this challenge.

The winning wedding cake topper came from Holly and Kaylinn. If you didn’t smile when you saw this wedding cake topper, you must have been having a really bad day. Their dog was absolutely adorable. The little smile and the floppy hair epitomized a happy dog.

Also, I think that this team won because their wedding cake topper was a single animal. Sure, the “couple” or pair idea is traditional, but the single dog had bigger impact. The dog cake topper had a bigger impact and set a true scene. From his little blanket hanging over the edge of the cake to his little toy, the visual was perfect.

For their wedding cake topper win, Holly and Kaylinn got an advantage in the main challenge. In this week’s challenge, the advantage was a secret piece of information that no one else had. They got to see a picture of the couple’s dog. Given that Holly and Kaylinn just won based on dog wedding cake topper, it seems like they could use this information to their advantage.

Contestants Kaylinn Draper and Holly Webster with Judges Kimberly Bailey, David Tutera, and Maneet Chauhan during the Cake Round, Make a Wedding Cake for Brandon and Matthew, Puppy Love, as seen on Wedding Cake Championship, Season 1.

So far this season, the advantages haven’t proven to be very helpful to the teams. These advantages should help to propel the first challenge winners toward the top. Instead, the advantage has sometimes turned into a dud.

For the main challenge, the teams had to create a wedding cake that balanced the couple’s likes. Combining city and rural into a cake can be quite challenging. Rustic chic is doable, but it does take a deft hand.

While the theme is a little scattered, the cake’s flavor was even more confusing. The couple prefers cookies over cake. They wanted a cake that tasted more like a cookie. This flavor choice could be quite difficult for the teams.

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Thinking about adding cookie flavor to a cake isn’t as easy as it sounds. Most of the bakers went for the obvious, cookies in the cream layers. Sure, a cookie bites mixed into sweet buttercream is yummy. But, I was wondering if there was a more creative way to find the cookie flavor.

Looking at the four cakes, Jared and Stephen’s cake seems a little juvenile. While the chocolate chips in the batter were a nice touch, I would hope for a more elevated wedding cake flavor. Then again, the couple was quite happy with the cake. I guess, the couple’s preferences are the most important.

As for the wedding cake flavor that I would chose, I like Reva’s and Viki’s cake. The traditional cookies and cream buttercream with a touch of peanut butter sounded divine. The cake was rich, yet moist. I would gladly eat two pieces of this cake.

Unfortunately, Holly and Kaylinn had a mis-step with their cake. While the idea was promising, their cake was dry. There is nothing worse than a dry cake. Truthfully, these types of cakes should never be dry. Why didn’t the bakers use a simple syrup to brush onto the cake? It is simple fix and keeps any cake moist.

Still, a Wedding Cake Championship recap is about the cake decoration. Since the home viewer can’t sample the cakes, the decoration makes a bigger impact on the fan. In this week’s challenge, the teams seem to be thinking alike, again.

Every cake had some wood detail. Sure, wood conveys a rustic feel, but isn’t there a more creative approach that one team could have thought of? Rustic doesn’t have to be wood. There are other options beside a big, brown log, right?

Yes, wood detail can add texture to a cake. It can show the teams’ decorative skills. Still, I wanted something more. Especially going into the finale, I wanted one of the teams to really push themselves creatively.

If I was picking a winning cake, my favorite was Holly and Kaylinn’s wedding cake. While they didn’t really use their advantage in the best way, the cake was gorgeous. The buttercream decorated, vertically impressive cake was elegant, yet had a country chic feel. The simplicity was smart because it had a bigger impact than a visually busy cake.

They should have found a better way to incorporate the couple’s dog. With such a good advantage, the dog should have been a feature of the cake. They should have re-worked the design to make the dog more prominent. Their dog was well made, but it didn’t pop against the rustic-chic cake.

Hosts Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir with Contestants Viki Kane and Reva Alexander during the Topper Round, Precocious Pets Cake Topper, Puppy Love, as seen on Wedding Cake Championship, Season 1. photo provided by Food Network

The judges choice Reva and Viki’s cake as the winner. I don’t agree with this choice. As a viewer, the cake seemed quite busy. From the colors to the layers to the added gold accents, it was a little over-accessorized. Maybe if some of the layers had less gold, I would have like it better. It is all a matter of personal taste.

Reva and Viki were the first team to make the Wedding Cake Championship finale. I think that they have a strong chance at winning the competition. So far, they have been consistently on top. The key for them will be to keep their decorations from becoming too over-accessorized.

While Stephen and Jared didn’t win, they were safe. Their cake was cute. The idea of the pup cake was adorable and basically secured their spot in the finale. Actually, the chalkboard cake layer was genius. More cake bakers should incorporate that technique.

The two teams up for elimination were Holly and Kaylinn and Sabrina and Regina. Sabrina and Regina had major technical issues this week. Their cakes weren’t covered in fondant. The cakes were a little haphazardly decorated.

On Sabrina and Regina’s cake, the geometric additions made the cake a little busy. Your eye never quite knew where to look. Sure, the technical/time issues were a problem, but the design itself was a little troublesome. While their design suffered, the cake flavor was delicious. It was a judge’s top choice. Everyone raved over it.

Even though Holly and Kaylinn was my top choice, the judges chose to eliminate this team. I think the combination of a dry cake and not using the advantage well sealed their fate. Personally, I think that Sabrina and Regina deserved to go home based on this week’s challenge. Their decoration was a fail.

Next: Ridiculous Cake returns with even more crazy cakes

Only one Wedding Cake Championship recap remains. Which team will win the title? My bets are on Reva and Viki. Then again, anything can happen on Food Network.

Who do you think will win the title of Wedding Cake Champion? Check back next week for our finale and season recap.

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