Holiday Gingerbread Showdown recap: Santa’s Workshop is magical

In this week’s Holiday Gingerbread Showdown recap, Santa’s Workshop served as the bakers’ inspiration. These bakers definitely made the nice list.

With one spot to fill in the Holiday Gingerbread Showdown finale, this week’s episode showcased the extreme detail that an expert gingerbread artist can create. Even the most scrutinizing Kerry Vincent had high praise for these impeccable gingerbread houses. But, only one baker could earn a spot in next week’s finale.

The theme for this week’s Holiday Gingerbread Showdown was Santa’s Most Incredible Workshop. When thinking about Santa’s Workshop, the concept usually features mountains of toys. From elves sitting at a workbench to Santa’s overflowing sack, there are a few iconic visuals that come to mind.

With these designs, the bakers took very different approaches to the challenge. While the elves and toys elements were always there, these three designs were completely unique. More importantly, all three designs were impeccably made. Truthfully, any of these three bakers could have won the two previous episodes.

Before delighting in these beautiful creations, the treat twist was quite creative this week. Each baker found a wonderful, creative way of adding these treats into the display. The hands down winner was Ricky.
Judges Kerry Vincent, Molly Yeh, and Adam Young and host Marcella Valladolid, as seen on Holiday Gingerbread Showdown, Season 1 photo provided by Food Network
Truthfully, all three bakers had tasty treats. Ricky won because this treat was the most elaborate. It had crunch, crisp and still incorporated gingerbread. This dessert was probably the best one of the entire Holiday Gingerbread Showdown season.

Looking at all three gingerbread house designs in this episode, the displays were the most detailed of the entire season. From the delicate royal icing to the tiny presents inside the displays, the amount of intricacies was incredible.

Additionally, this episode shared some vital baking tips for anyone watching at home. First, Ricky used gingerbread colored royal icing to patch broken pieces of gingerbread. Why haven’t more people used this idea? There is no need to have globs of white everywhere. This simple, yet genius, idea could change how you make gingerbread houses.

Second, Beatriz used pantyhose to strain both her icing and gelatin. Of course, some people might have fancy gadgets for this concept, but this simple idea is another great hack. Ensuring that all the granules are gone makes for perfectly smooth icing and gelatin. This idea is another tip to keep for your baking files.

Unlike the previous Holiday Gingerbread Showdown episodes, this week’s episode didn’t have a major fail. No one had a structure fall apart or a leaning tower of gingerbread. Basically, the judges had to make a choice on theme and attention to all the little details.

Adrienne’s gingerbread house was probably the closest to the theme of Santa’s Most Incredible Workshop. The design was whimsical and the characters were adorable. From the rosy cheeks to even Santa’s gold glasses, she captured the fun in the theme.

The judges’ biggest complaint with her display was that her gingerbread was mostly covered with icing. While the look was very colorful, the true color of gingerbread wasn’t present. Looking at the display, it could have been cake or other cookie, not necessarily gingerbread. Still, her display was quite lovely.

Beatriz’s gingerbread house was so impeccable that it almost didn’t seem edible. While not exactly a whimsical Santa’s Workshop, it was gingerbread house perfection. The Victorian style house looked like a perfect little house from a children’s book. From the delicate lattice to the perfectly clear glass, this showpiece was breathtaking.

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During the episode, Beatriz mentioned that it takes her hundreds of hours to construct this type of showpiece. I wonder how many hours she spent prior to the competition. All the details inside the house itself were pure perfection.

Since the judges really couldn’t find fault in the construction, the question became did this showpiece capture the theme. While impeccable, it was a little uncertain if the Victorian house would be instantly recognizable as Santa’s workshop.

Ricky’s showpiece took at different approach to the Santa’s Workshop theme. His showpiece was a factory inspired look. From the front, it was all business and structure. From the back, with the cut outs, the judges could see the elves frantically working on all the toys.

Again, this display was quite impressive. The use of gingerbread flour in marzipan was innovative. He had many techniques that were quite impressive.

The biggest criticism was that the factory appeared more ominous that festive. Instead of a holiday wonderland, it looked more like a scrooge factory. I’m not sure what Ricky could have done differently. It was an innovative idea, but it missed on the whimsical side.

Earning a spot in the Holiday Gingerbread Showdown finale was Beatriz. Her display was just too perfect to pass over. Truthfully, it was a shame that these three competitors were all in the same episode. This particular competition could have been the finale.

Next week’s episode is the Holiday Gingerbread Showdown finale. The other two bakers might have a tough time beating Beatriz. Don’t forget to tune into Food Network on Sunday night to see who wins.