Spring Baking Championship dessert mash-ups: It’s all about the Mookie!

In this week’s episode, Spring Baking Championship dessert mash-ups had everyone thinking about the Mookie. Why hasn’t anyone created this dessert mash-up before?

Spring Baking Championship dessert mash-ups had many fans ready to head to the kitchen. In this week’s episode the two challenges were a combination of creativity and technical ability. Could one of these desserts be on your Easter brunch table?

In the pre-heat challenge, the bakers were given a twist right off the bat. While the theme was dessert mash-ups, the bigger twist was that the bakers were competing in teams. Although the selection was random, a couple teams seemed to be at an advantage.

Truthfully, some dessert combinations were better suited for a mash-up combination. Whoopie pies and upside down cake needed a clear vision to make it successful. Also, Bundt cake and blondie was a difficult choice. Still, one dessert mash-up could be the next viral dessert that everyone will be clamoring to try.

Team Dad, Cory and Kevin, created the most epic dessert mash-up, the Mookie. This bite of deliciousness combined a muffin with a sandwich cookie. Truthfully, why hasn’t someone thought of this idea before? In a way, it is similar to splitting a cupcake and putting the frosting in the middle. Still, it is an awesome idea.

Simply stated, Team Dad created two muffin tops with cream cheese frosting and blueberry preserves in the middle. Then, the outside was covered in a cookie crumb. Are you obsessed yet?

Truthfully, the muffin top needs to have the right texture. Luckily, Cory can create a delicious muffin top.

Also, the combination of flavors need to be on point. While this version leaned towards lighter flavors, this recipe could be adapted in so many ways. Once you get the basic idea, this dessert mash-up could be a great choice at any occasion.

Needless to say, Team Dad was the pre-heat winner. As the winner, their advantage was to switch up their own team or switch other teams. They choose to split Team Europe, Saber and Ricardo. While this choice was wise, the swap may not have had the intended outcome.

In the main heat, the bakers had to create a tart that spelled a four letter word. Yes, spelling counts in baking and these bakers better known their letters as well as the flavors.

Truthfully, these “word” Spring cream tarts were visually stunning when done correctly. The 3D dessert is both a decoration and a dessert. They would make a love tablescape for Easter or Mother’s Day.

While the bakers had relatively free reign on flavors, the bakers had to create a four letter word tart, use macarons and another item. Additionally, there is always a twist. The “superfood” ingredient (for extra brain power) toward the end of the challenge didn’t cause too much chaos. Looks like the superfood ensured that everyone had the correct spelling.

Overall, these Spring cream tarts were quite successful. There was a broken letter (sorry Kevin) but for the most part, these desserts would have a place of honor at any table.

Before discussing the best and worst, does anyone know how to serve and/or eat one of these tarts? Given the two layers, do you pick up both layers for one big bite? Is the dessert eaten in pieces, one layer at a time? While these desserts are stunning, the eating concept might be a little confusing.

One thing that was curious about all four teams was that each baker choose their own pastry/cookie dough  for the letters and cream for the filling. Overall, the flavors seemed to go together but each letter/tart was its own. To me,  a little more cohesiveness might have been warranted.

Winning the main challenge with a sweet “rose” was Saber and Marqessa. Their combined tart was visually stunning. From the bright colors to the edible flowers, it definitely was a picture of spring.

Still, there was only one winning baker. For her expert use of the twist ingredient, coconut, Marqessa earned the win. By using the coconut in the macaroon (not macarcon) she was incredibly smart. Her dessert excelled on all aspects.

The bottom two bakers were Kevin and Tracey. It was sad to see a member of Team Dad come up short after such a successful pre-heat challenge. Kevin’s broken cookie, lack of ginger flavor and too sweet cream caused him to be in the bottom. The copious amounts of sugar in the cream couldn’t be overlooked.

Tracey had numerous issues. Her cookie was overbaked and was gritty. Additionally, the lavender was missing in her flavors. Lastly, her macaron was too stiff and didn’t bake properly.

The baker sent home was Kevin. Unfortunately the Spring tarts rained on his parade. While the judges picked his dessert as the worst, Tracey could have just as easily gone home. Her dessert, in both rounds, had issues. Arent’ two dessert errors worse than just one?

What did you think of this week’s Spring Baking Championship dessert mash-ups? Are you thinking of making a Mookie dessert?