Spring Baking Championship Season 7 episode 5 recap: Bear down

After two episodes of unexpected bakers leaving Spring Baking Championship, this episode had Food Network fans wondering what unlikely turn of events would be sprouting from the kitchen. While each baker is only as good as their last bake, the reality is the Spring Board is never predictable.

For the pre-heat challenge, the bakers had to create a baby shower gift that incorporated two spring flavor pairings. Instead of boxes and bows, these treats looked like some actual baby gifts. Although a few items might not make the photo op, the majority of sweet treats would not be re-gifted.

In some ways, the pre-heat had treats either had rave reviews or should have been left at home. From a burnt financier to Jahmal’s donut disaster, these Spring Baking Championship desserts would be the toy forgotten in the toy box.

On the other hand, the top desserts would be the envy of any baby shower. From Derek’s adorable cookie bear to Natalie’s rattle cookie (that actually rattled), these desserts earned five star reviews.

Winning the pre-heat was Natalie. Her rattle cookie that actually rattled wowed the judges. For her reward, she was able to pick her main heat theme and assign the themes to the other Spring Baking Championship bakers.

In the main heat, the Spring Baking Championship bakers had to create a baby shower tower. The three themes were twinkling stars, bear tea party and baby shark. Luckily, there was no soundtrack to this episode.

Given that Natalie was able to assign the bakers a theme, it was clear that she wanted Derek and Keya to have a difficult challenge. Similar to the song ear worm, the Baby Shark theme seemed fraught with baking danger.

Even as the coffee twist was revealed, the bakers seemed to either be on task or struggling. As seen in other challenges, these challenges seem made for certain bakers. Given that the baker had complete control over the dessert and the flavors, except for the coffee twist, there should have been some amazing desserts on the plate.

Although he didn’t want the baby shark theme, Derek soared with this challenge. While Duff might have referenced a sharknado, the reality is that his decoration was on point. From the blue and pink colors to his isomalt water, the baby shower tower was impressive. Although coffee and mango might not be an obvious choice, the flavors worked.

In a surprising twist Mediha was a top baker. While her chocolate and raspberry donut was good, it did seem heavy for spring. But, the judges liked the combination of flavors.

Her display conveyed bear tea party but it was a little dark in color. It might have been nice to see some brightly colored flowers in the tree. Maybe Nancy saw something in bloom that the Food Network fans missed.

Winning the heat and rising to the top of the Spring Board was Mediha. While she was smelling the roses, two bakers were quite defeated. After winning the pre-heat, Natalie fell to the bottom  with Jahmal.

Natalie knew that her macarons were poorly baked. The texture was wrong, but she could not correct her mistake once it was discovered. While the flavors were good, there is no forgiveness for a poorly made macaron.

As for Jahmal, his display was a complete failure. His bear cookies had fallen off the tower. Maybe those bears had spent too much time partying on Miami Beach.

While display was a disaster, the flavors in his sandwich cookie were delicious. His pivot to a banana coffee filling really worked. Unfortunately, the best tasting cookie of the day could not save a broken tower. Jahmal was sent home form Spring Baking Championship.

Although changes in the Spring Board rankings are expected, no one would have predicted Natalie’s huge fall or Jahmal going home. Still, the bakers are only as good as their last bake. Unfortunately, there is no room for mistakes in this Food Network challenge.

What do you think of this Spring Baking Championship season? Have some of the outcomes been questionable?