Spring Baking Championship recap: Aren’t the flowers sweet?

In this Spring Baking Championship episode, the bakers stepped into the Food Network garden. While the flowers were in full bloom, the Spring Board was ready to prune another baker’s big dream. Which baker wasn’t smelling the roses after this episode’s baking challenge?

After last week’s baby shower tower and the unexpected elimination of Jahmal, the bakers seem to be quite cautious. As some top bakers fell to the bottom of the Spring Board (aka Natalie), those challenges proved that everyone is only as good as their last bake. Still, Spring Baking Championship moves forward till a winner is crowned.

For the pre-heat, the bakers had to make a party gift that incorporated edible flowers. While this challenge presents a lovely visual, it is must harder than it seems. More importantly, those delicate, edible flowers need precision. No one wants to take a bite of potpourri.

From macarons to hand pies to mini cakes, the bakers seemed to flourish in this challenge. Although one set of hand pies were extremely blonde, the mistakes were minimal. Given the nature of the pre-heat, the bakers were quite impressive.

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In the end, only one baker could earn the advantage and that was Keya. Her hand pie had lovely flavors and fit the challenge well. For that win, she was able to assign the flavors for main heat. It seems that Keya is emerging as a favorite.

After last week’s disastrous macaron, Natalie redeemed herself. Although Natalie has had her ups and downs in Spring Baking Championship, she has proven herself as a contender. If she can stay on task, it seems likely that she should make the finale. Even if some of the other bakers somehow continue to squeak through to the next round.

What blossomed in the Spring Baking Championship main heat?

For the main heat, the bakers had to make a cake that featured flowers, both in flavor and decoration. With all the floral notes, the bakers had to use care. No one wanted a slice of cake to taste like soap.

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Of course, every episode has a twist. This one seemed slightly obvious, a cake topper. Although each baker took a different approach to the twist, it was curious that a few of the cake toppers were not quite as impressive as others. Is a flower really a cake topper?

Overall, the bakers’ flower inspired cakes were lovely. No one overpowered the cakes with too much floral flavors. Without completely hiding the floral flavors, the cakes were balanced. Like the perfect floral arrangement, each cake offered a lovely display off the beauty that flowers offer.

A few items were somewhat curious in this Spring Baking Championship episode. While Derek is normally a top contender, this choice to focus more on a cherry blossom tree, not the jasmine flower, usually spells disaster for a baker. Picking a totally different direction is not often a smart choice.

Veruska had some difficulty with her cake topper, too. The judges felt that her orange blossom needed to be more delicate. In some ways, that criticism was a little harsh. At least her cake topper made a statement.

While most bakers’ cakes looked like flowers had taken over the cake, the truth is that the flavors were the difference in this Spring Baking Championship challenge. For example, Keya delivered on her rose flavored cake.

Although most people shy away from rose flavors, Keya was drawn to that ingredient. She impressed the judges with her ability to balance the subtle rose without turning the cake into a potpourri.

Natalie impressed the judges’ as well. Her cake has a moist crumb and the violet in her buttercream was Spring perfection.

The top two bakers flourished. In what seems to be a pattern, both Keya and Natalie rose to the top. For her impressive cake, Natalie won this episode’s challenge. It seems all those cakes that she has made in her business have really paid off.

Unfortunately, the two bottom bakers were Derek and Veruska. The judges’ criticized Veruska for the bitterness in her yuzu flavoring. In addition, her cake topper needed a little more finesse. With Derek, the judges appreciated his jasmine flavor, but the berry filling was a little one note.

As everyone waited to see if another favorite was going home. Spring Baking Championship pulled a twist. No one was eliminated in this challenge. Although Derek was on the bottom, he was safe. Given the previous eliminations of Laurent and Jahmal, it would be harsh to see the talented Derek be sent home.

With no one going home, does this situation mean that there will be a double elimination in the episode? Food Network fans will have to watch and see how the cookie crumbles.

Who do you think will be the top baker in Spring Baking Championship?