Spring Baking Championship Season 9 episode 3: Spring flings and broken hearts

When Spring Baking Championship Season 9 premiered on Food Network, the theme for this season was love. Although no one thought that they turned on an episode of the Bachelor, the love theme is influencing the desserts. While the judges might want to see those Spring colors, the bakers might not always be full of bright, bold colors when it comes to expressing their love of these particular baking twists. In Spring Baking Championship Season 9 episode 3, spring flings proved not just to be flakey but also sweet and sour, which led to some broken hearts.

For the preheat, the theme was a spring fling. Although that bright sunshine and blooming flowers might have many people swooning, this preheat challenge was less cheery. Given that the bakers had to make rhubarb Napoleons, this bake was more about the technique than just feeling the love.

Looking at the preheat, the bakers had difficulty with the puff pastry. Granted, no one was rolling out some pre-made sheets from the back freezer. And, making pastry in this particular situation is not easy. Still, it was surprising that there were more errors than flakey goodness.

In some ways, that technical aspect overshadowed some of the creativity with the rhubarb. While rhubarb and strawberry are a common combination, some of the bakers introduced different flavor pairings to big successes.

One of the top bakers in the Spring Baking Championship Season 9 episode 3 preheat was April. She had one of the best pastries. It was thin, had many layers and was perfectly flakey. In addition, her combination of peach and rhubarb was a lovely idea. It really impressed the judges.

But, it could not overtake the winning Nepoleon. Luke took a big risk and it paid off. His combination of rhubarb and hibiscus captured the light, airiness of spring. When combined with a basil and lemongrass pastry cream, it hit all the flavor notes that someone wants from a spring dessert. It was sweet, floral, and absolutely delicious.

For winning the preheat, Luke received an advantage in the main heat. It was time for a partner challenge, and Luke was able to choose his partner. He chose Jai after learning the theme for the main heat.

The Spring Baking Championship Season 9 episode 3 main heat had the bakers make break-up cakes in pairs. Each baker had to make half of a cake that would line-up when placed together. But, the flavor profiles of the two cakes needed to be opposite. For example, no one would be peanut butter and lemon together. In addition, the design needed to both compliment and contrast each other.

While Luke soared in the pre-heat, he and Jai stumbled in the main heat. The idea was good in concept, but it was not executed well and the visual was less than appealing. But, the flavors worked. The judges appreciated Jai’s lemon and blueberry. Maybe like a hard breakup, it is better to close your eyes and look the other way.

For the most part, the cakes were well done. Unlike previous Spring Baking Championship seasons, the visuals, the height and design of the cakes, were well matched. These bakers executed quite well and might have set a high standard for the rest of the season.

In addition, the cake flavors were quite good, too. From rich Devil’s food cakes to bright fruit forward cakes, each individual offering pleased the judges and met the challenge.

As the top baking duo, Molly and April impressed the judges with their design. From the delicate pipping to the colors, they were an almost perfect match. In addition, the contrasting flavors were perfect. April’s spicy Devil’s food cake was opposite from Molly’s lavender infused sponge. It was definitely April’s week in the Food Network kitchen.

Unfortunately, two bakers struggled greatly in Spring Baking Championship Season 9 episode 3. Manja has had difficulty since the beginning. Her pastry in the preheat was a disaster. When the judges ate her cake, it was almost inedible.

Jessica struggled in both the preheat and the main heat. Her matcha pastry was too grassy in the preheat. Her granola in her cake was overcooked and bitter. In addition, the judges wondered if Jessica is too one flavor centric. Every dessert has had a maple flavor. It would be nice to see her to offer a different flavor profile.

In the end, the judges chose to eliminate Manja in Spring Baking Championship Season 9 episode 3. Given her struggles, it seemed like an obvious choice.

For an added bonus, the judges picked a top baker and it proves that anything can happen in a Food Network competition. After narrowly escaping elimination last week, Michelle soared to the top as the episode’s best baker. Her carrot cake impressed Duff Goldman, which was quite hard to do. Everyone will have to wait and see if she can keep this momentum going.

Be sure to watch the next episode of Spring Baking Championship Season 9 on Mondays on Food Network and episodes can be streamed on Discovery+.