MasterChef Generations recap: Birthday cakes and generational ingredients

While MasterChef Generations is a new chapter of the battle of the ages, there is one celebration that is universally appreciated, a birthday. In this week’s back to back episodes, the cooks tackled baking birthday cakes and generational ingredients. Which cooks rose to the occasion and who saw their MasterChef dreams be blown away?

For the first episode, the cooks were required to bake a cake, something that they would love when celebrating a birthday or special occasion. Although the divide between sweet and savory chefs can be more predominate in other food television competitions, the reality is that baking is never easy in a competition. It might not be quite as cutthroat as a blue ribbon competition, but this challenge cannot go sideways.

Since the MasterChef immunity pin often comes with an advantage, this twist saw Gen Z get a difficult obstacle, no stand mixer. While mixing cake batter with a whisk is not easy, it is manageable. The bigger issue is making icing without the kitchen essential. The cooks who chose their icing wisely succeeded, and the others seem to melt under pressure.

Still, this cake challenge seemed to show some cooks' hidden talents. Overall, the biggest takeaway was that the cooks who were thoughtful with their ingredients and construction earned praise from Gordon Ramsay, Aaron Sanchez, and Joe Bastianich.

The four top cooks were, Becca (Gen Z), Kamay (Millennials), Kimberly (Gen X), and Christopher (Boomers). Seeing Christopher in the top was a surprise. While few Boomers excelled in this challenge, he might be one of the weaker cooks in that generation. While his cake was nice, it did not stand up to other three.

Kamay nailed the challenge’s theme. Her confetti cake is the quintessential Millennial celebratory cake.  While the cake’s appearance and flavor were nice, it was her restraint that earned the judges’ praise. The ability to keep the sweetness in check was smart. Plus, that punch of lemon was a nice twist.

Kimberly had a lovely cake. The vanilla and strawberry combination had good balance. While the judges wanted a touch more jam in the center, the sponge was elegant. Gordon referenced that the cake was similar to a Victoria Sponge.

While those three cakes were worthy of an epic celebration, Becca’s chocolate cake with peanut butter buttercream earned the win. In addition to making an extra layer, Becca overcame the “whisk” twist in smart ways. The peanut butter buttercream was smooth, luscious, and did not need the stand mixer. Overall, she deserved the win.

Unfortunately, three cakes were clear baking errors. First, Anna’s brown butter coffee flavored cake was ambitious, but it was an epic failure. As Aaron said, every component was flawed. In addition to the cake falling apart, the disproportionate amount of icing made the taste too sweet.

Aaron’s cake might have looked fine at first blush, but the inside was a disaster. It was a strawberry explosion, not in a good way. The only saving grace was the lemon, which added some brightness to the flavor.

The cake with the biggest, most glaring mistake came from Geags. While his decorating choice was juvenile, his decision to put raw flour into the icing as a thickener is an egregious error.  There is no way to recover from that choice.

While it was rather clear that Geags would be eliminated, there was another twist. Anna was sent home, too. The double elimination had a gasp from everyone.

In the second episode of the night, the teams had to tackle a mystery ingredient box based on their generation. From plant based food to over processed snacks, this challenge required the cooks to showcase their creativity. While proper execution was key, it was more than just cooking protein to temperatures. The top dishes showed a lot more.

For winning the previous challenge, Anna was able to rearrange the generational ingredient boxes. In a curious choice, she had Gen X keep their box. While it might seem like an advantage at first glimpse, it was not. The Gen X box was the only ingredient group that had no fresh food. A box of processed food was definitely a disadvantage.

The top dishes showcased culinary creativity. For example, Horacio did a great job using the Gen Z box. Although he might have been both familiar and unfamiliar with the ingredients, he utilized the items thoughtfully. The sauce was a miss, but the judges deemed his plate the most intelligent use of ingredients.

Hallie was the top Millennial cook. Her salmon was well-cooked and well-seasoned. With lemon tying all the flavors together, it was a successful dish.

For Gen X, Daniela took the box of processed food and made a well-thought out dish. The chicken ramen with hot dog meatballs showed creativity and authenticity.

Lastly, Michael (Millennials), offered a twist on something familiar. The bran flakes coated pork chop was out of the box, but successful. More importantly, the dish was well executed with the temperature of the pork and the hand-made pasta. While he could have cut back a little on the acid, it was a winning dish.

Michael won the challenge and earned immunity for himself and his team.

Unfortunately, the bottom cooks had clear, almost unforgiveable mistakes. After doing well in the baking challenge, Christopher fell fast. His chicken thigh with jackfruit relish was inedible. While the sides were good, he served the judges under cooked chicken.

Murt was back to his messy ways. He hammered a beautiful wagyu filet. It was the ultimate cooking sin. There was lack of execution all over the plate.

Lastly, Arthur had a lack luster plate. He did not have the technical knowledge to pull off his idea. His ambition got the best of him.

The judges’ elimination decision was clear. Christopher, and his undercooked chicken, was eliminated.

What can MasterChef Generation fans expect from next week? It is time to open a cold one and sip on some suds.

MasterChef Generations airs new episodes Wednesday nights at 8 p.m. on FOX. Episodes can be streamed the next day on Hulu.