Spring Baking Championship Season 10 episode 4: Earth Day inspired desserts

As the snow starts to melt, the earth is ready to awaken from its chilly slumber. From blooms to bugs, the ground gives way to a beautiful bounty. In Spring Baking Championship Season 10 episode 4, big and small moments inspired these Earth Day desserts.

Earth Day has been a popular theme for Spring Baking Championship. Although the concept has not taken a turn towards using food scraps in the bake, the Food Network baking competition has drawn on other topics.

For the Pre-heat, the Earth Day desserts were inspired by an integral part of the eco-system, small bugs. Although no one had to actually incorporate these protein sources into their desserts, the visuals needed to capture that cute honeybee or vibrant ladybug.

Overall, these plated desserts were a little less sophisticated than what the judges wanted. Some desserts had good flavor but bad visuals as well as vice versa. Nailing both components was not easy.

Although the judges did not want to squirm looking at the plate, they did want to see the reference point. A pretty dessert that did not have any reference to butterfly is not going to earn the win.

One dessert that nailed this concept was Alex. First, his interpretation of a green caterpillar was smart. It was elegant yet still adhered to the challenge. In addition, his blondie was superb. It had Duff Goldman declaring it was better than his recipe. From the texture to the layers of flavor, Alex clearly had the top Pre-heat dessert.

While he won the Pre-heat, Alex did not receive an advantage in the Main Heat. It is unusual that there is no advantage. Whether or not the advantages make a difference is unclear. Still, it is a mental component that tends to be a benefit to the top baker.

For the Spring Baking Championship Season 10 episode 4 Main Heat, the bakers had to make a Baked Alaska based on a particular land topography. While the visual was curious, the flavors were much more difficult.

Although a Baked Alaska is a difficult dessert on its own, decorating it to look like a particular topography is even more difficult. While the white meringue might hold color, the toasted element might need to disappear for that artic landscape.

The differences between the top bakers and the bottom bakers were quite clear. Sabrina wowed the judges with the pristine artic igloo. In addition, anise flavor was subtle but it worked well with all her other flavors.

Steven, again, rose to the top. The mountain range design was pretty. More importantly his honey forward dessert had honey used in various ways. The caramelized honey with the smooth ice cream had the judges almost calling it peak perfection.

Earning another win, Steven claimed the top baker spot. Based on the first four episodes, it seems like Steven is the baker to beat.

Unfortunately, the two bottom bakers were abundantly clear. Broken, visually bad meringue cannot be hidden in a Baked Alaska challenge. The two bottom bakers were Zoe and Rochelle.

Zoe’s artic display had no cardamon flavor. While the cake had a nice texture, there was no apple jam and the flavors were muddled. More importantly, her meringue was overwhipped, which made for a droopy mess.

Rochelle’s mountain scape went too far towards the savory side. The rosemary was overpowering with the pine nuts. In addition, her meringue was totally falling apart.

The baker eliminated in Spring Baking Championship Season 10 episode 4 was Zoe. While this bake was not successful, she had too many previous fails to overlook.

Will a middle of the road baker rise to the occasion in an upcoming  Spring Baking Championship episode? Be sure to watch new episodes on Food Network Monday nights at 8 p.m. ET or stream the next day on MAX.