Spring Baking Championship Season 10 episode 6: Sweet prom memories

While the bakers might not be screaming “let’s dance,” Spring Baking Championship Season 10 episode 6 was full of sweet memories. In this Food Network episode, the specialty desserts made big visual impressions. Luckily, the flavors were equally as sweet.

As Spring Baking Championship Season 10 narrows the field in half with this episode, little mistakes can leave a favorite baker left in the corner. Now is the time to pull out all the stops and find a way to rise to the top.

For the Spring Baking Championship Season 10 episode 6 Pre-heat, the bakers had to make macarons and a macaron corsage. While the bakers could choose any flavor, the requirement to make a physical macaron corsage was unusual. Although no one was required to wear this sweet decoration, it seemed like an extra twist that was designed to see if the bakers were willing to push themselves visually. Some bakers excelled and others missed the mark.

It was interesting that the bakers did not take the opportunity to do more creative flavors with their macarons. The only baker who presented an out of the box flavor combination was Alex. The olive oil, tangerine and white chocolate combination was unusual but a huge hit with the judges. A beautiful bite of food, it was curious that the flavor did not earn him top billing.

The two top bakers were Kate and Anna. During the bake, Kate struggled with her macarons but somehow found some pretty macarons to plate. The use of brown butter with the strawberry rhubarb was a hit. Although the judges did not necessarily see the corsage in her cookie pile, her flavors, especially with the rhubarb chips, earned her a top baker spot.

Anna nailed the corsage portion. Her stacked macarons looked like flowers. In addition, her Meyer lemon flavor was exceptional. As Duff Goldman stated, the flavor just blossomed.

Winning the Spring Baking Championship Season 10 episode 6 Pre-heat was Anna. Her advantage in the Main Heat was revealed mid-challenge.

Continuing the prom theme, the Main Heat required the bakers to create a dress tsunami cake. Basically, the bakers had to create a dome cake with a dress form topper. Then, the tsunami glaze would be revealed at the time the cake was presented to the judges.

The interesting part of this challenge was that the cake flavors were simple. From chocolate to confetti cake, the cake portion should have been a slam dunk for the bakers. This idea was a little more about the visual impact and the execution.

For the Main Heat twist, the bakers had to incorporate fruit punch flavor into their cakes. As the Pre-heat winner, Anna did not have to use fruit punch. Only Nickey had a real issue with the fruit punch. Her blackout chocolate cake did not combine the flavor well. Maybe if she had a chocolate and cherry cake this idea might have worked.

The curious aspect to this challenge was that no one was worried about the dome shape of the cake. Given that the cake had to be stacked and chilled prior to decorating it, there were no problems with the cake crumbling, tilting, or other structural issues.

The two top bakers were the cakes that incorporated the fruit punch flavor well. Alex, who had never made a confetti cake, excelled with his flavor combination. The fruit punch gelee captured that sweetness in a balanced way. Plus, his cake layers were perfect. Lastly, the tsunami effect was good.

After struggling in the Pre-heat, Rochelle make a huge turnaround in the Main Heat. Her lemon cake with the fruit punch was a lovely combination. The sponge had a great crumb and it hit all the flavors.

More importantly, Rochelle had the most impressive tsunami moment. By stacking the glaze, it created an ombre effect. It was definitely a wow moment.

Rochelle won the Spring Baking Championship Season 10 episode 6 Main Heat. Unfortunately, two bakers were not as successful. Anna and Steven were in the bottom.

After winning the Pre-heat, Anna plummeted to the bottom. Even though she did not have to use the fruit punch, her cake had too many issues. By using the melting chocolate, her tsunami effect did not work.

More importantly, her cake had flavor problems and was unappetizing. When the judges ask what is green in your cake, that visual is unappealing. No one should ever utter the word mold on Food Network.

Steven had an issue with his cake as well. The pound cake was too dense and it appeared that there is too much liquid that made the cake mushy. While his cake looked like the belle of the ball, the inside would qualify as a fashion don’t.

In the end, Anna was eliminated from Spring Baking Championship Season 10 episode 6. While she had many highs, the green inside of her cake was just too unappetizing to overlook.

Which bakers will bloom in the next episode? Be sure to watch new Spring Baking Championship Season 10 episodes on Food Network every Monday night at 8 p.m. ET/PT. Episodes can be streamed the next day on MAX.