Summer Baking Championship Season 2 episode 5 recap: Cobblers get a makeover

From summer road trips to classic summer desserts, Summer Baking Championship Season 2 episode 5 is pushing the bakers’ creativity. Which baker embraced the glamping idea and whose cobbler dessert was a little too rustic?

This Summer Baking Championship season has borrowed from classic vacation themes. While the concepts seamlessly work into the challenges, the bakers seem to be staying in the safe lane. The visuals have been pretty, but no one is going too far outside of the box with flavor, creativity, or presentation.

Additionally, the bakers have had ups and downs in the challenges. One challenge has a baker receiving high praise only to be on the verge of elimination in the next one. It is almost like a rollercoaster at a favorite theme park.

For the Summer Baking Championship Season 2 episode 5 Pre-Heat, the bakers had to make portable desserts based on Hershey chocolate bar flavors. Some Food Network fans might have thought it was a scene from the short lived Chocolate Meltdown Hersheypark After Dark Series.

Overall, the bakers seemed to miss a key element, ease of eating. Even though the desserts needed to have chocolate, no one wants sticky fingers on a road trip. Several of the desserts were too ooey, gooey.

Although Rob had a smart idea with his snack cake, Dominick won the Pre-Heat with his chocolate almond blondie. Maybe since he was the only baker to offer a less chocolatey dessert, he was able to stand out. Also, the dessert mimicked the chocolate bar flavor well.

For winning the Pre-Heat, Dominick received the First Class Baking Station as well as a 10 minute head start in the Main Heat. Although everyone really wants that advantage, it has not necessarily translated into a win.

The Summer Baking Championship Season 2 episode 5 Main Heat’s theme was glamping. Although no one was roasting s’mores by the fire, it was the elevated glamping aspect that applied to the required dessert.

The bakers had to elevate the humble fruit cobbler. Even though the cobbler might be one of the simpler desserts to master, it is a summertime staple. It is a vehicle for the vibrancy of fresh, summer fruit.

Overall the elevated cobblers were good. Most of the bakers understood the brief and transformed the humble cobbler into a plated dessert. The biggest take away from this challenge is that dessert concepts do not have to become stale. Taking pieces of a recipe and transforming them in new ways is vital in the culinary world.

In a first for Summer Baking Championship, there was a double “dude.” Anyone who has watched Carla Hall on these shows over the years appreciates that her “dude” sentiment is high praise. In this scenario, Demaris Phillips added her own “dude” commentary for one dessert.

Earning the high praise, and the Main Heat win, was Rob. His Linzer Cookie inspired dessert was sublime. It had the gooey moment that is expected with a cobbler, and it had the crunchy elements for contrast. The dessert was visually stunning as well as a celebration of fruity flavor. Rob was clearly the winner.

Additionally, Chris impressed with his floating dessert. The cherries placed precariously on the upside down meringue was a wow moment. But, his dessert does deserve an assist from Rob, who suggested the white chocolate addition to stabilize the delicate meringue. The contrast of the sweet, tart, and pickled cherries earned him a second place finish.

Unfortunately, the bottom desserts were rather obvious. The technical flaws in the desserts could not be brushed aside.

After winning last episode’s Main Heat with a joyful cake, Stephanie fell to the bottom. Her millefoglie lacked contrasting texture. While the dessert had lots of color, the trimmed edges of the biscuit made the dessert soft on soft. A little crunch would have saved the dessert.

Austin’s dessert was confusing. While the veil idea was interesting, it did not elevate the cobbler. It was a cover over the classic dessert. Although the plum flavor was nice and the biscuit was good, it did not answer the challenge.

The baker eliminated in Summer Baking Championship Season 2 episode 5 was Austin. With five bakers remaining, could one separate themselves from the pack?

Be sure to watch a new episode of Summer Baking Championship on Food Network each Monday night at 8 p.m. ET/PT. Episodes can be streamed the next day on MAX.