Two professional and one home baker competed on the Spring Baking Championship Season 3 finale. One baker walked away with $50,000 grand prize.
The Food Network’s Spring Baking Championship Season 3 finale challenges the bakers to bring out their best to win the $50,000. The final three bakers are Jordan, Daniella and Adam. Two challenges are left before one is the champion. Will there be triumphant treats or baking fails? Let’s see.
The pre-heat focuses on Memorial Day picnic treats. Who doesn’t love spending a relaxing day outside with family on a holiday? Bakers needed to provide two sweet treats and one savory baked good.
Spring Baking Championship Season 3 Finale, photo by Food Network
Daniella thought about her family when creating her treats. Classics like cornbread, blondies and cupcakes filled her basket. Unfortunately, Jordan made the same treats too. The difference came down to flavor.
Adam went in a totally different direction. His French inspired treats didn’t exactly show American patriotism. While the macarons, profiteroles, and quiche were quite delicious, the Memorial Day theme was less apparent.
The pre-heat was won by Jordan. His flavors were slightly better than Daniella’s baked goods. But, overall the pre-heat was impressive by all three bakers.
The main bake brings the patriotism to the kitchen.
The main bake challenges the bakers to create a Memorial Day/American flag inspired dessert. Jordan’s advantage for winning the pre-heat was star cutters. Adam and Daniella cannot use any cutters that are star shaped. Adam creates stars on his own and Daniella avoid stars completely.
After five hours of baking and decorating all three bakers create spectacular Memorial Day/flag inspired cakes. It is always surprising how intricate bakers can be with a short amount of time. From the fondant stripes to the chocolate decorations, these cakes look like they took days to create.
Adam created a three tier chocolate cake with three different filings. A more abstract American flag inspired cake is still impressive. The red, white and blue with bursting stars conveyed the impression of a patriotic celebration.
The chocolate explosion cake was an overall hit with the judges. Adam’s praline layer was the best component. Although he did have a few faults, like a slightly dry sponge and some missing Bavarian cream, the cake was successful because of his decorations.
Daniella’s cake had the classic red, white and blue colors. Although her icing/rosettes were a little overwhelming, the feel of the cake was festive. Although it had more homemade appeal, the cake still had good presentation.
The key lime cake was generally good. The judges had a few concerns on the dense quality of the cake. The lime curd offered a good amount of pucker and the butter cream was a good addition. Daniella’s choice to stick with only a key lime cake was a smart one.
Spring Baking Championship Season 3 Finale, photo by Food Network
Jordan made the most realistic presentation of an American flag cake. With attention to details, like the correct number of stripes, Jordan pushed himself with the fondant work. The very patriotic cake appealed to the judges.
He also created a banana pound cake with carmelized bananas. It was a hit with the judges. Some had concerns over the doneness of the bananas. However, the flavor of Jordan’s cake was the big hit. The concern with his cake was the literal interpretation of the flag cake.
The winner of Spring Baking Championship Season 3 was Jordan. His American flag cake balanced amazing flavors with beautiful design. The judges found his cake was worthy of the $50,000 prize.
Spring Baking Championship Season 3 Finale, photo by Food Network
Personally, I would have vote for Adam. I think his four layered, chocolate cake with the intricate decorations was impressive. The decorations were innovative yet pretty. Plus, a chocolate cake with multiple layers and fillings was more difficult than a single layer cake. Besides, Adam didn’t have tools to create his cake. But, I wasn’t on the judging panel.
Next: Spring Baking Championships Recap: Rainy Day Desserts
Will we will have to wait another year for Spring Baking Championship? Probably, but Food Network might have another Holiday Baking Championship in a couple of months.