Bakers vs. Fakers (2016–…): Season 1, Episode 2 - Brownie Points - full transcript

I'm Patsy, from San Diego,

and I'm a professional baker.

I'm Kisha, from
Upper Marlboro, Maryland,

and I am a professional baker.

I'm Dan, from Winston,
Connecticut.

I am a professional baker.

I'm Matt, from New York City,
and I'm a professional baker.

Hang on!
The fun is about to begin.

Four bakers are here
to do battle.

Golden-brown delicious.

Two are amazing amateurs.



Do I look like I need help?

Hey, have you got an
Easy-Bake Oven down there?

And two are professionals.

Lovely.
Out of this world.

But only they know
their true identities.

Their mission?

Just winnin' a bunch of money.

Outbake the competition.

If a professional baker wins,

they take home $10,000.

That sounds fancy.

But if an amateur is able
to fake out the judges...

I didn't wanna stop eating it.

You're a baker.



And take down the pros,
- Pssh! Pssh!

they walk away with 15 grand!

- Wow!
- [Gasp]

Bada-bing, bada-boom.

Are you a baker

or a faker?

- I...
- Am...

A...

[ Suspenseful music climbs ]

- What?!
- Whoa-oa-oa!

- What?!
- You are good!

You totally had me fooled.

Welcome to "Bakers vs. Fakers."

Thanks for havin' us.

Thank you.

Well, here are the rules.

We're gonna have two
rounds of competition

and we're hiding your identities

so our judges will be
completely unbiased.

So in the first round,
you guys will be baking...

brownies.

- Mmm. - Okay. - Okay.

Right on.
Ask anyone

and they will tell you I make
the best brownies in the state.

I could do it in my sleep.

Anyone can make
a delicious brownie,

but, it takes a real pro

to make a first-class
brownie using...

ginger!

- Whoo!
- Wow.

Ginger is a very
overpowering ingredient.

That's got me a little nervous.

We have fresh ginger, of course;

ground ginger,

candied ginger,

ginger syrup;

and, of course, my favorite,

ginger beer.

All I need is a bottle of rum

and we can make
a dark and stormy.

Put 45 minutes on the clock.

[ Suspenseful music plays ]

Get bakin'!

So what do you guys think,

brownies with ginger, huh?

I love ginger. It's one
of my favorite ingredients.

I do, too.

The ginger should be the star,

- Sure.
- but a real pro

would be wanting
to enhance the flavor,

to bring out the spiciness
of the ginger.

I think a baker would pick
the ground ginger.

- Okay.
- Easy to incorporate.

It gives a nice flavor note.

I think a faker might go
for the fresh ginger.

Can be stringy if you don't know
what to do with it.

What's a brownie to you?

A brownie is a texturally
complex item, right?

- Yep.
- You have crispy edges,

crispy top, and gooey center.

I think it'll be interesting
to see what other things

that a baker would add, along
with 70-percent chocolate

to make it different
to other people's

and give brownies the edge.

Hey, has anybody ever
called you Reddy Crocker?

- Reddy Crocker? No.
- [Chuckle]

When people first meet me,
they see the tattoos,

they see the biker look,
and they think I'm a tough guy.

Come on.
When they get to know me,

they realize
I'm a very caring person.

Need a hand down there?
My baking style is oldschool.

I learned how to bake
by watching my mom

and it's because of her
that I love making sweet treats.

Brownies, brownies.

I'm making a gingerbread brownie

with ginger-infused
hot chocolate,

with whipped cream on top

because the holidays are
my favorite time of the year

and I love being able
to spend it with my family.

So this dish represents
my love of the holidays

and being with my family.

All right.
I'm using powdered ginger

because ginger can be
a very good ingredient

but you have to know
how to work with it.

You put big chunks
of anything in there

and it's not gonna
taste good at all.

I got this.

Dan has the right idea.

The ginger powder is going
to incorporate into the batter

better than the candied ginger

and enhance
the inherent spiciness

that you can find in chocolates.

- Yep.
- Total baker move.

After the chocolate
and the butter's melted down,

little by little, I'm gonna add
all the wet ingredients

to the dry ingredients,
mix it together,

and put it in the pan.

I'm making the brownies
on the thin side

so that I have enough
time to cook 'em.

There we go.

LORRAINE:
Look at what Dan's doing.

He's making the brownie thin.

In a timed competition,

it's gonna cook faster.
- DAN: Yeah.

LORRAINE:
But if he's not careful,

he's gonna totally overcook
his brownie.

Total faker move.

Why would you do that?

We're gettin' there.

- I'm usin' a lotta ginger.
- All of it?

- I left a little for you guys.
- [Laughs]

I have more experience
in my little finger

than any of these guys.

Are you gonna be nice
when you lose?

I'm gonna be very nice
when I win.

[ Laughs ]

Ready to rock 'n' roll, here.

Today, I'm baking
death-by-chocolate brownies

with a ginger crème anglaise.

Line these babies up.

I would describe my baking style

as American classic
with a refined twist.

You're not havin' fun
unless you make a mess.

That wouldn't fly in my kitchen.

I started baking
when I was about 7.

My mom wasn't much
of a cook or a baker.

So I read every magazine,

every book that I could
find to teach myself.

Butter.

First thing I need to do
is my brownie batter.

So I melt my chocolate.
All right.

These are
death-by-chocolate brownies,

so I want it to be as decadent
as it possibly can be.

I've gonna have
a 3-pound chocolate brownie.

So now, I'm adding
espresso powder to my batter

because it's going to really
enhance the chocolate.

Kick it up a notch.

If you're a real baker,

you will put in the smallest
amount of coffee powder

to give the chocolate
an extra kick

and you won't actually
taste the coffee.

It's just there to
enhance the chocolate.

Definitely a baker move, there.

PATSY:
Just about there.

I'm going to fold in
small pieces of candied ginger

at the very end
to get the biggest punch.

I don't know. Patsy's just
throwing the candied ginger

on top of the batter.

For me, that's not
really a pro move.

A pro would, maybe,
infuse it more.

PATSY:
Gotta get this in the oven.

KISHA: I'm workin'. I'm workin'.
What're you doin'?

My style of baking
is a little daring,

just like myself.
I'm doing flourless.

That's an amateur move!

We'll see about that.

[ Laughs ]

So today, I'm gonna do something
that nobody else is doing.

I'm making a flourless,
ginger-chocolate brownie

with a ginger-lime cream.

There we go.

I used to love making brownies

with my family
when I was younger.

You can actually do
brownies without flour.

And I'm kinda going
for something

that's gooey in the middle.

So I don't really feel
that it really needs it.

Lookin' pretty good on that.

So the recipe calls
for 8 ounces of chocolate.

I'm not gonna get that
rich chocolate flavor

that I'm looking for
until I add in my cocoa powder.

So looks like Kisha has two

different types of chocolate
going on there.

You know, a pro knows
the flavor profile

of different percentages
of chocolate

and is going to use it
to their advantage.

KISHA:
Let those sit.

LORRAINE:
Kisha has used this pie pan.

I mean, only a faker
would do that.

I don't think it's gonna
have enough time to bake.

I think it's gonna resemble more
of a lava cake than a brownie.

I finally put these brownies
in the oven.

Mine's in the oven.
Is yours?

- It's goin'. It's goin'.
- [Laughs]

I'm usin' some candied ginger,
some ginger syrup.

I might just grab
a ginger beer for myself.

Nice.

I'm a quirky, fun kind of a guy,

and I don't wanna do
a traditional brownie,

so I'm baking
a candied-ginger blondie

and I'm gonna top it off
with brown-butter peaches

and a bourbon cream.

- So, Matt.
- Yeah?

No chocolate in your brownie?

I mean, what's up with that?

Who says there has to be
chocolate in a brownie?

I grew up in St. Louis,

but I moved to New York City
to pursue my career in acting.

I know y'all don't hear music,
but I hear music in my head.

I love taking classic recipes
and trying to find a new way

to twist it around
and make it more interesting.

[ Scat singing ]

Dance break.

[ Laughs ]

So the first thing is
I start the blondie batter.

I get my melted butter
and brown sugar

and a little bit of the candied
ginger into the bowl.

Let's just get this in here.

We gotta get this
in the oven, fast!

I really like
using candied ginger

to give it a nice flavor
and some texture.

This ginger's sticky.

Then, I incorporate
everything together

and put my blondies in the oven.

Show me the love, blondies.

News flash, guys:

Matt is making a blondie,
not a brownie.

So no chocolate, whatsoever.

No chocolate.

A faker is someone
who makes a blondie

in a brownie competition.

Maybe they're just
a rebel baker.

What does he have
against blondes?

Ohhhh.

Whoo!

[Clatter]
- Waah!

LORRAINE: Uh-oh!

PATSY:
Now, it's a competition.

Are you a baker

or a faker?

- I...
- Am...

[Suspenseful music climbs]
A...

- What?!
- Whoa-oa-oa!

What?!
Are you serious?

Everybody's freakin' out!

I'm not doin' chocolate!

Now that my blondie batter
is in the oven,

I'm gonna get started
on my peaches and cream.

Some butter browning over here.

I wanna brown the butter
just to add

another layer of flavor
to the peaches.

How you doin', peaches?
Whoo!

LORRAINE: Oh, look at what Matt's
doing with the peaches, brown butter.

And I think that's
a real baker move.

It just gives another element
of caramelization, a warmth.

Look at that.
Look at that.

Pro.

DAN:
We're gettin' there.

Nice little gingerbread-
chocolate crust goin'.

Now that the brownies are
in the oven cookin' away,

I'm going to make
a ginger-infused hot chocolate

to pair up with the brownies.

My mom loves hot chocolate.

This is for her.

Perfect.

First thing I do is slowly

add shaved-up chocolate
and the powdered ginger,

a little bit at a time,
into the heavy cream

so that it can melt
and incorporate together.

That tastes really good;
nice and chocolatey,

nice and creamy.

I mean, look at what
a pro move Dan just did,

layer in layers
of chocolate and ginger

throughout his dish,
and hot cocoa, to boot.

He took it to the next level.

He's delivering a beverage, too.

That's a baker move.

DAN: I need a little
bit of somethin', now.

All right. Let's see.

What's hot chocolate
without homemade whipped cream?

Oh, yeah, ginger-infused
whipped cream.

I threw some heavy cream,

ginger, and cinnamon
inside a siphon charger.

That's better.

Next thing I'm gonna do is take
the brownies out of the oven.

All right.
Let's see what we have.

And I notice they didn't
rise very much.

Ugh. Come on.

LORRAINE: Dan's brownie's
looking interesting.

He just pulled it
out of the oven.

It looked very flat.

It's about 1/3 inches thick.

I don't know.
It could still be delicious.

DAN: I'm still confident
I'm gonna win this round.

Everything looks
and tastes great.

That is per-fect.

PATSY:
Lookin' good.

So now that the brownie
is in the oven,

I'm making my crème anglaise,
which is a custard sauce.

It's going to really complement
the flavors of the brownie.

Gettin' it all ready.

I think the thing
that's gonna help me

win this competition
is that I am all about flavor.

My son is
my greatest cheerleader.

He tells everyone
I'm the flavor designer.

And I want my brownies
to wow the judges.

So I need to heat the cream
and grate some fresh ginger

right into the crème anglaise,
to add a bitterness.

Beautiful.

Patsy's using the anglaise
to decorate the plate.

I think a baker might be
a little more thoughtful,

you know?
I wanna taste everything.

So I would take the anglaise

and pour it over
the final product.

PATSY:
Now, it's a competition.

KISHA:
Lookin' good.

Nice and thick.

Once I put these
brownies in the oven,

I start my ginger-lime cream.

I'm already whipping
cream over here.

Lime and ginger
go great together.

So I'm adding three types
of ginger:

fresh ginger, ginger powder,
and the ginger syrup.

I'm really gonna spice it up.
Crank that up a little bit.

I squeeze in fresh lime juice,

get that cream
whipped real well.

Definitely want that
rich thickness,

just like my mom would do it.

My passion from baking comes
from being in the kitchen

with my entire family.

So it would definitely mean
a lot for me to win for them.

That looks good.

So Kisha flavoring
the whipped cream: total pro.

Nice tropical spin, and the lime

is gonna bring out
the acidity of the chocolate.

It tastes good.
[laughs]

The last thing
I need to get done

is my bourbon whipped cream.

Let me put a little bit
of bourbon in there.

I really like using
bourbon in place

of an extract,
like vanilla or almond,

because you get a lotta flavor

and it adds a whole
other component to the dish.

I think this could be
a little boozy.

A little for the batter
and a little for me.

Mmm.

Time is ticking.

I finally pull the blondies out.

That looks clean to me!

I feel really confident.

I think I've made
a delicious dish

and I'm here to win.

Yeah. I think that's
lookin' pretty good.

A few years ago,
I started a business,

so if I win this money,
it could really help me

bring my business
to the next level.

Pickin' out the good ones.

They're all good, of course.

2 minutes left!

So who are the two bakers?

I'm gonna go with Dan as baker.

Dan has his hot chocolate
with the ginger powder.

It's a really
well-thought-out dessert.

My other baker is Kisha.

She's doing the whipped
cream with the ginger

and the lime, which is genius.

I'm gonna go for Matt.
He's so bold,

so brave, to give us a blondie.

The flavor combination is great:

peaches and ginger,
yum, delicious.

And then, I'm also
gonna go for Patsy.

I mean, she gave us an anglaise,
which is a baker move.

So Patsy is my number-2 baker.

KISHA:
See where we're at.

So I cut into my brownies.

They're not done in the center.

Didn't cook all the way through.

But, I have to put
something on this plate.

Well, we're gonna change
this into a pudding.

So I'm thinkin' maybe
I can pass this off as a pudding

'cause I know
the flavors are good.

Tastes good.

10 seconds!

[Suspenseful music climbs]
10, 9, 8,

7, 6,

5, 4, 3,

2, 1!

Stop your work!

Whew!

I tried to come out of the box
and do something fun.

I'm afraid that maybe
I got that all wrong

and I hope that
I'm not goin' home.

So, bakers and fakers,

I gave you 45 minutes
to create brownies using ginger.

Now, it's time for you
to face the judges.

Remember, the losing brownie
is goin' bye-bye.

So, Dan.
- Today, I've made

gingerbread brownies with
ginger-infused hot chocolate,

and whipped cream
with cinnamon on top.

It's great to have

kind of multiple elements
to showcase the ginger.

It was in
the gingerbread brownie.

It was also
in the hot chocolate.

The hot chocolate itself

was rich and creamy
and delightful.

I wish it were
snowing right now.

[ Laughter ]

Awesome.

The miss for me here
was in the whipped cream.

Using the whipped-cream charger,
it can so easily bust up

and that's what happened
to the whipped cream here.

It was kind of thick,
and not in a good way.

This is a really well-balanced
gingerbread brownie.

Powdered ginger,
it can be overpowering.

But I think you've used
a good balance

of the powdered ginger in this.

But because you did them
so thin, they're overbaked,

so they're more like
a gingerbread cookie.

I wish you'd taken it out
of the oven a little bit sooner.

- Patsy.
- What I made today was

death-by-chocolate brownies

with candied ginger
and a ginger crème anglaise.

I know you put some espresso

in the brownie,
to kick up the chocolate.

It's great; very chocolatey.

I'm getting a little bit
of ginger coming through.

But your crème anglaise
has not really worked out.

I can't get enough to taste it

because the chocolate's
all over the top.

So it might be beautiful,

but I don't know,
'cause I can't get enough.

This is what brownies dream
of being when they grow up.

The chocolate bits and candied
ginger caramelized in the oven

so you get this nice,
crunchy texture.

Yay!

My problem with this
is I don't get that much ginger

in the brownie batter
because it's so chocolatey.

- Matt.
- Well, today, I made

a ginger blondie topped

with brown-butter peaches
and a bourbon cream.

Bourbon whipped cream,
I mean, really sold me.

It had so much body.
It has a great mouthfeel.

But does a blondie
count as a brownie?

What I'm missing
is the chocolate.

And you could've used white
chocolate or milk chocolate

or something, just to give

the little wink-wink
to the brownie.

I really love the texture
of your blondie.

It's gooey in the middle.
It's crunchy on the outside.

I get the flavor combinations.

The brown butter
and the peaches? Great.

But I'm just not really
getting much ginger.

And the main thing is I wish
you'd given us a brownie

because it's a bit risky
to make something

that we haven't
actually asked for.

Kisha, what did you make for us?

So I made a flourless,
ginger-chocolate brownie

with a ginger-lime cream.

It's beautiful, rich,
chocolatey, and it's delicious.

But is this the consistency
you were after?

No, it wasn't.

I don't mind the fact
that you haven't used flour,

but it's not cooked.

The whipped cream?
Phenomenal.

I get a lot of ginger
and a great contrast

to the richness
of the chocolate... pudding.

Now, my problem with this
is it didn't get baked.

All right.
Well, thank you, Kisha.

And thank you, all.

But now comes the hard part.

The judges have
a decision to make.

So please give us
a moment to deliberate.

My brownies,
they're not done in the center.

But Matt made a blondie,
which is not a brownie.

All I could do is hope and pray
that I get to that next round.

[ Suspenseful music plays ]

[ Clunk ]

So, bakers and fakers,

I gave you 45 minutes
to make brownies using ginger.

Now, it's time to learn
who won the round,

who's going home,

and that person's true identity.

Lorraine!

The winner of this round is...

[ Suspenseful music climbs ]

Patsy.

[Cheering]
Oh, my god!

I can't believe that
I won the first round.

[ Laughs ]

I am givin' them a run
for their money.

Your brownie tasted sublime.

I just love the contrast
of the crunch on the outside

and that gooey on the inside.

It was de-licious.

Thank you so much.

Great job, Patsy.
You're safe.

Our second-favorite brownies
were made by...

[ Suspenseful music plays ]

Dan.
- All right!

Hey-ey-ey.
[Applause]

I knew you were
going to make it.

I knew you were gonna make it.
- Okay, judges.

We are down to the bottom
two brownies.

Lorraine.

The person moving on
to the next round

[Suspenseful music plays]
is...

Matt.

- Good job.
- Thank you. Thank you.

Skin of your teeth.

[Whimsical tune plays]
Kisha, although what

you served us was delicious,
it was not cooked.

Had you cooked that
the whole way through,

Matt would've been out the door
[Clong!]

'cause Matt doesn't
listen to instructions.

Right. [laughs]

Unfortunately, Kisha,
that means you're eliminated.

But, before you go,
please tell us:

are you a baker

or a faker?

I...

am...

a...

faker!

[Laughter]
Ohhh!

Wow-ow.

You totally had me fooled.

So, Kisha, what do you do
for a livin'?

I am actually an office
manager at a doctor's office.

How do you like that?!

I actually work in downtown DC.

I do insurance, file charts,
help the doctor.

- Busy morning?
- Yeah, it is.

- All right.
- You name it, I do it.

But I definitely
would rather be baking.

When it comes to baking,

I love that you can
put a dish together

and it just brings
everybody together.

It gives everybody
a warm feeling.

Oh, my, whoo!
They look lovely.

Who doesn't love dessert?

Thank you so much, Kisha.

- Thank you.
- We appreciate it.

Great job.

Hello, again,
bakers and... faker.

'Cause I know there's
one faker left, right?

We're gonna find out shortly
because, in this round,

you guys got the freedom
to make whatever you want!

- Yay-ay!
- [clap-clap] Yes!

- But...
- Yeah. There's always a but.

But there's one thing
you gotta incorporate

into your baked dessert.

Ready.

Crackers!

PATSY: What?
- DAN: Okay.

- Crackers?
- I can work that out.

Let me show you
what we got here.

We have wheat crackers.

We got water crackers,

cheese crackers!,

animal crackers,
- Rrr!

and, of course, butter crackers.

I think I already know
what I wanna do.

A good dessert definitely
needs a little bit of salt.

So I'll figure out a way
to make this work.

BUDDY: All right,
45 minutes on the clock.

You guys ready?!
- Ready.

Let's bake!

ZAC: Go!

So what do you think? Crackers
in your favorite dessert.

Whew!
Well, I think

there's a lot
they can make with crackers.

The bakers are gonna
be really imaginative

with what they do
with the crackers.

The faker is gonna take them

and use them as a crust.

Listen, a baker, I think,

would make a nice crust
with the cracker

and then, bake a pie
or something in it,

like a key-lime pie
or a lemon pie

or a banana cream pie.

Zac's gonna fall asleep
over here, listenin' to that.

[ Laughs ]

- Are you havin' fun?
- I'm havin' fun.

Awesome.
Goin' into Round 2,

I'm gonna do things oldschool.

There we go.
I'm gonna make a cake

like my mom would make
during the holidays.

Very nice.
So I'm making a chocolate cake

with an animal-cracker/
white-chocolate ganache

and fresh fruit for the top.

Oh, nice, I like that.

I'm adding 70-, 80-percent cocoa
chocolate to my cake batter

Lookin' good so far.
because I think it

gives a bold flavor to the cake.

Makin' sure everything's
incorporated,

all the dry ingredients
are off the sides.

You know, Dan is really
throwing me off right now

'cause he is way
overmixing that batter.

When you overmix the batter,
you work the gluten

and the flour too much
and it will become so tough.

There we have it.

Well, but the thing is he's been
workin' like a baker all day!

- Yeah, but that's
- I can't believe it.

such a basic mistake.

DAN:
So far, it looks pretty good.

Right now,
I'm feelin' pretty good.

I've got everything
ready to roll

and, winning this competition,

for me, would give me
extra money

I could use to help my wife
and I get a house.

Perfect.
I'm here to win today.

I would love to bring a win back
with me to my family.

Awesome!

Gotta get this in fast!

This has gotta go fast, today;
fast, fast, fast.

After the blondie/brownie
debacle, I have to deliver.

So I'm gonna make
my childhood favorite,

which is gooey butter cake.

I think the easiest way
to describe it

is that it's two layers
that get baked together.

I'm gonna mix it up with
another childhood favorite,

which is the cheese crackers
and peanut butter.

Lotta sugar over here.

But, you know,
it is dessert, right?

Gooey butter cake is made
with two batters

before it goes in the oven,

so I've got twice
as much work to do

before I can get
these things cookin'.

Got no time to waste.

The first batter
is the cake batter.

That's where you're doing
your traditional cake elements.

The other batter
is a cream-cheese,

custard-like frosting
that gets poured

on top of the other batter.

So I add peanut butter to both
the batter and the topping

so that I make sure
I've got peanut butter

throughout the entire cake.

Just gonna eyeball that.

I'm gonna get both of the mixers
goin' at the same time.

All right.
Gonna get that guy goin'.

Now, Matt is going.
He's got the two machines going.

To me, that says baker because
he has the ability to multitask.

Or a really good faker.

I think he's trying
to overcompensate

for the lack of "being a baker."

[Suspenseful music plays]
Two mixers goin',

it looks like you're
in a big hurry.

Hey, calm down. Okay?

Just calm down. Let me
worry about my dessert.

So I get my cake batter
into my molds

and I wanna crush up
some of the cheese crackers.

A cheese cracker definitely,

of all of the crackers
on that plate,

would probably be
most people's last choice,

but I love a good challenge.

So just gonna crush up
the crackers

right there over the molds
before I pour the topping in,

so that the crackers
end up kinda sinking

into that middle layer
of the cake.

All right.
Done with that.

Let me make sure I've got
enough flavor happenin' here.

[Clatter]
Waah!

Uh-oh!
Calamity in the kitchen.

I'm breakin' things over here.

Today, I'm making

a white-chocolate/
lime-mousse tart.

This is a classic key-lime pie
with a refined twist.

Crumble this up.

So I'm going to use
the butter cracker

and turn it into a crust.

Whoo-hoo-hoo.

I love to bake for anyone,
but baking for my son

really brings me
the greatest joy.

He always encourages
me to go for it.

I wanna win this contest
because my son

will be the most proud of me.

When I'm baking, everything
I bake, they're my kids.

These are my kids.
Don't mess with my kids.

Now, I need to create
the mousse.

I need to make the lime-curd
filling first,

which is a custard made
with a citrus juice

or a fruit juice.
My curd.

Then, I'm going to fold
the melted white chocolate

into that curd mixture.
Let this melt a little.

Then, I'm going to combine
all of my ingredients

with all of the flavor
of these limes.

She's really going
to town on those limes.

You know, a baker would be
almost gentle with it

to get just that essence
of those limes.

Yeah. We're not sawing wood.
Correct.

And with the acid
from the limes,

that custard could curdle.

I have got to check on my crust,
make sure that they're done.

I'm feelin' pretty good about
to be honest key-lime-pie crust.

And then, when I started
to take them out of their pan,

they started to fall apart.
Oh, my god.

I've made this a million times.

And now, when it's super-
important, they fall apart.

Makin' a mess
of the century, here.

Look at Patsy's crust.

It's completely crumbled.
- ZAC: Yeah.

Let's see what she does.
What's she gonna do?

Because that is a mess!

PATSY:
Ay, ay, ay!

I'm so upset.

[ Suspenseful music plays ]

[ Clunk ]

♪♪♪♪

Oh, my god.

I'm really trying not to panic.

I have no time
to make another crust.

I know that they're
gonna taste great,

but I need to come up

with another style
of dessert so I could win.

Why not a parfait?

I'm makin' a a nice
little parfait, now.

So now, instead of making
a tart, I'm now making

a butter-cracker crumble/
white-chocolate/lime parfait.

LORRAINE: And here we are.
Look, look at Patsy.

Oh, the glasses are out.

She's going parfait.

Look at that recovery.

I mean, that is outstanding.

Professionals know how to roll
with the punches.

I'm feeling good.
I'm just -

had to make
a little game change.

I didn't come here to lose.

I'm in it to win it.

I got this.

I can make this work.

DAN:
So far, it looks pretty good.

Once I got the cake in the oven,

next thing I'm gonna to is get
working on the ganache.

I'm using a block of chocolate
instead of little squares.

'Cause I've done this
so many times,

I don't have to weigh
anything out

before I use it, especially
the white-chocolate brick.

The way that Dan
is cutting the chocolate,

he's kinda shavin' it.

That's a real baker move,
- BUDDY: Very professional.

very professional.
The way he's holding his knife.

Very professional.

DAN:
Workin' good, workin' good.

Next thing I'm gonna do
is get oldschool.

When it doubt, use force.

I take out a little aggression
on those poor animal crackers.

That's the baker move.

If you've been around
a kitchen long enough,

you know to pulverize
something in a piping bag.

Da, da, da, da, da, da,
and you're done.

All right. Now, that's
animal-cracker crumbs.

That's something
that I would do.

Then, I incorporate
them into my ganache.

They'll add
a nice crunch factor.

Let's see how
the cakes are lookin'.

Once I pull the cakes outta
the oven, they look great.

Look at that.

Gotta bang the cakes out.

They're a little hot.

Knife, I need a knife.
I need a knife.

For this competition,
I put in my all.

I used all
my cake-baking skills.

I'm the best baker here.
Perfect.

It would be great
to take home a win today.

I'm feelin' good.

Makin' a mess over here.

So now, my gooey
butter cake's in the oven.

I immediately start workin'
on the next step.

Come on, chocolate.
You gonna melt for me?

I knew that just adding
the cheese crackers

to the cake batter
wouldn't be enough.

Whoo!
So I had this other great idea

to take the cheese crackers
and coat them in chocolate

so that there would be
another garnish on the dish

that would be a fun little snack
that you could also play with.

Aah!
Burning my fingers.

I need little pinchers.

He's giving like
this one-two-three-four

punch of sweet
and savory and salty.

I mean, I just wanna reach
in there and take a handful.

MATT: Gonna get this ganache
goin', here.

Well, I'm mixing in the ganache

and I see that it's just
not really coming together.

It should be a little thicker.

I'm definitely thinking
to myself,

"Maybe I bit off a little
bit more than I can chew."

[ Suspenseful music plays ]

This is not happening
the way I want it to!

So I'm standing over my bowl,

looking at
my not-so-ganache ganache.

Gamechanging move, here.
What am I gonna do?

And I make a game-time decision

to take the rest
of the cream cheese I have

and toss it in the bowl.

Am I gonna do it?

Yes, no, yes, no, yes, no, yes.

This could just be
a total failure.

[ Laughter ]

I don't know.
I like to be dramatic.

Maybe, it's the actor in me.

2 minutes left, guys!
2 minutes left!

Move it! Move it!

There's two bakers
and one faker.

Lorraine.
- The two bakers, for me,

are Patsy and Dan.

Patsy, because I think
she's been cookin' on her feet.

I love the look of Patsy's
little recovery parfait.

And Dan because of his skills.

Such a clever use
of the animal crackers.

He has baker written all of him.

- Zac.
- Two bakers? Matt, Dan.

Dan is taking kind of
a more classic approach.

You can tell he's been
doing this for years.

He has what looks like
a wonderful chocolate cake.

And Matt,
the flavor combination's

definitely very daring.

He's using the cheese crackers,

which I couldn't be
more excited about.

I think that's
a real baker move.

10, 9, 8,
- Ah!

7, 6,

5, 4, 3,
- Aaaaaaaaaaah!

2, 1!

Stop your work, guys!

[ Suspenseful music plays ]

MATT: I'm just physically,
completely exhausted.

What just happened?
[chuckle]

I'm feelin' pretty good,
but I'm not quite sure

if the judges are gonna feel
that it's enough.

I mean, my heart is racing
and I wasn't even cooking.

DAN: If I don't win
this competition,

I'm gonna be disappointed
'cause I came here to win.

But compared to my competitors,

I think my dish
is gonna taste the best.

[Suspenseful music plays]
Are you a baker or

a faker?

- I...
- Am...

A...

- Ah. I knew it!
- BUDDY: Oh, no way!

I don't believe it!

Bakers and faker,

I gave you 45 minutes
to bake an awesome dessert

incorporating at least
one kind of cracker.

Okay, Matt.
- I plated

a gooey peanut-butter cake

over a chocolate ganache
with chocolate-cheddar crisps.

I mean,

it's weird.

But it's delicious!
- [Laughs]

You know, the gooey
butter cake is phenomenal

and those little flecks
of cheddar crackers in there

give it a nice saltiness
and crunch.

My one issue with this
is I'm struggling

to find the peanut butter.

And also, when you go to eat it,

it's hard to get
one bite of everything.

The crackers are off
to the side.

Everything's
kinda compartmentalized,

If you tightened up
the presentation,

not only would it look better,
it would taste better.

So, Lorraine, what do you think?

Well, I love this
whipped ganache mousse.

It's absolutely delicious.
It's chocolatey and it's smooth.

It was daring to use
the cheese crackers.

It's not what
I would've gone for.

But surprisingly,
it goes really well

with the other
components of the dish.

- Thank you.
- I saw the way

that you put your crackers
in the center of the batter.

Unfortunately,
I'm not getting it.

I'm not getting it.
I think they must've dissolved.

I'm not really getting anything,
even any flavor or any crunch.

And I love the idea

of your chocolate-covered
crackers.

But they're just way too salty.

Patsy!

I made a white-chocolate/
lime-mousse parfait.

I used the butter crackers
as the crumble.

Um...

it's delicious.
- [Laughs]

It's light, fluffy,

and the parfait
is absolutely delicious.

There's the lime coming through.
It's not overpowering.

And the fact that you thought
on your feet is great.

Within a second, you rethought
it, which is amazing.

Some might say that using
the crackers in this way

is a lazy way of doing it

and that you haven't really
thought things through

as far as being slightly
more imaginative.

- What?!
- But you know what?

You've given us something
that's standalone

absolutely delicious.

Oh, thank you.

I love the last-minute
presentation; great.

When all else fails,
put it in a glass.

But I would've liked
if you had done

more layers in the parfait.

That way, you kind of got
one bite of everything.

Instead, I had to dig
through the mousse

to get to the crumble
on the bottom.

Okay.

So, Dan.

Today, I've made
a dark-chocolate cake

with a animal-cracker/
white-chocolate ganache

and fresh berries for the top.

First of all, the presentation
on this is phenomenal.

I mean, this is something that
I'd pay $16 for in a restaurant.

And the animal-cracker/
white-chocolate ganache

is like the milk that's left
after you eat a bowl of cereal.

It's delicious.

It throws me way
back to childhood.

I mean, this is
such a nostalgic dessert.

Like I'm really like
having issues processing it.

[ Laughter ]

I need to call my therapist.

[Laughter]
The one suggestion I have is

in the chocolate cake.

It wasn't chocolatey enough.

Lorraine?

So this white-chocolate ganache
is absolutely delicious;

really good texture,
smooth, great flavor.

The chocolate cake
looks beautiful.

But this is my one
disappointment with your dish:

the chocolate cake
is kind of like springy.

You know?
It's not spongy.

It's springy,
almost a bit rubbery.

But it's such a shame
because all the other components

of this dish
are so well-executed.

Well, Dan, great job.

Actually, great job
to all three of you.

I'm sure this is gonna be a very
hard decision for the judges.

But now, it's time
to deliberate a little bit.

So give us a moment.

Losing right now would
not be the best feeling.

I would be really disappointed.

I'm totally gonna get points
for thinkin' outside the box

and being creative.

For me to win this competition
would be everything for me.

And I could use
that money, for sure.

Thank you, my dear.

Bakers and faker,

in this envelope
is the name of the winner.

But before I reveal who that is,

I think it's only fair
for you guys to reveal

who you are to us.

This is my favorite part

because I am on
a roller coaster, here, man.

[ Laughter ]

Usually, I know,
but I don't know!

Matt, please,
tell us who you are.

[Suspenseful music climbs]
I...

am...

a...

♪♪♪♪

[ Clunk ]

Matt, are you a baker or

a faker?

[Suspenseful music climbs]
I...

am...

a...

baker.

- Ah! I knew it!
- Oh, no way!

He's a baker!

I'm a baker.
I moved to New York City

to follow
all of my creative ideas.

And little did I know
that baking

would be where
I would hit it big.

Now, it's time to party.

My hometown, St. Louis,
is known for gooey butter cake.

When I moved to New York
and I realized

that nobody else
had ever heard of it,

that was where the idea
for Gooey & Company was born.

I make all of our gooey
butter cakes

from scratch in bite sizes
and ship 'em nationwide.

The best part is
when someone takes a bite

and I just see them giggle
a little bit, or laugh,

Thank you.
Because

I know that they're enjoying it
and they're laughing because

there just really isn't
a better way to describe it.

It's my goal to share
my childhood favorite

with the rest of the world.

Matt, you did a great job.
- Thank you.

Dan, are you a baker

or a faker?

[Suspenseful music climbs]
Judges,

I am a...

faker.

- What?!
- Whoa-oa-oa!

- What?!
- You are good!

BUDDY: Whoa-oa!
- Thank you.

Are you serious?

I said you were a baker -
I give up.

From the beginning,
we thought you were a baker.

You have all
the pro tricks, though.

What do you do for a livin'?

I am a case manager
for the judicial system.

And when do you
find time to bake?

Sometime between that
and graduate school.

[Laughter]
BUDDY: Wow.

Come on in. I work with people
from all walks of life.

As a case manager,
my job is to find out

what types of problems
they're running into in life

and help them
get whatever they need.

I love being able to go
into work every day

and do something positive
for the community.

So as we talked about before,

I mentioned
we have some options.

I love my job.

But baking is
something fun to do.

It's a way to relax.

For now, I'm gonna continue
doing what I do for work

because I love
every minute of it.

But I'm still gonna
bake on the side, too.

- I'm shocked.
- I'm shocked, too.

I'm shocked.

Well...
[Laughter]

Well, Patsy.
- Guess what.

I guess I know
what that makes you.

But, for the record, Patsy,
are you a baker or a faker?

I... am...

a baker.

ALL: Yay!

Good job.

I'm a baker: Chef Patsyb.

I teach in a variety
of local venues

and I also teach in my home.

My name is Patsy Bentivegna
and I'm gonna be teaching you

how to make
some Christmas cookies.

I wanna help people advance
their culinary skill set,

whether it's for in the home
or it would be for their career.

Go all the way around, first.

I have spent my entire career

working in the culinary industry

and now, all I wanna do is use
that knowledge to give back.

Are you gonna finish that?
[Laughter]

All right, guys.
So now that we know who you are,

I think it's only fair that
I tell you who the winner is.

If Matt or Patsy win,

you guys will leave here
with $10,000.

Praying.

Dan, if you are the winner,

you take home 15 grand.

Nice.

All right.
You guys ready?

The winner is...

[ Suspenseful music climbs ]

Patsy!
- Oh, my god!

- Yay-ay-ay!
- Oh, my god!

- Good job. Good job.
- BUDDY: Congratulations.

PATSY:
I'm feeling really emotional.

After 30 years of being a chef,
I got to do this, and win.

Oh, my god. I can't

believe this.
- Yes!

You were great in the kitchen.

I mean, you were all great
in the kitchen.

But the way you rescued
that parfait,

the way you just so quickly
turned it from option A

into a very presentable

and very successful option B
was brilliant.

All of you did an amazing job.

We were blown away.

But, Patsy, you edged 'em out
by a cracker.

A butter cracker.
[Laughter]

BUDDY: Patsy, congratulations.
- LORRAINE: Ohhh! Nice work.

- We're so, so proud of ya.
- MATT: Thank you.

♪♪♪♪