Bakers vs. Fakers (2016–…): Season 1, Episode 3 - Smart Cookies - full transcript
The bakers and fakers must use beer in their chocolate chip cookie creations; the contestants must use fresh herbs in Round Two; judges Damaris Phillips and Zac Young join host Buddy Valastro.
I'm Anthony
from Rahway, New Jersey,
and I am a professional baker.
I'm Anne Marie from Charlotte,
North Carolina,
and I am a professional baker.
I'm Uriya from Tel Aviv, Israel,
and I am a professional baker.
I'm Karen from Maple Glen,
Pennsylvania,
and I am 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 winning 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 want to 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...
- Ohh!
- What?!
I knew it!
What?!
Whoo!
How we doing, everybody?!
All right.
What's up, Buddy?
Doing great!
We are hiding your identities
so the judges
will be completely unbiased.
But in this competition,
whether you're amateur
or professional,
best baker wins.
Yes!
There are two rounds
of competition.
Round 1 is my choice.
So, to start you off today,
you will be baking...
...chocolate-chip cookies!
Dope.
Easy one, two, three.
Like, who can mess up
a chocolate-chip cookie?
Look let's face it -
anybody can make
a good chocolate-chip cookie.
True.
But it takes a real pro
to make a top-notch chocolate-
chip cookie using...
...beer!
Oh, my God!
You got to be kidding me!
Beer in cookies -
That not goes together.
No.
We have stout, an IPA,
root beer, ginger beer,
and lager.
Can I have one of those
right now?
At the end of the round,
the baker that makes
the judges' least favorite
chocolate-chip cookie
is going home.
Not today.
45 minutes on the clock.
Get baking!
Whoo!
Some of this, some of that.
All right, we got two bakers
and two fakers out there.
How are we going to be able
to tell the difference?
A pro knows that a chocolate-
chip cookie has been done.
The pro is going to be looking
for the next thing.
It could be a bar cookie,
it could be a sandwich cookie.
Okay.
For me, the texture
has to be right.
You want ooey and gooey
when it comes here,
no matter what it is inside.
Chocolate stout.
Which beer do you incorporate?
DAMARIS: For me, the stout is
the clearest choice.
That malty, complex,
kind of sweet notes of the stout
are going to pair perfectly
with the chocolate-chip cookie.
This just got real.
I'm from Jersey.
I come from
a really big Italian family.
We're, like,
at the Jersey Shore.
We do the fist pump.
Pssh! Pssh! Pssh! Pssh!
Lots of food, lots of cookies
and cakes and desserts.
It's like a party
every single day.
Chocolate chips.
Chocolate chips.
Chocolate chips.
Today, I'm making
a deconstructed
chocolate-chip cannoli
with a chocolate-stout sauce.
Some of this.
I'm going to make
the chocolate-chip cookie
the cannoli shell, and then I
add the cannoli filling on top.
My baking style is
from my background,
being Italian,
and kind of mix it in
with traditional
American desserts.
First thing I'm doing
is starting my dough.
Put the flour,
I got to put the eggs,
the chocolate chips
into the mixture. Get that done.
This is when it gets
a little messy.
I just throw it on a cookie
sheet so it's pretty much even,
but in the end
I want to take a cookie cutter
and start punching
the holes in there
and get perfect circles
of cookie.
Bada-bing, bada-boom.
Okay.
So, the next thing I do is
start the chocolate-stout sauce.
Stout, it has
a thicker consistency to it,
so I reduce it a little bit
so some of the alcohol content
is gone,
and it will create
rich caramel notes.
All right, let's see here.
Got to melt some chocolate.
So, I took the stout,
and I mixed it in
with some melted milk chocolate
to make, like,
a nice, thick, creamy sauce.
BUDDY:
I think Anthony is my baker.
He is using the stout
for his ganache.
It's malty and rich.
It's going to bring out
the flavor of that chocolate.
What a pro move.
DAMARIS: But he's not putting
enough liquid in there.
I'm afraid
that once it cools down,
that's just going to
turn back into hard chocolate.
Faker move!
I am way too little.
I am 5'3" on a good day.
Behind your back, man.
I'm small and fearless,
and great things come
in small packages.
Today, I'm making a chocolate
walnut stout cookie
with a Mexican hot chocolate.
ANTHONY: You good?
You in control?
Yeah, you should ask your mom.
[ Laughter ]
Zing!
My competitive edge
comes from growing up,
playing ice hockey
with the boys.
[ Deep voice ] If you're
in my way, you'll go down.
Oh, I'm in the zone right now.
My style of baking
plays on flavors
from when you were a child.
First thing I do
is grab walnuts,
and I put them
in a pot full of stout.
Stout is a dark, heavy beer
that has these
really high toast notes,
so it's going to enhance
the chocolate flavor
and the nuts, as well.
Drunken nuts are something
that people
don't typically do at home,
especially because when you bake
a nut, it gets really hard.
So, by moistening them,
you get the flavor,
but you also get this
beautiful, soft texture.
That is a baker.
For the cookie batter,
I use melted butter
with both white and brown sugar
and mini chocolate chips
so you can get as many
little baby chocolate chips
into any bite as you could.
Ann Marie is using an
ice-cream scoop to get uniform,
consistent cookies -
absolute pro move.
Big whoopty-doo.
She used an ice cream scoop.
And she's using
a really small one,
which is a total faker move
because that's going to be a
tiny, teeny-tiny, little cookie.
Yeah, they're little,
but she's giving me
hot chocolate to dunk it in.
She's making chocolate-chip
croutons, all right?
That's right - Size matters.
I'm going to throw it
in the oven
until it's GBD -
golden-brown delicious.
I would describe myself
as always optimistic.
Here we go!
I was born and raised in Israel.
Four years ago,
I moved to the States.
Yep!
My culinary style is combine
all the knowledge
that I have from Israel
with my own twist.
And today, I will make
a chocolate-chip ginger cookie,
with tahini and fig jam.
Okay, wonderful.
First thing that I need to do
is start to cream butter,
sugar, and the tahini together.
Yummy in my tummy.
Tahini is a sesame paste
from Israel,
and it can give the batter
a bit more richness
and sesame flavor.
I love tahini because of
the bitterness, also the fat.
ZAC: But he's going to have to
off set the bitterness
with one of the sweeter beers.
He's using ginger beer.
I hope he reduces it
down though.
Oh, no.
That's a lot of beer.
The faker is going to use
the beer straight-out.
it will totally mess up
the ratio of wet to dry.
If you put too much beer,
then it's going to spread out
too much or be too cakey.
Beer has yeast,
it's going to "poof,"
and then you're going
to have a cookie cake.
Grinding up some ginger.
I use fresh ginger
into the batter
in order to amplify
the flavor of the ginger beer.
That could be a faker move.
The acid from the ginger
could curdle the eggs.
It could but I think Uriya is
using the ginger
to bump up the flavor
of the ginger beer.
In the oven it goes.
Look at that foamy goodness!
I'm, like, quirky, funny.
I just want to leave it here
to be my inspiration when I win!
My personal baking style
is shabby chic.
So, today I'm going to be making
a malt chocolate-chip waffle
cookie with stout syrup.
Show me the money
on this milk stout!
Stout has lactase in it,
which gives it
that milky flavor,
and milky flavors
and chocolate - It is sublime.
Go.
I'm a single mom,
and I didn't really have
a lot of extra money,
but I could always kind of
pull together butter,
sugar, flour, eggs.
So, that's when I got really,
really interested in baking.
Boil, baby! Boil!
The first thing
I do is reduce the stout
so I'm left with this
very precious syrupy sauce.
You are reducing.
All of the moisture
is coming out of you.
I think Karen is trying
to make a syrup for her waffle.
The pro is going to know
that they can concentrate
the flavor
by reducing that beer.
But she's reducing
that stout down so much
that it's going to be
more taffy-like
and less syrup like.
Faker.
This is so delicious.
So, once I have
a very strong reduction,
the next thing I do is put it
into homemade buttery syrup,
which is sugar,
water, and butter.
This syrup is fantastic.
The buttery syrup mellows
out the bitterness of the stout.
It is so good.
Ah, here we go.
The next thing I do
is start the bacon
to be sprinkled on top.
Don't burn the bacon Kar.
I think the saltiness
of the bacon
will balance
the sweetness of the cookies.
Karen is bringing out the bacon.
That, to me,
is a very baker move.
The salt is key.
It's making me nervous
that Karen
doesn't have her dough
together yet.
Time management is a pro move.
Karen knows that she can
make a dough really quickly.
She's my baker.
But is she doing too much?
Oh, we got fire.
Oh, we got fire.
Okay, down to the wire!
Are you a baker or a faker?
- I... - am... - a...
I knew it!
Ohh!
I knew it!
I knew it!
Oh!
That was really cool!
Staying away from you.
It's very nerve-racking to do
dough at the very, very end,
But I feel confident.
Okay.
Ground cinnamon.
Perfect!
My cookies are baking,
and it's time
to start the cannoli filling.
To make a traditional
Italian cannoli,
I need to have
a lot of cinnamon,
I need to make sure
that the flavor comes through.
Folding it.
Folding it.
My cannoli filling
is good to go.
I put it on the side,
and then I go check
on my cookies in the oven -
not quite done.
Winning this competition
would be huge for me.
I want to buy a house and start
living that American dream.
Finally, I think I might
have something going on here.
My cookies are exactly
where I want them to be.
So, I take
my round cookie cutters,
and I just start popping
the cookies on there.
Anthony is using
a ring mold to cut out
perfectly baked cookies
from the center
so we're going to get ooey,
and we're going to get gooey.
Yep, that's a pro.
That's a baker baby!
I don't know about that.
Now I'm getting all of my dry
together for a hot cocoa.
The cookies are in the oven,
so I just start making
all the hot-chocolate mix.
It's cocoa powder,
both powdered sugar
and granulated sugar,
and powdered milk.
Chili powder for
a little bit of heat.
Cinnamon will help give it
a little bit of depth, as well.
My mother is Latina,
so she would always make
a spiced Mexican hot chocolate.
So, automatically, it
just brings me back to my roots,
back to my family, and family
is always a winner in my book.
So, hopefully,
I can win with this dish.
So, my mom will be super happy.
To finish off the hot chocolate,
I use stout
that I soaked the nuts in
so that everything
holds together.
Ann Marie - I think that she's
using the beer really well,
and she put the beer
into the batter
and with the milk, too.
Baker, y'all.
The beer is carbonated. It will
totally mess up the milk.
Yeah, but that malty
kind of sweet notes of a stout
are going to pair perfectly
with hot chocolate.
Okay, figs.
I'm making a fig jam
to bring a little acidity
to counteract with the sweetness
of the cookies.
Take the stem out. Nobody wants
to get it into their teeth.
My wife and I used to eat figs
fresh out of the tree
growing all over Israel,
and I love it.
A little bit of water.
I got married six months ago.
I would like to win the money
in order to take my lovely wife
to a honeymoon.
Oh, wow.
The figs, they're a little bit
on the sour side,
so I use a little ginger beer
to add a little bit
more sweetness.
Uriya is using the ginger beer
to make a fresh fig compote.
That's so smart.
It's not in the cookie.
ZAC: Not incorporating the figs
to this cookie is a faker move.
A baker is going to incorporate
all the elements into one thing.
Maybe he's making
a sandwich cookie.
Wonderful.
I'm making some love
in my bowl here!
The syrup is done.
Now I have to make
the waffle batter.
Beer has malt, so instead
of using just chocolate chips,
I've incorporated
some malted milk balls in here.
It's delicious.
Because I'm going to be
making this in a waffle iron,
you can't just put
regular dough in there.
These are too loose,
so I'm going to tighten them up.
I'm adding some flour
because I need it to be thicker
so it holds together.
There we go.
Getting ready
to start me cookies.
URIYA: Karen?
What?
Did you put
the cookies in the oven?
Don't you worry
about my cookies.
You're so funny!
She's doing it in a waffle iron.
That is a baker, all right?!
She is saying, "No oven for me.
I'm going to bake it
in a totally innovative way."
It's going to maximize
the surface area of the cookie
and give us
a really crunchy exterior
and a nice, supple interior.
Do y'all not have an issue
with it being a waffle
when it's a cookie challenge?
She's thinking outside
of the scoop, all right?
If it has the texture
of a waffle,
I'm going to have a problem.
Two minutes left!
No!
All right, last check-in -
two bakers?
Anthony and Karen.
Karen is thinking outside
of a round cookie.
That is such a pro move.
And Anthony is making a crumble
out of the scraps
of the cookies.
He's reusing
every part of that batter.
That's such a baker move.
I'm on that island.
That's the happy island
of bakers.
That's the baker island.
Damaris, your two bakers?
My two bakers are Ann Marie...
And...?
...and Uriya!
He has a strong POV,
using ingredients from Israel.
I love tahini,
and figs are one of
the most beautiful things
you can eat.
Ooh.
Uriya is a baker.
Ann Marie understands
how to manipulate beer
in this challenge.
Okay, down to the wire!
10... 9...
8... 7...
6... 5...
4... 3...
2... 1!
Stop your work!
That's it.
BUDDY:
Put your cookies down!
I know that my waffles and
syrup and bacon are delicious.
I am praying that the judges
think it is, too.
So, bakers and fakers
I gave you 45 minutes
to make chocolate-chip cookies
using beer.
Now it's time
to face the judges.
And remember -
one of you is going home.
Anthony, what did you prepare?
ANTHONY: I made a deconstructed
chocolate-chip cannoli.
The beer is mixed in
with the chocolate stout sauce.
What you did with the cookie
was genius.
You gave us
that chewy center - perfect.
Chocolate-stout ganache
is delicious,
and the stout
plays off of the richness
of the chocolate really well.
But the cannoli cream
was unsuccessful for me.
I think you over whipped it,
so the texture
was not pleasurable.
Anthony this is
richly delicious.
Thank you.
Gooey, delicious, chewy cookie.
You were really smart
to cut them out.
The cannoli cream, to me,
is very cinnamon forward.
And so, for me,
that cinnamon flavor
is washing out the flavor
of my beer.
Okay, food for thought.
Thank you.
Ann Marie,
what did you make for us?
I made a chocolate-stout
walnut cookie
with a Mexican hot chocolate.
I soaked the walnuts
in the stout.
It's also in
the hot chocolate mix
as well as in the cookie itself.
ZAC: The crispiness
of the cookie was phenomenal.
The stout perfumes
it throughout.
It was really a very intense
cookie experience.
But I would have
liked the cookie
to have been a little bit larger
so I got a more gooey center.
So, Ann Marie,
the warmth from the walnuts
where they were soaked
in that stout is just lovely.
The uniformity of the color,
the uniformity of the size,
like, they're perfect.
But they could have been
in the oven slightly less time
because they're
a little bit dry.
Your hot chocolate,
I could use it to be
just a tad more
on the bitter notes
to kind of elevate the
flavor of that stout. Got it.
Uriya, tell us what you did.
URIYA: I made a chocolate-chip
ginger cookie with fig jam.
I've used ginger beer inside
the cookie and inside the jam.
DAMARIS:
Uriya, your cookie is good.
The warmth and the nuttiness
from that tahini is superb.
Thank you.
And these figs are tender,
they're succulent.
You can taste that ginger beer
in there.
I loved them.
I do not love that you
put this jam on the side.
It doesn't make a lot of sense
to have it in a spoon
with the cookie.
It makes it seem
like it's disjointed.
Okay.
I love that you took
the chocolate-chip cookie
on vacation -
Laying out somewhere
in the Mediterranean,
chilling with the figs.
That tahini actually
makes the edges crispy.
However,
the texture of the cookie
a little bit cakey,
a little bit dry.
It's not chewy on the inside,
but that's the way
the cookie crumbles.
Literally.
Karen, tell us
what you prepared.
KAREN: Today, I prepared
a malted chocolate-chip
waffle cookie
with stout syrup.
The stout is in the syrup.
This is a genius use
of a chocolate-chip cookie.
The waffle iron
maximizes the surface area
so you get a lot
more of the crunchy outside,
and then the inside
still stays soft.
The one thing that I think
is missing here is the salinity.
It needs a little crunch
from salt
to break up all the sweetness.
Karen I think that texture
of your waffle cookie
is outstanding.
It's crunchy, the inside
is nice and gooey.
It is perfectly seasoned
with stout.
But the malt
is not necessary here.
You have the stout,
and you have bacon,
and you have chocolate,
and then you're adding in malt.
It's another heavy flavor.
You know what Karen?
I didn't get any bacon on mine.
[ Gasps ]
I'm going to give you a bacon
bite and see if you like it.
That's, like, perfection.
That's everything
I want in life.
That salt, the crispiness
of the bacon,
that's what was missing
from my dish,
but I didn't get the bacon.
I'm sorry.
Great job to all
four of you guys.
This is going to be
a tough decision for the judges.
KAREN: Zach's waffle doesn't
have any bacon on it.
I'm holding my breath right now.
If I don't make it past the
first round, I would be crushed.
Bakers and fakers,
I gave you 45 minutes
to make chocolate-chip cookies
using beer.
You've already faced the judges.
Now it's time to see who won.
Who's going home,
and who that person really is.
So, Damaris please tell us
who was the winner of the round?
The winner of the round is...
...Karen.
[ Applause ]
Good job.
Karen, your use
of the waffle iron
to accentuate everything we love
about a chocolate-chip cookie
put you across the finish line,
even without the bacon.
Thank you.
Zach tell us who made
the second-best
chocolate-chip cookies today.
Our second-favorite
chocolate-chip cookies
were made by...
...Ann Marie.
Dope!
Oh that's exciting.
Ann Marie, you're safe.
Thank you.
Good job.
All right, judges, we're down
to the bottom-two cookies.
Damaris, please tell us
who is moving on to Round 2.
The person moving on
to round two is...
...Anthony.
Thank you.
BUDDY: Congratulations.
Unfortunately, Uriya,
that means you're eliminated.
But before you go,
please tell us -
Are you a baker or a faker?
I... am... a...
baker.
Ohhhh! I knew it!
I knew it! I knew it!
This girl knew it, right here.
So smart.
So creative, too.
Uriya, where are you a baker?
I'm a pastry chef in Square 1682
in Philadelphia.
I studied culinary school
in Israel,
and I moved to the United States
in order to continue
and study and fulfill my dream.
At Square 1682,
I'm doing the desserts line,
à la carte menu,
banquets, weddings.
Getting paid to bake
and to create what I love
is a dream come true,
and I couldn't
ask anything else.
All right, we know there is
one baker and two fakers left.
And in this round,
I'm going to give you
the freedom to bake
whatever you like.
Nice.
Dope.
This is great.
But...
you guys have
to include one thing.
Gosh.
Always something.
...fresh herbs!
Oh, my gosh!
What?!
Come on.
Everybody loves fresh herbs.
What are you talking about?
[ Laughs ]
We got tarragon,
sage, thyme, rosemary...
All right.
...and lavender.
KAREN:
Herbs can be tricky.
Some of them are very,
very potent, pungent,
so it's kind of tough.
You have to be very careful to
balance things out with herbs.
You guys got 45 minutes
to bake your best
incorporating
one of these fresh herbs.
You got it?
Got it.
You sure?
We got it!
Get baking!
All right, let's get it.
Fresh herbs - What do you think?
The real challenge with
fresh herbs is using restraint.
The baker is going to know
how to extract
the maximum flavor
out of the herb.
The fakers are just gonna
throw the herb into something
and hope for the best.
Rosemary.
Which herb would a baker choose?
I'd say a baker is going
to choose a thyme.
I've got thyme for you baby!
Lemon and thyme -
perfect combination.
The lemon is going to
really compliment
the earthiness of the thyme.
Coming in for a soft landing!
The faker is going
to use rosemary.
It has a really piney flavor.
Too much rosemary,
and it's going to taste like
we're eating a Christmas tree.
Well, all right,
let's see what they do.
North Carolina,
how you doing down there?
All gravy, baby.
All right.
ANN MARIE: I am going to make
a smoked blackberry mousse
with a sticky chestnut
and cocoa nib crumble.
♪♪ So many berries ♪♪
I grew up in the South.
Spent a lot of time
sitting by a campfire
smoking meat, berries, anything.
This ain't my first rodeo
(roh-day-oh).
I'm going to smoke
the blackberries
with rosemary sprigs,
so you get that piney earthiness
from the rosemary
into the blackberries.
All right, this is a pain
in the [beep]
So, I build a smoker
out of hotel pans,
put it over the burner.
That's not hot or anything.
ANTHONY:
What's going on over here?
It looks like you're
about to set this place on fire.
In the South,
we smoke everything.
Wow.
Ann Marie is smoking her
blackberries with the rosemary
to add in
another savory element.
Absolute baker move.
Yeah, but look -
Ann Marie's smoke
is looking a little bit
out of control.
Like, are we actually
going to be able
to taste the herbs
or just the smoke?
She's a faker.
ANN MARIE:
Smells like a campfire.
This is awesome.
Whoo!
After I get the blackberries
in the smoker,
I start making the mousse.
I heat up my creams with
a little bit of vanilla beans
to add that sweetness.
Come on.
Add in the eggs and then
get everything mixed together
and strained out
and put into the freezer
as long as possible
to cool it down.
And we're just kind of
winging it as we go.
ANTHONY: Here we go.
Round 1,
I pulled through
by the skin of my teeth,
and Round 2,
I don't want to play it safe,
so I'm taking a risk.
During my big Italian feast
and holidays,
I remember always having some
type of soufflé on the table.
I have an idea to do
a lemon rosemary soufflé
with a graham-cracker truffle
and a fresh raspberry puree.
Oh my gosh.
A soufflé in 45 minutes?
Yes, ma'am.
So, a soufflé is
just eggs and sugar,
but it's really risky
because the whole thing
can just collapse.
I'm cray-cray.
The soufflé
makes me really nervous.
It's really easy
to knock the air
out of those egg whites,
and then you're going to get
a lemon pancake.
So, I start my soufflé mixture.
I throw my egg yokes in
with some sugar
along with some fresh lemons.
Chop up the rosemary very finely
to kind of infuse my soufflé
because I know rosemary
goes really well with lemon.
Little goes a long way.
Mix it up and throw it
on the double boiler.
Continue to whisk that
so it gets a little thick.
Come on!
You got to get
a little thicker than that.
I take my egg whites
and sugar...
Come on. Stiff peaks.
...I mix it together with egg
yokes and lemon and rosemary...
Okay.
...and I folded it in.
And we're folding.
And we're folding.
Put that into my ramekins,
and I put some hot water
into the pan to do water bath.
The water bath actually creates
an even temperature
with the soufflé
so it's all baked
at a consistent temp.
The water bath is going to make
that soufflé rise
at the same rate.
That's the baker move.
Going in.
Winner, winner, chicken dinner!
I won the first round
by being creative.
Eggies are going to get whipped!
So, for Round 2,
I've got to stick to my guns.
By that I mean bake something
quirky and creative.
Hello, Karen.
What are you making?
A crepe with goat cheese
and a lemon sauce.
I'm using thyme in the recipe.
Are you inspired by breakfast?
Waffles, crepes.
[ Both laugh ]
No, I'm inspired by my heritage!
I'm Jewish,
so it was like a blintz!
My parents were kosher, and we
ate blintz's all the time.
So, this is a twist
on an original family recipe,
and it's absolutely delicious.
Smoothie!
The first thing I do
is make the crepe batter
because you have to be
very careful
not to make it like bubble gum.
This prevents lumps.
Let's look at my girl Karen.
So, she's making a crepe batter.
Would you make a crepe batter
with this amount of time?
It would not rest.
Yeah, absolutely.
Oh, I would not.
Make the batter thin enough,
you don't work
the gluten too much,
you can do it
right out of the blender.
Total baker!
All right.
Crepes are a little
temperamental.
Crepe batter can get overworked,
so you have to be very careful
when you cook them.
Son of my gun!
I'm having a little trouble
with a few of them.
Try this again!
But finally, they're exactly
the way they should be.
These are so thin and beautiful.
Thank you!
Whoo!
They're perfect.
ANTHONY:
So, open up the oven,
see how my soufflé cups
are doing.
Got to rise. Rise.
But the oven is not getting hot
fast enough.
Come on.
I'm a little worried
about our boy Anthony.
The soufflés might not rise.
I don't know what
to do at this point.
Come on, soufflé.
You got to rise. Rise.
My soufflé cups they're not
getting to where I need to be.
I don't know what to do
at this point.
I'm going to take this out.
Thank God I remember
the convection oven...
He's walking with his soufflés.
Is he going for the convy oven?
You guys.
...where I should get
a perfect, even temperature.
Brilliant move.
He knew the oven was not
getting hot enough.
The baker that he is said,
"I'm going to go
into that convy oven.
I'm just going to blast the heat
and hope they rise."
In what world is it
a brilliant move
to pull soufflés
out of an oven halfway baked.
What's he going to do
if it falls? Anthony is a faker.
I'm, like, smooth sailing
right now, guys,
so if you need help -
I mean I'm probably
not going to help you,
but still you can ask me.
ANN MARIE: Once I take the cream
out of the freezer,
I take some of the blackberries
out of the smoker
and I puree them
with a stick blender,
and it's definitely a hot mess.
I just got puree
all over my face.
It looks like
I just committed a murder.
And I put the strained puree
into the mousse.
It will give it
that smoky rosemary flavor.
Next up...
Heavy cream!
...I start whipping up
a whipped cream
and mix it with the mousse
in order to give it
that nice, creamy consistency.
Here's what's saying
faker about Ann Marie.
Her whipped cream
is a little bit over whipped.
'Cause when you over whip cream,
you know what you get?
Butter.
Butter.
Ooh! Oh! Oh!
That's not going to break down.
DAMARIS:
No, that's the way you do it!
It's very smart.
She's taking
a very tight whipped cream
and whisking it
into a really loose mixture.
She knows that
that mixture is too loose,
so she had to go
a little bit harder
on her whipped cream.
Yo, we're gravy.
♪♪ And that's what
a baker does ♪♪
♪♪ And that's what
a baker does ♪♪
Come on!
I want to make
some sticky chestnuts.
So, I chop up
a bunch of these chestnuts,
and I cook them in honey,
some coconut,
and rosemary, as well.
That will get that crunch
that the dessert needs.
I feel really,
really confident right now.
My mom taught me
not to be a quitter.
I really want to win
this competition
so I can take my parents
on a well-needed vacation.
They're my biggest fans, and
I just want to make them proud.
All right.
Now, we wait.
Graham cracker.
This is it.
So, I just don't want to serve
up a soufflé in a ramekin,
give it to the judges,
and call it a day.
I need something else.
I'm going to make
a graham-cracker truffle
to add a little bit of crunch...
Raspberries. Raspberries.
Raspberries.
...and a raspberry puree...
Raspberries.
Perfect.
...just to give it
a little bit more sweetness.
So, I start crushing
the raspberries,
and then I strain it.
Come on.
Got to get these seeds out.
Then I throw some graham
crackers in a food processor.
I add some fresh lemon zest,
along with some melted butter
just to give it a little bit
more of a rich taste.
Adding that graham-cracker
crunch to his soufflé
is a great textural element.
My paisan is a pro.
So, open up the oven and pray
and cross my fingers
and hope
that my soufflé is done.
All right.
Bada-bing, bada-boom.
Thank God they're perfect.
They didn't drop.
No, they're holding.
ANTHONY: I want to win this
so bad right now.
I want a house
down on the Jersey Shore.
Whoo!
This takes a lot out of you,
right? Oh, my God.
How do I love you?
Let me count the ways.
For my cheese filling,
I use Humboldt fog...
This creamy goodness.
...which is savory,
aged goat cheese...
Whoo-hoo!
...and cream cheese.
This is how
I take my frustrations out.
Oh, my God!
Take that.
Both sweet cheeses,
they go great with the floral-y,
lemony, thyme.
If there's any stems in here,
I will get called on that.
The next thing I do
is build my crepe.
I fold it up
and sprinkle it with thyme.
Time for thyme.
And I egg wash the entire thing
so that when I put it in
the oven it gets a golden-brown.
Bingo!
After my crepes are done...
All right, you lemons,
you, let's go.
...I have to get
my lemon sauce going.
We're going to turn
this up a little bit.
That lemon sauce
can't get too hot
or you can get a very thick,
almost tar-like substance.
Cool, you son of a gun.
My boys love this dish.
Come to me,
my little lemon sauce!
They're 24 and 21.
They're going to fly the coup
really soon.
Winning would just provide
the funding
to do one last family trip
and spend that quality time
together.
Fantastic!
All right, guys, hurry up.
Two minutes left!
Zac, who's the baker?
You know, I'm going with Karen.
[ Gasps ]
Aah!
She's risky, she's thinking
outside the box.
Combining the goat cheese
with the cream cheese,
that's going to make almost like
a no-bake cheesecake
that's going to be
texturally binding.
As wacky and out there
as Karen is...
Make some time with my thyme.
...she's the baker.
Damaris, who's the baker?
I'm still going
to go with Ann Marie.
You're smoked.
I love the flavor
of smoked in dessert.
She's taken those blackberries,
she's pureeing them,
and adding that to her cream.
At this point, her technique is
the most creative
that we've seen.
She's a typical faker
trying to do too much.
I'm going with Anthony
as the baker.
I said it in Round 1,
I'm saying it in Round 2.
The guy is making a soufflé.
The way he switched ovens
'cause he wasn't getting
what he wanted -
My home boy is a pro.
ANTHONY: Whoo!
10... 9...
Come on!
...8... 7...
6... 5...
4... 3...
2... 1!
Stop your work!
ANTHONY: Ooh.
Oh, my God.
Good job, guys.
Whoo-hoo!
I love this dish.
It's me on a plate.
I nailed this one.
I'm going to win.
I'm a winner!
Are you a baker,
or are you a faker?
- I... - am... - a...
DAMARIS: Ohh!
What?!
I knew it!
Baker and fakers,
I gave you 45 minutes
to create a delicious plate
using herbs.
Now it's time
to face the judges.
Ann Marie, what did you
prepare for us?
ANN MARIE: I made a rosemary-
smoked blackberry mousse.
I smoked the blackberries
with the rosemary.
It's also in the sticky
chestnuts right on top.
DAMARIS:
The mousse is exactly like
when you bit into
a really charred marshmallow.
It's loose.
I'm wanting to sink into myself.
The smoke on the mousse
is the absolute
perfect amount of smoke.
But the smoked blackberries,
it becomes overkill.
This chestnut cocoa nib
situation on top
is texturally phenomenal.
Thank you.
It's crunchy, it's chewy,
it's a perfect compliment
to the mousse.
The one thing that I'm missing
is the rosemary.
I get a lot of the smoke.
I'm missing
some of that pineness.
Just that little bit of bite
that rosemary brings,
that really would have
brought this home.
Anthony.
Yeah, what's up bud?
What'd you make for us?
A lemon rosemary soufflé
with a graham-cracker truffle
and a raspberry puree.
I infused the soufflé
with the rosemary,
and then I strained
the rosemary out.
You took a risk on the soufflé,
and I have to say...
you frickin' nailed it!
Thank you.
Home run.
The texture of the soufflé,
I mean it's like
eating a lemon cloud.
It disappears in your mouth.
It's like cotton candy.
However, I would love
if this graham-cracker truffle
were at the bottom
of my soufflé dish
because it's a little
hard to eat.
DAMARIS: Anthony, I think that
your graham-cracker truffle
is genius - so buttery,
you have that
graham-cracker taste.
But I don't need
the raspberry sauce.
Okay.
Because it is so bright
and so tart, it's competing with
and hiding your rosemary
and lemon in the soufflé.
Karen?
I prepared a dessert crepe
with goat cheese,
thyme, and lemon cream.
Thyme is in the crepe,
and it's also on top.
I was worried.
I thought it was going to be
overpoweringly thyme-y,
but it's not, it's great.
It's really balanced.
But the problem that I'm having
is that there's a lot of stems.
These are very, very woody
and not pleasant at all.
But that lemon cream
is delicious.
It really elevates the flavor
of thyme and the crepe,
I was concerned because
you didn't let the batter rest,
but I was wrong.
The texture is beautiful.
It's fluffy, it's delicate,
I'm absolutely impressed.
Wow. Thank you.
ZAC:
Karen, the thyme played well
with all of the other
flavors going well.
And the textural difference
of that aged goat cheese
with the creaminess
of the fresh goat cheese
is fantastic.
You know your way
around a cheese board.
[ Chuckling ]
Thank you.
But I wish you had done more
with our nuts.
Had you candied them,
they would have given
a little bit more sweetness
to this very savory dessert.
Well, thank you, Karen.
Great job to you, and to all.
You guys all did an amazing job.
Now, if you can
give us some time,
the judges will deliberate.
ANTHONY:
I screwed up big time here.
The judges are shooting me down,
telling me they can't taste
the rosemary in my soufflé.
I'm done.
KAREN: I want to win
this challenge so badly.
There's nothing
that would make me happier
than going on a family trip.
I'm really nervous.
My dish,
it was a little too smoky,
but I feel like everybody
has a chance at this point.
In this envelope,
I got the name of the winner.
But before I tell you who won,
I think it's only fair you
tell us who you really are.
Tell us Karen - Are you
a baker, or are you a faker?
I... am... a...
Tell us Karen - Are you
a baker, or are you a faker?
I... am... a...
faker!
What?!
I knew it!
What?!
Karen, what do you do
for a living?
I'm a sales manager for a hotel
and conference center.
Sure!
What?
Like you do!
Of course she is.
[ Laughs ]
I'm a senior sales manager
for a hotel
and conference center.
We have everything on site,
and I find customers and clients
that are a good fit
for what we have.
And I love to nurture
the other members of my team,
and I've even
been known to bake at work.
When I'm in the kitchen,
I am in my happy place.
[ Laughs ]
So, now we know we have one
baker and one faker remaining.
Phew!
Ann Marie, tell us - Are you
a baker, or are you a faker?
I... am... a...
baker.
I knew it!
Ooh!
Where are you a baker?
I am the executive pastry chef
at Heirloom Restaurant
in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Oh, cool.
Southern girl.
At Heirloom, we like to say
our little slogan is
"Locally sourced,
globally inspired."
So, everything comes from
the state of North Carolina.
We do a six-course tasting menu.
I make a brand-new dessert
every single day.
Popcorn, ginger snaps,
and gravy.
My favorite part
of being a pastry chef
is that I can do
whatever I want.
I love being creative
and kind of making things
that people
don't normally think about.
Dude, I love it - love it.
Well, Anthony for the record,
are you a baker,
or are you a faker?
I'm a faker.
I'm actually a bartender
at the Jersey Shore.
Ohh!
What?!
What?!
Where does
the soufflé come from?!
Wait a second.
I know that you're not
making soufflés in Seaside.
Bartending at the Jersey Shore
is so much fun.
There's huge crowds.
It's normal for me to have a bar
with two or three people deep.
Oh that's so pretty.
Looks like the ocean.
Some of the things that I do
at my bartending job,
like presentation of my drinks,
definitely goes into my baking.
So, whether I'm mixing a martini
or making a cookie,
I kind of have
that same sleek, modern look.
I love to bake and just
kind of make people happy.
These are really good, Ant.
When I present it to somebody,
and I see them smile,
that kind of makes me realize,
"Okay, I want to go back
and bake some more."
BUDDY: So, now that we know
who you are,
it's my turn
to reveal the winner.
That means, Anne Marie, if you
win, you take home $10,000.
Anthony or Karen,
you take home $15,000.
And... the winner is...
...Anthony!
Shut the hell up!
Are you kidding me right now?
Are you kidding me right now?!
Get out of here! No way!
Oh, my God. I'm feeling
so proud of myself.
I just beat out
two professional bakers
and just won $15,000.
Oh, my God, guys!
I definitely want
to put that towards a house
down in the Jersey Shore area.
I really feel like good things
are going to come.
All three of you should
be proud of your dishes.
Amen.
We have never
fought like this before.
But Anthony,
you took it over the top
with your technique.
Thank you so much.
Oh my God! 15 grand!
Everything I know, I actually
learned from you, Buddy.
I watched you on TV for years,
and you're the reason
why I'm here tonight.
Wow.
That's really sweet.
Well, that's very inspiring.
Thank you.
I still can't
believe you faked me out.
Thank you so much, Buddy!
from Rahway, New Jersey,
and I am a professional baker.
I'm Anne Marie from Charlotte,
North Carolina,
and I am a professional baker.
I'm Uriya from Tel Aviv, Israel,
and I am a professional baker.
I'm Karen from Maple Glen,
Pennsylvania,
and I am 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 winning 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 want to 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...
- Ohh!
- What?!
I knew it!
What?!
Whoo!
How we doing, everybody?!
All right.
What's up, Buddy?
Doing great!
We are hiding your identities
so the judges
will be completely unbiased.
But in this competition,
whether you're amateur
or professional,
best baker wins.
Yes!
There are two rounds
of competition.
Round 1 is my choice.
So, to start you off today,
you will be baking...
...chocolate-chip cookies!
Dope.
Easy one, two, three.
Like, who can mess up
a chocolate-chip cookie?
Look let's face it -
anybody can make
a good chocolate-chip cookie.
True.
But it takes a real pro
to make a top-notch chocolate-
chip cookie using...
...beer!
Oh, my God!
You got to be kidding me!
Beer in cookies -
That not goes together.
No.
We have stout, an IPA,
root beer, ginger beer,
and lager.
Can I have one of those
right now?
At the end of the round,
the baker that makes
the judges' least favorite
chocolate-chip cookie
is going home.
Not today.
45 minutes on the clock.
Get baking!
Whoo!
Some of this, some of that.
All right, we got two bakers
and two fakers out there.
How are we going to be able
to tell the difference?
A pro knows that a chocolate-
chip cookie has been done.
The pro is going to be looking
for the next thing.
It could be a bar cookie,
it could be a sandwich cookie.
Okay.
For me, the texture
has to be right.
You want ooey and gooey
when it comes here,
no matter what it is inside.
Chocolate stout.
Which beer do you incorporate?
DAMARIS: For me, the stout is
the clearest choice.
That malty, complex,
kind of sweet notes of the stout
are going to pair perfectly
with the chocolate-chip cookie.
This just got real.
I'm from Jersey.
I come from
a really big Italian family.
We're, like,
at the Jersey Shore.
We do the fist pump.
Pssh! Pssh! Pssh! Pssh!
Lots of food, lots of cookies
and cakes and desserts.
It's like a party
every single day.
Chocolate chips.
Chocolate chips.
Chocolate chips.
Today, I'm making
a deconstructed
chocolate-chip cannoli
with a chocolate-stout sauce.
Some of this.
I'm going to make
the chocolate-chip cookie
the cannoli shell, and then I
add the cannoli filling on top.
My baking style is
from my background,
being Italian,
and kind of mix it in
with traditional
American desserts.
First thing I'm doing
is starting my dough.
Put the flour,
I got to put the eggs,
the chocolate chips
into the mixture. Get that done.
This is when it gets
a little messy.
I just throw it on a cookie
sheet so it's pretty much even,
but in the end
I want to take a cookie cutter
and start punching
the holes in there
and get perfect circles
of cookie.
Bada-bing, bada-boom.
Okay.
So, the next thing I do is
start the chocolate-stout sauce.
Stout, it has
a thicker consistency to it,
so I reduce it a little bit
so some of the alcohol content
is gone,
and it will create
rich caramel notes.
All right, let's see here.
Got to melt some chocolate.
So, I took the stout,
and I mixed it in
with some melted milk chocolate
to make, like,
a nice, thick, creamy sauce.
BUDDY:
I think Anthony is my baker.
He is using the stout
for his ganache.
It's malty and rich.
It's going to bring out
the flavor of that chocolate.
What a pro move.
DAMARIS: But he's not putting
enough liquid in there.
I'm afraid
that once it cools down,
that's just going to
turn back into hard chocolate.
Faker move!
I am way too little.
I am 5'3" on a good day.
Behind your back, man.
I'm small and fearless,
and great things come
in small packages.
Today, I'm making a chocolate
walnut stout cookie
with a Mexican hot chocolate.
ANTHONY: You good?
You in control?
Yeah, you should ask your mom.
[ Laughter ]
Zing!
My competitive edge
comes from growing up,
playing ice hockey
with the boys.
[ Deep voice ] If you're
in my way, you'll go down.
Oh, I'm in the zone right now.
My style of baking
plays on flavors
from when you were a child.
First thing I do
is grab walnuts,
and I put them
in a pot full of stout.
Stout is a dark, heavy beer
that has these
really high toast notes,
so it's going to enhance
the chocolate flavor
and the nuts, as well.
Drunken nuts are something
that people
don't typically do at home,
especially because when you bake
a nut, it gets really hard.
So, by moistening them,
you get the flavor,
but you also get this
beautiful, soft texture.
That is a baker.
For the cookie batter,
I use melted butter
with both white and brown sugar
and mini chocolate chips
so you can get as many
little baby chocolate chips
into any bite as you could.
Ann Marie is using an
ice-cream scoop to get uniform,
consistent cookies -
absolute pro move.
Big whoopty-doo.
She used an ice cream scoop.
And she's using
a really small one,
which is a total faker move
because that's going to be a
tiny, teeny-tiny, little cookie.
Yeah, they're little,
but she's giving me
hot chocolate to dunk it in.
She's making chocolate-chip
croutons, all right?
That's right - Size matters.
I'm going to throw it
in the oven
until it's GBD -
golden-brown delicious.
I would describe myself
as always optimistic.
Here we go!
I was born and raised in Israel.
Four years ago,
I moved to the States.
Yep!
My culinary style is combine
all the knowledge
that I have from Israel
with my own twist.
And today, I will make
a chocolate-chip ginger cookie,
with tahini and fig jam.
Okay, wonderful.
First thing that I need to do
is start to cream butter,
sugar, and the tahini together.
Yummy in my tummy.
Tahini is a sesame paste
from Israel,
and it can give the batter
a bit more richness
and sesame flavor.
I love tahini because of
the bitterness, also the fat.
ZAC: But he's going to have to
off set the bitterness
with one of the sweeter beers.
He's using ginger beer.
I hope he reduces it
down though.
Oh, no.
That's a lot of beer.
The faker is going to use
the beer straight-out.
it will totally mess up
the ratio of wet to dry.
If you put too much beer,
then it's going to spread out
too much or be too cakey.
Beer has yeast,
it's going to "poof,"
and then you're going
to have a cookie cake.
Grinding up some ginger.
I use fresh ginger
into the batter
in order to amplify
the flavor of the ginger beer.
That could be a faker move.
The acid from the ginger
could curdle the eggs.
It could but I think Uriya is
using the ginger
to bump up the flavor
of the ginger beer.
In the oven it goes.
Look at that foamy goodness!
I'm, like, quirky, funny.
I just want to leave it here
to be my inspiration when I win!
My personal baking style
is shabby chic.
So, today I'm going to be making
a malt chocolate-chip waffle
cookie with stout syrup.
Show me the money
on this milk stout!
Stout has lactase in it,
which gives it
that milky flavor,
and milky flavors
and chocolate - It is sublime.
Go.
I'm a single mom,
and I didn't really have
a lot of extra money,
but I could always kind of
pull together butter,
sugar, flour, eggs.
So, that's when I got really,
really interested in baking.
Boil, baby! Boil!
The first thing
I do is reduce the stout
so I'm left with this
very precious syrupy sauce.
You are reducing.
All of the moisture
is coming out of you.
I think Karen is trying
to make a syrup for her waffle.
The pro is going to know
that they can concentrate
the flavor
by reducing that beer.
But she's reducing
that stout down so much
that it's going to be
more taffy-like
and less syrup like.
Faker.
This is so delicious.
So, once I have
a very strong reduction,
the next thing I do is put it
into homemade buttery syrup,
which is sugar,
water, and butter.
This syrup is fantastic.
The buttery syrup mellows
out the bitterness of the stout.
It is so good.
Ah, here we go.
The next thing I do
is start the bacon
to be sprinkled on top.
Don't burn the bacon Kar.
I think the saltiness
of the bacon
will balance
the sweetness of the cookies.
Karen is bringing out the bacon.
That, to me,
is a very baker move.
The salt is key.
It's making me nervous
that Karen
doesn't have her dough
together yet.
Time management is a pro move.
Karen knows that she can
make a dough really quickly.
She's my baker.
But is she doing too much?
Oh, we got fire.
Oh, we got fire.
Okay, down to the wire!
Are you a baker or a faker?
- I... - am... - a...
I knew it!
Ohh!
I knew it!
I knew it!
Oh!
That was really cool!
Staying away from you.
It's very nerve-racking to do
dough at the very, very end,
But I feel confident.
Okay.
Ground cinnamon.
Perfect!
My cookies are baking,
and it's time
to start the cannoli filling.
To make a traditional
Italian cannoli,
I need to have
a lot of cinnamon,
I need to make sure
that the flavor comes through.
Folding it.
Folding it.
My cannoli filling
is good to go.
I put it on the side,
and then I go check
on my cookies in the oven -
not quite done.
Winning this competition
would be huge for me.
I want to buy a house and start
living that American dream.
Finally, I think I might
have something going on here.
My cookies are exactly
where I want them to be.
So, I take
my round cookie cutters,
and I just start popping
the cookies on there.
Anthony is using
a ring mold to cut out
perfectly baked cookies
from the center
so we're going to get ooey,
and we're going to get gooey.
Yep, that's a pro.
That's a baker baby!
I don't know about that.
Now I'm getting all of my dry
together for a hot cocoa.
The cookies are in the oven,
so I just start making
all the hot-chocolate mix.
It's cocoa powder,
both powdered sugar
and granulated sugar,
and powdered milk.
Chili powder for
a little bit of heat.
Cinnamon will help give it
a little bit of depth, as well.
My mother is Latina,
so she would always make
a spiced Mexican hot chocolate.
So, automatically, it
just brings me back to my roots,
back to my family, and family
is always a winner in my book.
So, hopefully,
I can win with this dish.
So, my mom will be super happy.
To finish off the hot chocolate,
I use stout
that I soaked the nuts in
so that everything
holds together.
Ann Marie - I think that she's
using the beer really well,
and she put the beer
into the batter
and with the milk, too.
Baker, y'all.
The beer is carbonated. It will
totally mess up the milk.
Yeah, but that malty
kind of sweet notes of a stout
are going to pair perfectly
with hot chocolate.
Okay, figs.
I'm making a fig jam
to bring a little acidity
to counteract with the sweetness
of the cookies.
Take the stem out. Nobody wants
to get it into their teeth.
My wife and I used to eat figs
fresh out of the tree
growing all over Israel,
and I love it.
A little bit of water.
I got married six months ago.
I would like to win the money
in order to take my lovely wife
to a honeymoon.
Oh, wow.
The figs, they're a little bit
on the sour side,
so I use a little ginger beer
to add a little bit
more sweetness.
Uriya is using the ginger beer
to make a fresh fig compote.
That's so smart.
It's not in the cookie.
ZAC: Not incorporating the figs
to this cookie is a faker move.
A baker is going to incorporate
all the elements into one thing.
Maybe he's making
a sandwich cookie.
Wonderful.
I'm making some love
in my bowl here!
The syrup is done.
Now I have to make
the waffle batter.
Beer has malt, so instead
of using just chocolate chips,
I've incorporated
some malted milk balls in here.
It's delicious.
Because I'm going to be
making this in a waffle iron,
you can't just put
regular dough in there.
These are too loose,
so I'm going to tighten them up.
I'm adding some flour
because I need it to be thicker
so it holds together.
There we go.
Getting ready
to start me cookies.
URIYA: Karen?
What?
Did you put
the cookies in the oven?
Don't you worry
about my cookies.
You're so funny!
She's doing it in a waffle iron.
That is a baker, all right?!
She is saying, "No oven for me.
I'm going to bake it
in a totally innovative way."
It's going to maximize
the surface area of the cookie
and give us
a really crunchy exterior
and a nice, supple interior.
Do y'all not have an issue
with it being a waffle
when it's a cookie challenge?
She's thinking outside
of the scoop, all right?
If it has the texture
of a waffle,
I'm going to have a problem.
Two minutes left!
No!
All right, last check-in -
two bakers?
Anthony and Karen.
Karen is thinking outside
of a round cookie.
That is such a pro move.
And Anthony is making a crumble
out of the scraps
of the cookies.
He's reusing
every part of that batter.
That's such a baker move.
I'm on that island.
That's the happy island
of bakers.
That's the baker island.
Damaris, your two bakers?
My two bakers are Ann Marie...
And...?
...and Uriya!
He has a strong POV,
using ingredients from Israel.
I love tahini,
and figs are one of
the most beautiful things
you can eat.
Ooh.
Uriya is a baker.
Ann Marie understands
how to manipulate beer
in this challenge.
Okay, down to the wire!
10... 9...
8... 7...
6... 5...
4... 3...
2... 1!
Stop your work!
That's it.
BUDDY:
Put your cookies down!
I know that my waffles and
syrup and bacon are delicious.
I am praying that the judges
think it is, too.
So, bakers and fakers
I gave you 45 minutes
to make chocolate-chip cookies
using beer.
Now it's time
to face the judges.
And remember -
one of you is going home.
Anthony, what did you prepare?
ANTHONY: I made a deconstructed
chocolate-chip cannoli.
The beer is mixed in
with the chocolate stout sauce.
What you did with the cookie
was genius.
You gave us
that chewy center - perfect.
Chocolate-stout ganache
is delicious,
and the stout
plays off of the richness
of the chocolate really well.
But the cannoli cream
was unsuccessful for me.
I think you over whipped it,
so the texture
was not pleasurable.
Anthony this is
richly delicious.
Thank you.
Gooey, delicious, chewy cookie.
You were really smart
to cut them out.
The cannoli cream, to me,
is very cinnamon forward.
And so, for me,
that cinnamon flavor
is washing out the flavor
of my beer.
Okay, food for thought.
Thank you.
Ann Marie,
what did you make for us?
I made a chocolate-stout
walnut cookie
with a Mexican hot chocolate.
I soaked the walnuts
in the stout.
It's also in
the hot chocolate mix
as well as in the cookie itself.
ZAC: The crispiness
of the cookie was phenomenal.
The stout perfumes
it throughout.
It was really a very intense
cookie experience.
But I would have
liked the cookie
to have been a little bit larger
so I got a more gooey center.
So, Ann Marie,
the warmth from the walnuts
where they were soaked
in that stout is just lovely.
The uniformity of the color,
the uniformity of the size,
like, they're perfect.
But they could have been
in the oven slightly less time
because they're
a little bit dry.
Your hot chocolate,
I could use it to be
just a tad more
on the bitter notes
to kind of elevate the
flavor of that stout. Got it.
Uriya, tell us what you did.
URIYA: I made a chocolate-chip
ginger cookie with fig jam.
I've used ginger beer inside
the cookie and inside the jam.
DAMARIS:
Uriya, your cookie is good.
The warmth and the nuttiness
from that tahini is superb.
Thank you.
And these figs are tender,
they're succulent.
You can taste that ginger beer
in there.
I loved them.
I do not love that you
put this jam on the side.
It doesn't make a lot of sense
to have it in a spoon
with the cookie.
It makes it seem
like it's disjointed.
Okay.
I love that you took
the chocolate-chip cookie
on vacation -
Laying out somewhere
in the Mediterranean,
chilling with the figs.
That tahini actually
makes the edges crispy.
However,
the texture of the cookie
a little bit cakey,
a little bit dry.
It's not chewy on the inside,
but that's the way
the cookie crumbles.
Literally.
Karen, tell us
what you prepared.
KAREN: Today, I prepared
a malted chocolate-chip
waffle cookie
with stout syrup.
The stout is in the syrup.
This is a genius use
of a chocolate-chip cookie.
The waffle iron
maximizes the surface area
so you get a lot
more of the crunchy outside,
and then the inside
still stays soft.
The one thing that I think
is missing here is the salinity.
It needs a little crunch
from salt
to break up all the sweetness.
Karen I think that texture
of your waffle cookie
is outstanding.
It's crunchy, the inside
is nice and gooey.
It is perfectly seasoned
with stout.
But the malt
is not necessary here.
You have the stout,
and you have bacon,
and you have chocolate,
and then you're adding in malt.
It's another heavy flavor.
You know what Karen?
I didn't get any bacon on mine.
[ Gasps ]
I'm going to give you a bacon
bite and see if you like it.
That's, like, perfection.
That's everything
I want in life.
That salt, the crispiness
of the bacon,
that's what was missing
from my dish,
but I didn't get the bacon.
I'm sorry.
Great job to all
four of you guys.
This is going to be
a tough decision for the judges.
KAREN: Zach's waffle doesn't
have any bacon on it.
I'm holding my breath right now.
If I don't make it past the
first round, I would be crushed.
Bakers and fakers,
I gave you 45 minutes
to make chocolate-chip cookies
using beer.
You've already faced the judges.
Now it's time to see who won.
Who's going home,
and who that person really is.
So, Damaris please tell us
who was the winner of the round?
The winner of the round is...
...Karen.
[ Applause ]
Good job.
Karen, your use
of the waffle iron
to accentuate everything we love
about a chocolate-chip cookie
put you across the finish line,
even without the bacon.
Thank you.
Zach tell us who made
the second-best
chocolate-chip cookies today.
Our second-favorite
chocolate-chip cookies
were made by...
...Ann Marie.
Dope!
Oh that's exciting.
Ann Marie, you're safe.
Thank you.
Good job.
All right, judges, we're down
to the bottom-two cookies.
Damaris, please tell us
who is moving on to Round 2.
The person moving on
to round two is...
...Anthony.
Thank you.
BUDDY: Congratulations.
Unfortunately, Uriya,
that means you're eliminated.
But before you go,
please tell us -
Are you a baker or a faker?
I... am... a...
baker.
Ohhhh! I knew it!
I knew it! I knew it!
This girl knew it, right here.
So smart.
So creative, too.
Uriya, where are you a baker?
I'm a pastry chef in Square 1682
in Philadelphia.
I studied culinary school
in Israel,
and I moved to the United States
in order to continue
and study and fulfill my dream.
At Square 1682,
I'm doing the desserts line,
à la carte menu,
banquets, weddings.
Getting paid to bake
and to create what I love
is a dream come true,
and I couldn't
ask anything else.
All right, we know there is
one baker and two fakers left.
And in this round,
I'm going to give you
the freedom to bake
whatever you like.
Nice.
Dope.
This is great.
But...
you guys have
to include one thing.
Gosh.
Always something.
...fresh herbs!
Oh, my gosh!
What?!
Come on.
Everybody loves fresh herbs.
What are you talking about?
[ Laughs ]
We got tarragon,
sage, thyme, rosemary...
All right.
...and lavender.
KAREN:
Herbs can be tricky.
Some of them are very,
very potent, pungent,
so it's kind of tough.
You have to be very careful to
balance things out with herbs.
You guys got 45 minutes
to bake your best
incorporating
one of these fresh herbs.
You got it?
Got it.
You sure?
We got it!
Get baking!
All right, let's get it.
Fresh herbs - What do you think?
The real challenge with
fresh herbs is using restraint.
The baker is going to know
how to extract
the maximum flavor
out of the herb.
The fakers are just gonna
throw the herb into something
and hope for the best.
Rosemary.
Which herb would a baker choose?
I'd say a baker is going
to choose a thyme.
I've got thyme for you baby!
Lemon and thyme -
perfect combination.
The lemon is going to
really compliment
the earthiness of the thyme.
Coming in for a soft landing!
The faker is going
to use rosemary.
It has a really piney flavor.
Too much rosemary,
and it's going to taste like
we're eating a Christmas tree.
Well, all right,
let's see what they do.
North Carolina,
how you doing down there?
All gravy, baby.
All right.
ANN MARIE: I am going to make
a smoked blackberry mousse
with a sticky chestnut
and cocoa nib crumble.
♪♪ So many berries ♪♪
I grew up in the South.
Spent a lot of time
sitting by a campfire
smoking meat, berries, anything.
This ain't my first rodeo
(roh-day-oh).
I'm going to smoke
the blackberries
with rosemary sprigs,
so you get that piney earthiness
from the rosemary
into the blackberries.
All right, this is a pain
in the [beep]
So, I build a smoker
out of hotel pans,
put it over the burner.
That's not hot or anything.
ANTHONY:
What's going on over here?
It looks like you're
about to set this place on fire.
In the South,
we smoke everything.
Wow.
Ann Marie is smoking her
blackberries with the rosemary
to add in
another savory element.
Absolute baker move.
Yeah, but look -
Ann Marie's smoke
is looking a little bit
out of control.
Like, are we actually
going to be able
to taste the herbs
or just the smoke?
She's a faker.
ANN MARIE:
Smells like a campfire.
This is awesome.
Whoo!
After I get the blackberries
in the smoker,
I start making the mousse.
I heat up my creams with
a little bit of vanilla beans
to add that sweetness.
Come on.
Add in the eggs and then
get everything mixed together
and strained out
and put into the freezer
as long as possible
to cool it down.
And we're just kind of
winging it as we go.
ANTHONY: Here we go.
Round 1,
I pulled through
by the skin of my teeth,
and Round 2,
I don't want to play it safe,
so I'm taking a risk.
During my big Italian feast
and holidays,
I remember always having some
type of soufflé on the table.
I have an idea to do
a lemon rosemary soufflé
with a graham-cracker truffle
and a fresh raspberry puree.
Oh my gosh.
A soufflé in 45 minutes?
Yes, ma'am.
So, a soufflé is
just eggs and sugar,
but it's really risky
because the whole thing
can just collapse.
I'm cray-cray.
The soufflé
makes me really nervous.
It's really easy
to knock the air
out of those egg whites,
and then you're going to get
a lemon pancake.
So, I start my soufflé mixture.
I throw my egg yokes in
with some sugar
along with some fresh lemons.
Chop up the rosemary very finely
to kind of infuse my soufflé
because I know rosemary
goes really well with lemon.
Little goes a long way.
Mix it up and throw it
on the double boiler.
Continue to whisk that
so it gets a little thick.
Come on!
You got to get
a little thicker than that.
I take my egg whites
and sugar...
Come on. Stiff peaks.
...I mix it together with egg
yokes and lemon and rosemary...
Okay.
...and I folded it in.
And we're folding.
And we're folding.
Put that into my ramekins,
and I put some hot water
into the pan to do water bath.
The water bath actually creates
an even temperature
with the soufflé
so it's all baked
at a consistent temp.
The water bath is going to make
that soufflé rise
at the same rate.
That's the baker move.
Going in.
Winner, winner, chicken dinner!
I won the first round
by being creative.
Eggies are going to get whipped!
So, for Round 2,
I've got to stick to my guns.
By that I mean bake something
quirky and creative.
Hello, Karen.
What are you making?
A crepe with goat cheese
and a lemon sauce.
I'm using thyme in the recipe.
Are you inspired by breakfast?
Waffles, crepes.
[ Both laugh ]
No, I'm inspired by my heritage!
I'm Jewish,
so it was like a blintz!
My parents were kosher, and we
ate blintz's all the time.
So, this is a twist
on an original family recipe,
and it's absolutely delicious.
Smoothie!
The first thing I do
is make the crepe batter
because you have to be
very careful
not to make it like bubble gum.
This prevents lumps.
Let's look at my girl Karen.
So, she's making a crepe batter.
Would you make a crepe batter
with this amount of time?
It would not rest.
Yeah, absolutely.
Oh, I would not.
Make the batter thin enough,
you don't work
the gluten too much,
you can do it
right out of the blender.
Total baker!
All right.
Crepes are a little
temperamental.
Crepe batter can get overworked,
so you have to be very careful
when you cook them.
Son of my gun!
I'm having a little trouble
with a few of them.
Try this again!
But finally, they're exactly
the way they should be.
These are so thin and beautiful.
Thank you!
Whoo!
They're perfect.
ANTHONY:
So, open up the oven,
see how my soufflé cups
are doing.
Got to rise. Rise.
But the oven is not getting hot
fast enough.
Come on.
I'm a little worried
about our boy Anthony.
The soufflés might not rise.
I don't know what
to do at this point.
Come on, soufflé.
You got to rise. Rise.
My soufflé cups they're not
getting to where I need to be.
I don't know what to do
at this point.
I'm going to take this out.
Thank God I remember
the convection oven...
He's walking with his soufflés.
Is he going for the convy oven?
You guys.
...where I should get
a perfect, even temperature.
Brilliant move.
He knew the oven was not
getting hot enough.
The baker that he is said,
"I'm going to go
into that convy oven.
I'm just going to blast the heat
and hope they rise."
In what world is it
a brilliant move
to pull soufflés
out of an oven halfway baked.
What's he going to do
if it falls? Anthony is a faker.
I'm, like, smooth sailing
right now, guys,
so if you need help -
I mean I'm probably
not going to help you,
but still you can ask me.
ANN MARIE: Once I take the cream
out of the freezer,
I take some of the blackberries
out of the smoker
and I puree them
with a stick blender,
and it's definitely a hot mess.
I just got puree
all over my face.
It looks like
I just committed a murder.
And I put the strained puree
into the mousse.
It will give it
that smoky rosemary flavor.
Next up...
Heavy cream!
...I start whipping up
a whipped cream
and mix it with the mousse
in order to give it
that nice, creamy consistency.
Here's what's saying
faker about Ann Marie.
Her whipped cream
is a little bit over whipped.
'Cause when you over whip cream,
you know what you get?
Butter.
Butter.
Ooh! Oh! Oh!
That's not going to break down.
DAMARIS:
No, that's the way you do it!
It's very smart.
She's taking
a very tight whipped cream
and whisking it
into a really loose mixture.
She knows that
that mixture is too loose,
so she had to go
a little bit harder
on her whipped cream.
Yo, we're gravy.
♪♪ And that's what
a baker does ♪♪
♪♪ And that's what
a baker does ♪♪
Come on!
I want to make
some sticky chestnuts.
So, I chop up
a bunch of these chestnuts,
and I cook them in honey,
some coconut,
and rosemary, as well.
That will get that crunch
that the dessert needs.
I feel really,
really confident right now.
My mom taught me
not to be a quitter.
I really want to win
this competition
so I can take my parents
on a well-needed vacation.
They're my biggest fans, and
I just want to make them proud.
All right.
Now, we wait.
Graham cracker.
This is it.
So, I just don't want to serve
up a soufflé in a ramekin,
give it to the judges,
and call it a day.
I need something else.
I'm going to make
a graham-cracker truffle
to add a little bit of crunch...
Raspberries. Raspberries.
Raspberries.
...and a raspberry puree...
Raspberries.
Perfect.
...just to give it
a little bit more sweetness.
So, I start crushing
the raspberries,
and then I strain it.
Come on.
Got to get these seeds out.
Then I throw some graham
crackers in a food processor.
I add some fresh lemon zest,
along with some melted butter
just to give it a little bit
more of a rich taste.
Adding that graham-cracker
crunch to his soufflé
is a great textural element.
My paisan is a pro.
So, open up the oven and pray
and cross my fingers
and hope
that my soufflé is done.
All right.
Bada-bing, bada-boom.
Thank God they're perfect.
They didn't drop.
No, they're holding.
ANTHONY: I want to win this
so bad right now.
I want a house
down on the Jersey Shore.
Whoo!
This takes a lot out of you,
right? Oh, my God.
How do I love you?
Let me count the ways.
For my cheese filling,
I use Humboldt fog...
This creamy goodness.
...which is savory,
aged goat cheese...
Whoo-hoo!
...and cream cheese.
This is how
I take my frustrations out.
Oh, my God!
Take that.
Both sweet cheeses,
they go great with the floral-y,
lemony, thyme.
If there's any stems in here,
I will get called on that.
The next thing I do
is build my crepe.
I fold it up
and sprinkle it with thyme.
Time for thyme.
And I egg wash the entire thing
so that when I put it in
the oven it gets a golden-brown.
Bingo!
After my crepes are done...
All right, you lemons,
you, let's go.
...I have to get
my lemon sauce going.
We're going to turn
this up a little bit.
That lemon sauce
can't get too hot
or you can get a very thick,
almost tar-like substance.
Cool, you son of a gun.
My boys love this dish.
Come to me,
my little lemon sauce!
They're 24 and 21.
They're going to fly the coup
really soon.
Winning would just provide
the funding
to do one last family trip
and spend that quality time
together.
Fantastic!
All right, guys, hurry up.
Two minutes left!
Zac, who's the baker?
You know, I'm going with Karen.
[ Gasps ]
Aah!
She's risky, she's thinking
outside the box.
Combining the goat cheese
with the cream cheese,
that's going to make almost like
a no-bake cheesecake
that's going to be
texturally binding.
As wacky and out there
as Karen is...
Make some time with my thyme.
...she's the baker.
Damaris, who's the baker?
I'm still going
to go with Ann Marie.
You're smoked.
I love the flavor
of smoked in dessert.
She's taken those blackberries,
she's pureeing them,
and adding that to her cream.
At this point, her technique is
the most creative
that we've seen.
She's a typical faker
trying to do too much.
I'm going with Anthony
as the baker.
I said it in Round 1,
I'm saying it in Round 2.
The guy is making a soufflé.
The way he switched ovens
'cause he wasn't getting
what he wanted -
My home boy is a pro.
ANTHONY: Whoo!
10... 9...
Come on!
...8... 7...
6... 5...
4... 3...
2... 1!
Stop your work!
ANTHONY: Ooh.
Oh, my God.
Good job, guys.
Whoo-hoo!
I love this dish.
It's me on a plate.
I nailed this one.
I'm going to win.
I'm a winner!
Are you a baker,
or are you a faker?
- I... - am... - a...
DAMARIS: Ohh!
What?!
I knew it!
Baker and fakers,
I gave you 45 minutes
to create a delicious plate
using herbs.
Now it's time
to face the judges.
Ann Marie, what did you
prepare for us?
ANN MARIE: I made a rosemary-
smoked blackberry mousse.
I smoked the blackberries
with the rosemary.
It's also in the sticky
chestnuts right on top.
DAMARIS:
The mousse is exactly like
when you bit into
a really charred marshmallow.
It's loose.
I'm wanting to sink into myself.
The smoke on the mousse
is the absolute
perfect amount of smoke.
But the smoked blackberries,
it becomes overkill.
This chestnut cocoa nib
situation on top
is texturally phenomenal.
Thank you.
It's crunchy, it's chewy,
it's a perfect compliment
to the mousse.
The one thing that I'm missing
is the rosemary.
I get a lot of the smoke.
I'm missing
some of that pineness.
Just that little bit of bite
that rosemary brings,
that really would have
brought this home.
Anthony.
Yeah, what's up bud?
What'd you make for us?
A lemon rosemary soufflé
with a graham-cracker truffle
and a raspberry puree.
I infused the soufflé
with the rosemary,
and then I strained
the rosemary out.
You took a risk on the soufflé,
and I have to say...
you frickin' nailed it!
Thank you.
Home run.
The texture of the soufflé,
I mean it's like
eating a lemon cloud.
It disappears in your mouth.
It's like cotton candy.
However, I would love
if this graham-cracker truffle
were at the bottom
of my soufflé dish
because it's a little
hard to eat.
DAMARIS: Anthony, I think that
your graham-cracker truffle
is genius - so buttery,
you have that
graham-cracker taste.
But I don't need
the raspberry sauce.
Okay.
Because it is so bright
and so tart, it's competing with
and hiding your rosemary
and lemon in the soufflé.
Karen?
I prepared a dessert crepe
with goat cheese,
thyme, and lemon cream.
Thyme is in the crepe,
and it's also on top.
I was worried.
I thought it was going to be
overpoweringly thyme-y,
but it's not, it's great.
It's really balanced.
But the problem that I'm having
is that there's a lot of stems.
These are very, very woody
and not pleasant at all.
But that lemon cream
is delicious.
It really elevates the flavor
of thyme and the crepe,
I was concerned because
you didn't let the batter rest,
but I was wrong.
The texture is beautiful.
It's fluffy, it's delicate,
I'm absolutely impressed.
Wow. Thank you.
ZAC:
Karen, the thyme played well
with all of the other
flavors going well.
And the textural difference
of that aged goat cheese
with the creaminess
of the fresh goat cheese
is fantastic.
You know your way
around a cheese board.
[ Chuckling ]
Thank you.
But I wish you had done more
with our nuts.
Had you candied them,
they would have given
a little bit more sweetness
to this very savory dessert.
Well, thank you, Karen.
Great job to you, and to all.
You guys all did an amazing job.
Now, if you can
give us some time,
the judges will deliberate.
ANTHONY:
I screwed up big time here.
The judges are shooting me down,
telling me they can't taste
the rosemary in my soufflé.
I'm done.
KAREN: I want to win
this challenge so badly.
There's nothing
that would make me happier
than going on a family trip.
I'm really nervous.
My dish,
it was a little too smoky,
but I feel like everybody
has a chance at this point.
In this envelope,
I got the name of the winner.
But before I tell you who won,
I think it's only fair you
tell us who you really are.
Tell us Karen - Are you
a baker, or are you a faker?
I... am... a...
Tell us Karen - Are you
a baker, or are you a faker?
I... am... a...
faker!
What?!
I knew it!
What?!
Karen, what do you do
for a living?
I'm a sales manager for a hotel
and conference center.
Sure!
What?
Like you do!
Of course she is.
[ Laughs ]
I'm a senior sales manager
for a hotel
and conference center.
We have everything on site,
and I find customers and clients
that are a good fit
for what we have.
And I love to nurture
the other members of my team,
and I've even
been known to bake at work.
When I'm in the kitchen,
I am in my happy place.
[ Laughs ]
So, now we know we have one
baker and one faker remaining.
Phew!
Ann Marie, tell us - Are you
a baker, or are you a faker?
I... am... a...
baker.
I knew it!
Ooh!
Where are you a baker?
I am the executive pastry chef
at Heirloom Restaurant
in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Oh, cool.
Southern girl.
At Heirloom, we like to say
our little slogan is
"Locally sourced,
globally inspired."
So, everything comes from
the state of North Carolina.
We do a six-course tasting menu.
I make a brand-new dessert
every single day.
Popcorn, ginger snaps,
and gravy.
My favorite part
of being a pastry chef
is that I can do
whatever I want.
I love being creative
and kind of making things
that people
don't normally think about.
Dude, I love it - love it.
Well, Anthony for the record,
are you a baker,
or are you a faker?
I'm a faker.
I'm actually a bartender
at the Jersey Shore.
Ohh!
What?!
What?!
Where does
the soufflé come from?!
Wait a second.
I know that you're not
making soufflés in Seaside.
Bartending at the Jersey Shore
is so much fun.
There's huge crowds.
It's normal for me to have a bar
with two or three people deep.
Oh that's so pretty.
Looks like the ocean.
Some of the things that I do
at my bartending job,
like presentation of my drinks,
definitely goes into my baking.
So, whether I'm mixing a martini
or making a cookie,
I kind of have
that same sleek, modern look.
I love to bake and just
kind of make people happy.
These are really good, Ant.
When I present it to somebody,
and I see them smile,
that kind of makes me realize,
"Okay, I want to go back
and bake some more."
BUDDY: So, now that we know
who you are,
it's my turn
to reveal the winner.
That means, Anne Marie, if you
win, you take home $10,000.
Anthony or Karen,
you take home $15,000.
And... the winner is...
...Anthony!
Shut the hell up!
Are you kidding me right now?
Are you kidding me right now?!
Get out of here! No way!
Oh, my God. I'm feeling
so proud of myself.
I just beat out
two professional bakers
and just won $15,000.
Oh, my God, guys!
I definitely want
to put that towards a house
down in the Jersey Shore area.
I really feel like good things
are going to come.
All three of you should
be proud of your dishes.
Amen.
We have never
fought like this before.
But Anthony,
you took it over the top
with your technique.
Thank you so much.
Oh my God! 15 grand!
Everything I know, I actually
learned from you, Buddy.
I watched you on TV for years,
and you're the reason
why I'm here tonight.
Wow.
That's really sweet.
Well, that's very inspiring.
Thank you.
I still can't
believe you faked me out.
Thank you so much, Buddy!