Baking It (2021–…): Season 1, Episode 2 - Baking Memories - full transcript
- Hi!
- Hello.
- Whoo!
- Yes!
- Oh, hello bakers.
Welcome back to our cozy cabin
inside a snow globe.
- We have some big news
for you today.
You're only doing
one challenge.
But it's the biggest one yet.
- Oh, my God.
- It's your first--
get ready for it...
Big Ol' Bake.
- You'll be baking
a three-tiered cake
inspired by Charles Dickens'
"A Christmas Carol."
- The beloved holiday tale
of three time-traveling ghosts
who force an old man
to buy a goose
for his employee's injured son.
- One tier of your cake
will represent
memories of holidays past.
- Another tier
will represent the present.
- And the third tier
will represent your future,
which could be something
you're planning
or maybe it's something
that could happen
in an alternate timeline.
- Ooh!
Multiverse stuff
is really hot right now.
- It's sizzling, Maya.
And because of that...
- Sizzling.
- I'm thinking,
at some point, maybe we could
incorporate some of that
multiversity into this show.
- Look what you did there.
- Right?
- So, should we get this
Big Ol' Bake started?
Yeah!
- You want to take this one?
- Abso-tootly.
Bakers, let's start those
Big Ol' Bakes.
- Whoo!
- I know what to do.
Could really listen
to you say that all day.
- I'm gonna start
with the coconut.
- Six, eight, and ten--
two of each.
I love a Big Ol' Bake.
I love doing tiered cakes.
So I feel pretty good.
I feel pretty confident
in what we're gonna create.
I'm gonna need 2 1/2 cups
of cake flour.
- What we're gonna
do is three tiers.
You got the fondant,
I got the inside.
- Yeah, you keep
that brooch clean.
- Whoo.
- We're not even married
to Big Ol' Bake as the name.
It could be any number
of things, right?
- Really?
- It could be Bake-tacular
or Bakes-calibur.
Or...
- Oh, that's not bad.
- I don't know, maybe,
like, Master Bakers.
- No.
- No?
Just feel like it'd be--
it's catchy to me.
- Please don't.
- I don't know why.
Hey, Master Bakers,
get master baking!
- Absolutely not.
- No, okay.
- Joelle and Jordan,
you have two batters going!
Yes.
- That's twin life.
- We only have one chance
to impress the grannies today,
and we are not cake...
People.
- Yeah.
- This is making me so...
Nervous.
- What are you guys making,
Gerard and Shawn?
- We are making
a three-tiered cake.
- Oh, okay, descriptive.
- We're celebrating
more than one--
- We're celebrating many,
many holidays.
- More than one holiday.
- Oh, I love it.
- Hello, Gerard and Shawn.
- Hey.
What's up, guys?
- Tell us about your bake.
- After Christmas every year,
for the next seven days,
we actually celebrate
an African American tradition--
Kwanzaa.
We exchange gifts every day,
and for seven days,
we celebrate each of the seven
principles of Kwanzaa--
And purpose.
And cooperative economics.
Please don't hold me to it
if I got those out of order.
And I'm not saying it
in Swahili.
- Which of the principles
would you say
resonate with you the most?
- Unity.
- Yeah.
- Cake will be colored red,
black, and green,
which are the traditional
colors of Kwanzaa.
And there's gonna
be one coconut layer,
representing his Caribbean background,
a layer with pecans
that represents
my Southern background,
and the top layer will be rum.
The bottom layer will
represent the past,
the struggles that we've
gone through in this country
as a people.
Present is gonna
be the next layer,
representing everything
we're going through
right now--the struggle
for equality, rights,
everything like that.
- Mm-hmm.
- And the green at the top
is obviously our future--
everything we work for,
we build for, we bake for,
You know, so--
- Yeah.
- Our hope is
that people learn something
about what Kwanzaa is
and what it's about.
It's not just a Black holiday.
It doesn't have to be.
- Yeah.
- And it's something that will,
you know,
help enrich every family.
It's about community.
Just move away from hate
and move towards love.
It's just so much easier.
- It's a deep cake.
- Yeah, it's a deep cake.
- It's a deep cake.
- It's a very deep cake.
- Right, right, right.
- But it's also delicious.
So you know, let's not,
you know, sit there
and cry while we eat,
you know what I'm saying?
- Right, we don't want to take
away from the deliciousness.
- Right, exactly.
- Right?
- Exactly.
- I do that when I--
when I bake.
I--
- Is that what you do?
You make sure it crumbles
upon touch?
- Yes.
- It bunches and crumbles.
- Totally.
- I could tell.
- You could tell, right?
- I could tell.
- Professional, professional.
- Professional.
- Tom, Steve, you guys
are so quiet back here.
- I know, we are.
- What's going on?
- I'm making a fondant bow
for the top of my gift.
Think I'm starting--
I'm gonna start over on this.
Not good.
Can't dry it at all first.
It just cracked.
Fondant is something that we're
working with in this challenge
that we're not accustomed
to working with.
- We're not artists.
- No.
- We're not cake bakers.
- We are not artists.
- So we're gonna go as simple
as we can,
and then we're just gonna--
we're gonna ride
those three tiers.
- Tom and Steve.
Yeah, Tom and Steve.
- * Tom and Steve *
Tom and Steve.
- Big T.
- How y'all doing today?
- How you doing, Zapato?
- Zapato.
- Zapato's, like,
had a flustery day.
- What's flustering you today?
- Oh, well, I started with--
I'm not a decorator.
I'm a baker and a cook.
- Okay.
- So, you know, and I tried
to make these
little fondant things
for Steve's daughter,
the future Coco O'Leary.
- My wife
is having my third child.
- A girl.
- A little girl.
- I am over the moon about
getting another granddaughter.
Right now, we have six boys
and three girls.
I'm ready
for the fourth little girl.
It's gonna be a joyful time
for us.
We both love that part
of our lives as grandparents.
- So the foundation
of the cake is my mom.
Her favorite cake
is coconut cake.
The center is our
present Christmas,
and it's gonna be red velvet,
representing Santa Claus.
And then the top tier,
it's a birthday cake for Coco.
- She's coming.
- She's coming.
- Remember, we talked about...
- She'll be here between now--
- He's having
another baby soon?
- Yes.
- That's the concept.
- How is this?
Is this fun for you?
- This is great.
- Oh, yeah.
- We also are pretty relaxed,
'cause we're not
baking anything.
How do you feel?
- We feel good.
- We're enjoying
the grandmothers.
That's very much fun for us.
- You seem like you are
enjoying the grandmothers.
- Yes, I really am.
- I poured you
about 900 grams of those.
Oh, thank you.
- Yeah.
It's mass chaos over there.
- I'm gonna do an opera cake
for the bottom.
I'm gonna see
if I can use every bowl
in this entire kitchen today.
- Please don't.
- Wow!
Hey, this is so much better
than the one we have at home.
- We're not finding you toys
when you get home.
- I'm not a baker.
I'm someone who bakes.
I've only ever encountered
three-tiered cakes at weddings.
That's it.
- Certainly never made one.
I'm worried
about it falling over or...
- Yeah.
- Crashing in.
- We just--we don't make
three-tiered cakes.
- Jonah and Patrick, hello.
- Hello.
- How are you guys doing?
- We're okay.
This is a big one.
- Is it a Big Ol' Bake?
- It's a Big Ol' Bake.
- Is that an Irish stout?
- Yeah, Irish stout.
- I was just in Ireland,
and I was taught
how to correctly pour that
in order to get a proper head.
- Oh.
- When you open them,
you're supposed to squeeze
the middle of the can,
and it releases the hounds.
- Wow.
- Do you want to try?
- Sure.
- Okay.
-
Safety.
- I'm glad she didn't go
for the knives.
- So you--
- Oh, God.
Wardrobe.
Maya, wardrobe.
- This is--
- Thank you for helping, Maya.
It's been really
great seeing you.
- Aren't you glad I did that?
- Yes.
It's...
- May I?
- Spreading holiday cheer
everywhere.
- So why the Irish stout?
What are you guys making?
- So, we are making
a three-tiered cake,
holidays past, present,
and future.
The past layer is going to be
sort of a knockoff version
of an opera cake,
because I used
to sing opera professionally.
- Uh-huh.
- When I turned 26,
I started having trouble
with my voice,
and it ended up
that I needed vocal surgery,
and I realized that that wasn't
gonna be a viable
career option.
When you find out
that you can't do the thing
that you want to do anymore,
you think you're nothing.
So to keep myself busy
and to keep myself sane,
I started cooking
and baking every day.
And then the middle tier
is going to be what, Patrick?
- It's gonna be
a chocolate Irish stout cake,
which is representative
of my family.
We often will toast to those
who are not here with us.
Something that...
- Lovely.
- We'd often use to toast
is a Irish stout.
- And top layer is gonna
be a knockoff of tres leches,
'cause ever since we moved
to the Bronx, actually,
our neighbors, Diana and Diana,
give us a tres leches cake
at Christmas.
- Which one's Diana?
- I still don't know, actually.
If you would like...
- I mean, I'm not gonna say no.
-
-
- Cheers.
- Ah, tastes like high school.
- Andy, you're really
into this multiverse stuff.
- Yeah, I know,
but it's in every movie
and TV show right now,
and I watch 'em all.
But the weird thing is there's
another universe where I don't.
- Yeah, that's pretty crazy
to think about.
- Mm-hmm.
- I mean, who would we be
in another universe?
Would we even know each other?
- I--I don't know.
I mean, would we wear scarves?
What kind of hand gestures
would we do?
- Gosh, I guess
there's no way to know.
- Yeah.
It's cool to think about.
- Is it whipped enough,
you think?
Start adding the sugar?
- The butter?
No, I would beat it
a little bit longer.
- Hey, man.
- Yo.
- This is gonna be fantastic.
- Yeah, get those pans good.
- Yeah.
- Oh, wow.
- That's it.
Not--not too much.
- That's it.
- Not more.
- Our concept for our past
is gonna be a pistachio cake,
which is green in color,
representing our relationship.
When we started together,
it was all Christmas-y.
It was all--
- So it was all, like, green...
- Festive and green
- And festive and magical.
- Yeah.
- Um, it would help
if I set a timer, huh?
- Yep.
- Yeah.
Okay, that's in.
That's good.
- Jessica and Stephanie, hi.
- Hi!
- What's that?
- This is meringue.
So we're gonna make some
little meringue mushrooms.
- Beautiful.
- And then also turn it
into buttercream.
- What makes a meringue
a meringue, egg white?
- Yeah.
So this is a Swiss meringue,
so you cook the egg whites
in sugar,
dissolve them on the stove,
and then you whip it up.
Um, you can do
a French meringue.
Italian meringue
is with a sugar syrup,
French meringue is
just sprinkling in sugar.
So there's lots of different
ways that you can do it.
- Let's hear about your cake.
- When we were little kids,
we used to dance
in "The Nutcracker" ballet
together.
- Oh.
- Yeah.
So we decided we're gonna
make a "Nutcracker" cake.
We're gonna incorporate a lot
of nut flavors into that.
- We're not fondant artists,
but we are trying to make
a Nutcracker little face.
- A little face on there.
- Ah.
- And then--
- You're not fond of fondant?
- I don't like to eat it.
- Nice, Dad.
- Mm-hmm.
-
- We are really relying
on this Nutcracker face.
That's our whole
Christmas past.
- Right, if we can't
get the face on the Nutcracker,
that cake isn't
gonna make any sense.
- She was, like,
prima ballerina.
- No.
- Like Clara,
the star of "The Nutcracker."
I was, like,
the most pigeon-toed.
Like, my mom went to
the doctor, and they were like,
"You're either gonna have to
break her hips and put them--
"put her in those,
like, leg braces,
or maybe try ballet."
- Those were the two options?
- Yeah.
- So I'm assuming
you chose ballet?
- I'm going ballet
ten out of ten times.
- Who--I'm just curious
which family's like,
let's break your hips.
- Right, right.
- So pigeon-toed,
every photo of me is like this.
But that taught me a lot,
that you can work
through physical ailments.
And later,
in junior high school,
I was diagnosed
with scoliosis,
and so I had
to wear a back brace.
Junior high school
is hard anyway.
Glasses, braces, frizzy hair.
And so it was
a tough experience.
But it taught me to just,
like--just own it.
It's fun, because we had
one dance together.
- Want to do it?
- Oh, yes.
- Anyway.
- Aww.
- Beautiful.
- I do love that.
'Cause it's the girls holding
their dolls like babies.
- Yeah, it's really sweet.
- Aww.
- What would
be your three-tiered cake,
past, present, future?
- Past is, like, Shakespeare.
- Mm-hmm.
- You know, like the thea-tah.
- Yeah, pounding the boards.
- Pounding the boards.
- Mm-hmm, sure.
- And then present
would be like, I'm a mom.
I got a cool family, you know.
- Mm-hmm.
- And the future
would just be like...
like a ton of plastic surgery.
- That is beautiful.
Good job on that.
- Yeah.
- I want to eat all
these undressed, naked cakes.
- The crumb coat turned out
pretty good.
- Cinnamon is just Christmas
to me.
As soon as I smell cinnamon,
I know it is sometime
after November in the year,
and it just--
it's such a warm flavor.
- Hey, Joelle and Jordan.
- Hi.
- Hey, how are you all?
- Oh, I'm just gonna...
put that down.
- Oh, you got a knuckle rester.
- Wow.
- Oh, yeah,
I guess I did get one.
Yeah, pretty cool.
- Oh, you found one.
- I feel very,
very comfortable.
- Yes.
- Don't let me distract you.
- You should trademark it.
- Bet I could make tens
of dollars.
Yes, yeah.
- Well, hey, you never know.
- Switched, I switched,
and it's just as comfy.
- I'm happy for you.
- Anyway, we're not here
to talk about my new,
great invention
that I'm gonna make tens on.
- We're not?
- No, we want to know
about your wonderful bake.
- We're going past,
present, future.
- We're very--yeah.
- So bottom, middle, top.
And the bottom layer
represents our abuela,
who made a coconut cinnamon
custard for my dad
and his six siblings
when they were growing up.
- Where is your abuela from?
- She's from Puerto Rico.
So we are replicating
that a little bit
with the flavors
in our bottom tier.
And then our middle tier
is our Christmas present.
- We're doing a vanilla almond
cake with a raspberry filling.
And for our future tier cake,
we have a vanilla cake with
a cookies and cream filling
that is decorated
like the world
with a heart and peace sign
made out of candy melts.
- We actually do a lot
of community service work.
We have our own nonprofit.
- You have your own nonprofit?
We do.
- With two of our friends.
- Two of our best friends.
- What's it called?
4 Little Souls, Inc.
- Baking has been a big part
of our community service.
We've done full
baking fundraisers for schools
to provide them
with technology.
- The smallest acts
go such a long way,
and if we all just
do a little bit,
everybody can do their part.
- Absolutely.
- So hopefully at Christmas,
at some point in our lives,
maybe even
in the next lifetime,
we will see world peace,
world hunger,
all that kind of come together.
- That's awesome.
Thank you.
- They're very inspirational
and quite adorable.
- Speaking of inspiration,
how do you think they felt
about my knuckle pillow?
- Not only did they love it,
but I think they're going
to become investors.
- Hot diggity dog.
- Well, hey there, Maya.
- Oh, hello, Andy.
- Hey, Maya, isn't it crazy
that we're both named
after famous holiday reindeer?
- I'm not named
after a reindeer.
Also,
what are you talking about?
- Well,
everyone knows about Rudolph,
the Red-Nosed Reindeer,
but have you heard of Samberg,
the Sand-Eating Reindeer?
- The Sand-Eating Reindeer?
- That's right.
Here, I'll tell you about him.
- That's very scary.
- He turns into foam?
- Oh, well now I just
feel sorry for him.
- Ocean rats?
What are ocean rats?
- They're like rats,
but bigger, and they swim.
- Do you mean otters?
- Huh.
I don't know, maybe?
Whatever it is, he eats them.
- This isn't gonna end
until I sing with you, is it?
- It is not, I appreciate
your understanding.
Two, three, four,
five, six, seven, eight.
- Move that
a little bit closer--
closer to the--
that one.
Yep.
Closer to the middle.
- Right here?
- Yeah, uh-huh.
- We're halfway
through the bake,
through this
Big Ol' Bake challenge.
Our cakes are out of the oven,
and we're starting
to stack them.
Starting to feel good.
Is that how it goes?
I'm realizing that we might
not have used the right pan
for the middle...
Tier.
- Does it go like that?
- I just don't think we have
time to change anything.
The thing is we don't
have quite as much room
around this cake as I thought
we were going to have.
- Yeah.
- Because remember,
that's where the ornaments
were gonna go.
So we could just
switch the layers.
- Yeah, that's fine.
- Hi.
- Hello.
- Oh, hey.
- Grannies!
- This is
the Big Ol' Bake today.
- This is a big challenge.
And it has to represent
their past...
- We're doing a cinnamon cake
to represent our grandmother.
- Present...
- Christmas present is inspired
by Stephanie's tradition
of cutting down
her own Christmas trees.
- Future.
- We can't wait to expand...
- Start our family.
- Like, our family.
- And they also have
to have technique.
- But it's real important
that they still
bring in the holiday.
- The tier I'm working on
is French toast.
That's what we do for
Christmas morning breakfast.
- What's important
in a cake like this...
- What?
- To me, is the crumb.
- The crumb.
- If the cake is too moist,
it's not going to hold up.
- Please, please,
please be careful.
- Even if you put
the supports in,
they're not gonna stay there.
They're just gonna
fall over and flop.
You don't want anything,
you know, half-baked,
like a politician's brain
or something.
- This is moving.
- Put more frosting
under there.
- What would our future be?
Still around, you know?
- Check for the--
this has 20 seconds left.
- Okay.
- Check for the--
the next one.
- Hi, guys.
- Hi, you guys.
- Hello.
- What are you guys doing?
- So we're making
a three-tier cake.
It represents our relationship
through past, present,
and futures.
Our bottom tier is gonna
be pistachio cake.
Green represents,
like, the time
which we started
seeing other.
- Dating,
and it was all Christmas.
- The middle layer--
- It's our love.
And then the top layer
is vanilla.
- That represents our future.
We're planning
to start a family.
- Family together, so...
- So that'll
be our white angel.
- Well, it's fun.
- Well, that's an exciting time
for you guys.
Andy and I are lucky enough to
be parents to amazing children.
- It's true.
- Oh, yeah.
- And I can safely say
it has been the most
positive thing
that's ever happened
in my life,
and changed my life
for the better.
- Mm-hmm.
- I would say having kids
was the best thing
that ever happened to me
until this show.
- Oh!
-
- But now this is like
my real baby.
You know what I mean?
- Yes!
Niyati and Abhi are so in love
and so adorable.
- Do you think
they'll name the baby Future?
- Like, after the singer?
- Mm-hmm.
- For sure.
- I got to grab cinnamon
real quick.
The middle tier represents
our present,
and that's a French toast cake,
which is a cinnamon cake.
Cin-na-mon.
Cin-namon.
And it's gonna
have a fresh strawberry filling
in between those layers.
- Are you gonna dump these
into--onto a cooling rack?
- Yeah.
I feel like I'm behind
on my bake time.
- Hello, Sharon and Mike.
- Hey, y'all.
- Hi.
- Will you tell us
how those cakes signify your...
Past, present,
and future?
- Yeah.
So we are from the South,
so our Southern roots
run pretty deep,
and red velvet
is certainly a staple.
What we're planning to do
for our Christmas past
is a red velvet
cake.
And then our Christmas
future,
we're gonna do
the coconut cream cake
filled with a raspberry compote.
Our future is the coconut cake,
and we did that
because we're in the South,
and we always dream of a white
Christmas, and we never get it.
So we keep hoping every year.
So in the future, maybe we'll
have a white Christmas.
- That sounds lovely.
What would you say
you love most about the South?
- Oh, my gosh.
- Oh, wow.
- I think the slower...
the slower, um, pace.
Well, I used to own a bakery
in Georgia.
Absolutely loved it,
but with that
came a lot of stress,
and we chose for me
to walk away from that
so that I would feel better
physically and mentally.
But I knew that I still would
want to dabble in it,
so we are so excited
to be a part of "Baking It."
- The time I've spent there,
my favorite thing,
probably the honey bourbon.
- The honey bourbon?
- Yeah.
- What part of the South?
- Texas.
- Texas?
We don't really consider
Texas the South.
- Oh.
- Really?
- No, not where we're from.
- Texas--Texas is Texas.
- Texas is on its own.
- Texas is just Texas?
- Exactly.
I'm from the Bay Area,
so I consider
Los Angeles the South.
- As you would, as you would.
-
Hode up.
Do not tawk about Texas.
- You think Texas is the South?
- I have no idea.
- You know the Big Ol' Bake
theme song, right?
- Cakes are good.
Everything is delicious.
- Making caramel again,
'cause that's what I do.
- We are feeling under the gun,
but confident.
'Cause you know what,
confidence is part of
the process.
- I'm a lot less messy today.
- I'm doing it the grandma way,
which means spilling it
on the counter.
- I got a question for you,
ladies.
Do you have
a favorite grandchild?
- Well, my grandchildren
will tell you that it's the--
it's the eldest boy.
Is it true?
No, I don't think it is.
- You don't think?
- Well, maybe.
- Okay, there we go.
- If this goes on television,
I don't want to--
I'm gonna deny it.
- You just said it.
- You just said it.
- Oh,
They're gonna see this.
- Girlfriend, you're busted!
- I'll never hear
the end of this.
Never, ever, ever!
- Big Ol' Bakes
are tough for the bakers,
so we wanted to bring them
a little surprise.
- Hey there, guys.
- Hello.
- Just one more thing.
- Yes.
- Guys, um,
we actually have something
for you.
The mailperson came.
- Yeah.
-
- And we have...
- What?
- A holiday card for you.
- Oh, my gosh.
Can we open it?
- Yeah.
- Absolutely.
- We're just gonna stand here.
- Never you mind.
- Ooh, it's a letter.
- Who's it from?
- Aw, it's from your mom.
"From the time the phone rang,
and I got the news
"that you were available
for adoption...
"To when we took you
to see the movie 'Annie'
"when you were two, and you
sang along in perfect pitch,
I knew that someone special
had come to join our family."
- Aww.
- Yeah.
- "Your talent continued
to grow,
"and it became evident that you
were headed for great things.
"Then you were headed
for vocal cord surgery,
"and it was not successful,
"and your career
as a singer ended.
"You wasted no time and started
baking to fill your time,
"getting better with each bake
as you made plans
for a new future."
It's beautiful.
- We get bonuses if you cry.
That's what we're told.
- Okay.
I'm an easy mark.
- What are you gonna do
with all your tear money, Andy?
- Um, save it.
For my college fund.
- Stop it.
It's a holiday card from
your past, present, or future.
- Stop it right now.
- A holiday card?
- No way.
- Way!
- No way.
- Did we win something?
- Aww, that's my sister!
- This is a thousand percent
from my mother.
I can tell by the handwriting.
- "Dear Gerard and Shawn.
Surprise.
"It's your better halves.
We wanted to let you know
how truly proud
we are of you both."
- "I'm so happy that
the two of you are able
"to work together
on this project,
since you were so close
as children."
- I'm gonna get the Kleenex.
- "No words can describe
how proud we are of you guys.
"Remember, it's the journey
that matters the most,
and not the destination."
- "You both have
worked so hard,
"laughed so much together,
and have put your hearts
and souls into each piece
of this competition."
- "I remember
how you used to love
"having Cupcake War parties
for kids at your bakery,
"and you would get so excited
seeing the kids rush
around the kitchen."
- "We have witnessed your
passion for community service
"and baking to help
serve countless others.
"In a blink of an eye,
our precious big, bright,
"brown-eyed girls have
become intelligent, smart,
"leave-no-stone-unturned,
beautiful women.
"From pattycakes to bakers,
and everything in between,
"you make us so proud
and continuously
bring us so much joy."
This was exactly
what we needed.
We--we're not cake people,
so we knew that this was going
to be a challenge for us.
And this was exactly the push
that we needed
at that right moment
to really just push
across the finish line.
- Yeah, so thank you,
Maya and Andy,
for bringing that to us--
it definitely means a lot.
- "When you brought Patrick
home to meet us,
"it was as if he had
always been there.
He fit in so perfectly."
- "We all love you
and miss you,
"and I know your dad
is looking down at you
"with a smile of pride as you
continue in his footsteps
and embrace his love
of baking."
I'm not gonna do it!
My dad was a baker,
so it's something I got to see.
I got to see my dad actually,
you know,
do these beautiful things
and have this beautiful craft.
And it's one of the things
I miss the most.
- "Keep your fighting spirit
alive and enjoy the moments.
Sending you lots of"--
- Oh, my God, this is so sweet.
Thank you so much.
- "I'm rooting for you
back home.
You've got this.
Love, Leah."
- "Have fun, and enjoy the
special father-son experience.
Love, Gigi."
- Your wife sounds wonderful.
- Oh, she is.
- "So, the two of you,
go for it.
"Do your best and have fun.
I'm proud of both of you.
Love, love, love you."
- It says,
"A candle loses nothing
"by lighting another candle.
"It just sheds more light
and warms more people.
"Keep shedding your light
"and making the world
a better place.
We love you.
Mom."
- I felt like moms were really
represented in these letters.
- Yeah, maybe a little
over-represented, you know?
- You think so?
- Yeah.
I mean,
where were all the dads?
Although, what would
the dad letters even be?
- Mm.
- Just be like,
"Congrats on the baking show.
Text me your Peacock password."
- Yeah.
- Bakers, 15 minutes.
Ready or not,
we're gonna call it.
- Oh, God.
- Oh, my gosh.
- Just get 'em on there.
- Our baking style
is just down to the wire.
- Be there to catch it
if something bad
starts to happen, I guess.
We're using every second.
We're trying to get these cakes
supported and stacked.
- Good job.
- Can you go
on the other side
and tell me
where I should land this.
Everything is riding
on this one cake today.
- I want it to look nice.
I don't want it to fall apart.
I don't want to go up
with two tiers and a "oops."
Good. Perfect.
- Oh, okay.
- And it's stacked.
- It's stacked.
- It's tender cakes--
that bulged.
- We stacked our cakes,
and we're looking at it,
and we both start to notice
it's doing a little--
I don't know--
- I'm just gonna do this.
Let's start with that.
- We'll tell the grannies
to lean the same way.
That's not gonna ha--
that's not--
I think--
Can I do that?
I feel good about doing that.
- Tom and Steve's cake has been
watching a little too much
of "The Princess Bride."
- Tom, that's--that's gonna
live there, I think.
- Sinking into quicksand.
Like--
- Mm-hmm.
- How'd that happen?
- "Incontheivable"
that their cake would sink!
- This is the sinking one.
Incontheivable!
- So this is day two
of our hosting.
- Mm-hmm.
- I feel like day one,
we were a little nervous.
- We were like babies.
- Yeah.
- Like, what is the world?
- Yeah, and now, today...
- We are, like...
- Smashing it much?
- Yep.
- Ugh, God.
- It's all auto-tuned.
- What do you think?
- Yeah, looks good.
- From a distance, he's cute.
From a distance,
it looks better.
And this is where they're--
and their eyes
are probably bad, so...
- It's almost time!
- You're gonna
sprinkle everywhere?
- Yep.
Five.
Four.
Three.
Two.
One.
- Time's up.
- It's on the plate.
- Mm.
- Wow.
- It's so pretty.
-
Wow.
- Jonah and Patrick,
please bring us your bake.
- Wow.
- Oh, how beautiful.
- So the bottom layer
represents holidays past,
and it is a play
off the traditional opera cake.
So the flavors are almond,
brandy, and espresso.
- Our middle layer
is a chocolate cake,
but we've also infused it
with an Irish stout beer.
- And the top layer
is a tres leches.
And that is
to represent our life together
and our future together
in the Bronx.
- We want
to acknowledge the fact
that while the holidays
often bring families together,
many individuals
don't have that opportunity
because of their sexuality,
their gender identity.
That's why chosen families
are really important.
- And I want to say,
in terms of chosen family,
I'd like think too
that even though we have only
known each other
for a short time,
this is gonna be some of our
chosen family going forward.
So whatever happens,
we're family now,
and you ain't getting
rid of us.
- Yeah.
- You might be getting rid
of us.
- No, no, no.
No, no.
- But not tonight.
- Yeah.
- I'm gonna tear up.
I always do.
It's wonderful.
The cake is fun.
- I think it's charming.
I love those little stripes.
- Because tres leches
is usually submerged
in the three milks,
and that's not really practical
for a cake like this,
we put those on the side.
- Don't you think
they did a beautiful job?
The crumb
on the cake is lovely.
- Thank you.
- I love the stout beer one...
- Mm-hmm.
- With the chocolate.
- It's perfect.
- Oh, my gosh.
- It's just incredible.
Now, what is this?
I know it's milk.
- It is sweet condensed milk...
- I knew it was condensed.
- Cream and whole milk.
- Ugh, God.
I can just drink it.
This was in my baby formula.
- It's so pretty.
- Look at that ribbon on it.
- That bow.
Beautiful.
- This is our three-layer cake.
And the past cake
is a coconut cake,
because that's my wife's favorite.
- The center cake
is our present,
and it is a red velvet,
representing Santa Claus'
red velvet outfit.
- Mm-hmm.
- And that is because we have
nine grandkids right now,
and so kids have
taken over our Christmas.
And then the top cake
is the future, and it's a gift,
because I'm about to have
my third child, a little girl.
- Aww.
- Oh, congratulations!
- Congratulations!
- Thank you.
- That ribbon is beautiful.
That's fondant you used there?
Yes.
- That looks nice.
- Thank you.
- It's a beautiful cake
if you look at it like this.
- I mean,
this thing was perfect
until the last second,
then it went boop.
- I think
that's what the builders
of the Leaning Tower
of Pisa thought.
You know, it was straight.
It was straight.
- It's festive.
The coconut reminds me of snow.
- Damn.
That is good.
-
I love coconut.
Oh, yi yi yi yi.
- The crumb on all three
is delicious.
- Really, really good.
Delicious.
- I have to tell you,
I could not be left alone
with this cake.
- No. No, no.
- What do you--
- What do--
- Because I know
what I do with king cakes
at home
during Mardi Gras carnival.
- We don't!
- I mean,
I can't stop eating it.
- Ah, yeah, yeah...
- What--what--
what were you thinking?
- I--
- What?
- You--
- Ah!
- He was worried
that the cake was gonna
get too handsy with you.
Okay, Jessica and Stephanie,
please bring us your bake.
- Wow.
- Oh, my, oh, my.
- Jessica and I used to dance
in "The Nutcracker."
It was such a special memory,
and every time I ever hear,
you know, "The Nutcracker"
songs at Christmastime,
it just takes me right back.
- Very nice.
Very, very nice.
- The layers are all
perfectly done and even.
I love the Nutcracker.
I think the execution is
what is really startling.
The mustache--
I mean, it's--
it's so spot-on,
don't you think, girls?
- And I love that hair.
I mean, that pipping
on that is stunning.
- Christmas past
is a devil's food cake
with a hazelnut buttercream
and chopped roasted hazelnuts.
- Christmas present
is a lemon poppy seed.
- The one with the stripe
is devil's food cake
with a salted caramel
Swiss meringue buttercream.
- It's delicious.
I mean, it's moist.
The crumb is magnificent.
- Oh, thank you so much.
- The lemon poppy seed--
right on, right on.
So good.
- Each one is different,
but each one
is equally delicious.
- Pretty on the inside,
and beautiful on the outside.
- Joelle and Jordan,
please bring up your bake.
- Okay...
- So we have
a three-tier cake here
that is representative
of our past, present,
and future.
It's our world of Christmas.
The bottom tier
is a cinnamon cake
with a coconut buttercream.
The second tier represents
our Christmas present.
And we collect ornaments
from all over the world.
So we have an
almond vanilla-flavored cake
with a raspberry jam.
And our top tier
is our Christmas future.
It is a world
with a peace and a heart.
That's what we hope that the
future will bring eventually.
- Sweet.
- Lovely.
- Well, I'll tell you, it's a
very pretty and colorful cake.
- Thank you.
- I love the ornaments
that you did,
and that little flag
is such a nice touch.
- Thank you.
- However,
your tiers are not
very balanced.
- Yeah.
- Ooh, I get all the goodies
in the middle.
The textures are really
interesting and different.
Yes.
- This one I think is a little
on the dry side,
but that could be me.
I don't know.
The icings are delicious.
- The flavor is there,
but it's too coarse.
- Mm.
- Okay, okay.
- And I'm sorry
I have to say that.
- That's okay.
- But I'm still eating it.
- Niyati and Abhi, please
bring us your three-tier cake.
- Ooh.
- The bottom is past.
It's a traditional Indian
pistachio cake, which is green.
- The middle is present--
rose and grapefruit.
- Future is a vanilla sponge
cake with vanilla frosting,
since we're planning
on starting a family together.
- Aww.
- It's a very pretty cake.
- Thank you.
- And go.
- Okay.
- See who can finish first.
- My favorite layer
is the pistachio,
'cause I love pistachios.
- You can really
taste the rose.
It's not too overpowering,
but you can actually really
still taste it.
It's still pleasant.
- Delicious flavors.
The--
and I love the colors.
The only thing I'm going
to say is that,
you see, the thickness
of this particular fondant
on this layer is much thicker
than the fondant
on your rose layer.
The thicker the fondant,
the more evil it's going
to become,
because it's heavy, and it can
weigh your cake down.
- I have to say it's
a good thing I'm not a judge,
'cause I'm just like,
I just want the fondant.
- All right, Gerard and Shawn,
please bring up your bake.
- So pretty.
- Oh.
- Our favorite holiday
is Christmas,
which you can see represented
by the red and green.
But the black represents
a whole different celebration,
okay, and that celebration
is Kwanzaa.
- Yeah, exactly.
- All right.
The bottom layer
is coconut-flavored cake.
- Oh, wow, that looks tasty.
- The next layer is blackberry
preserves and pecans.
And the top is representative
of both of us.
It's a rum flavor, all right?
- If you like a little taste.
-
This cake is delicious.
- The flavors are terrific,
but I find the cakes dense.
- Dense.
- Mm-hmm.
- I'm noticing also,
on the white cake--
is your crust is very tough.
Did you leave it in the oven
perhaps a bit longer
than you might have wanted?
- A little bit longer.
- But the colors are beautiful,
the tastes are lovely.
- Thank you.
- I love the pecans though.
- Thank you.
Thank you.
- The story, the flavor,
the execution were all good.
- Sharon and Mike.
- Oh, wow.
- Oh, my.
- It's beautiful.
- I call dibs on that elf.
- Oh, no.
No, no, no, no, no, no, no.
- If you guys want, like,
a leg or something...
- You called it first.
You can have it.
- What Andy doesn't know is
he's getting paid in fondant.
Just let him--
just let him have it.
- Oh, my.
- Our past flavor
is red velvet.
- Mm.
- The present,
we have stuffed French toast.
- Oh, my goodness.
- And then down below,
we have a coconut cake.
- Your strawberry compote,
it's absolutely gorgeous.
- Thank you so much.
- I don't taste
the French toast though.
But, I mean, doesn't mean
I don't like it though.
- When you say French toast,
I want to see it
when I bite into the cake.
That's all.
- Yes, ma'am.
- Yeah, because if you
hadn't said French toast,
I wouldn't have known.
- Okay.
- All I would have known
is freaking delicious.
Okay?
- Well, I'll take that.
- Bakers, big congrats
on your first Big Ol' Bake.
Now, our grannies have had a
big ol' think about your cakes,
and it's time to find out
which ones
impressed the Dickens
out of them.
- Oh, nice.
And which cakes
didn't quite stack up.
- Ooh!
- Right?
- So, Grannies, which
of these cakes was top tier?
- Bakers, you represented
the past, the present,
and the future wonderfully.
But there can only be one
that rose to the top.
That team is...
Jessica, Stephanie.
- Your cake was beautiful
on the outside.
It was beautiful
on the inside.
It represented your family,
the holiday.
Your cake rose to the top.
Come and get your brooch.
- Whoo!
- Now let me find it,
'cause I'm blind.
- You need some help
over there?
- I probably do.
Oh, see, that's my other pair
of glasses I was looking for.
- Take your time.
Take your time.
- Okay, wait a minute, girls.
I know it's in here.
Wait a minute.
Wait, wait--oh!
Congratulations.
Thank you so much.
- I'm so proud.
We're sisters,
but we're also best friends,
and it's just been
like so amazing to get
to spend this time together.
We won a brooch!
- We won a brooch!
Let's make snow angels.
-
- I wish I were just
hallucinating this,
but we have to send
one of our bakers
out of the snow globe.
- Norma?
- Well,
this is a difficult decision,
because you're all
so wonderful,
and you've done
such extraordinary work.
But unfortunately,
leaving us are...
Jordan and Joelle.
We are so sorry, but you know,
the proportions on your cake
just did you in.
It wasn't balanced.
I know this is hard
for you to hear,
but the funny thing about life
is you learn far more
from your failures
than your successes.
We know that
you'll take these lessons
and you'll pass it on
to everyone
and make the world
a better place.
But nobody leaves this cabin
without a hug from Bubbe.
I'm getting my hugs before
you gorgeous girls leave.
Thank you.
Thank you so much.
- Thank you.
- That's okay.
- We hate--you have no idea
how much we hate
to see those gorgeous faces
leaving us.
- We definitely are
a little disappointed
that we're going home,
but I'm so proud.
Not many people get to
experience things like this,
and to be able to do it
with my twin sister by my side
is just the craziest
thing ever.
- Thank you, guys.
- Hug.
- Never let go.
Never let me go.
- Thank you so much.
- Hello.
- Whoo!
- Yes!
- Oh, hello bakers.
Welcome back to our cozy cabin
inside a snow globe.
- We have some big news
for you today.
You're only doing
one challenge.
But it's the biggest one yet.
- Oh, my God.
- It's your first--
get ready for it...
Big Ol' Bake.
- You'll be baking
a three-tiered cake
inspired by Charles Dickens'
"A Christmas Carol."
- The beloved holiday tale
of three time-traveling ghosts
who force an old man
to buy a goose
for his employee's injured son.
- One tier of your cake
will represent
memories of holidays past.
- Another tier
will represent the present.
- And the third tier
will represent your future,
which could be something
you're planning
or maybe it's something
that could happen
in an alternate timeline.
- Ooh!
Multiverse stuff
is really hot right now.
- It's sizzling, Maya.
And because of that...
- Sizzling.
- I'm thinking,
at some point, maybe we could
incorporate some of that
multiversity into this show.
- Look what you did there.
- Right?
- So, should we get this
Big Ol' Bake started?
Yeah!
- You want to take this one?
- Abso-tootly.
Bakers, let's start those
Big Ol' Bakes.
- Whoo!
- I know what to do.
Could really listen
to you say that all day.
- I'm gonna start
with the coconut.
- Six, eight, and ten--
two of each.
I love a Big Ol' Bake.
I love doing tiered cakes.
So I feel pretty good.
I feel pretty confident
in what we're gonna create.
I'm gonna need 2 1/2 cups
of cake flour.
- What we're gonna
do is three tiers.
You got the fondant,
I got the inside.
- Yeah, you keep
that brooch clean.
- Whoo.
- We're not even married
to Big Ol' Bake as the name.
It could be any number
of things, right?
- Really?
- It could be Bake-tacular
or Bakes-calibur.
Or...
- Oh, that's not bad.
- I don't know, maybe,
like, Master Bakers.
- No.
- No?
Just feel like it'd be--
it's catchy to me.
- Please don't.
- I don't know why.
Hey, Master Bakers,
get master baking!
- Absolutely not.
- No, okay.
- Joelle and Jordan,
you have two batters going!
Yes.
- That's twin life.
- We only have one chance
to impress the grannies today,
and we are not cake...
People.
- Yeah.
- This is making me so...
Nervous.
- What are you guys making,
Gerard and Shawn?
- We are making
a three-tiered cake.
- Oh, okay, descriptive.
- We're celebrating
more than one--
- We're celebrating many,
many holidays.
- More than one holiday.
- Oh, I love it.
- Hello, Gerard and Shawn.
- Hey.
What's up, guys?
- Tell us about your bake.
- After Christmas every year,
for the next seven days,
we actually celebrate
an African American tradition--
Kwanzaa.
We exchange gifts every day,
and for seven days,
we celebrate each of the seven
principles of Kwanzaa--
And purpose.
And cooperative economics.
Please don't hold me to it
if I got those out of order.
And I'm not saying it
in Swahili.
- Which of the principles
would you say
resonate with you the most?
- Unity.
- Yeah.
- Cake will be colored red,
black, and green,
which are the traditional
colors of Kwanzaa.
And there's gonna
be one coconut layer,
representing his Caribbean background,
a layer with pecans
that represents
my Southern background,
and the top layer will be rum.
The bottom layer will
represent the past,
the struggles that we've
gone through in this country
as a people.
Present is gonna
be the next layer,
representing everything
we're going through
right now--the struggle
for equality, rights,
everything like that.
- Mm-hmm.
- And the green at the top
is obviously our future--
everything we work for,
we build for, we bake for,
You know, so--
- Yeah.
- Our hope is
that people learn something
about what Kwanzaa is
and what it's about.
It's not just a Black holiday.
It doesn't have to be.
- Yeah.
- And it's something that will,
you know,
help enrich every family.
It's about community.
Just move away from hate
and move towards love.
It's just so much easier.
- It's a deep cake.
- Yeah, it's a deep cake.
- It's a deep cake.
- It's a very deep cake.
- Right, right, right.
- But it's also delicious.
So you know, let's not,
you know, sit there
and cry while we eat,
you know what I'm saying?
- Right, we don't want to take
away from the deliciousness.
- Right, exactly.
- Right?
- Exactly.
- I do that when I--
when I bake.
I--
- Is that what you do?
You make sure it crumbles
upon touch?
- Yes.
- It bunches and crumbles.
- Totally.
- I could tell.
- You could tell, right?
- I could tell.
- Professional, professional.
- Professional.
- Tom, Steve, you guys
are so quiet back here.
- I know, we are.
- What's going on?
- I'm making a fondant bow
for the top of my gift.
Think I'm starting--
I'm gonna start over on this.
Not good.
Can't dry it at all first.
It just cracked.
Fondant is something that we're
working with in this challenge
that we're not accustomed
to working with.
- We're not artists.
- No.
- We're not cake bakers.
- We are not artists.
- So we're gonna go as simple
as we can,
and then we're just gonna--
we're gonna ride
those three tiers.
- Tom and Steve.
Yeah, Tom and Steve.
- * Tom and Steve *
Tom and Steve.
- Big T.
- How y'all doing today?
- How you doing, Zapato?
- Zapato.
- Zapato's, like,
had a flustery day.
- What's flustering you today?
- Oh, well, I started with--
I'm not a decorator.
I'm a baker and a cook.
- Okay.
- So, you know, and I tried
to make these
little fondant things
for Steve's daughter,
the future Coco O'Leary.
- My wife
is having my third child.
- A girl.
- A little girl.
- I am over the moon about
getting another granddaughter.
Right now, we have six boys
and three girls.
I'm ready
for the fourth little girl.
It's gonna be a joyful time
for us.
We both love that part
of our lives as grandparents.
- So the foundation
of the cake is my mom.
Her favorite cake
is coconut cake.
The center is our
present Christmas,
and it's gonna be red velvet,
representing Santa Claus.
And then the top tier,
it's a birthday cake for Coco.
- She's coming.
- She's coming.
- Remember, we talked about...
- She'll be here between now--
- He's having
another baby soon?
- Yes.
- That's the concept.
- How is this?
Is this fun for you?
- This is great.
- Oh, yeah.
- We also are pretty relaxed,
'cause we're not
baking anything.
How do you feel?
- We feel good.
- We're enjoying
the grandmothers.
That's very much fun for us.
- You seem like you are
enjoying the grandmothers.
- Yes, I really am.
- I poured you
about 900 grams of those.
Oh, thank you.
- Yeah.
It's mass chaos over there.
- I'm gonna do an opera cake
for the bottom.
I'm gonna see
if I can use every bowl
in this entire kitchen today.
- Please don't.
- Wow!
Hey, this is so much better
than the one we have at home.
- We're not finding you toys
when you get home.
- I'm not a baker.
I'm someone who bakes.
I've only ever encountered
three-tiered cakes at weddings.
That's it.
- Certainly never made one.
I'm worried
about it falling over or...
- Yeah.
- Crashing in.
- We just--we don't make
three-tiered cakes.
- Jonah and Patrick, hello.
- Hello.
- How are you guys doing?
- We're okay.
This is a big one.
- Is it a Big Ol' Bake?
- It's a Big Ol' Bake.
- Is that an Irish stout?
- Yeah, Irish stout.
- I was just in Ireland,
and I was taught
how to correctly pour that
in order to get a proper head.
- Oh.
- When you open them,
you're supposed to squeeze
the middle of the can,
and it releases the hounds.
- Wow.
- Do you want to try?
- Sure.
- Okay.
-
Safety.
- I'm glad she didn't go
for the knives.
- So you--
- Oh, God.
Wardrobe.
Maya, wardrobe.
- This is--
- Thank you for helping, Maya.
It's been really
great seeing you.
- Aren't you glad I did that?
- Yes.
It's...
- May I?
- Spreading holiday cheer
everywhere.
- So why the Irish stout?
What are you guys making?
- So, we are making
a three-tiered cake,
holidays past, present,
and future.
The past layer is going to be
sort of a knockoff version
of an opera cake,
because I used
to sing opera professionally.
- Uh-huh.
- When I turned 26,
I started having trouble
with my voice,
and it ended up
that I needed vocal surgery,
and I realized that that wasn't
gonna be a viable
career option.
When you find out
that you can't do the thing
that you want to do anymore,
you think you're nothing.
So to keep myself busy
and to keep myself sane,
I started cooking
and baking every day.
And then the middle tier
is going to be what, Patrick?
- It's gonna be
a chocolate Irish stout cake,
which is representative
of my family.
We often will toast to those
who are not here with us.
Something that...
- Lovely.
- We'd often use to toast
is a Irish stout.
- And top layer is gonna
be a knockoff of tres leches,
'cause ever since we moved
to the Bronx, actually,
our neighbors, Diana and Diana,
give us a tres leches cake
at Christmas.
- Which one's Diana?
- I still don't know, actually.
If you would like...
- I mean, I'm not gonna say no.
-
-
- Cheers.
- Ah, tastes like high school.
- Andy, you're really
into this multiverse stuff.
- Yeah, I know,
but it's in every movie
and TV show right now,
and I watch 'em all.
But the weird thing is there's
another universe where I don't.
- Yeah, that's pretty crazy
to think about.
- Mm-hmm.
- I mean, who would we be
in another universe?
Would we even know each other?
- I--I don't know.
I mean, would we wear scarves?
What kind of hand gestures
would we do?
- Gosh, I guess
there's no way to know.
- Yeah.
It's cool to think about.
- Is it whipped enough,
you think?
Start adding the sugar?
- The butter?
No, I would beat it
a little bit longer.
- Hey, man.
- Yo.
- This is gonna be fantastic.
- Yeah, get those pans good.
- Yeah.
- Oh, wow.
- That's it.
Not--not too much.
- That's it.
- Not more.
- Our concept for our past
is gonna be a pistachio cake,
which is green in color,
representing our relationship.
When we started together,
it was all Christmas-y.
It was all--
- So it was all, like, green...
- Festive and green
- And festive and magical.
- Yeah.
- Um, it would help
if I set a timer, huh?
- Yep.
- Yeah.
Okay, that's in.
That's good.
- Jessica and Stephanie, hi.
- Hi!
- What's that?
- This is meringue.
So we're gonna make some
little meringue mushrooms.
- Beautiful.
- And then also turn it
into buttercream.
- What makes a meringue
a meringue, egg white?
- Yeah.
So this is a Swiss meringue,
so you cook the egg whites
in sugar,
dissolve them on the stove,
and then you whip it up.
Um, you can do
a French meringue.
Italian meringue
is with a sugar syrup,
French meringue is
just sprinkling in sugar.
So there's lots of different
ways that you can do it.
- Let's hear about your cake.
- When we were little kids,
we used to dance
in "The Nutcracker" ballet
together.
- Oh.
- Yeah.
So we decided we're gonna
make a "Nutcracker" cake.
We're gonna incorporate a lot
of nut flavors into that.
- We're not fondant artists,
but we are trying to make
a Nutcracker little face.
- A little face on there.
- Ah.
- And then--
- You're not fond of fondant?
- I don't like to eat it.
- Nice, Dad.
- Mm-hmm.
-
- We are really relying
on this Nutcracker face.
That's our whole
Christmas past.
- Right, if we can't
get the face on the Nutcracker,
that cake isn't
gonna make any sense.
- She was, like,
prima ballerina.
- No.
- Like Clara,
the star of "The Nutcracker."
I was, like,
the most pigeon-toed.
Like, my mom went to
the doctor, and they were like,
"You're either gonna have to
break her hips and put them--
"put her in those,
like, leg braces,
or maybe try ballet."
- Those were the two options?
- Yeah.
- So I'm assuming
you chose ballet?
- I'm going ballet
ten out of ten times.
- Who--I'm just curious
which family's like,
let's break your hips.
- Right, right.
- So pigeon-toed,
every photo of me is like this.
But that taught me a lot,
that you can work
through physical ailments.
And later,
in junior high school,
I was diagnosed
with scoliosis,
and so I had
to wear a back brace.
Junior high school
is hard anyway.
Glasses, braces, frizzy hair.
And so it was
a tough experience.
But it taught me to just,
like--just own it.
It's fun, because we had
one dance together.
- Want to do it?
- Oh, yes.
- Anyway.
- Aww.
- Beautiful.
- I do love that.
'Cause it's the girls holding
their dolls like babies.
- Yeah, it's really sweet.
- Aww.
- What would
be your three-tiered cake,
past, present, future?
- Past is, like, Shakespeare.
- Mm-hmm.
- You know, like the thea-tah.
- Yeah, pounding the boards.
- Pounding the boards.
- Mm-hmm, sure.
- And then present
would be like, I'm a mom.
I got a cool family, you know.
- Mm-hmm.
- And the future
would just be like...
like a ton of plastic surgery.
- That is beautiful.
Good job on that.
- Yeah.
- I want to eat all
these undressed, naked cakes.
- The crumb coat turned out
pretty good.
- Cinnamon is just Christmas
to me.
As soon as I smell cinnamon,
I know it is sometime
after November in the year,
and it just--
it's such a warm flavor.
- Hey, Joelle and Jordan.
- Hi.
- Hey, how are you all?
- Oh, I'm just gonna...
put that down.
- Oh, you got a knuckle rester.
- Wow.
- Oh, yeah,
I guess I did get one.
Yeah, pretty cool.
- Oh, you found one.
- I feel very,
very comfortable.
- Yes.
- Don't let me distract you.
- You should trademark it.
- Bet I could make tens
of dollars.
Yes, yeah.
- Well, hey, you never know.
- Switched, I switched,
and it's just as comfy.
- I'm happy for you.
- Anyway, we're not here
to talk about my new,
great invention
that I'm gonna make tens on.
- We're not?
- No, we want to know
about your wonderful bake.
- We're going past,
present, future.
- We're very--yeah.
- So bottom, middle, top.
And the bottom layer
represents our abuela,
who made a coconut cinnamon
custard for my dad
and his six siblings
when they were growing up.
- Where is your abuela from?
- She's from Puerto Rico.
So we are replicating
that a little bit
with the flavors
in our bottom tier.
And then our middle tier
is our Christmas present.
- We're doing a vanilla almond
cake with a raspberry filling.
And for our future tier cake,
we have a vanilla cake with
a cookies and cream filling
that is decorated
like the world
with a heart and peace sign
made out of candy melts.
- We actually do a lot
of community service work.
We have our own nonprofit.
- You have your own nonprofit?
We do.
- With two of our friends.
- Two of our best friends.
- What's it called?
4 Little Souls, Inc.
- Baking has been a big part
of our community service.
We've done full
baking fundraisers for schools
to provide them
with technology.
- The smallest acts
go such a long way,
and if we all just
do a little bit,
everybody can do their part.
- Absolutely.
- So hopefully at Christmas,
at some point in our lives,
maybe even
in the next lifetime,
we will see world peace,
world hunger,
all that kind of come together.
- That's awesome.
Thank you.
- They're very inspirational
and quite adorable.
- Speaking of inspiration,
how do you think they felt
about my knuckle pillow?
- Not only did they love it,
but I think they're going
to become investors.
- Hot diggity dog.
- Well, hey there, Maya.
- Oh, hello, Andy.
- Hey, Maya, isn't it crazy
that we're both named
after famous holiday reindeer?
- I'm not named
after a reindeer.
Also,
what are you talking about?
- Well,
everyone knows about Rudolph,
the Red-Nosed Reindeer,
but have you heard of Samberg,
the Sand-Eating Reindeer?
- The Sand-Eating Reindeer?
- That's right.
Here, I'll tell you about him.
- That's very scary.
- He turns into foam?
- Oh, well now I just
feel sorry for him.
- Ocean rats?
What are ocean rats?
- They're like rats,
but bigger, and they swim.
- Do you mean otters?
- Huh.
I don't know, maybe?
Whatever it is, he eats them.
- This isn't gonna end
until I sing with you, is it?
- It is not, I appreciate
your understanding.
Two, three, four,
five, six, seven, eight.
- Move that
a little bit closer--
closer to the--
that one.
Yep.
Closer to the middle.
- Right here?
- Yeah, uh-huh.
- We're halfway
through the bake,
through this
Big Ol' Bake challenge.
Our cakes are out of the oven,
and we're starting
to stack them.
Starting to feel good.
Is that how it goes?
I'm realizing that we might
not have used the right pan
for the middle...
Tier.
- Does it go like that?
- I just don't think we have
time to change anything.
The thing is we don't
have quite as much room
around this cake as I thought
we were going to have.
- Yeah.
- Because remember,
that's where the ornaments
were gonna go.
So we could just
switch the layers.
- Yeah, that's fine.
- Hi.
- Hello.
- Oh, hey.
- Grannies!
- This is
the Big Ol' Bake today.
- This is a big challenge.
And it has to represent
their past...
- We're doing a cinnamon cake
to represent our grandmother.
- Present...
- Christmas present is inspired
by Stephanie's tradition
of cutting down
her own Christmas trees.
- Future.
- We can't wait to expand...
- Start our family.
- Like, our family.
- And they also have
to have technique.
- But it's real important
that they still
bring in the holiday.
- The tier I'm working on
is French toast.
That's what we do for
Christmas morning breakfast.
- What's important
in a cake like this...
- What?
- To me, is the crumb.
- The crumb.
- If the cake is too moist,
it's not going to hold up.
- Please, please,
please be careful.
- Even if you put
the supports in,
they're not gonna stay there.
They're just gonna
fall over and flop.
You don't want anything,
you know, half-baked,
like a politician's brain
or something.
- This is moving.
- Put more frosting
under there.
- What would our future be?
Still around, you know?
- Check for the--
this has 20 seconds left.
- Okay.
- Check for the--
the next one.
- Hi, guys.
- Hi, you guys.
- Hello.
- What are you guys doing?
- So we're making
a three-tier cake.
It represents our relationship
through past, present,
and futures.
Our bottom tier is gonna
be pistachio cake.
Green represents,
like, the time
which we started
seeing other.
- Dating,
and it was all Christmas.
- The middle layer--
- It's our love.
And then the top layer
is vanilla.
- That represents our future.
We're planning
to start a family.
- Family together, so...
- So that'll
be our white angel.
- Well, it's fun.
- Well, that's an exciting time
for you guys.
Andy and I are lucky enough to
be parents to amazing children.
- It's true.
- Oh, yeah.
- And I can safely say
it has been the most
positive thing
that's ever happened
in my life,
and changed my life
for the better.
- Mm-hmm.
- I would say having kids
was the best thing
that ever happened to me
until this show.
- Oh!
-
- But now this is like
my real baby.
You know what I mean?
- Yes!
Niyati and Abhi are so in love
and so adorable.
- Do you think
they'll name the baby Future?
- Like, after the singer?
- Mm-hmm.
- For sure.
- I got to grab cinnamon
real quick.
The middle tier represents
our present,
and that's a French toast cake,
which is a cinnamon cake.
Cin-na-mon.
Cin-namon.
And it's gonna
have a fresh strawberry filling
in between those layers.
- Are you gonna dump these
into--onto a cooling rack?
- Yeah.
I feel like I'm behind
on my bake time.
- Hello, Sharon and Mike.
- Hey, y'all.
- Hi.
- Will you tell us
how those cakes signify your...
Past, present,
and future?
- Yeah.
So we are from the South,
so our Southern roots
run pretty deep,
and red velvet
is certainly a staple.
What we're planning to do
for our Christmas past
is a red velvet
cake.
And then our Christmas
future,
we're gonna do
the coconut cream cake
filled with a raspberry compote.
Our future is the coconut cake,
and we did that
because we're in the South,
and we always dream of a white
Christmas, and we never get it.
So we keep hoping every year.
So in the future, maybe we'll
have a white Christmas.
- That sounds lovely.
What would you say
you love most about the South?
- Oh, my gosh.
- Oh, wow.
- I think the slower...
the slower, um, pace.
Well, I used to own a bakery
in Georgia.
Absolutely loved it,
but with that
came a lot of stress,
and we chose for me
to walk away from that
so that I would feel better
physically and mentally.
But I knew that I still would
want to dabble in it,
so we are so excited
to be a part of "Baking It."
- The time I've spent there,
my favorite thing,
probably the honey bourbon.
- The honey bourbon?
- Yeah.
- What part of the South?
- Texas.
- Texas?
We don't really consider
Texas the South.
- Oh.
- Really?
- No, not where we're from.
- Texas--Texas is Texas.
- Texas is on its own.
- Texas is just Texas?
- Exactly.
I'm from the Bay Area,
so I consider
Los Angeles the South.
- As you would, as you would.
-
Hode up.
Do not tawk about Texas.
- You think Texas is the South?
- I have no idea.
- You know the Big Ol' Bake
theme song, right?
- Cakes are good.
Everything is delicious.
- Making caramel again,
'cause that's what I do.
- We are feeling under the gun,
but confident.
'Cause you know what,
confidence is part of
the process.
- I'm a lot less messy today.
- I'm doing it the grandma way,
which means spilling it
on the counter.
- I got a question for you,
ladies.
Do you have
a favorite grandchild?
- Well, my grandchildren
will tell you that it's the--
it's the eldest boy.
Is it true?
No, I don't think it is.
- You don't think?
- Well, maybe.
- Okay, there we go.
- If this goes on television,
I don't want to--
I'm gonna deny it.
- You just said it.
- You just said it.
- Oh,
They're gonna see this.
- Girlfriend, you're busted!
- I'll never hear
the end of this.
Never, ever, ever!
- Big Ol' Bakes
are tough for the bakers,
so we wanted to bring them
a little surprise.
- Hey there, guys.
- Hello.
- Just one more thing.
- Yes.
- Guys, um,
we actually have something
for you.
The mailperson came.
- Yeah.
-
- And we have...
- What?
- A holiday card for you.
- Oh, my gosh.
Can we open it?
- Yeah.
- Absolutely.
- We're just gonna stand here.
- Never you mind.
- Ooh, it's a letter.
- Who's it from?
- Aw, it's from your mom.
"From the time the phone rang,
and I got the news
"that you were available
for adoption...
"To when we took you
to see the movie 'Annie'
"when you were two, and you
sang along in perfect pitch,
I knew that someone special
had come to join our family."
- Aww.
- Yeah.
- "Your talent continued
to grow,
"and it became evident that you
were headed for great things.
"Then you were headed
for vocal cord surgery,
"and it was not successful,
"and your career
as a singer ended.
"You wasted no time and started
baking to fill your time,
"getting better with each bake
as you made plans
for a new future."
It's beautiful.
- We get bonuses if you cry.
That's what we're told.
- Okay.
I'm an easy mark.
- What are you gonna do
with all your tear money, Andy?
- Um, save it.
For my college fund.
- Stop it.
It's a holiday card from
your past, present, or future.
- Stop it right now.
- A holiday card?
- No way.
- Way!
- No way.
- Did we win something?
- Aww, that's my sister!
- This is a thousand percent
from my mother.
I can tell by the handwriting.
- "Dear Gerard and Shawn.
Surprise.
"It's your better halves.
We wanted to let you know
how truly proud
we are of you both."
- "I'm so happy that
the two of you are able
"to work together
on this project,
since you were so close
as children."
- I'm gonna get the Kleenex.
- "No words can describe
how proud we are of you guys.
"Remember, it's the journey
that matters the most,
and not the destination."
- "You both have
worked so hard,
"laughed so much together,
and have put your hearts
and souls into each piece
of this competition."
- "I remember
how you used to love
"having Cupcake War parties
for kids at your bakery,
"and you would get so excited
seeing the kids rush
around the kitchen."
- "We have witnessed your
passion for community service
"and baking to help
serve countless others.
"In a blink of an eye,
our precious big, bright,
"brown-eyed girls have
become intelligent, smart,
"leave-no-stone-unturned,
beautiful women.
"From pattycakes to bakers,
and everything in between,
"you make us so proud
and continuously
bring us so much joy."
This was exactly
what we needed.
We--we're not cake people,
so we knew that this was going
to be a challenge for us.
And this was exactly the push
that we needed
at that right moment
to really just push
across the finish line.
- Yeah, so thank you,
Maya and Andy,
for bringing that to us--
it definitely means a lot.
- "When you brought Patrick
home to meet us,
"it was as if he had
always been there.
He fit in so perfectly."
- "We all love you
and miss you,
"and I know your dad
is looking down at you
"with a smile of pride as you
continue in his footsteps
and embrace his love
of baking."
I'm not gonna do it!
My dad was a baker,
so it's something I got to see.
I got to see my dad actually,
you know,
do these beautiful things
and have this beautiful craft.
And it's one of the things
I miss the most.
- "Keep your fighting spirit
alive and enjoy the moments.
Sending you lots of"--
- Oh, my God, this is so sweet.
Thank you so much.
- "I'm rooting for you
back home.
You've got this.
Love, Leah."
- "Have fun, and enjoy the
special father-son experience.
Love, Gigi."
- Your wife sounds wonderful.
- Oh, she is.
- "So, the two of you,
go for it.
"Do your best and have fun.
I'm proud of both of you.
Love, love, love you."
- It says,
"A candle loses nothing
"by lighting another candle.
"It just sheds more light
and warms more people.
"Keep shedding your light
"and making the world
a better place.
We love you.
Mom."
- I felt like moms were really
represented in these letters.
- Yeah, maybe a little
over-represented, you know?
- You think so?
- Yeah.
I mean,
where were all the dads?
Although, what would
the dad letters even be?
- Mm.
- Just be like,
"Congrats on the baking show.
Text me your Peacock password."
- Yeah.
- Bakers, 15 minutes.
Ready or not,
we're gonna call it.
- Oh, God.
- Oh, my gosh.
- Just get 'em on there.
- Our baking style
is just down to the wire.
- Be there to catch it
if something bad
starts to happen, I guess.
We're using every second.
We're trying to get these cakes
supported and stacked.
- Good job.
- Can you go
on the other side
and tell me
where I should land this.
Everything is riding
on this one cake today.
- I want it to look nice.
I don't want it to fall apart.
I don't want to go up
with two tiers and a "oops."
Good. Perfect.
- Oh, okay.
- And it's stacked.
- It's stacked.
- It's tender cakes--
that bulged.
- We stacked our cakes,
and we're looking at it,
and we both start to notice
it's doing a little--
I don't know--
- I'm just gonna do this.
Let's start with that.
- We'll tell the grannies
to lean the same way.
That's not gonna ha--
that's not--
I think--
Can I do that?
I feel good about doing that.
- Tom and Steve's cake has been
watching a little too much
of "The Princess Bride."
- Tom, that's--that's gonna
live there, I think.
- Sinking into quicksand.
Like--
- Mm-hmm.
- How'd that happen?
- "Incontheivable"
that their cake would sink!
- This is the sinking one.
Incontheivable!
- So this is day two
of our hosting.
- Mm-hmm.
- I feel like day one,
we were a little nervous.
- We were like babies.
- Yeah.
- Like, what is the world?
- Yeah, and now, today...
- We are, like...
- Smashing it much?
- Yep.
- Ugh, God.
- It's all auto-tuned.
- What do you think?
- Yeah, looks good.
- From a distance, he's cute.
From a distance,
it looks better.
And this is where they're--
and their eyes
are probably bad, so...
- It's almost time!
- You're gonna
sprinkle everywhere?
- Yep.
Five.
Four.
Three.
Two.
One.
- Time's up.
- It's on the plate.
- Mm.
- Wow.
- It's so pretty.
-
Wow.
- Jonah and Patrick,
please bring us your bake.
- Wow.
- Oh, how beautiful.
- So the bottom layer
represents holidays past,
and it is a play
off the traditional opera cake.
So the flavors are almond,
brandy, and espresso.
- Our middle layer
is a chocolate cake,
but we've also infused it
with an Irish stout beer.
- And the top layer
is a tres leches.
And that is
to represent our life together
and our future together
in the Bronx.
- We want
to acknowledge the fact
that while the holidays
often bring families together,
many individuals
don't have that opportunity
because of their sexuality,
their gender identity.
That's why chosen families
are really important.
- And I want to say,
in terms of chosen family,
I'd like think too
that even though we have only
known each other
for a short time,
this is gonna be some of our
chosen family going forward.
So whatever happens,
we're family now,
and you ain't getting
rid of us.
- Yeah.
- You might be getting rid
of us.
- No, no, no.
No, no.
- But not tonight.
- Yeah.
- I'm gonna tear up.
I always do.
It's wonderful.
The cake is fun.
- I think it's charming.
I love those little stripes.
- Because tres leches
is usually submerged
in the three milks,
and that's not really practical
for a cake like this,
we put those on the side.
- Don't you think
they did a beautiful job?
The crumb
on the cake is lovely.
- Thank you.
- I love the stout beer one...
- Mm-hmm.
- With the chocolate.
- It's perfect.
- Oh, my gosh.
- It's just incredible.
Now, what is this?
I know it's milk.
- It is sweet condensed milk...
- I knew it was condensed.
- Cream and whole milk.
- Ugh, God.
I can just drink it.
This was in my baby formula.
- It's so pretty.
- Look at that ribbon on it.
- That bow.
Beautiful.
- This is our three-layer cake.
And the past cake
is a coconut cake,
because that's my wife's favorite.
- The center cake
is our present,
and it is a red velvet,
representing Santa Claus'
red velvet outfit.
- Mm-hmm.
- And that is because we have
nine grandkids right now,
and so kids have
taken over our Christmas.
And then the top cake
is the future, and it's a gift,
because I'm about to have
my third child, a little girl.
- Aww.
- Oh, congratulations!
- Congratulations!
- Thank you.
- That ribbon is beautiful.
That's fondant you used there?
Yes.
- That looks nice.
- Thank you.
- It's a beautiful cake
if you look at it like this.
- I mean,
this thing was perfect
until the last second,
then it went boop.
- I think
that's what the builders
of the Leaning Tower
of Pisa thought.
You know, it was straight.
It was straight.
- It's festive.
The coconut reminds me of snow.
- Damn.
That is good.
-
I love coconut.
Oh, yi yi yi yi.
- The crumb on all three
is delicious.
- Really, really good.
Delicious.
- I have to tell you,
I could not be left alone
with this cake.
- No. No, no.
- What do you--
- What do--
- Because I know
what I do with king cakes
at home
during Mardi Gras carnival.
- We don't!
- I mean,
I can't stop eating it.
- Ah, yeah, yeah...
- What--what--
what were you thinking?
- I--
- What?
- You--
- Ah!
- He was worried
that the cake was gonna
get too handsy with you.
Okay, Jessica and Stephanie,
please bring us your bake.
- Wow.
- Oh, my, oh, my.
- Jessica and I used to dance
in "The Nutcracker."
It was such a special memory,
and every time I ever hear,
you know, "The Nutcracker"
songs at Christmastime,
it just takes me right back.
- Very nice.
Very, very nice.
- The layers are all
perfectly done and even.
I love the Nutcracker.
I think the execution is
what is really startling.
The mustache--
I mean, it's--
it's so spot-on,
don't you think, girls?
- And I love that hair.
I mean, that pipping
on that is stunning.
- Christmas past
is a devil's food cake
with a hazelnut buttercream
and chopped roasted hazelnuts.
- Christmas present
is a lemon poppy seed.
- The one with the stripe
is devil's food cake
with a salted caramel
Swiss meringue buttercream.
- It's delicious.
I mean, it's moist.
The crumb is magnificent.
- Oh, thank you so much.
- The lemon poppy seed--
right on, right on.
So good.
- Each one is different,
but each one
is equally delicious.
- Pretty on the inside,
and beautiful on the outside.
- Joelle and Jordan,
please bring up your bake.
- Okay...
- So we have
a three-tier cake here
that is representative
of our past, present,
and future.
It's our world of Christmas.
The bottom tier
is a cinnamon cake
with a coconut buttercream.
The second tier represents
our Christmas present.
And we collect ornaments
from all over the world.
So we have an
almond vanilla-flavored cake
with a raspberry jam.
And our top tier
is our Christmas future.
It is a world
with a peace and a heart.
That's what we hope that the
future will bring eventually.
- Sweet.
- Lovely.
- Well, I'll tell you, it's a
very pretty and colorful cake.
- Thank you.
- I love the ornaments
that you did,
and that little flag
is such a nice touch.
- Thank you.
- However,
your tiers are not
very balanced.
- Yeah.
- Ooh, I get all the goodies
in the middle.
The textures are really
interesting and different.
Yes.
- This one I think is a little
on the dry side,
but that could be me.
I don't know.
The icings are delicious.
- The flavor is there,
but it's too coarse.
- Mm.
- Okay, okay.
- And I'm sorry
I have to say that.
- That's okay.
- But I'm still eating it.
- Niyati and Abhi, please
bring us your three-tier cake.
- Ooh.
- The bottom is past.
It's a traditional Indian
pistachio cake, which is green.
- The middle is present--
rose and grapefruit.
- Future is a vanilla sponge
cake with vanilla frosting,
since we're planning
on starting a family together.
- Aww.
- It's a very pretty cake.
- Thank you.
- And go.
- Okay.
- See who can finish first.
- My favorite layer
is the pistachio,
'cause I love pistachios.
- You can really
taste the rose.
It's not too overpowering,
but you can actually really
still taste it.
It's still pleasant.
- Delicious flavors.
The--
and I love the colors.
The only thing I'm going
to say is that,
you see, the thickness
of this particular fondant
on this layer is much thicker
than the fondant
on your rose layer.
The thicker the fondant,
the more evil it's going
to become,
because it's heavy, and it can
weigh your cake down.
- I have to say it's
a good thing I'm not a judge,
'cause I'm just like,
I just want the fondant.
- All right, Gerard and Shawn,
please bring up your bake.
- So pretty.
- Oh.
- Our favorite holiday
is Christmas,
which you can see represented
by the red and green.
But the black represents
a whole different celebration,
okay, and that celebration
is Kwanzaa.
- Yeah, exactly.
- All right.
The bottom layer
is coconut-flavored cake.
- Oh, wow, that looks tasty.
- The next layer is blackberry
preserves and pecans.
And the top is representative
of both of us.
It's a rum flavor, all right?
- If you like a little taste.
-
This cake is delicious.
- The flavors are terrific,
but I find the cakes dense.
- Dense.
- Mm-hmm.
- I'm noticing also,
on the white cake--
is your crust is very tough.
Did you leave it in the oven
perhaps a bit longer
than you might have wanted?
- A little bit longer.
- But the colors are beautiful,
the tastes are lovely.
- Thank you.
- I love the pecans though.
- Thank you.
Thank you.
- The story, the flavor,
the execution were all good.
- Sharon and Mike.
- Oh, wow.
- Oh, my.
- It's beautiful.
- I call dibs on that elf.
- Oh, no.
No, no, no, no, no, no, no.
- If you guys want, like,
a leg or something...
- You called it first.
You can have it.
- What Andy doesn't know is
he's getting paid in fondant.
Just let him--
just let him have it.
- Oh, my.
- Our past flavor
is red velvet.
- Mm.
- The present,
we have stuffed French toast.
- Oh, my goodness.
- And then down below,
we have a coconut cake.
- Your strawberry compote,
it's absolutely gorgeous.
- Thank you so much.
- I don't taste
the French toast though.
But, I mean, doesn't mean
I don't like it though.
- When you say French toast,
I want to see it
when I bite into the cake.
That's all.
- Yes, ma'am.
- Yeah, because if you
hadn't said French toast,
I wouldn't have known.
- Okay.
- All I would have known
is freaking delicious.
Okay?
- Well, I'll take that.
- Bakers, big congrats
on your first Big Ol' Bake.
Now, our grannies have had a
big ol' think about your cakes,
and it's time to find out
which ones
impressed the Dickens
out of them.
- Oh, nice.
And which cakes
didn't quite stack up.
- Ooh!
- Right?
- So, Grannies, which
of these cakes was top tier?
- Bakers, you represented
the past, the present,
and the future wonderfully.
But there can only be one
that rose to the top.
That team is...
Jessica, Stephanie.
- Your cake was beautiful
on the outside.
It was beautiful
on the inside.
It represented your family,
the holiday.
Your cake rose to the top.
Come and get your brooch.
- Whoo!
- Now let me find it,
'cause I'm blind.
- You need some help
over there?
- I probably do.
Oh, see, that's my other pair
of glasses I was looking for.
- Take your time.
Take your time.
- Okay, wait a minute, girls.
I know it's in here.
Wait a minute.
Wait, wait--oh!
Congratulations.
Thank you so much.
- I'm so proud.
We're sisters,
but we're also best friends,
and it's just been
like so amazing to get
to spend this time together.
We won a brooch!
- We won a brooch!
Let's make snow angels.
-
- I wish I were just
hallucinating this,
but we have to send
one of our bakers
out of the snow globe.
- Norma?
- Well,
this is a difficult decision,
because you're all
so wonderful,
and you've done
such extraordinary work.
But unfortunately,
leaving us are...
Jordan and Joelle.
We are so sorry, but you know,
the proportions on your cake
just did you in.
It wasn't balanced.
I know this is hard
for you to hear,
but the funny thing about life
is you learn far more
from your failures
than your successes.
We know that
you'll take these lessons
and you'll pass it on
to everyone
and make the world
a better place.
But nobody leaves this cabin
without a hug from Bubbe.
I'm getting my hugs before
you gorgeous girls leave.
Thank you.
Thank you so much.
- Thank you.
- That's okay.
- We hate--you have no idea
how much we hate
to see those gorgeous faces
leaving us.
- We definitely are
a little disappointed
that we're going home,
but I'm so proud.
Not many people get to
experience things like this,
and to be able to do it
with my twin sister by my side
is just the craziest
thing ever.
- Thank you, guys.
- Hug.
- Never let go.
Never let me go.
- Thank you so much.