Baking It (2021–…): Season 1, Episode 6 - Episode #1.6 - full transcript
It's Christmas! It's Christmas!
- It's Christmas!
- Ding dong! Ding dong!
Ding, ding, ding, dong.
- It's Christmas.
I'm gonna get some presents.
- Ding, ding, ding, dong.
- And eat some sugar.
- And some gingerbread cookies
or other things.
- Sugar! Sugar!
Sugar! Sugar! Sugar!
-
Scrooge!
One last time.
- This is the finale.
- We'll get this done.
- Mm-hmm.
- Hello, bakers.
- Hello.
- Hey.
- It's Christmas morning here
in the cabin.
And one more challenge
will determine
who will be named
Best in Dough.
- AKA Master Bakers.
- Definitely not.
- Yeah, probably not.
- And win the $50,000 prize.
Our final challenge is bigger
than even
the biggest Big Ol' Bake.
- We're asking you to push
your talents to the limit
as you create...
a Final Feast!
- The Final Feast,
the ultimate Christmas meal.
- And we're not talking
just any Christmas meal.
- Nope. We're talking about
Christmas brunch.
- Your Final Feast will start
with some holiday
hors d'oeuvres--
12 baked ornaments
to decorate your tree.
- Followed by a savory
main course.
- And then, of course,
a sweet, sweet, sweet,
sweet dessert.
- Imagine you're serving
your Final Feast to the people
you'd love
to spend the holidays with.
- And then serve it to us
because we're holding you
hostage in this snow globe.
- Now, for the last time,
let's hear it.
The catch phrase
that has sustained us
lo these many weeks, Andy.
- Let's get bakin'!
- Yes!
- Whoo!
- All right, guys, go get it!
Good luck!
- Good luck!
- Love you guys!
- I just couldn't do it quiet.
- Appreciated that.
- Let's get baking.
- Let's get baking.
- I'm gonna make
the genoise first.
- Is the butter
already in the freezer?
- Yes.
- More nog?
- We're in the finals.
- I know, it's crazy.
- How you feeling about that?
- I feel emotional,
it's intense.
- Let me start with the eggs.
- Originally,
the final challenge
was just gonna be a brutal
fist fight
between all the teams,
but then we're like,
"You know what?
Let's make it a brunch."
- Yeah.
- What do you think
I should use to make the holes?
Which I forgot in the cameras.
- Straws, right?
- Let me see if I can fix it.
Whew! We're the marathon
runners over here.
If I pass out from heat stroke,
will you save me?
- Yeah, absolutely.
- The bakers are
truly nice people.
- Yes.
- I really like them.
- It's been fun to get
to know everybody.
- It has.
- I'm such a sap.
Jessica and Stephanie--
so wonderful to see two sisters
with so much love
for each other
really appreciating
the time they get
to spend together here.
- I mean, it's great meeting
you guys. Not gonna lie.
It's great baking.
Also, not gonna lie.
But this is probably
the best part.
- It's funny, they seem like
they're so nervous
about their bakes and yet
there's so much expertise.
- When you pour too much
at once,
it'll like freeze things solid
before it gets a chance
to like aerate it.
- They have that
perfectionist quality,
which is they refuse to say
they're good at something
unless they're like
the best at it.
But they clearly have a lot of
skill in all areas of baking.
- Would you say they have
the skills to pay the bills?
- We're gonna find out
in this final.
- Oh, damn.
- Hi, Jessica and Stephanie.
Hi, guys.
- Hi.
- You look so cozy.
- We are.
- You look so cozy.
- We are sweating.
- Kind of regretting
your garment choice?
- The hottest onesies.
- A little bit.
- Yeah.
- What are you guys
making today?
- So, our ornaments are--
We're both photographers,
so we're making little cookies
that look like picture frames.
And then some camera cookies.
We printed some edible paper,
so we're gonna have
some family photos.
- So, talk to me
about these edible pictures.
What do they taste like?
- They're vanilla-flavored.
- Really?
- I've actually never
tried it before.
- It's rice paper that
might taste a little bit
like food coloring,
it's right up your alley.
- Yeah, right.
- You know I like that.
- We did it just for you.
- Tastes like fondant.
- Food coloring on rice paper?
Yeah, that sounds bomb.
- It's the finals.
- So crazy to be here.
- It's gonna be exciting.
We've got three
really good teams here.
- I know. They're amazing.
- A lot of delicious food.
- I'm just so honored to be
in the company of these bakers.
- You're being modest.
- They've just impressed me
since day one.
- And we love you guys.
- We love you guys, too!
- Love you guys.
- There is a lovely family
feeling in here.
Everyone really supports
each other. I like seeing that.
- There really is.
It's gonna be really sad
when we all have to go home
no matter what happens today.
- Well, the good news is
you're trapped in a snow globe
so you'll never go home.
- We love it.
- You can't leave.
- It's our creation.
- Like of course I wanna win.
Who doesn't wanna win?
Like, winning is way better
than not winning. Right?
But I think my biggest goal
is to put out food
that I feel proud of.
But it really wouldn't
be horrible if we won.
That would be pretty awesome.
- Yeah.
- What's next? What are you
making for your savory?
- Our savory bake is gonna be
a bacon, chive,
and cheddar scone.
For our dessert,
we're gonna make a pavlova.
So, my kids ask for pavlova
all the time,
often for
their birthday treats
or Christmas treat.
- What is a pavlova?
- It's a meringue that should
be crispy on the outside
and pillowy
and marshmallowy on the inside.
We're gonna fill it
with some passion fruit curd,
a whipping ganache,
and some fruit.
And her husband's from Hawaii
so we're gonna put
a little tropical spin
on that pavlova.
- A tropical spin on Christmas.
- Passion fruit.
- Mele kalikimaka.
- Mele kalikimaka,
that's right.
- Are you hoping the Grannies
will have a Pavlovian response?
- I really do. They're gonna
see that and start salivating
and it's just gonna be like--
- You, like, ring a bell.
- End game, right there.
- Right here, Pops.
- Is that corn starch?
- Yeah.
- Oh, all right.
- I'm gonna get working
on the ornament cookies.
- Okay, get those ready. Yeah.
- Tom and Steve bring so
much tradition to the cabin.
It is really beautiful
to see a father and son
cooking things that they share
with their family.
- Absolutely. And they have
a quiet confidence about them
that sort of says,
"We're gonna be using a lot
of very delicious shellfish
and you're gonna like
how it tastes."
- We're making lobster pie.
- Lobster pot pie.
The tradition came from me
being in the seafood business
before any of my kids
were born.
So I would bring lobsters home
every Christmas.
- They make such delicious
comfort food.
They know these things
are going to just hit the spot
and be absolutely delicious,
which their stuff
has always been.
- Hello, Tom and Steve.
- Hi.
Welcome to
the Micky Ficky Finals.
- Ooh-whee!
- How did we get here?
- You got here
'cause you're great.
Thank you.
- Or you paid off the Grannies.
We'll never know.
- Either way, we'll never know.
How are you feeling about
being in the finals, guys?
- We're so happy to be here.
- Yeah. We're very happy.
- To be in the finals
of a baking competition,
as two novice home bakers,
this is wild.
- Yeah.
- This is really fun.
- I feel like we're
the underdogs going in here.
- Stephanie and Jessica,
they've killed
the last few challenge.
Abhi and Niyati, they've got
four broaches, you know?
So we're gonna do something
that we know.
Flavors that we know.
Every one of our bakes
is going to be representative
of a tradition
that we have on Christmas.
They're family favorites
and we've got these wired.
- What are you guys making?
- Our ornaments are gonna be
these nice, little stockings.
And each stocking
will be green and red.
And then we'll have each of our
ten grandkids on one,
and me and my wife,
Jeannie, get to go on one.
- Yeah, you two.
- The sweet is gonna be
an English trifle.
- I feel like you're gonna like
the English trifle
'cause you always be triflin'.
- Thank you.
- And our savory, we're gonna
do a little taste of home.
We're gonna do Maryland
jumbo lump crab cakes
and we're gonna have
a wild mushroom
and pork belly tartlet.
And then we're gonna poach
and egg and pop it on top.
It's gonna be like
a rich man's eggs benedict.
- And what would a poor man's
egg benedict be?
- Just an English muffin.
- Just an English muffin
on a plate.
- And then you just throw it
at the guy.
- You just throw it
at the guy, yeah.
- Like, "Here."
- "Here, that's for you.
You didn't pay enough."
- Tom and Steve are making
an English trifle.
- Mm-hmm.
Which is actually a food.
- Yes. Although it doesn't
sound like it, right?
- Yeah, to this point,
what did you think it meant?
- A very whimsical crime.
- Like teapot theft?
- Yes.
- Got it.
- Like, "I've seen to have lost
all my teapots.
Oh, what an English trifle."
- The holidays is all
about people coming together.
So for this bake, we're having
the bakers make a feast, right?
- Merriam-Webster's
defines feast
as 12 Christmas ornaments,
brunch with savory food,
and sweet dessert.
- Yeah.
That's a feast for your eyes
and your for stomachs.
- What kind of nuts
are we thinking?
- Raisins, almonds--
- And cashews, too.
- I have some nuts for you.
- Okay.
- Niyati and Abhi have had
an amazing journey.
- Truly. Won a lot of broaches.
- Niyati and Abhi.
- Oh, wow.
- Niyati and Abhi.
- Come and get your broach,
you're going to the finals.
- Yeah!
- I feel like so much
of cooking can be joy,
and there's so much joy
coming from them.
Their bakes have been
interesting and thoughtful
and beautiful.
- I feel like they're really
the Steph Curry of the teams.
In two ways. First off,
they use a lot of curry.
- True.
- And secondly,
they're baby-faced assassins.
- I am so cozy.
- Yeah.
- Hello, Niyati and Abhi.
Hello!
- You guys look so cute.
- Mom and Dad feel great today.
How are you guys
feeling after your broach?
- You can barely keep
your apron up,
it's so weighed down
with hardware.
- Some hardware out
there for sure.
- We're proud of ourselves.
- It's such an honor.
And such a humbling experience.
- This is a once in a lifetime
opportunity that you get.
It was fun.
- Yeah.
We are definitely
in it to win it.
And I don't know
if you've heard or known,
but Indians
are very competitive.
- We are.
- Tell us a little bit
about what you're making.
- For our tree decor,
we are making
some orange rosemary cookies,
but they're gonna be around
Indian wedding theme.
- During this time of the year,
we started dating
and also we had
a wedding in December,
so that's why we thought
of creating those memories
back again
through our ornaments.
For our dessert,
we are making cinnamon rolls.
- Cinnamon buns.
- Buns. Sorry.
With gajar halwa.
- Indian carrot pudding.
For our savory brunch,
we're gonna be doing--
- Spicy Mexican eggs,
with a lot of, like, little
touches of Indian flavors.
- So, the "taco seasoning"
would be Indian.
- Aha.
- Wow.
- We are big fans
of Mexican cuisine.
We both love Mexican flavors.
And we thought of infusing them
with Indian flavors.
Dry mango powder,
roasted cumin,
and black beans.
- Yeah.
- It sounds delicious.
- I'll be honest, I just trust
you guys at this point.
Okay. You could be like,
"We're making this
traditional dish, it's a boot."
- "A well-worn Army boot."
- It's Niyati and Abhi,
I'm sure it's gonna taste good.
- Thank you.
- Thank you so much.
- That means a lot.
- That means a lot to us.
- Yes.
- Hello!
- Hello!
- Hey!
- Ohh!
- Hey!
- Hi, bakers!
- Hey, Grannies!
- Welcome to the finale!
- That's right.
- You look comfortable.
- I just got a whiff
of something.
- Smell--
- Oh.
- Ladies, do you realize
how far we've come?
- Oh, wow.
- Today's the final.
- It's hard to believe.
- Christmas morning brunch.
So what do we expect?
Everything's gotta taste good,
it's got to look good,
and it's got
to be executed properly.
- True. They really have
to do three items today.
- And that's a lot.
- They have to do the Christmas
tree ornaments
made out of Christmas cookies.
- We got this.
- We need sweet.
- That trifle is beautiful,
we should do that.
- As a centerpiece.
I love that.
- And savory.
- Do you need cumin?
- Yes, thank you.
- It's going to be interesting
what they bring
from their backgrounds.
- Yes.
- But it's got to
be blockbuster.
I mean, this just can't be
our everyday bake.
- When you think about it,
we wouldn't expect anything but
blockbuster from this group.
- I know.
- This is my fear for each
and every one of 'em.
If it's gonna go wrong,
it's gonna go wrong today.
- Yeah.
- Oy.
- That's too much salt.
- It could be a disaster.
- Sure.
- I forgot to mix
in the gelatin.
So this is not going.
- And you know what
I like for brunch?
You know what I want.
A mimosa or bloody Mary.
- And then in the afternoon,
ol' fashioned.
- Oh, yeah, old fashioned,
all the way.
- How's that cookie dough
coming along?
- It's going well.
Just making some extras.
- Perfect. Okay.
- You good with this?
You like this?
It's a nice mixture, right?
- Yes, perfect.
- Steve, I'm going in
with both cookies right now.
- How many do we need? 12?
- 12 in all.
So for our ornament cookies,
we are making--
- Orange rosemary cookies.
So, traditionally,
we were thinking of doing rose-
and cardamom-flavored cookies,
but we wanted to bring
something different
for the Grannies this time.
So hopefully they like them.
- Niyati.
- Yes.
- How are you?
You're very quiet today.
- Uh--
I know.
Just working on a few things.
We haven't made cookies as
ornaments in our trees before.
So this is a challenge
that we are nervous about.
I hope that the ornaments
that we are making,
we are able to hang them
properly on the trees.
- This is the best Christmas
gift you could ask for.
- Come on, let's go.
- So this is the final bake.
We're feeling a ton of pressure
to get this right.
- There it is.
- And so, 45 minutes
into this bake,
we are rolling.
- On fire.
- And then bum-bum-bum!
Is the cookies out?
We hit a wall.
- Ohh.
- Ugh!
- 20 cookies burnt to a crisp.
Out of the oven they come--
- Straight to the trash.
- Tom, I just dumped these.
Does anyone have
any room-temp butter?
- We do! We've got one stick
and then we've got
the Danish European style.
- Thank you.
We go into problem-solving mode
at this point
because we're not gonna serve
the Grannies burnt cookies.
- We got to start over.
- So we got to start over.
- Sorry, Steve.
- It's okay, man.
- Hey, welcome, folks.
It's the first "Baking It"
Host House Roast of Nuts.
- Hey, nuts have been getting
a lot of love on this show.
- Honestly, they're getting
too big for their shells.
So get ready
to get roasted, nuts.
Hey, look who it is,
it's walnut.
- Hey, walnut, you lumpy son
of a nut,
you're the Elephant Man
of the nuts.
"I am not a good snack!"
- But seriously, walnut,
you might look like a brain,
but you're great for ours.
You're full of magnesium
and we love you. God bless.
- Uh-oh, it's peanut!
Hey, peanuts, jelly called,
she's leaving you,
she's sick of carrying around
your dead weight.
Look at him,
he's just sitting there.
Somebody get him an epi-pen,
I think he's in shock!
- We kid because
we love, peanut.
You're an amazing snack.
You'd be the greatest nut
in the world
if you weren't a legume,
you dirtbag!
- Hey-o! It's pistachio!
Hey, you're harder to open
than a restaurant during Covid.
- Hey!
- What? Oh, pistachio.
You're getting upset?
What's the matter,
we cracked your shell,
now you got thin skin too?
Relax, buddy,
we're just joking, eh?
- And look who it is,
the man of the hour.
- Mr. Holidays himself.
Hello, chestnut!
- More like Mr.
One Hit Wonder.
- What? We're kidding. Relax.
- We're kidding around.
You got to have
a thicker shell.
- Unbelievable.
- No, but seriously,
thank you for all that you do.
Especially around the holidays.
- And finally, let us
take a moment
of silence for the pecan.
Pecan pe-can't be here tonight
because he's disgusting.
- Roasted!
- I hope this is no lumps.
- How much sherry? A shot?
- At least a shot, yeah.
'Cause you want it
to flavor it.
- Okay.
- Oh, that looks so pretty.
For our sweet dessert,
we're making
a passion fruit pavlova
with a whipped coconut white
chocolate ganache.
- So with the pavlova,
so many things can go wrong.
If it cools too quickly,
it will crack in the oven.
They're very delicate,
so it's very easy
to break them
as you're moving them.
They're just, you know,
in true sister fashion,
we're choosing something
that's really unpredictable
and could have a lot of ways
it could fail.
- Yeah.
- 'Cause why not?
- Okay, these are just
gonna bake till time's up.
- This is the finale.
Go big or go home.
- Niyati and Abhi,
what are you guys working on?
- We're working on
our cinnamon rolls.
- Cinnamon buns, cinnamon buns.
- Cinnamon buns.
Gajar halwa is basically
a traditional Indian dessert
that we make
in all our festivals.
And that's the filling
that we are using
for our cinnamon buns.
- Where is the saffron?
- Nay.
- Huh?
- Nay.
- I think this should be done.
- It's done.
- Ah.
- We are halfway through the
challenge and we are stressed
because I'm making
the dough from scratch.
So we need to proof the dough,
and then roll it out,
add all the gajar halwa
filling,
then roll the dough over.
And then proof it
a little bit more.
So we are nervous when we are
going to put it in the oven.
And we can start baking it
as quick as we can.
- Yeah.
- So did you
remake the ganache?
- Me?
- Oh, sorry, I thought
you were Steph.
- I was like, "Was I supposed
to make a ganache?"
- You want to come help us
with our bake?
- For the sweet brunch item,
which is an English trifle,
we use our vanilla bean
custard for that.
The custard is something
that is universally loved.
- I'd make like 30 to 40 pints
of those every Christmas.
- People would ask for it.
If they didn't get it
by December 15th,
they would start asking
if they were gonna get it.
Vanilla custard is the gift
of the year for us.
You don't think we should do
more whipped cream than that?
- Which should we do more of?
- Let's pipe that stuff.
- Maya and I haven't really
worked together in a long time,
and I have to say
the best thing about this show
by far has been...
the food.
- Oh.
No, I'm just kidding, it's been
getting to hang out again.
- It is, it's nice to know that
you're gonna spend the day
with people that make you laugh
and make you happy.
- Aw, that's nice.
- I'm talking
about Niyati and Abhi.
Burn, Andrew!
- Is every single measuring
spoon dirty?
- No, I don't think so,
but I don't know that.
- We're doubling this,
so four cups of cheese, right?
- Yeah.
- How many jalapeno
do you need? One or two?
- Two.
- I'll have to do two
separate batches of mushrooms.
- Of what, mushrooms?
- Yeah.
- Yeah. Look at those
spectacular crab cakes.
- Are you guys baking bacon
right now?
Yeah.
- Smells so good.
- I know, right?
For our savory brunch item,
we are making a cheddar,
chive, and bacon scone.
Scones feel like
they should be very simple.
They're very basic ingredients,
but they're like pie dough.
Something that just takes
experience and technique
to kind of avoid the pitfalls.
It's easy to overwork
the dough.
But I feel like this dough
is coming together well.
We have nice, big chunks
of butter in there,
which I know are going to melt
and the water is gonna
evaporate and expand in the oven.
So, we should get some
nice aeration in the scones.
And I feel pretty good
about that.
Okay, this one's going in now.
- Do you want me
to brush them with butter?
- Yeah.
- Food is actually a great way
to gather people.
- Especially during holidays.
It's like a gateway
to their hearts.
And what we really want
is for the world to understand
the kind of flavors
which we have grown
back home in India.
We want to represent
that on our final bake.
Spicy Mexican eggs
with Indian taco seasoning.
The eggs are baked
in all these flavors
and we just hope
that it all works out
and the Grannies like it.
- One, two, three, go!
- So since we're all here
together in this snow globe
and our bakers can't be
with their loved ones,
we thought we would bring
their loved ones to them.
- Yeah. So we're bringing them
some special gifts
that I think are gonna
make them cry.
- And probably us too.
- Yeah.
- Jessica and Stephanie, hi.
- Oh, my gosh.
- Hi. Not more presents.
- We just want to give you
a little something.
- Since it's the holidays,
and you guys are here
in the snow globe
instead of at home
with your families,
we thought we'd just give you
a little something.
- It's overwhelming.
- Yes.
- Okay.
I'm gonna pull that out.
Oh, my gosh.
- Go ahead, press it.
- Hit play.
- Hey, Mom, I love you so much
and I miss you
and I hope you do great.
- Oh, sweet.
- Aww.
I know who that person is.
- Hi, Steve, I love you,
I miss you.
The boys and I, we're back
home, we're rooting for you.
And we can't wait to spend the
rest of this holiday season
with you as we welcome in
our baby girl.
- Hi, Niyati and Abhi,
only one suggestion advice,
is that while achieving
your objective,
do enjoy every moment.
Enjoying the journey
is equally important
as achieving the objective.
- Tom, we really miss you.
The house is quiet.
It is clean,
but it doesn't have
the lovely smell
of the baking,
the pies and cakes.
- I'd like to say, Gigi,
I love you dearly
and I know you're gonna keep
those home fires burning
while I'm not there.
I love you and I miss you.
- Say hi, Mommy.
- Hi, Mommy!
- Hi!
- I miss them so much.
- The kids are just too cute.
I can't handle it.
- Anytime a kid says,
"I miss you, Mommy,
I miss you, Daddy,"
it's like--
- Can you tell Mommy
we miss her so much?
- I miss you so much!
- And say I love you.
- I love you!
- Oh, God, those kids
are adorable.
- Oh, my goodness.
Right now, during the final,
just to get a sweet message
from our families.
- I know. My gosh,
you're making me cry.
They've been so supportive
throughout the whole thing
and just knowing
that they're back home
and they're pulling for us
and cheering us on,
I think that was the boost
that we needed to get through
this last challenge.
- Absolutely.
- I love you and I miss you
and you want to snuggle me,
I always know that. Facts.
- Did she say "facts"?
- Facts.
- Facts.
- Facts.
- Everybody misses
their family so much.
It just really makes you think
about what this whole time
is about and the people
that you share it with.
It was really sweet.
- Yeah.
- Oh, love it.
- The cookies look a lot
better, Steve.
- Is it done?
- I think that's good. I hope.
- Oh, that smells so good.
- It's almost time.
- Uh-oh, we better get poppin'.
You feel good, I feel good.
- Bravo.
- Oh, I just stuck my finger
through a camera
so if we have
another good picture.
- Need some snipped chives.
- What else?
- Still got to leaf.
- Do the foil?
- Oh, it's so festive.
I love it.
Five, four, three, two,
one!
Done!
- It's over!
- Oh, my God.
- The last bake is over!
- Oh, my--
- It's been a fun experience.
- It has, man.
- It has.
- Oh, my God.
- What's gonna happen?
-
- You okay?
- My babies!
- I was afraid
this was gonna happen.
- You're my babies!
- It's okay.
- My babies.
Cheers.
- Cheers to the finale.
- To the holidays.
- Got you.
- Eye contact. That counts.
- That's right. That's right.
- Steve and Tom, come on up.
- Bonjour.
- Oh, bonjour.
- Bonjour, bonjour.
- Trifle.
- Oh, my goodness.
- Tom is rocking the jammies.
You look real cozy.
- I feel cozy.
- Yeah, I'm diggin' it.
- Tell us about
your tree ornaments.
- We made 12 cookies and
they are Christmas stockings.
There's one of my wife, Gigi,
and Papa, and there's 10 kids.
One Christmas
stocking for each kid.
Simple vanilla sugar cookie.
It's delicious.
- I do love a good vanilla
Christmas cookie.
And the frosting is very good.
Not too sweet. Just right.
The color could've been
a bit more Christmas green.
But the taste and the looks of
it are very pretty and festive.
Thank you.
- Did you have any issues
with the cookie?
- We burnt the first batch.
Ohh.
- We started over.
- Well, that was good teamwork.
- Yeah. He's my team.
- It was a good one.
- He's my team.
- I like the texture.
Not too hard and not too soft,
but just right.
- Thank you.
- I find the flavors good.
I'm enjoying it.
- Tell us about
your savory main dish.
- So we did our version
of an eggs benedict,
Chesapeake style.
So we made a wild mushroom tart
and then we did
a Maryland crab cake.
And an egg on top of that
with some hollandaise.
- The crab is
absolutely delicious.
- Thank you.
- The flavor profile.
And you can see the crab.
We got lots of crab in there.
- Mmm.
- So I'm not complaining.
I'm happy.
- Thank you.
- It's delicious.
Of course, me, I would like a
little more mm to it, you know?
'Cause I make these a lot.
A little cayenne pepper,
but it's very good.
- It's balance here with
you ladies. Some like it hot.
- Okay, gentlemen,
tell us about your dessert.
- So, this trifle is one
of the center pieces
that we have
on the table frequently.
- You have to dig down
but it stays pretty.
- Oh, how lovely.
- It's fresh raspberries on the
bottom with a raspberry jam.
So then you layer it
with sponge cake
and you redo it three times.
- So does the sponge cake
get soaked?
- Yes, it's soaked in that
raspberry sherry concoction.
- Oh, there's sherry
up in here?
- Here's the extra custard.
- Crème anglaise.
- Oh, yes, custard.
- I'll tell you,
it looks beautiful.
And the red screams holiday.
- It really does.
- Thank you.
- Made me want just
another note of flavor.
- Perhaps.
And a different texture.
I just would've liked something
that might've given my mouth
a little interest,
maybe a crunch here or there.
But the crème anglaise
is absolutely beautiful.
You can put that on anything
and it would be delicious.
A toast in the morning,
it would be good.
- That sponge cake did exactly
what it was supposed to do.
- Mm-hmm. Yeah.
- It's delicious.
Thank you.
- It's divine.
- It is.
- Thank you.
- Obscene.
- Yeah, it is obscene.
It really is.
- It really is
obscenely delicious.
Bravo.
- Thank you.
- Bravo, bravo.
- Thank you. Appreciate it.
- I am so blown away with what
the Grannies are saying.
- It means a lot to us.
It would feel incredible
for us to win.
That was good.
- It's all good.
But coming into this,
it was about the experience,
win or lose,
of doing this alongside
one of my favorite people
in the world.
Thank you for doing this
with me.
- Thank you.
- I love you.
- An absolute pleasure.
I love you, too.
- I appreciate you.
- That cream, could lick it.
- Jessica and Stephanie,
please come join us.
- Hi, guys.
- Hi.
- Very pretty.
- Those decorations.
- Very nice.
- Look at that pavlova.
Beautiful.
- Oh, wow.
- Okay, tell us about
your tree ornaments.
- The tree ornaments are lemon
cardamom shortbread cookies
and we printed on edible rice
paper some family portraits.
So we wanted to bring a little
bit of our family to you today.
- Let's see.
- Oh.
- Look at this. How cute.
- Your husband is gorgeous,
okay?
- He's such a good-looking guy.
He's handsome.
- The appearance is lovely.
It's done beautifully.
Just perfectly.
And this frame.
- I hated to break it.
- With the picture, it really
is exceptional.
The cookie,
I haven't tasted yet.
- So it's got lemon
and cardamom in it
and it's a shortbread.
- That's a good cookie.
- Oh, thank you.
- Maybe a touch less lemon.
- Okay.
- I'll tell you, the creativity
is over the top.
The cookie, itself,
is delicious.
I love that lemon.
This is right paper?
- Yes.
- Okay.
The only thing, chewing it
is a little tough. That's all.
- The rice paper is good.
- It really was clever.
- Very.
- Thank you.
- Amazing. Mm-hmm.
- Tell us about
your savory dish.
- We made bacon, chive,
and cheddar scones.
We make these at my house
all of the time.
But I have one daughter
who's vegetarian
so we always do just
the cheese and the chives.
But Stephanie loves bacon.
- My family loves bacon.
- I know some of you
love bacon.
So then we also did
a whipped herb butter
as well to go with that.
- Very light. Not heavy.
- It's amazing.
- I've had some scones
that were bricks.
This is not one of them.
The butter just adds to it.
And the flavor is just great.
- Thank you so much.
- I needed the butter
because I'm a butter person
to begin with.
- Me too.
- But excellent flavor.
And thanks for the bacon.
- It's dessert time.
- We made a passion
fruit pavlova.
It has a passion fruit curd,
it's got vanilla bean
whipped cream,
kiwi, mango, some pomegranate,
and then the whipped
coconut ganache.
- This is wonderful.
- It's got the crisp bite
that you look for.
It's got the chewiness
on the inside.
I love the tropical flavors.
They really are delicious
with this.
And that vanilla cream
works beautifully in this,
with the fruit.
- This is a show-stopper.
I mean, seriously.
Just perfect on the outside
and just creamy
and delicious and silky.
And it is a Gigi Diggity.
- Whoo!
- Ohh!
- It's so beautiful.
And it's so festive.
- It's absolutely delicious.
Fluffy, light, the whole bit.
- Yes.
- Girls, kudos.
- And we have one more to go.
- Did you see the instructions
Amy left for when we leave?
- No.
- It's a lot.
- Like what?
- Like, clean all the kitchens.
- Jeez.
- Put the Christmas trees
into a wood chipper.
- Jeez.
- Who knows how to do that?
Sharpen the antlers
on the chandelier.
- Demanding.
- Niyati and Abhi,
please join us.
- Hello.
- Hi.
- Here we go.
- How are you?
- Oh, my, my. Oh, my, my.
- Oh, wow.
- Ooh.
- In an iron skillet much less.
- Just lovely.
- Tell us about your
tree ornaments.
- We made orange
and rosemary cookies.
- Some designs themed
around our wedding.
- Themed around our wedding.
So we have a groom and a bride.
We have a wedding cake.
- And also our names
written on it
in Hindi, how they were
on our wedding card.
Aww!
- So sweet.
- It tastes very good.
I'm getting the cardamom,
I'm getting the spices,
they're very nicely balanced.
The cookie is just a little bit
on the dry side.
I like my cookies
a little moister.
- Okay.
- Okay.
- That doesn't
bother me at all.
I mean, it's really good.
- It is.
- It's so different.
I mean, it's different from
what I'm used to, for sure.
I think it's adorable.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
- Tell us about
your savory main dish.
- So our savory main dish
is a fusion
between Indian and Mexican.
So we made
Indo-Mexican spicy eggs.
And that seasoning is inspired
by Indian flavors
and it has shredded
Mexican cheese
as well as Indian cheese,
which is the paneer.
Some onions, garlic, tomatoes,
black beans, and eggs.
- First of all,
it's a flavor bomb in my mouth.
The fusion, that's wonderful.
I really loved the cheese,
it's melty.
The egg is not overcooked.
- Wow.
- The Mexican spices and
the Indian spices come through.
And this would be good for
brunch on a really chilly day.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
- I find it very spicy.
But I appreciate your cilantro.
Because it toned
down the jalapeno.
- Okay.
- But very good. Very good.
- Thank you.
- And I like the eggs.
The eggs around it, ooh!
- Let's get some dessert.
- For our dessert, we have
gajar halwa cinnamon buns.
Gajar halwa is carrot pudding
that we made back home
and we really--
That's our favorite
dessert as well.
- So we thought of using that
in our cinnamon buns
along with the cinnamon sugar
spice.
- It's so beautiful.
- Your dough is like a pillow.
- It is, yeah.
- It's a cloud.
It's so light.
- It really is. It's so good.
Sweet. Not dense.
The flavors are very subtle.
And I think for breakfast
sometimes that's best.
- I thought the bake
was beautiful.
Thank you.
- Your dough was lovely
and it was soft and pillowy
and your crumb was perfect.
- Niyati and Abhi,
this is a wonderful holiday
brunch in this cabin.
- Thank you.
- The overall goal
was obviously to have fun,
but while doing so,
also, like, present
the kind of flavors
which we grew up with.
- One more for the road.
- We've achieved that.
- We're just proud
of the accomplishments.
- Good job.
- You all did such
an awesome job.
You're not gonna make
our job any easier.
I mean, it's gonna be hard
because you all
are such great bakers.
- I was really blown away.
And it's so interesting how
different each one of them was.
The take on the idea of brunch.
- They're all incredible.
I don't envy you guys.
- Cheers to all you bakers!
- Cheers, bakers!-
- Cheers!
- Great job!
- Cheers!
- Great, great job!
- Great job!
- The fabulous finals.
- Fabulous.
- I'll tell you what,
I do not envy the Grannies
going into this final.
- Nope.
They do all the hard stuff.
We just eat,
they do the heavy lifting.
- Honestly, we're just
so relaxed
'cause of the robes.
We don't care who wins.
We love everybody.
- Food brings people together
and just like the holidays,
it's the people
you're with
that make the moments
you share so special.
We are so happy that we got to
have this time with all of you.
- And the food
was pretty good, too.
- Mm-hmm.
But, unfortunately,
there can only be one winner.
- We're gathered here
around the Christmas tree
for our lighting ceremony.
- Each of your names
is in the branches.
- When we light the tree
for the first time,
the names of the very
first winners of "Baking It"
will light up
for everyone to see.
- Thus shall the names of
the Master Bakers be revealed
and their master baking
will be cheered the world over!
- You mean Best in Dough.
- I do not.
But whatever you call them,
our first ever winners
will take home
the $50,000 prize.
- So, bakers,
are you ready
for the tree lighting?
We're ready.
- Yeah.
- Being in this competition
has been like gaining
new family members
and they're some
of my new favorite people.
- Ditto, 100%.
- No matter what happens,
I'm gonna end this experience
really proud of you.
- And you.
- And really proud of what
we were able to do together.
- We win or we lose,
we're already winners.
- This has been truly a really
enriching experience,
something which we'll never
forget, ever in our lives.
- Yeah.
- We are really humbled going
against these amazing bakers.
We'll cherish this forever.
- All of our foods tasted good,
we've put out some things
that we were excited about,
we put out some things
that we would've changed,
but I think that
the overall experience
of what we were able
to do in the kitchen,
I don't think
I would change a whole lot.
- I'm super proud of you,
and I love you so much.
- I love you, too.
- All right, here we go.
It's Christmas Day.
- Brunch is over.
- So let us get lit.
- Noice.
- God, this is exciting.
- Five, four, three--
Two, one.
- Our winners are Jessica
and Stephanie!
- Whoo!
- Congratulations, you guys!
- Congratulations!
- Jessica and Stephanie,
we took a look
at your body of bakes
and each bake was better
than the one before.
And it just kept building.
Your bakes today
was just delicious.
Everything just stood out.
And I have to say it was
the best scone I've ever had.
- Whoo!
- Truly!
And you rose to the top.
- Thank you so much.
- Thank you so much.
- Come and get your broach.
- And your giant cookie.
- $50,000, redeemable
at any bakery or bank.
- But we recommend the bank.
- We do.
- Oh, my gosh, thank you!
They're so cute.
This is by far the best cookie
I've ever held.
- I've never had a $50,000
cookie before.
We're Best in Dough!
- Aw!
Oh, my gosh, thank you so much
for this opportunity.
I honestly didn't know
what to expect
coming into this experience.
I thought it was going
to be about baking,
but it was really about
getting to know people,
and food is something
that we all share,
and it's a way to get to know
the people around us
and to share part of ourselves
with other people.
And that's really
a beautiful thing.
- That's sharing love
on a plate.
- That's well said.
- Listen, bakers,
I want to thank each
and every one of you all.
You are truly top bakers.
And I just have
one little life lesson.
The holidays and Christmas
is not just about
the gifts and material things.
The holidays, it's the love
that you give
towards each other.
These are the memories
that you will cherish forever.
And we are gonna cherish it
forever
and thank you all.
- Thank you.
- Thanks, Gigi.
- You cannot leave this cabin
without a big ol' hug
from Gigi,
Grammy, Bubbe, Bobby,
whatever you wanna call us.
I'm coming to you
to give you hugs!
- Yay!
- Bubbe.
- Our little kids
are all grown up.
- They sure are.
- Yep.
- Hey, friends,
thanks for house-sitting.
Did you have a good holiday?
- Uh, yeah, it was a good,
very chill.
- Quiet, really.
- So did you guys do a baking
competition here or what?
- We don't wanna crowd
your snow globe, so--
- Bye!
- Yeah.
- Oh, okay.
Bye.
I knew it!
If they didn't have
a baking competition,
then why does it smell
like pie in here?
- It's Christmas!
- Ding dong! Ding dong!
Ding, ding, ding, dong.
- It's Christmas.
I'm gonna get some presents.
- Ding, ding, ding, dong.
- And eat some sugar.
- And some gingerbread cookies
or other things.
- Sugar! Sugar!
Sugar! Sugar! Sugar!
-
Scrooge!
One last time.
- This is the finale.
- We'll get this done.
- Mm-hmm.
- Hello, bakers.
- Hello.
- Hey.
- It's Christmas morning here
in the cabin.
And one more challenge
will determine
who will be named
Best in Dough.
- AKA Master Bakers.
- Definitely not.
- Yeah, probably not.
- And win the $50,000 prize.
Our final challenge is bigger
than even
the biggest Big Ol' Bake.
- We're asking you to push
your talents to the limit
as you create...
a Final Feast!
- The Final Feast,
the ultimate Christmas meal.
- And we're not talking
just any Christmas meal.
- Nope. We're talking about
Christmas brunch.
- Your Final Feast will start
with some holiday
hors d'oeuvres--
12 baked ornaments
to decorate your tree.
- Followed by a savory
main course.
- And then, of course,
a sweet, sweet, sweet,
sweet dessert.
- Imagine you're serving
your Final Feast to the people
you'd love
to spend the holidays with.
- And then serve it to us
because we're holding you
hostage in this snow globe.
- Now, for the last time,
let's hear it.
The catch phrase
that has sustained us
lo these many weeks, Andy.
- Let's get bakin'!
- Yes!
- Whoo!
- All right, guys, go get it!
Good luck!
- Good luck!
- Love you guys!
- I just couldn't do it quiet.
- Appreciated that.
- Let's get baking.
- Let's get baking.
- I'm gonna make
the genoise first.
- Is the butter
already in the freezer?
- Yes.
- More nog?
- We're in the finals.
- I know, it's crazy.
- How you feeling about that?
- I feel emotional,
it's intense.
- Let me start with the eggs.
- Originally,
the final challenge
was just gonna be a brutal
fist fight
between all the teams,
but then we're like,
"You know what?
Let's make it a brunch."
- Yeah.
- What do you think
I should use to make the holes?
Which I forgot in the cameras.
- Straws, right?
- Let me see if I can fix it.
Whew! We're the marathon
runners over here.
If I pass out from heat stroke,
will you save me?
- Yeah, absolutely.
- The bakers are
truly nice people.
- Yes.
- I really like them.
- It's been fun to get
to know everybody.
- It has.
- I'm such a sap.
Jessica and Stephanie--
so wonderful to see two sisters
with so much love
for each other
really appreciating
the time they get
to spend together here.
- I mean, it's great meeting
you guys. Not gonna lie.
It's great baking.
Also, not gonna lie.
But this is probably
the best part.
- It's funny, they seem like
they're so nervous
about their bakes and yet
there's so much expertise.
- When you pour too much
at once,
it'll like freeze things solid
before it gets a chance
to like aerate it.
- They have that
perfectionist quality,
which is they refuse to say
they're good at something
unless they're like
the best at it.
But they clearly have a lot of
skill in all areas of baking.
- Would you say they have
the skills to pay the bills?
- We're gonna find out
in this final.
- Oh, damn.
- Hi, Jessica and Stephanie.
Hi, guys.
- Hi.
- You look so cozy.
- We are.
- You look so cozy.
- We are sweating.
- Kind of regretting
your garment choice?
- The hottest onesies.
- A little bit.
- Yeah.
- What are you guys
making today?
- So, our ornaments are--
We're both photographers,
so we're making little cookies
that look like picture frames.
And then some camera cookies.
We printed some edible paper,
so we're gonna have
some family photos.
- So, talk to me
about these edible pictures.
What do they taste like?
- They're vanilla-flavored.
- Really?
- I've actually never
tried it before.
- It's rice paper that
might taste a little bit
like food coloring,
it's right up your alley.
- Yeah, right.
- You know I like that.
- We did it just for you.
- Tastes like fondant.
- Food coloring on rice paper?
Yeah, that sounds bomb.
- It's the finals.
- So crazy to be here.
- It's gonna be exciting.
We've got three
really good teams here.
- I know. They're amazing.
- A lot of delicious food.
- I'm just so honored to be
in the company of these bakers.
- You're being modest.
- They've just impressed me
since day one.
- And we love you guys.
- We love you guys, too!
- Love you guys.
- There is a lovely family
feeling in here.
Everyone really supports
each other. I like seeing that.
- There really is.
It's gonna be really sad
when we all have to go home
no matter what happens today.
- Well, the good news is
you're trapped in a snow globe
so you'll never go home.
- We love it.
- You can't leave.
- It's our creation.
- Like of course I wanna win.
Who doesn't wanna win?
Like, winning is way better
than not winning. Right?
But I think my biggest goal
is to put out food
that I feel proud of.
But it really wouldn't
be horrible if we won.
That would be pretty awesome.
- Yeah.
- What's next? What are you
making for your savory?
- Our savory bake is gonna be
a bacon, chive,
and cheddar scone.
For our dessert,
we're gonna make a pavlova.
So, my kids ask for pavlova
all the time,
often for
their birthday treats
or Christmas treat.
- What is a pavlova?
- It's a meringue that should
be crispy on the outside
and pillowy
and marshmallowy on the inside.
We're gonna fill it
with some passion fruit curd,
a whipping ganache,
and some fruit.
And her husband's from Hawaii
so we're gonna put
a little tropical spin
on that pavlova.
- A tropical spin on Christmas.
- Passion fruit.
- Mele kalikimaka.
- Mele kalikimaka,
that's right.
- Are you hoping the Grannies
will have a Pavlovian response?
- I really do. They're gonna
see that and start salivating
and it's just gonna be like--
- You, like, ring a bell.
- End game, right there.
- Right here, Pops.
- Is that corn starch?
- Yeah.
- Oh, all right.
- I'm gonna get working
on the ornament cookies.
- Okay, get those ready. Yeah.
- Tom and Steve bring so
much tradition to the cabin.
It is really beautiful
to see a father and son
cooking things that they share
with their family.
- Absolutely. And they have
a quiet confidence about them
that sort of says,
"We're gonna be using a lot
of very delicious shellfish
and you're gonna like
how it tastes."
- We're making lobster pie.
- Lobster pot pie.
The tradition came from me
being in the seafood business
before any of my kids
were born.
So I would bring lobsters home
every Christmas.
- They make such delicious
comfort food.
They know these things
are going to just hit the spot
and be absolutely delicious,
which their stuff
has always been.
- Hello, Tom and Steve.
- Hi.
Welcome to
the Micky Ficky Finals.
- Ooh-whee!
- How did we get here?
- You got here
'cause you're great.
Thank you.
- Or you paid off the Grannies.
We'll never know.
- Either way, we'll never know.
How are you feeling about
being in the finals, guys?
- We're so happy to be here.
- Yeah. We're very happy.
- To be in the finals
of a baking competition,
as two novice home bakers,
this is wild.
- Yeah.
- This is really fun.
- I feel like we're
the underdogs going in here.
- Stephanie and Jessica,
they've killed
the last few challenge.
Abhi and Niyati, they've got
four broaches, you know?
So we're gonna do something
that we know.
Flavors that we know.
Every one of our bakes
is going to be representative
of a tradition
that we have on Christmas.
They're family favorites
and we've got these wired.
- What are you guys making?
- Our ornaments are gonna be
these nice, little stockings.
And each stocking
will be green and red.
And then we'll have each of our
ten grandkids on one,
and me and my wife,
Jeannie, get to go on one.
- Yeah, you two.
- The sweet is gonna be
an English trifle.
- I feel like you're gonna like
the English trifle
'cause you always be triflin'.
- Thank you.
- And our savory, we're gonna
do a little taste of home.
We're gonna do Maryland
jumbo lump crab cakes
and we're gonna have
a wild mushroom
and pork belly tartlet.
And then we're gonna poach
and egg and pop it on top.
It's gonna be like
a rich man's eggs benedict.
- And what would a poor man's
egg benedict be?
- Just an English muffin.
- Just an English muffin
on a plate.
- And then you just throw it
at the guy.
- You just throw it
at the guy, yeah.
- Like, "Here."
- "Here, that's for you.
You didn't pay enough."
- Tom and Steve are making
an English trifle.
- Mm-hmm.
Which is actually a food.
- Yes. Although it doesn't
sound like it, right?
- Yeah, to this point,
what did you think it meant?
- A very whimsical crime.
- Like teapot theft?
- Yes.
- Got it.
- Like, "I've seen to have lost
all my teapots.
Oh, what an English trifle."
- The holidays is all
about people coming together.
So for this bake, we're having
the bakers make a feast, right?
- Merriam-Webster's
defines feast
as 12 Christmas ornaments,
brunch with savory food,
and sweet dessert.
- Yeah.
That's a feast for your eyes
and your for stomachs.
- What kind of nuts
are we thinking?
- Raisins, almonds--
- And cashews, too.
- I have some nuts for you.
- Okay.
- Niyati and Abhi have had
an amazing journey.
- Truly. Won a lot of broaches.
- Niyati and Abhi.
- Oh, wow.
- Niyati and Abhi.
- Come and get your broach,
you're going to the finals.
- Yeah!
- I feel like so much
of cooking can be joy,
and there's so much joy
coming from them.
Their bakes have been
interesting and thoughtful
and beautiful.
- I feel like they're really
the Steph Curry of the teams.
In two ways. First off,
they use a lot of curry.
- True.
- And secondly,
they're baby-faced assassins.
- I am so cozy.
- Yeah.
- Hello, Niyati and Abhi.
Hello!
- You guys look so cute.
- Mom and Dad feel great today.
How are you guys
feeling after your broach?
- You can barely keep
your apron up,
it's so weighed down
with hardware.
- Some hardware out
there for sure.
- We're proud of ourselves.
- It's such an honor.
And such a humbling experience.
- This is a once in a lifetime
opportunity that you get.
It was fun.
- Yeah.
We are definitely
in it to win it.
And I don't know
if you've heard or known,
but Indians
are very competitive.
- We are.
- Tell us a little bit
about what you're making.
- For our tree decor,
we are making
some orange rosemary cookies,
but they're gonna be around
Indian wedding theme.
- During this time of the year,
we started dating
and also we had
a wedding in December,
so that's why we thought
of creating those memories
back again
through our ornaments.
For our dessert,
we are making cinnamon rolls.
- Cinnamon buns.
- Buns. Sorry.
With gajar halwa.
- Indian carrot pudding.
For our savory brunch,
we're gonna be doing--
- Spicy Mexican eggs,
with a lot of, like, little
touches of Indian flavors.
- So, the "taco seasoning"
would be Indian.
- Aha.
- Wow.
- We are big fans
of Mexican cuisine.
We both love Mexican flavors.
And we thought of infusing them
with Indian flavors.
Dry mango powder,
roasted cumin,
and black beans.
- Yeah.
- It sounds delicious.
- I'll be honest, I just trust
you guys at this point.
Okay. You could be like,
"We're making this
traditional dish, it's a boot."
- "A well-worn Army boot."
- It's Niyati and Abhi,
I'm sure it's gonna taste good.
- Thank you.
- Thank you so much.
- That means a lot.
- That means a lot to us.
- Yes.
- Hello!
- Hello!
- Hey!
- Ohh!
- Hey!
- Hi, bakers!
- Hey, Grannies!
- Welcome to the finale!
- That's right.
- You look comfortable.
- I just got a whiff
of something.
- Smell--
- Oh.
- Ladies, do you realize
how far we've come?
- Oh, wow.
- Today's the final.
- It's hard to believe.
- Christmas morning brunch.
So what do we expect?
Everything's gotta taste good,
it's got to look good,
and it's got
to be executed properly.
- True. They really have
to do three items today.
- And that's a lot.
- They have to do the Christmas
tree ornaments
made out of Christmas cookies.
- We got this.
- We need sweet.
- That trifle is beautiful,
we should do that.
- As a centerpiece.
I love that.
- And savory.
- Do you need cumin?
- Yes, thank you.
- It's going to be interesting
what they bring
from their backgrounds.
- Yes.
- But it's got to
be blockbuster.
I mean, this just can't be
our everyday bake.
- When you think about it,
we wouldn't expect anything but
blockbuster from this group.
- I know.
- This is my fear for each
and every one of 'em.
If it's gonna go wrong,
it's gonna go wrong today.
- Yeah.
- Oy.
- That's too much salt.
- It could be a disaster.
- Sure.
- I forgot to mix
in the gelatin.
So this is not going.
- And you know what
I like for brunch?
You know what I want.
A mimosa or bloody Mary.
- And then in the afternoon,
ol' fashioned.
- Oh, yeah, old fashioned,
all the way.
- How's that cookie dough
coming along?
- It's going well.
Just making some extras.
- Perfect. Okay.
- You good with this?
You like this?
It's a nice mixture, right?
- Yes, perfect.
- Steve, I'm going in
with both cookies right now.
- How many do we need? 12?
- 12 in all.
So for our ornament cookies,
we are making--
- Orange rosemary cookies.
So, traditionally,
we were thinking of doing rose-
and cardamom-flavored cookies,
but we wanted to bring
something different
for the Grannies this time.
So hopefully they like them.
- Niyati.
- Yes.
- How are you?
You're very quiet today.
- Uh--
I know.
Just working on a few things.
We haven't made cookies as
ornaments in our trees before.
So this is a challenge
that we are nervous about.
I hope that the ornaments
that we are making,
we are able to hang them
properly on the trees.
- This is the best Christmas
gift you could ask for.
- Come on, let's go.
- So this is the final bake.
We're feeling a ton of pressure
to get this right.
- There it is.
- And so, 45 minutes
into this bake,
we are rolling.
- On fire.
- And then bum-bum-bum!
Is the cookies out?
We hit a wall.
- Ohh.
- Ugh!
- 20 cookies burnt to a crisp.
Out of the oven they come--
- Straight to the trash.
- Tom, I just dumped these.
Does anyone have
any room-temp butter?
- We do! We've got one stick
and then we've got
the Danish European style.
- Thank you.
We go into problem-solving mode
at this point
because we're not gonna serve
the Grannies burnt cookies.
- We got to start over.
- So we got to start over.
- Sorry, Steve.
- It's okay, man.
- Hey, welcome, folks.
It's the first "Baking It"
Host House Roast of Nuts.
- Hey, nuts have been getting
a lot of love on this show.
- Honestly, they're getting
too big for their shells.
So get ready
to get roasted, nuts.
Hey, look who it is,
it's walnut.
- Hey, walnut, you lumpy son
of a nut,
you're the Elephant Man
of the nuts.
"I am not a good snack!"
- But seriously, walnut,
you might look like a brain,
but you're great for ours.
You're full of magnesium
and we love you. God bless.
- Uh-oh, it's peanut!
Hey, peanuts, jelly called,
she's leaving you,
she's sick of carrying around
your dead weight.
Look at him,
he's just sitting there.
Somebody get him an epi-pen,
I think he's in shock!
- We kid because
we love, peanut.
You're an amazing snack.
You'd be the greatest nut
in the world
if you weren't a legume,
you dirtbag!
- Hey-o! It's pistachio!
Hey, you're harder to open
than a restaurant during Covid.
- Hey!
- What? Oh, pistachio.
You're getting upset?
What's the matter,
we cracked your shell,
now you got thin skin too?
Relax, buddy,
we're just joking, eh?
- And look who it is,
the man of the hour.
- Mr. Holidays himself.
Hello, chestnut!
- More like Mr.
One Hit Wonder.
- What? We're kidding. Relax.
- We're kidding around.
You got to have
a thicker shell.
- Unbelievable.
- No, but seriously,
thank you for all that you do.
Especially around the holidays.
- And finally, let us
take a moment
of silence for the pecan.
Pecan pe-can't be here tonight
because he's disgusting.
- Roasted!
- I hope this is no lumps.
- How much sherry? A shot?
- At least a shot, yeah.
'Cause you want it
to flavor it.
- Okay.
- Oh, that looks so pretty.
For our sweet dessert,
we're making
a passion fruit pavlova
with a whipped coconut white
chocolate ganache.
- So with the pavlova,
so many things can go wrong.
If it cools too quickly,
it will crack in the oven.
They're very delicate,
so it's very easy
to break them
as you're moving them.
They're just, you know,
in true sister fashion,
we're choosing something
that's really unpredictable
and could have a lot of ways
it could fail.
- Yeah.
- 'Cause why not?
- Okay, these are just
gonna bake till time's up.
- This is the finale.
Go big or go home.
- Niyati and Abhi,
what are you guys working on?
- We're working on
our cinnamon rolls.
- Cinnamon buns, cinnamon buns.
- Cinnamon buns.
Gajar halwa is basically
a traditional Indian dessert
that we make
in all our festivals.
And that's the filling
that we are using
for our cinnamon buns.
- Where is the saffron?
- Nay.
- Huh?
- Nay.
- I think this should be done.
- It's done.
- Ah.
- We are halfway through the
challenge and we are stressed
because I'm making
the dough from scratch.
So we need to proof the dough,
and then roll it out,
add all the gajar halwa
filling,
then roll the dough over.
And then proof it
a little bit more.
So we are nervous when we are
going to put it in the oven.
And we can start baking it
as quick as we can.
- Yeah.
- So did you
remake the ganache?
- Me?
- Oh, sorry, I thought
you were Steph.
- I was like, "Was I supposed
to make a ganache?"
- You want to come help us
with our bake?
- For the sweet brunch item,
which is an English trifle,
we use our vanilla bean
custard for that.
The custard is something
that is universally loved.
- I'd make like 30 to 40 pints
of those every Christmas.
- People would ask for it.
If they didn't get it
by December 15th,
they would start asking
if they were gonna get it.
Vanilla custard is the gift
of the year for us.
You don't think we should do
more whipped cream than that?
- Which should we do more of?
- Let's pipe that stuff.
- Maya and I haven't really
worked together in a long time,
and I have to say
the best thing about this show
by far has been...
the food.
- Oh.
No, I'm just kidding, it's been
getting to hang out again.
- It is, it's nice to know that
you're gonna spend the day
with people that make you laugh
and make you happy.
- Aw, that's nice.
- I'm talking
about Niyati and Abhi.
Burn, Andrew!
- Is every single measuring
spoon dirty?
- No, I don't think so,
but I don't know that.
- We're doubling this,
so four cups of cheese, right?
- Yeah.
- How many jalapeno
do you need? One or two?
- Two.
- I'll have to do two
separate batches of mushrooms.
- Of what, mushrooms?
- Yeah.
- Yeah. Look at those
spectacular crab cakes.
- Are you guys baking bacon
right now?
Yeah.
- Smells so good.
- I know, right?
For our savory brunch item,
we are making a cheddar,
chive, and bacon scone.
Scones feel like
they should be very simple.
They're very basic ingredients,
but they're like pie dough.
Something that just takes
experience and technique
to kind of avoid the pitfalls.
It's easy to overwork
the dough.
But I feel like this dough
is coming together well.
We have nice, big chunks
of butter in there,
which I know are going to melt
and the water is gonna
evaporate and expand in the oven.
So, we should get some
nice aeration in the scones.
And I feel pretty good
about that.
Okay, this one's going in now.
- Do you want me
to brush them with butter?
- Yeah.
- Food is actually a great way
to gather people.
- Especially during holidays.
It's like a gateway
to their hearts.
And what we really want
is for the world to understand
the kind of flavors
which we have grown
back home in India.
We want to represent
that on our final bake.
Spicy Mexican eggs
with Indian taco seasoning.
The eggs are baked
in all these flavors
and we just hope
that it all works out
and the Grannies like it.
- One, two, three, go!
- So since we're all here
together in this snow globe
and our bakers can't be
with their loved ones,
we thought we would bring
their loved ones to them.
- Yeah. So we're bringing them
some special gifts
that I think are gonna
make them cry.
- And probably us too.
- Yeah.
- Jessica and Stephanie, hi.
- Oh, my gosh.
- Hi. Not more presents.
- We just want to give you
a little something.
- Since it's the holidays,
and you guys are here
in the snow globe
instead of at home
with your families,
we thought we'd just give you
a little something.
- It's overwhelming.
- Yes.
- Okay.
I'm gonna pull that out.
Oh, my gosh.
- Go ahead, press it.
- Hit play.
- Hey, Mom, I love you so much
and I miss you
and I hope you do great.
- Oh, sweet.
- Aww.
I know who that person is.
- Hi, Steve, I love you,
I miss you.
The boys and I, we're back
home, we're rooting for you.
And we can't wait to spend the
rest of this holiday season
with you as we welcome in
our baby girl.
- Hi, Niyati and Abhi,
only one suggestion advice,
is that while achieving
your objective,
do enjoy every moment.
Enjoying the journey
is equally important
as achieving the objective.
- Tom, we really miss you.
The house is quiet.
It is clean,
but it doesn't have
the lovely smell
of the baking,
the pies and cakes.
- I'd like to say, Gigi,
I love you dearly
and I know you're gonna keep
those home fires burning
while I'm not there.
I love you and I miss you.
- Say hi, Mommy.
- Hi, Mommy!
- Hi!
- I miss them so much.
- The kids are just too cute.
I can't handle it.
- Anytime a kid says,
"I miss you, Mommy,
I miss you, Daddy,"
it's like--
- Can you tell Mommy
we miss her so much?
- I miss you so much!
- And say I love you.
- I love you!
- Oh, God, those kids
are adorable.
- Oh, my goodness.
Right now, during the final,
just to get a sweet message
from our families.
- I know. My gosh,
you're making me cry.
They've been so supportive
throughout the whole thing
and just knowing
that they're back home
and they're pulling for us
and cheering us on,
I think that was the boost
that we needed to get through
this last challenge.
- Absolutely.
- I love you and I miss you
and you want to snuggle me,
I always know that. Facts.
- Did she say "facts"?
- Facts.
- Facts.
- Facts.
- Everybody misses
their family so much.
It just really makes you think
about what this whole time
is about and the people
that you share it with.
It was really sweet.
- Yeah.
- Oh, love it.
- The cookies look a lot
better, Steve.
- Is it done?
- I think that's good. I hope.
- Oh, that smells so good.
- It's almost time.
- Uh-oh, we better get poppin'.
You feel good, I feel good.
- Bravo.
- Oh, I just stuck my finger
through a camera
so if we have
another good picture.
- Need some snipped chives.
- What else?
- Still got to leaf.
- Do the foil?
- Oh, it's so festive.
I love it.
Five, four, three, two,
one!
Done!
- It's over!
- Oh, my God.
- The last bake is over!
- Oh, my--
- It's been a fun experience.
- It has, man.
- It has.
- Oh, my God.
- What's gonna happen?
-
- You okay?
- My babies!
- I was afraid
this was gonna happen.
- You're my babies!
- It's okay.
- My babies.
Cheers.
- Cheers to the finale.
- To the holidays.
- Got you.
- Eye contact. That counts.
- That's right. That's right.
- Steve and Tom, come on up.
- Bonjour.
- Oh, bonjour.
- Bonjour, bonjour.
- Trifle.
- Oh, my goodness.
- Tom is rocking the jammies.
You look real cozy.
- I feel cozy.
- Yeah, I'm diggin' it.
- Tell us about
your tree ornaments.
- We made 12 cookies and
they are Christmas stockings.
There's one of my wife, Gigi,
and Papa, and there's 10 kids.
One Christmas
stocking for each kid.
Simple vanilla sugar cookie.
It's delicious.
- I do love a good vanilla
Christmas cookie.
And the frosting is very good.
Not too sweet. Just right.
The color could've been
a bit more Christmas green.
But the taste and the looks of
it are very pretty and festive.
Thank you.
- Did you have any issues
with the cookie?
- We burnt the first batch.
Ohh.
- We started over.
- Well, that was good teamwork.
- Yeah. He's my team.
- It was a good one.
- He's my team.
- I like the texture.
Not too hard and not too soft,
but just right.
- Thank you.
- I find the flavors good.
I'm enjoying it.
- Tell us about
your savory main dish.
- So we did our version
of an eggs benedict,
Chesapeake style.
So we made a wild mushroom tart
and then we did
a Maryland crab cake.
And an egg on top of that
with some hollandaise.
- The crab is
absolutely delicious.
- Thank you.
- The flavor profile.
And you can see the crab.
We got lots of crab in there.
- Mmm.
- So I'm not complaining.
I'm happy.
- Thank you.
- It's delicious.
Of course, me, I would like a
little more mm to it, you know?
'Cause I make these a lot.
A little cayenne pepper,
but it's very good.
- It's balance here with
you ladies. Some like it hot.
- Okay, gentlemen,
tell us about your dessert.
- So, this trifle is one
of the center pieces
that we have
on the table frequently.
- You have to dig down
but it stays pretty.
- Oh, how lovely.
- It's fresh raspberries on the
bottom with a raspberry jam.
So then you layer it
with sponge cake
and you redo it three times.
- So does the sponge cake
get soaked?
- Yes, it's soaked in that
raspberry sherry concoction.
- Oh, there's sherry
up in here?
- Here's the extra custard.
- Crème anglaise.
- Oh, yes, custard.
- I'll tell you,
it looks beautiful.
And the red screams holiday.
- It really does.
- Thank you.
- Made me want just
another note of flavor.
- Perhaps.
And a different texture.
I just would've liked something
that might've given my mouth
a little interest,
maybe a crunch here or there.
But the crème anglaise
is absolutely beautiful.
You can put that on anything
and it would be delicious.
A toast in the morning,
it would be good.
- That sponge cake did exactly
what it was supposed to do.
- Mm-hmm. Yeah.
- It's delicious.
Thank you.
- It's divine.
- It is.
- Thank you.
- Obscene.
- Yeah, it is obscene.
It really is.
- It really is
obscenely delicious.
Bravo.
- Thank you.
- Bravo, bravo.
- Thank you. Appreciate it.
- I am so blown away with what
the Grannies are saying.
- It means a lot to us.
It would feel incredible
for us to win.
That was good.
- It's all good.
But coming into this,
it was about the experience,
win or lose,
of doing this alongside
one of my favorite people
in the world.
Thank you for doing this
with me.
- Thank you.
- I love you.
- An absolute pleasure.
I love you, too.
- I appreciate you.
- That cream, could lick it.
- Jessica and Stephanie,
please come join us.
- Hi, guys.
- Hi.
- Very pretty.
- Those decorations.
- Very nice.
- Look at that pavlova.
Beautiful.
- Oh, wow.
- Okay, tell us about
your tree ornaments.
- The tree ornaments are lemon
cardamom shortbread cookies
and we printed on edible rice
paper some family portraits.
So we wanted to bring a little
bit of our family to you today.
- Let's see.
- Oh.
- Look at this. How cute.
- Your husband is gorgeous,
okay?
- He's such a good-looking guy.
He's handsome.
- The appearance is lovely.
It's done beautifully.
Just perfectly.
And this frame.
- I hated to break it.
- With the picture, it really
is exceptional.
The cookie,
I haven't tasted yet.
- So it's got lemon
and cardamom in it
and it's a shortbread.
- That's a good cookie.
- Oh, thank you.
- Maybe a touch less lemon.
- Okay.
- I'll tell you, the creativity
is over the top.
The cookie, itself,
is delicious.
I love that lemon.
This is right paper?
- Yes.
- Okay.
The only thing, chewing it
is a little tough. That's all.
- The rice paper is good.
- It really was clever.
- Very.
- Thank you.
- Amazing. Mm-hmm.
- Tell us about
your savory dish.
- We made bacon, chive,
and cheddar scones.
We make these at my house
all of the time.
But I have one daughter
who's vegetarian
so we always do just
the cheese and the chives.
But Stephanie loves bacon.
- My family loves bacon.
- I know some of you
love bacon.
So then we also did
a whipped herb butter
as well to go with that.
- Very light. Not heavy.
- It's amazing.
- I've had some scones
that were bricks.
This is not one of them.
The butter just adds to it.
And the flavor is just great.
- Thank you so much.
- I needed the butter
because I'm a butter person
to begin with.
- Me too.
- But excellent flavor.
And thanks for the bacon.
- It's dessert time.
- We made a passion
fruit pavlova.
It has a passion fruit curd,
it's got vanilla bean
whipped cream,
kiwi, mango, some pomegranate,
and then the whipped
coconut ganache.
- This is wonderful.
- It's got the crisp bite
that you look for.
It's got the chewiness
on the inside.
I love the tropical flavors.
They really are delicious
with this.
And that vanilla cream
works beautifully in this,
with the fruit.
- This is a show-stopper.
I mean, seriously.
Just perfect on the outside
and just creamy
and delicious and silky.
And it is a Gigi Diggity.
- Whoo!
- Ohh!
- It's so beautiful.
And it's so festive.
- It's absolutely delicious.
Fluffy, light, the whole bit.
- Yes.
- Girls, kudos.
- And we have one more to go.
- Did you see the instructions
Amy left for when we leave?
- No.
- It's a lot.
- Like what?
- Like, clean all the kitchens.
- Jeez.
- Put the Christmas trees
into a wood chipper.
- Jeez.
- Who knows how to do that?
Sharpen the antlers
on the chandelier.
- Demanding.
- Niyati and Abhi,
please join us.
- Hello.
- Hi.
- Here we go.
- How are you?
- Oh, my, my. Oh, my, my.
- Oh, wow.
- Ooh.
- In an iron skillet much less.
- Just lovely.
- Tell us about your
tree ornaments.
- We made orange
and rosemary cookies.
- Some designs themed
around our wedding.
- Themed around our wedding.
So we have a groom and a bride.
We have a wedding cake.
- And also our names
written on it
in Hindi, how they were
on our wedding card.
Aww!
- So sweet.
- It tastes very good.
I'm getting the cardamom,
I'm getting the spices,
they're very nicely balanced.
The cookie is just a little bit
on the dry side.
I like my cookies
a little moister.
- Okay.
- Okay.
- That doesn't
bother me at all.
I mean, it's really good.
- It is.
- It's so different.
I mean, it's different from
what I'm used to, for sure.
I think it's adorable.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
- Tell us about
your savory main dish.
- So our savory main dish
is a fusion
between Indian and Mexican.
So we made
Indo-Mexican spicy eggs.
And that seasoning is inspired
by Indian flavors
and it has shredded
Mexican cheese
as well as Indian cheese,
which is the paneer.
Some onions, garlic, tomatoes,
black beans, and eggs.
- First of all,
it's a flavor bomb in my mouth.
The fusion, that's wonderful.
I really loved the cheese,
it's melty.
The egg is not overcooked.
- Wow.
- The Mexican spices and
the Indian spices come through.
And this would be good for
brunch on a really chilly day.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
- I find it very spicy.
But I appreciate your cilantro.
Because it toned
down the jalapeno.
- Okay.
- But very good. Very good.
- Thank you.
- And I like the eggs.
The eggs around it, ooh!
- Let's get some dessert.
- For our dessert, we have
gajar halwa cinnamon buns.
Gajar halwa is carrot pudding
that we made back home
and we really--
That's our favorite
dessert as well.
- So we thought of using that
in our cinnamon buns
along with the cinnamon sugar
spice.
- It's so beautiful.
- Your dough is like a pillow.
- It is, yeah.
- It's a cloud.
It's so light.
- It really is. It's so good.
Sweet. Not dense.
The flavors are very subtle.
And I think for breakfast
sometimes that's best.
- I thought the bake
was beautiful.
Thank you.
- Your dough was lovely
and it was soft and pillowy
and your crumb was perfect.
- Niyati and Abhi,
this is a wonderful holiday
brunch in this cabin.
- Thank you.
- The overall goal
was obviously to have fun,
but while doing so,
also, like, present
the kind of flavors
which we grew up with.
- One more for the road.
- We've achieved that.
- We're just proud
of the accomplishments.
- Good job.
- You all did such
an awesome job.
You're not gonna make
our job any easier.
I mean, it's gonna be hard
because you all
are such great bakers.
- I was really blown away.
And it's so interesting how
different each one of them was.
The take on the idea of brunch.
- They're all incredible.
I don't envy you guys.
- Cheers to all you bakers!
- Cheers, bakers!-
- Cheers!
- Great job!
- Cheers!
- Great, great job!
- Great job!
- The fabulous finals.
- Fabulous.
- I'll tell you what,
I do not envy the Grannies
going into this final.
- Nope.
They do all the hard stuff.
We just eat,
they do the heavy lifting.
- Honestly, we're just
so relaxed
'cause of the robes.
We don't care who wins.
We love everybody.
- Food brings people together
and just like the holidays,
it's the people
you're with
that make the moments
you share so special.
We are so happy that we got to
have this time with all of you.
- And the food
was pretty good, too.
- Mm-hmm.
But, unfortunately,
there can only be one winner.
- We're gathered here
around the Christmas tree
for our lighting ceremony.
- Each of your names
is in the branches.
- When we light the tree
for the first time,
the names of the very
first winners of "Baking It"
will light up
for everyone to see.
- Thus shall the names of
the Master Bakers be revealed
and their master baking
will be cheered the world over!
- You mean Best in Dough.
- I do not.
But whatever you call them,
our first ever winners
will take home
the $50,000 prize.
- So, bakers,
are you ready
for the tree lighting?
We're ready.
- Yeah.
- Being in this competition
has been like gaining
new family members
and they're some
of my new favorite people.
- Ditto, 100%.
- No matter what happens,
I'm gonna end this experience
really proud of you.
- And you.
- And really proud of what
we were able to do together.
- We win or we lose,
we're already winners.
- This has been truly a really
enriching experience,
something which we'll never
forget, ever in our lives.
- Yeah.
- We are really humbled going
against these amazing bakers.
We'll cherish this forever.
- All of our foods tasted good,
we've put out some things
that we were excited about,
we put out some things
that we would've changed,
but I think that
the overall experience
of what we were able
to do in the kitchen,
I don't think
I would change a whole lot.
- I'm super proud of you,
and I love you so much.
- I love you, too.
- All right, here we go.
It's Christmas Day.
- Brunch is over.
- So let us get lit.
- Noice.
- God, this is exciting.
- Five, four, three--
Two, one.
- Our winners are Jessica
and Stephanie!
- Whoo!
- Congratulations, you guys!
- Congratulations!
- Jessica and Stephanie,
we took a look
at your body of bakes
and each bake was better
than the one before.
And it just kept building.
Your bakes today
was just delicious.
Everything just stood out.
And I have to say it was
the best scone I've ever had.
- Whoo!
- Truly!
And you rose to the top.
- Thank you so much.
- Thank you so much.
- Come and get your broach.
- And your giant cookie.
- $50,000, redeemable
at any bakery or bank.
- But we recommend the bank.
- We do.
- Oh, my gosh, thank you!
They're so cute.
This is by far the best cookie
I've ever held.
- I've never had a $50,000
cookie before.
We're Best in Dough!
- Aw!
Oh, my gosh, thank you so much
for this opportunity.
I honestly didn't know
what to expect
coming into this experience.
I thought it was going
to be about baking,
but it was really about
getting to know people,
and food is something
that we all share,
and it's a way to get to know
the people around us
and to share part of ourselves
with other people.
And that's really
a beautiful thing.
- That's sharing love
on a plate.
- That's well said.
- Listen, bakers,
I want to thank each
and every one of you all.
You are truly top bakers.
And I just have
one little life lesson.
The holidays and Christmas
is not just about
the gifts and material things.
The holidays, it's the love
that you give
towards each other.
These are the memories
that you will cherish forever.
And we are gonna cherish it
forever
and thank you all.
- Thank you.
- Thanks, Gigi.
- You cannot leave this cabin
without a big ol' hug
from Gigi,
Grammy, Bubbe, Bobby,
whatever you wanna call us.
I'm coming to you
to give you hugs!
- Yay!
- Bubbe.
- Our little kids
are all grown up.
- They sure are.
- Yep.
- Hey, friends,
thanks for house-sitting.
Did you have a good holiday?
- Uh, yeah, it was a good,
very chill.
- Quiet, really.
- So did you guys do a baking
competition here or what?
- We don't wanna crowd
your snow globe, so--
- Bye!
- Yeah.
- Oh, okay.
Bye.
I knew it!
If they didn't have
a baking competition,
then why does it smell
like pie in here?