Sugar Rush Christmas (2019–…): Season 2, Episode 4 - North Pole - full transcript
Bakers compete in three North Pole themed challenges. Sasha Pieterse guest judges.
This is Sugar Rush Christmas,
the baking competition where
time is the most important ingredient.
Four teams of brilliant bakers
battle it out for sugary success
over three rounds of competition,
-racing against each other and the clock.
-[chimes]
The faster they work, the better, because
time saved in round one, cupcakes,
and round two, confections,
will be banked and added
to their third and final round, cakes.
I'm your host, Hunter March,
and determining which team is going home
with the $10,000 Christmas present
is our amazing panel of judges.
This year, the only thing on my wish list
is more time with this pastry chef
and entrepreneur.
It's Candace Nelson.
On the opposite side of the North Pole,
from our southern hemisphere,
it's celebrated Australian pastry chef
Adriano Zumbo.
It's cooling down
in the Sugar Rush Christmaskitchen,
but the competition is heating up
as our bakers compete
in three North Pole themed challenges.
And, finally, our guest judge, actor,
musician, and cookbook author,
Sasha Pieterse.
Candace and Adriano are inside
presenting the first two rounds
-of our North Pole themed challenges...
-[bleeping]
...and that sound means
that competition has just begun.
Let's check it out.
Jordan, Jenna, "ice" to meet you.
Oh! I like these teams,
look like we got some polar opposites.
Good luck today, bakers.
I can't bear to see anyone lose.
Polar bear, that is.
-[Candace] Hello, Hunter.
-What a wonderful day to be here.
And welcome to our lovely guest judge.
-Sasha, how you doing?
-Thank you. I'm ecstatic to be here.
We have a very fun competition,
North Pole themed.
Candace, what will our bakers
be doing in round one?
The Arctic Circle is full
of so many cute little critters.
Everything from baby seals
to Arctic foxes to narwhals.
-Polar bears.
-Thank you.
-Polar bears.
-[Candace] Polar bears too.
We want them to create 12 cupcakes
that highlight them.
When you said the Arctic Circle's filled
with so many cute and cuddly creatures,
-it's really like six different species.
-[laughing]
Hard place to live.
What animal are you thinking?
Everybody's gonna do
a polar bear. I don't wanna do one.
-Uh...
-Okay.
-What about...
-Like, a walrus?
-A walrus.
-Okay.
-Polar bears would be super cute.
-You wanna do, like...
We can do them, like,
coming out of the cupcake.
-His head peeking out of the snow.
-Like they're buried.
What do you think?
What animals we can use?
Killer whale will be perfect.
This sounds great.
We'll have a cute little fox
with smiley face.
My name's Jordan.
I'm from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
and I own Velvet Sky Bakery.
My name is Jenna, and I work for Jordan.
We met in kindergarten, actually.
We've known each other
for 30... [mutters] ...years, and...
-[both laugh]
-Thirty hundred years.
Thirty hundred years,
and we work well together.
This cake's gonna be
so good for this round.
It'll have the cute little fox on top.
The flavors are gonna be so on point.
For our Arctic animal cupcake,
we're gonna make a poppy seed cake
filled with lingonberry gin gelée,
frosted with a cooling
monk fruit rosemary buttercream,
topped with poppy seed brittle,
an adorable fondant Arctic fox
and a green microwave cake bush.
[Jenna] The foxes are almost done.
[Jordan] Oh, I love them!
-Second batch in the oven. Same thing.
-[Jenna] Awesome.
-How much time do you wanna spend?
-Bad girls will take at least an hour...
-Hour and 15 minutes? Okay, cool.
-Hour and 15 minutes.
-I'm Ivan.
-And I'm Alex.
[both] We're the Cake Brothers.
[Alex] We're both from Chicago.
We grew up in the bakery business.
Our parents have a Mexican bakery.
Once I finished high school,
I had a clear vision
that that's what I wanted to do.
-And his passion was pretty contagious...
-And I...
...so it kind of spread on me, too.
[chuckles]
[Ivan] Soon as you finish
the chocolate cake, I'll jump into...
-The buttercream? Okay. Cool.
-Whoever finishes first.
We were actually born in Mexico,
and we wanna showcase Mexican flavors.
We add a little bit of spice.
We do cayenne pepper, chili powder...
-Trying to bring our culture in.
-Cinnamon... Yeah.
-[Ivan] How are we on the cake?
-[Alex] Good.
For our Arctic animal cupcake,
we're making
a chocolate Mexican spice cake.
We're gonna fill it
with white chocolate peppermint ganache,
and a Swiss meringue cinnamon buttercream
and a walrus macaron on top.
Hey, Rach, I got all my spices.
So our chocolate cake has a bit of pepper
-to give it extra spice.
-Ooh, la, la!
-How's that?
-Gimme spice, baby.
How's that for some heat?
I'm Rachel, the owner of Sweet Traders
in Huntington Beach, California.
And I'm Samantha, her head decorator.
[Rachel] We specialize
in wedding and event cakes.
I am the boss,
but Sam's really the boss in the kitchen.
It's a little over ten minutes,
so we've just gotta get this
in the oven as fast as possible.
For our Arctic animal cupcakes,
we're making a chocolate spice cake
filled with a orange-zested crème fraîche,
a Grand Marnier chocolate ganache,
topped with a polar bear
made out of fondant.
In we go, baby.
[woman sighs]
I'm so nervous.
We have three hours, Susana,
so we need to, like, be calm.
This is Susana. She's my student.
And this is Eric,
my amazing baking professor.
It's time for the world to see what
Puerto Rican sweet makers can do.
[Eric] Have to be darker.
I'm gonna put more charcoal on it.
We are trying to impress the judges by
bringing two different flavors of cupcakes
rather than just one cupcake.
It's perfect.
I think this cupcake's
going to taste amazing.
My cupcake will be a killer whale
made out of chocolate and charcoal cake,
filled with hazelnut paste
with a peppermint chocolate
buttercream frosting
and chocolate whale tail.
[Eric] When I put this in the oven,
I'm going to make the apple pie filling.
And Susana is gonna make
the other cupcake,
which will be the Arctic tern.
It's a bird.
It will be an apple pie cupcake
filled with cooked apple,
with whipped cream icing,
and two wings made out of wafer paper.
I love it.
You can feel the apple and the spices.
Okay.
What's your favorite Arctic animal?
What would you put on your cupcake?
Arctic wolf.
-Arctic... That's a good one.
-Yeah.
-I think a baby seal.
-[Hunter] A baby seal.
Yeah, so cute, so playful,
sweet little face.
-Sasha?
-Polar bear.
-The predator of the baby seal.
-[laughter]
-Keep your cupcake away from my cupcake.
-[laughter]
Alex, we're, like, two and a half hours.
Okay.
[Alex] We wanna definitely impress Adriano
with our macaron.
I've made macarons many times before,
but definitely not with the rush,
or a big giant clock on top of me.
[Ivan] For the walrus,
should I give it a little mouth?
Oh, those are cute.
Anything could go wrong.
Macaron is very temperamental.
Every single thing has to line up.
So, it's 2:20. At 2:12, I'll flip 'em.
[Jordan] I'm about
to start the buttercream.
Three more foxes, and then I'm done.
The monk fruit sugar's still cooling.
Bleugh, bluh, bluh, bluh!
When you hear North Pole,
immediately you think Christmas.
[Jordan] Ooh! Cold!
I think this is a perfect opportunity
to use monk fruit sugar,
because it makes your mouth
kinda feel cold, just like in the Arctic.
[Sam] The cupcakes, have you checked them?
[Rachel] I have not checked them.
-Oh, they're not done, Sam.
-It's okay.
[Rachel] They're not done.
They're really soft.
-[Sam] Relax.
-[Rachel] Jack up the heat.
-[Sam] They're good.
-[Rachel] They're soft.
-[Sam] Want to change it?
-[Rachel] We need to do something.
Jack it up to convection.
Go. Uh... Keep going.
[Susana] Eric, how do you feel
about Adriano watching you?
Very nervous, believe me.
[Susana] I knew it. [laughs]
When I start baking, I fell, like, in love
with Adriano Zumbo's techniques.
Susana, I'm gonna make
the whale tail with the chocolate.
[Susana] Okay. You're an artist.
It's a risk to make two cupcakes.
-Check yours, I think they're ready.
-They're ready?
[Eric] But we wanna
impress Adriano Zumbo.
[Eric] Just working on the filling.
I need to make sure it's perfectly done.
How they look, Susana?
-They look good.
-Okay.
[Ivan] You only baked one tray?
Yeah, we only have one tray.
[Ivan] So there's no room for error.
-[Alex] Did you taste one?
-[Ivan] I did not. I'll try it.
-Let's taste it.
-If we need to add more spice,
-we can do it now.
-Okay.
-[Candace] Look.
-Oh, yeah.
[Hunter] They ate one of their cupcakes.
-[Candace and Sasha] Oh, no!
-[Hunter] We need 12 cupcakes.
It's good. Very good.
-[Rachel] Feel like it's good.
-[Sam] Yeah.
More sugar or it's okay?
-It's good.
-It's good? Okay.
[Jordan] Where's the microwave?
We're adding some microwave cake,
it's just a little green touch,
because it mimics, kind of, a bush,
a plant life
that might be growing in the Arctic.
Do you wanna put
a little dollop of lingonberry on this?
Everything's gonna hopefully
come together as a story.
[Jenna] Soon as those cupcakes
are frosted, we're done.
[Jordan] Put the prettiest one on.
12, go hit the buzzer,
go hit the buzzer,
-go hit the buzzer!
-[bells jingle]
-Oh! Jordan and Jenna, done.
-Aah!
Let's head on down, judges,
to try our first cupcake.
-Oh, my God, they're done already.
-Oh, my God.
Ivan, they're already done.
[Hunter] Jordan, Jenna, pass out
your cupcake, tell us what you made.
We have a poppy seed cupcake that's
filled with a gin and lingonberry gelée.
On top of that is
a cooling monk fruit buttercream.
The monk fruit gives you
a cooling flavor in your mouth,
like as if you were in the Arctic.
On top, we have a cute little fox
of poppy seed brittle
with some of the lingonberry jam,
and a microwave cake to mimic what
we assume plants up there might be like.
Beautiful presentation.
I mean, that Arctic fox is perfect.
Flavors are amazing.
I love the poppy seed cupcake, and
the frosting is really refreshing and icy,
and you really added
that extra dimension to it.
-Thanks.
-[Hunter] Candace?
Such an incredible sensation,
that refreshing, cooling sensation
of the monk fruit frosting.
You also created a world on top
of your cupcake that was totally edible.
-Well done.
-The fox is adorable.
Personally, fondant on cupcakes,
I don't usually enjoy,
'cause I feel like
it takes away from the cupcake,
but because of how tiny the fox was,
you nailed it.
I was really impressed with the flavors.
-Great job. Yeah.
-Thank you so much. Thank you.
Adriano, remind them
what they're working on in round two.
If you make it past elimination,
we wanna see confections
that have colors like the northern lights.
-Amazing! Aurora borealis, my favorite.
-Aurora borealis, that's it. Beautiful.
You have an hour and 52 remaining.
See you in a bit.
Great. Thank you.
Confection round.
They told us the northern lights,
-aurora borealis.
-Something shiny and black?
Oh, such a good idea.
-We'll do mirror glaze. Amazing.
-Oh, oh, yeah. Totally.
We're about to buzz in, right, Ivan?
-[Ivan] Five minutes.
-[Alex] All right. Two, four, six, eight...
Ten, 11. Why am I missing a cupcake?
[music slows]
-[Ivan] Are you really?
-[Alex] Yeah.
[Ivan] How?
[sighs] The one I tasted.
Oh.
I just made the biggest rookie mistake.
I ate our 12th cupcake.
-What are we gonna do now?
-I don't even know.
Oh, crap.
Luckily, we have some batter left over.
[Alex] All I have to do
is pop 'em in the oven,
but this is gonna be 20 minutes.
This is terrible.
They must be so devastated right now.
That's why they always say
make yourself a baker's dozen.
Mm-hm.
-So you gonna... you put one in the oven?
-Yeah.
I'm so sorry, dude.
-[Sam] It's the snow.
-[Rachel] How's those butts comin' along?
[Sam] I am on my last one.
Do you need any more?
[Rachel] Yes, three more tushes.
-Right.
-[Sam] You ready?
-[chimes]
-[bells jingle]
Oh, my God! Another group...
[laughs] ...just finish.
[Hunter] Rachel, Samantha,
tell us what you made.
[Rachel] We have a chocolate spice cake
with a little extra kick of ginger,
filled with orange crème fraîche
and ganache Grand Marnier topping.
And our bears are
made out of white fondant.
[Hunter] Why a polar bear?
'Cause they're just so cute,
and they're also top of the food chain.
[laughter]
Your sculpting work with the fondant
was just beautiful.
-This is such a sweet polar bear.
-[Sam] Thank you.
[Candace] It was a delight to eat.
-Thank you.
-Thank you.
I loved it, and it is very cute.
Polar bear, as we discussed earlier,
-is my favorite Arctic animal.
-Oh!
Good job. I do wish that the liqueur
came through a little bit stronger.
[Adriano]
Your chocolate cupcake was delicious.
I love the little crunch on top.
That added another dimension to it,
which is good.
Only thing I would've changed is,
I wanted more orange.
[Hunter] Okay. Rachel and Samantha,
you have an hour 47 minutes.
-How you feelin' on time?
-[Sam] Feeling good.
-Stressed out.
-Just ready to jump to the next one
and, uh, get started.
[Hunter] Judges, let's head
back up to the judges' table.
[Sam] Northern lights confection,
something fast.
-I've never seen anyone do crêpes.
-Yeah.
[Susana] Looks nice. I love it.
Okay, cinnamon...
-Okay.
-[Eric] We're ready?
We're ready. Okay, and one, two...
-[chimes]
-...three!
-Eric and Susana are done.
-Wow.
[Hunter] Judges, let's head on down.
-Hi, Eric. Hi, Susana.
-[Adriano] How you goin'?
-[Susana] Hi.
-[Eric and Adriano] Hello.
[Hunter] Two cupcakes!
Pass those out, tell us what you made.
We start with dark chocolate cake
with charcoal, filled with hazelnut cream.
And, of course, inspired in the orca,
killer whale.
[Hunter] What's the animal
for the white cupcake?
[Susana] It's the Arctic tern.
The frosting is cold, it's cream cheese,
because I was
inspired by the cold of the North Pole.
And inside this, apple pie filling,
and that represents the nest.
[Sasha] Overall, they're great cupcakes.
I love the tail.
The chocolate work was great.
However, it didn't scream Arctic to me.
I think these reminded me
too much of angel wings.
Two delicious cupcakes.
I enjoyed the flavors.
Apple pie one was amazing.
The chocolate one was good.
Nice to have a decoration you can eat.
I would like more presentation.
More color, or something that connects
with the Arctic better.
Well done giving us not one,
but two Arctic creatures.
I thought this was
such a strong statement.
Just instantly recognizable as the orca.
I thought your cupcake was really tender.
I loved how you brought in
the hazelnut as well.
In terms of your apple pie cupcake,
my apples could have used
a little more cooking time,
because they were still crunchy,
but the flavors were wonderful.
-Okay.
-Thank you.
Good luck, bakers.
-Thank you.
-You have an hour 31 left.
-Thank you.
-Thanks.
So, he asked something for
the northern lights, or aurora borealis.
So, I was thinking if we make
a semifreddo al cioccolato.
Mmm, that sound perfect.
[Ivan] I have the macaron ready, Alex,
so it's just about the frosting.
[Alex] Finally, I pull out
the 12th cupcake,
but we're definitely gonna have
to cut corners for our second round.
-You ready, Ivan?
-Don't forget the ganache.
-[Alex] You got the macaron ready?
-[Ivan] It's ready.
-Face it towards them.
-[Alex] You ready, then?
-[Hunter] All right! Well done, bakers.
-[Candace] Whoo!
Fourth team to buzz in.
I know you had some issues.
Hopefully it paid off.
Let's see what our judges think.
Tell us what you made.
[Ivan] So, it's a Mexican
chocolate cupcake.
It has cayenne, chili powder,
cinnamon, so it's spicy.
We cooled it down with
a peppermint white chocolate ganache,
a light Swiss meringue
cinnamon buttercream,
and a walrus macaron.
[Candace] What an adorable macaron.
This cute little walrus
is such a clever idea,
and the cooling factor of
that white chocolate peppermint ganache
was really an added treat.
Beautiful presentation. I love how you did
something different and used the macaron.
My critique on the macarons,
bit hollow, but the cupcake was delicious.
I love the ganache center
with the peppermint.
-That chili goes well with the chocolate.
-Thank you.
I think your buttercream frosting
was delicious.
I would actually even want
a little bit more spice.
It was present, I definitely tasted it.
But, I don't know, I love spice.
I would have preferred just a bit more.
[Hunter] Bakers, you have an hour and 25.
Get goin'.
Judges, we have a decision to make.
-When I think of aurora...
-The aurora.
-...I think blue, purple.
-Blue?
[Ivan] Let's do a kiwi gelée,
raspberry gelée, blueberry gelée.
All right, judges.
Four cupcakes down, but only three teams
can move on to the confection round.
Before we make an elimination,
let's talk about who had
our favorite cupcakes.
Jordan and Jenna buzzed in first,
and I'm actually shocked that they did.
They created
so many elements in that cupcake,
from the sponge to the filling.
I was really blown away
by their Arctic fox cupcake.
The cooling effect in the buttercream
with monk fruit was pretty amazing,
and the textures of that poppy seed tulle
and the lingonberry jam in the middle.
It just made it.
And that little fox just popped on top.
Their flavors were original, and they
really just gelled together really well.
[Candace] Alex and Ivan. Very ambitious,
doing a cupcake with a macaron on top.
They gave us great flavors
and textures too.
I loved that hit of chili.
So, they did a great job, too.
I loved how the macaron was the walrus,
something different.
It was fun.
They did a really good job of it.
Even though they had that time constraint,
and unfortunately,
they had to make that 12th cupcake,
I still enjoyed theirs
over Rachel and Samantha's.
Speaking of Rachel and Samantha,
as well as Eric and Susana,
you guys have all put them
in your bottom two cupcakes.
Why is that? Sasha, we'll start with you.
Well, I think Rachel and Samantha,
I wish there was
a bit more punch in their flavors.
I think that was what was missing.
I just felt the flavors
were a little lackluster,
although that fondant polar bear
was adorable.
Yeah, Rachel and Samantha,
beautiful cupcake,
but the crème fraîche in the middle
wasn't acidic enough.
Eric and Susana, I enjoyed their flavors.
I just felt their connection
to the theme was a little bit off.
[Sasha] I thought that Eric and Susana's
orca tail was their best cupcake.
Unfortunately, I just feel like
they tried to do too much
and it didn't quite pan out.
I thought that their turn was a little
less strong in terms of the decoration
and there were some technical issues
with the filling
of that apple pie cupcake for me.
I think they would have done better
to just focus on one cupcake
and really amped up the presentation
and made sure those flavors were on point.
It seems like you've made a decision.
I'll go ahead and let our bakers know.
Bakers, can I have your attention, please?
Our judges have made their first decision,
and the team with the winning cupcake
and their "seal" of approval is...
Jordan and Jenna.
-Amazing!
-[Hunter] Congratulations!
-[Jenna] Whoo!
-[Hunter] You are safe from elimination,
and because it's the Christmas season,
and in honor of Santa Claus being from
the North Pole, we are giving you a gift
of two brand-new pastry decorating sets.
-Oh! We actually need one of those.
-Oh, cool! Yeah, we do.
Well done. Work on your confections.
-Thank you, judges!
-Thank you!
Unfortunately, now, one of the three
remaining teams has to go home.
And the team with our judges'
least favorite cupcake this round is...
Eric and Susana.
-We're sorry.
-It's okay.
-It was a very tough round.
-It's okay.
Two good cupcakes,
but again, not enough today.
Your time in the Sugar Rush Christmas
kitchen has run out.
Thank you, bakers.
-Thank you.
-Thank you.
We didn't win Sugar Rush, but we are happy
we were able to represent Puerto Rico.
-Thank you.
-Thank you.
[Eric] Bye.
So we are walking back home
with our head held high
because we know that
we bring to the table good cupcakes.
[Susana] This experience make us stronger.
-We are winners.
-Yes.
[Hunter] Bakers, you have one hour
and four minutes left on the clock.
Good luck.
Keep workin' on those confections.
Go out, come out, come out,
come out, come out. Thank you.
For our northern lights confection,
we are making a ricotta mousse bomb.
[Jenna] On the inside,
there is a ricotta mousse,
a blueberry gelée filling,
some Key lime curd,
and some really delicious
shortbread thyme cookie crumble.
Covered with a hard white chocolate shell
that we're then gonna coat
with mirror glaze.
It's gonna be perfect.
How do you work? Aaah!
[Jenna] Is that enough cookie bits?
You're the one who puts the cookies in.
-[Sam] Oh!
-[Rachel] We don't want that.
-[Sam] I need that.
-Oh. For what?
-[chuckles] My mirror glaze.
-Oh! Okay. This is the ganache.
For our northern lights confection,
we are making a crêpe
rolled into a roulade shape,
filled with sour cream chocolate ganache,
flambéd bananas, mascarpone cream,
and an amazing galaxy mirror glaze on top.
-Hey, Sam, is the salt still over there?
-Yeah.
-Oh, gosh, right in front of my face.
-[laughs]
[Rachel] I don't feel like it's a dessert
that the judges have ever seen before.
-A croulade.
-Croulade.
-[Sam] We have an hour and a half.
-We have to try.
-So...
-We bank as much time as we can
if we make it to the cake round.
-I'm so happy. After that error...
-Yeah.
-I thought... I thought we were gone.
-It was a rookie mistake.
We lost so much time.
So everything needs to come out perfect.
[Alex] How are you with the chiffon? Good?
-Concentrate on the chiffon.
-[Ivan] I am.
[Alex] We wanna incorporate our culture.
So we're gonna make
a chocolate chiffon tres leches cake,
with strawberry mousse on top, with
a strawberry, kiwi, and blueberry gelée.
I'll start blooming the gelatin.
Colors are very important
to interpret the aurora borealis.
We wanna keep it natural,
fresh, with flavor.
I think we're gonna be close again
on that time, Alex.
Jenna, the first layer of this,
from top to bottom, is gonna be mousse,
then the blueberry gel,
then I've got your thyme shortbread
cookies in here for a bit of crunch.
Key lime curd for some brightness,
then another layer of the ricotta mousse,
and then a little white chocolate for
sweetness and a little bit of structure.
Aaah! If I don't break all of it.
We have a fancy blast chiller here
which I've never used before.
I wanna get the molds in the freezer
as fast as possible.
I hope it's gonna make my mousse
freeze up quickly enough
so I can get it out of the mold.
Blast 'em for a minute. Moving on!
Will this come back on again?
I need to just flambé that.
I put a good amount of rum
into the flambé bananas,
because that was a comment
that was made in our earlier round,
that it was lacking a bit of
strength of flavor on the alcohol.
-It needs to burn out.
-Want me to turn off the heat?
[Rachel] No, it's still flaming.
I need to taste that.
Ooh, gosh. Holy Toledo.
That's got alcohol.
-[Sam laughs]
-Whoa!
[Ivan] Alex, what you do think
of this aurora green? Brighter?
-Oh, no, that's nice. I love it.
-Okay.
It's very important
that the gelée is colorful,
and it's not like a big, brown mess.
The gelatin is not setting, so...
[Ivan] It's taking a long time
for the gelée to set.
So in order to save time, I decide to
incorporate more gelatin sheets into it.
Let's just hope it's not too rubbery.
[laughing]
[Sam] Rach, you're working
-on our first crêpe right now, right?
-Yeah.
We're getting crêpes?
-Rachel and Samantha have crêpes.
-How fun! We've never had a crêpe before.
-But how...
-How will they use that?
-Yeah, how will they do the lights?
-Great question.
My first one's sticking.
[Sam] I'm gonna put ganache down
on the first layer of crêpe.
I'm getting my bananas on.
-[chuckles] Oh, those look like burritos.
-Oh, my God.
-I think this big. If you want smaller...
-Okay.
-[Jenna] They're so frozen.
-[Jordan] Yeah, they are so frozen.
They were not supposed to be
quite this frozen.
Oh, blast chiller. You are my nemesis.
I hope that the flavor profiles
are still gonna come through
even though it is a bit too cold.
My mirror glaze is
-at the perfect temperature.
-Okay.
Did I just hear someone say mirror glaze?
[Sam] Jenna and Jordan
are also doing a mirror glaze.
Our mirror glaze has to be better.
[Sam] I'm gonna put this in the fridge
for a hot second.
I think
the consistency of this is perfect.
Yeah, looks good.
Ready, go!
-[Jenna] We're ready to plate?
-[Jordan] This one's done.
-[Jenna] Buzz.
-[Jordan] Where is it?
-Right there.
-Buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz!
-[bells jingle]
-[cheering]
[laughing] We have a buzzer.
Let's go ahead and head down.
-They're done.
-It's pretty nice, too.
Jordan, Jenna, first ones done yet again.
Tell us about your northern lights
inspired confection and pass it out.
[Jordan] We went with a ricotta mousse,
and then there's a blueberry gelée,
thyme shortbread cookie and Key lime curd,
a very dark black mirror glaze,
and there's a couple of chocolate trees.
I think your presentation is gorgeous.
I love everything that you did.
I immediately knew what it was.
The blueberry is a little frozen,
but the taste is all there.
I love the cookie crumble in there.
That was really smart.
You nailed the challenge.
-Great, thank you.
-Beautiful presentation.
I love how you used chocolate outside,
it gives a crack as you break into it.
That's another bit of theater
and a little texture, a depth of effect.
-Really good work.
-Great. Thank you.
It was so clever that you worked with
the mirror glaze,
and worked those colors in there,
it was just lush,
and spoke to the luscious
flavors inside your dessert as well.
Thank you so much.
You banked 37 minutes, 40 seconds.
We wanted an hour,
but we'll take 37 minutes and 40 seconds.
Well done, bakers.
We have two more confections to try.
We will see you in a bit.
-Great.
-Good luck.
-Thanks, judges.
-Thank you.
-Thanks.
-Thank you.
We're using acetate sheets
to create a layered effect.
I want the judges
to see the layer of tres leches,
the layer of strawberry mousse
and then the glaze of the aurora on top,
and all the work we put into this pastry.
-I got you.
-Lot of things that have to set.
[Alex] Probably gonna set quick.
[Rachel] Ooh!
Oh, I love that.
Okay, ringing our bell.
-[bells jingle]
-All right, Rachel and Samantha!
Done with their confection.
Judges, let's head on down.
We got it done!
[Hunter] Rachel and Samantha!
-[Sam] Yes!
-Interesting northern light confection.
-Thank you.
-Pass those out, tell us what you made.
We've named it a "croulade."
It's a crêpe that we've rolled
kind of like a roulade,
layered with sour cream chocolate ganache,
flambéd bananas, mascarpone cream,
and then topped with a mirror glaze.
We've never had a crêpe
on Sugar Rushbefore.
Yeah!
Great presentation.
I like the marbling of the colors
to make the northern lights.
I love crêpes. I like how you've used it
in a roulade. It's quite unique.
-If I was gonna be critical...
-Sure.
-...there should be a bit of lemon juice.
-Ah! Always that citrus!
I put the lemon juice in,
but I think I cooked it out too fast.
-[Adriano] Yeah.
-Okay.
I will say that I was a little worried
that the crêpes were gonna be stale
'cause you guys made them so soon,
but they weren't at all.
They had plenty of texture and moisture,
and I love the nuts in there.
-I like the stars and powdered sugar.
-Stars for the star.
-Yeah, I... Thank you.
-[laughter]
I was really scratching my head
when I saw you guys making crêpes.
I thought, "How are they gonna transform
crêpes into the northern lights?"
And you did it.
You transformed this crêpe,
And then, the flavors and the textures
inside were all just yummy,
and satisfying, and warm, and cozy.
-Well done.
-Thank you.
We have one more confection to try,
and then a decision to make,
so we will see you in a bit.
-Thank you, bakers.
-[all] Thank you.
[Ivan] Here's another one.
That looks really good.
[Alex] We've never used a blast freezer.
The gelée definitely looks frozen,
and that's making me worry.
[Ivan] Just give it two minutes, Alex.
Ready?
[exhales] I'm hitting it at... 40.
-[bells jingle]
-Okay, Alex and Ivan buzzed in.
-Our final confection.
-Made us wait.
[Hunter] Forty seconds left.
Pass 'em out and, uh, tell us about
your northern lights inspired confection.
-[Alex] You have a...
-[Candace] So pretty.
[Alex] ...chocolate chiffon cake
with a strawberry liqueur tres leches,
and it has a strawberry mousse.
We wanted to have the colors kind of
be natural, something that you could eat.
So you got a kiwi gelée,
a blueberry gelée and a raspberry gelée.
I think it's beautiful.
I think you guys did a very different
presentation to everybody else.
I had a little bit of an issue
with the textures.
It tasted good,
but I almost liked everything separate...
-[Alex] Okay.
-...than all together in one bite.
-Flavors are good. Bit too much gelatin.
-[Alex] Yeah.
[Adriano] When you hit it with your...
You know, sort of a bit rubbery,
especially with the softer mousse texture.
-[Ivan] Mm.
-You can really feel that gumminess.
But other than that, look,
I think, great chocolate.
Really refreshing interpretation
of the northern lights.
I love that it wasn't
just a decorative element.
You really worked the flavors
into your decoration as well.
-That gets extra points for me.
-Thank you.
[Hunter] You guys banked 40 seconds.
That's a lot of time.
Don't use it all at once.
-Okay.
-[laughter]
Judges, we have a decision to make.
Thank you, bakers.
-[all] Thank you.
-Thanks so much.
Okay, so, judges,
all three confections have been tasted,
but only two teams can make it
to the final cake round.
Who had your favorite confection today?
Jordan and Jenna for me.
They had the flavors,
the presentation was glossy and shiny.
They had those little extra things.
Even though there was
a little bit of that frozen bite in there,
I think with their flavors
and their presentation,
it looked really professional.
They really captured, like,
the magic of the northern lights.
The flavors were outstanding and...
and just played really well together.
Since Jenna and Jordan are winning again,
it puts Rachel and Samantha,
as well as Alex and Ivan, in the bottom.
Rachel and Samantha, for me, it was...
I mean, the glaze wasn't as shiny,
it was a bit lackluster.
Good flavor. Good textures. It was just
missing that little pop for me.
I thought their dessert was delicious,
but in terms of their presentation,
they weren't working with a smooth canvas
with their croulade,
so the mirror glaze is not as successful
when you're not glazing something smooth.
[Sasha] I think they did well,
considering,
and I really did enjoy the flavors.
It was very different.
[Adriano] Alex and Ivan,
a beautiful presentation.
They had great flavors, great color.
But just that gelée on top
was very rubbery. It really stood out.
I liked that they used natural flavors
for the coloring and for the design,
and I think it did look beautiful,
but I had a problem with those textures.
Using purées, making it into a gelée
was really just brilliant,
but the gumminess of those gelées
did not work against
the creaminess of the mousse.
Sounds like you have made a decision.
I'll go ahead and let our bakers know.
Okay, bakers,
can I have your attention, please?
So our judges have made
their second decision,
and the team who showed them
the northern lights the best
and had their favorite confection is...
Jordan and Jenna.
-Ooh!
-[Hunter] Well done.
First round, cupcakes,
now the second round, confections.
Congratulations,
you're moving to the cake round.
And again,
because this is the spirit of giving,
we're gonna keep you warm all year round.
You're each going home with a deep fryer.
-Well done.
-Very cool.
Unfortunately, that means
that one of the two remaining teams
will be going home right now.
And the team with our judges'
least favorite confection is...
Alex and Ivan.
Your confection was incredible.
There was just
too much gelatin in that gelée.
Your time in the Sugar Rushkitchen
has run out.
-Thank you, bakers.
-Yes.
[Alex] I feel like
I let my brother down a bit, so...
It's pretty devastating, to be honest.
I'm proud of my brother and...
-I'm proud of my brother.
-[chuckles]
-[Hunter] Great job.
-[Ivan] Good luck, ladies.
We did compromise with the gelée, but...
I think overall we showcased
our culture, we were original...
-Yeah.
-And I'm proud of that.
Yeah. Anybody could've done mirror glaze.
[both laughing]
Congratulations, Jordan and Jenna,
Rachel and Samantha, you have earned
your spots in the final cake round.
And for the final cake round,
we want a whimsical igloo cake.
The outside, of course,
should be snowy and icy,
while the insides of the cakes
should be an explosion of color.
Okay, Rachel and Samantha,
you banked 19 minutes and ten seconds.
We're gonna add three hours to that,
giving you a total of three hours,
19 minutes and ten seconds.
Jordan and Jenna,
you banked 37 minutes and 40 seconds.
We'll add three hours, giving you a total
of three hours, 37 minutes and 40 seconds.
Sounds good to me!
You're gonna start first,
because you have more time banked.
-Your time starts in three, two, one.
-[bleeping]
Get cracking, bakers. Good luck.
If we stick with nature,
there's nothing interesting
-on the surface of the Arctic, let's go...
-Underwater?
[gasps] We could sculpt whales,
-and seals, and fishes...
-Okay.
What about an iceberg as the cake?
We'll just put the igloo
on top of the iceberg.
The igloo on top.
We've decided
to stick with that nature theme.
We're gonna go with a huge iceberg cake.
We're gonna incorporate the igloo on top.
Under the sea
there's gonna be some fish...
Whales and seals...
and a polar bear
will be sitting on top fishing.
We wanna create a really cohesive scene
like we did with the other rounds.
[trills and mimics mixer] Da-da-da-da-da!
Stop!
[Jordan] We're making a turmeric,
lemon and ginger cake
with a cream cheese buttercream
with pine nuts.
The color in our cake today
is gonna be natural.
Turmeric is bright yellow.
It'll be a great surprise
under the blue and white cake.
When you open it up,
the yellow will just pop through.
[Jordan] I'm about to put
the cakes in the oven.
Soon as they come out, I can carve
and put the armature together.
First cake's goin' in.
[Jenna] Awesome.
This is the only time that feels like
time is going by really slow.
-Three, two, one, go!
-[bleeping]
Okay. What do we think of
-when we think of ultimate igloo?
-I don't know.
I just think it's like,
ultimate igloo is an igloo.
-Maybe like a resort igloo?
-Okay. Okay!
You know the huts they have in Thailand
-that seem to float in the ocean?
-Mm-hm.
-Let's get that sort of thing going on.
-Okay.
-What if it's, like, a polar bear resort?
-It's a polar bear resort.
-I like that.
-A polar bear resort.
For our cake, we are going to do
the ultimate igloo resort.
It's a huge igloo cake
surrounded by icebergs.
We're gonna have
polar bears frolicking around.
One polar bear is going down a slide,
and the other ones
are hanging out in the water.
Okay. I grabbed the vanilla
and peppermint emulsion.
Inside of our white igloo,
we're gonna have alternating layers
of white chocolate cake
and peppermint cake
that we're gonna dye red,
a peppermint chocolate ganache
and vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream.
And then we plan on adding
a center of candy,
so when we cut into our slice,
it's not only an explosion of color,
but a little candy surprise.
I'm making a double batch of buttercream.
I'm gonna be filling our huge iceberg cake
with a cream cheese buttercream,
and the outside of our cake is
a traditional American-style buttercream.
Numero uno, finito!
Okay.
We need chocolate for the ganache
and cream.
While you do that, I'll get started
on the Swiss meringue buttercream.
Okay, I'm gonna add the peppermint,
Sam, to the, um, ganache.
Just make sure we don't go too strong.
Yeah, I'm gonna st... Ooh! Start off
with three teaspoons and then test it.
Peppermint is such an iconic flavor
for Christmas.
We just need to make sure
all our flavors are balanced and on point.
[slurping] It needs more.
-More?
-It's super subtle.
Okay.
Ooh, these are looking good, Rach.
I'm makin' our igloo.
[laughs] I was thinking of
what I could use that was round.
I'm gonna blow up a balloon.
[Jenna] I decide
to cut a 12-inch cake board.
Gorgeous.
Cut up a cup, make a little archway, pour
some chocolate over it and make a dome.
And pray that it works. [laughs]
All right, bakers,
you have two hours remaining.
I'm working on covering our board
with an icy, blue water look.
So, I'm just carving my slide right now
for our polar bears.
Right now, I'm gonna make my staircase
that's gonna be leading up
to the front door of our igloo.
-Do you like the shape of this?
-Beautiful.
Beautiful.
This is a really fun element, 'cause it's
where the polar bears are sliding down,
and it's just really playful.
The slide stairs are covered.
Startin' a fire, startin' a fire.
[Jordan] My armature
needs to be super sturdy,
so I'm using nuts and bolts
and a big board,
while Jenna makes all the decorations
and things like that.
I'm getting ready to pour
a big sheet of isomalt.
It's gonna be the delineation
between the surface and underwater.
What are you workin' on now, Jenna?
I'm makin' fish.
I want there to be a lot of creatures.
I make a bear for the top of the cake
and some seals.
Why won't your head flatten out?
-Jenna, what are you namin' the whale?
-Herman Melville.
[laughs]
Herman is going in the refrigerator.
These look great, Rach.
-[Rachel] They done?
-[Sam] Yeah.
[Hunter] So, when you put
a toothpick into a cake,
should there be nothing on it?
Are we okay with a little bit of...
-Like, a few crumbs is fine.
-A few crumbs?
-You don't want it to be liquid.
-Got it.
What's more helpful to me is
the touch test on top.
I'd like to get to the point
where I could touch it and know.
Rachel, you're gonna
start on filling, right, next?
-Yep.
-[Sam] Okay.
[Sam]
So, for this polar bear resort igloo,
our priority is
that candy cane sort of appearance.
-It's red, white, red, white.
-Okay.
As I'm layering the cake, I'm cutting
a hole in the center of each tier
because I'm filling this
with our burst of color
-which is going to be candy sprinkles.
-Sprinkles.
[Sam] So, I'm gonna clean up
to get space to work on our figurines.
Hopefully when the judges
are gonna be cutting through the cake,
they're gonna be able
to see this burst of color.
Okay, Rach, I'm getting our, like,
iceberg-y pieces in place, okay?
So that we won't have to do much
once the cake is on.
[Hunter] All right, bakers,
you have one hour left!
Time is a little scary.
Terrified! [laughs]
-They're covering stuff in fondant.
-Okay.
[Jenna] You gotta get that covered.
-[Jordan] What do you think I'm doing?
-[Jenna] I don't know. [gasps]
[Jordan] I look at the clock
and I'm getting nervous.
I need to work more quickly.
But I know it's gonna be
this amazing reveal
because that bright yellow is inside,
and blue on the outside.
As soon as we open it up,
it's gonna be a great show.
-Are you almost ready for isomalt sheet?
-It's not perfectly level, but...
Don't cut yourself on the edges.
It's sharp.
Thank you.
Tell me if I'm centered, please.
[Jenna] You look good.
Wow!
-Oh, my God.
-[Sasha] Oh!
All right, I'm gonna start
putting the igloo on the top.
[Sam] We need to get something together.
I need you to move faster.
Okay. Move fast.
And we're good.
-Wow!
-That's...
-Come to life!
-That's an igloo.
[Sam] I'll start making some bears.
Do you wanna get our igloo onto the board?
-Then finish the details?
-Yep.
How's it going?
[Jenna] We're not gonna acknowledge it
until it's done.
My white chocolate igloo
is not that exciting by itself.
Tea lights!
I'm gonna make a little campfire.
And I cut out a couple little polar bears
out of black fondant
so that you can see something in there.
[Jordan] Oh, it looks awesome!
You can... you can totally see it!
[Sam] Rach, the other team has, like,
a small little igloo
at the top with some light,
which reminds me we were gonna
also do some light elements at the top.
Okay. I've got one hole over here.
I feel like, at this point, let's just
keep making it look more amazing.
Oh, so bloody cute.
[Hunter] All right, bakers,
you have ten minutes left.
[Jenna] It's ready for Herman.
We've got some lower lights happening.
-[Jordan] How are they looking?
-[Jenna] Like an igloo.
Can I turn the igloo a little bit?
[Sam] You think these will look cute?
Kinda finish it off?
One minute left, bakers.
-[Rachel] Do we have time for a towel?
-Yeah. There's some there.
You can see the bears.
Everybody looks happy.
Do it next to there.
I don't know what else to add.
[judges] Five, four, three, two, one!
[Hunter] That's it.
Don't touch your cakes.
We did it.
Move away from the icebergs,
and the igloos, and the North Poles!
Judges, let's go get a closer look.
Jordan, Jenna, wow!
It's basically the iceberg under the sea.
You've got the whole undersea life.
We've got seals, we've got a whale,
we've got polar bears living in the igloo.
[Hunter] You did amazing.
-Before we cut into the cake...
-Yes.
...I think it's maybe a fun idea to dim the
lights and see what this cake looks like.
-I would love that.
-Awesome.
The way it's meant to look.
-Ooh!
-Oh, look at that.
Oh, that's amazing.
-They got a campfire inside.
-Oh, my God.
[Hunter] Right.
You took a really creative take
on the igloo challenge, right?
Because the igloo is not really
the main star of this cake,
but it is the crowning glory.
You gave us an inside view
into the amount of life
that's teeming underneath the surface.
It's such a wonder to behold, really.
I love the detail, I love the concept.
It's fun, it's artistic,
it shows a lot of skill,
-and I can't wait to try it.
-Thank you.
I love these seals, too.
I think they're so cute.
That's how they swim. You captured
their motion, which is brilliant.
I love the silhouette in the igloo.
You guys really pulled out all the stops.
-Thank you.
-We tried.
-Now we wanna see the color explosion.
-All right.
-We can do that for you.
-So cut us a slice of your cake.
-[Jenna] Hey!
-[laughter]
[Hunter] Well done!
-Nice.
-Beautiful color.
[Candace] That's a bright shock of yellow.
[Jordan] Isn't it cool?
The contrast with the blue?
Cut us three more slices.
We'll see you at the judges' table.
-All right. Thank you.
-Thank you, bakers. Judges?
Rachel and Samantha, this is amazing.
-Oh, my gosh.
-How fun.
We were inspired by those little resorts
that they have in Thailand,
where the little huts
seem to float in the ocean.
So we thought we would do that,
but do it in...
-Ice.
-...the North Pole.
[Sam] It's like a polar bear resort.
They're frolicking in the water,
sliding down,
and just, like,
having the time of their lives.
We've got the skylight,
and, like, the floor light
just to kinda show the upscale elements
of this resort.
[laughter]
Let's go ahead and dim the lights and
just see...
-how this skylight looks at... at night.
-Mmm!
[all] Oooh!
[Sasha] I think it's beautiful,
first of all.
I think it's a really cute idea
to do that resort igloo.
I love the slide.
I think the slide is so clever.
You're the only ones to do a pole
for this theme, which I think is so great.
-Everything just looks so magical.
-Thank you.
I think it's beautiful. Nice and clean.
I love your story, it's really fun.
I love the little polar bears
sliding around and swimming.
I would have liked to have seen a bit more
detail on your finishing of the igloo.
It feels a bit unfinished.
But thank you, you did well.
Well, you guys definitely delivered
on a polar bear Polynesian paradise.
It's luminescent. It's got sparkling snow,
and it's a really fun and special cake.
[both] Thank you.
Why don't you go ahead
and cut us a slice of your igloo cake?
-Oh! Look at the surprise!
-[Sasha] Oh, my gosh!
-It's like a stripe?
-Yeah, it's like candy cane.
-Oh, I like that.
-How cute.
-That's gorgeous.
-Beautiful.
Thank you, bakers. Cut us four slices,
and we will see you at the judges' table.
Okay.
-Enjoy.
-Thank you.
Jenna and Jordan,
walk us through the flavors of your cake.
It's a lemon and ginger cake
with candied ginger,
with a cream cheese buttercream filling
and some toasted pine nuts.
There's also turmeric in there,
which lends a little bit of flavor,
but adds a lot of color.
Well, Jenna and Jordan,
you have been just wowing us.
Your cake, it's spectacular.
That beautiful blue
of your underwater scene,
and then cutting into it and getting
that shock of egg-yolk yellow is so cool.
And what's even more cool is that
it's coming from an actual ingredient.
The flavors for me,
the cake was a little bit sour
and was sort of a jarring juxtaposition
against the very sweet frosting.
You did an amazing job
on your presentation.
It's very striking, from the shape,
and obviously the beautiful job
you did on finishing it.
The igloo I thought was well made.
I loved how you used chocolate.
And I love the silhouette.
I thought that was real smart.
I've never seen that before.
I'm gonna steal that one.
[laughter]
I enjoyed the flavor of the cake,
you know, the ginger and the lemon.
I like those kind of punchy flavors.
You did an amazing job.
I think that
that cake is incredible to look at.
You guys incorporated so many elements,
like the polar bear with the fishing rod
and your silhouettes in your igloo.
And I have to say, I love the taste
of your cake, including the icing.
Everything meshes really well for me.
I want to keep eating it.
So, I think you guys should be very proud.
Let's go ahead and switch
to Rachel and Samantha's cake.
[Sam] We have a red peppermint
white chocolate cake,
layered with
a peppermint chocolate ganache
with candy peppermints
in between the layers.
Rachel and Samantha,
you guys have such a way with fondant
here with this igloo,
and your imagination making it
into a vacation paradise tells a story.
You went above and beyond
on the color challenge here today.
You gave us alternating layers of cake
that were just so cheery.
Your cake is definitely more traditional,
but you worked with those flavors
really well.
The buttercream is silky.
The chocolate ganache is rich and fudgy.
You have the texture
from the peppermint candies,
and you had that great candy surprise
when you cut into your cake,
which was a lot of fun.
Thank you.
The inside of your cake is amazing,
like a candy cane.
Uh, beautiful red and white tones there.
The flavor, you got the peppermint right.
It wasn't too overpowering.
There was a nice texture of ganache.
You did a great job on your igloo.
You know, it's big, it's bold,
but feels a bit unfinished to me,
and a little bare in places.
Uh... Well, literally, I mean,
there's a couple polar bears there, but...
Um, but other than that,
you did an amazing job.
-Thank you.
-Thank you.
Rachel and Samantha,
I think your cake is gorgeous.
I think it's very clever.
I love the slide.
I think that's such a unique detail.
As far as the taste goes,
I want to say that
the peppermint, for me,
was the perfect amount,
because it was so subtle and
so well placed, but the color was there.
I love the red and the white,
and it really gives us that color pop
that we were asking for.
Well, I think it's safe to say both teams
did such an incredible job today,
but unfortunately, only one team can win.
Judges, it's time to vote.
Who had your favorite cake today?
Candace.
Jenna and Jordan, you guys created
a magical, whimsical Arctic world.
It's one of the most spectacular cakes
I've seen on the show.
Rachel and Samantha, you really put
that igloo front and center.
It was clear that you'd really
thought through the color challenge,
with those layers and those candies
falling out for a really fun surprise.
Thank you.
Ultimately, my favorite cake today is...
Rachel and Samantha.
Oh!
Rachel and Samantha,
that's one vote for you.
If you get one more vote
in the Sugar Rush Christmaskitchen,
you will be going home with $10,000.
Adriano?
Jenna and Jordan, you made us
a statement cake today.
Big and beautiful, with so much detail.
I enjoyed the different techniques
that you used.
Rachel and Samantha,
I really enjoyed your cake.
It showed great color and great texture,
and great flavor.
Today, my vote's gonna go with...
Jordan and Jenna.
Thank you.
Jordan and Jenna, that's one vote for you,
meaning the $10,000 is hanging
on our guest judge's final vote.
-I hate this position.
-[laughter]
Oh, this is so close.
I think, Jordan and Jenna,
your cake is just stunning to look at.
You used so many different elements
to make this Arctic wonderland,
and I was just impressed
with your flavors,
and I really appreciated
all the work that you put into it.
Rachel and Samantha, I think your flavors
were there, they were delicious,
and I think your design was gorgeous,
and well thought out and different.
I appreciated both so much.
Ugh!
This is so hard.
My favorite cake is...
-Jordan and Jenna's.
-[gasps]
-[squeals]
-[Hunter] Jordan and Jenna!
-Congratulations!
-Oh, gosh!
You have just won $10,000
-in the Sugar Rush Christmaskitchen.
-[Jenna] Oh, my God!
Losing to Jordan and Jenna's design,
I feel like there's no shame in that.
It looks like a museum piece.
I'm just so proud that
we've made it as far as we did.
-I still love you.
-[both laugh]
-That was so, so beautiful!
-Beautiful!
[both] We win!
This experience has just been
wild and crazy.
I don't know how I can go back
to normal everyday life now.
-I know!
-Aw, you're crying!
No! Oh, my God, no!
[both laughing]
I'm just so relieved!
[Jenna] I am emotional, 'cause
I am so relieved. I did not expect to win.
No, me neither.
I'm glad I got to do it with you.
Oh, no, I can't control it.
[both laughing]
You still have all your mascara in place,
-so you're fine.
-Okay.
-Keep going. No big deal.
-[both laugh]
Thank you, guys, for watching
this episode of Sugar Rush Christmas.
Merry Christmas and happy holidays.
the baking competition where
time is the most important ingredient.
Four teams of brilliant bakers
battle it out for sugary success
over three rounds of competition,
-racing against each other and the clock.
-[chimes]
The faster they work, the better, because
time saved in round one, cupcakes,
and round two, confections,
will be banked and added
to their third and final round, cakes.
I'm your host, Hunter March,
and determining which team is going home
with the $10,000 Christmas present
is our amazing panel of judges.
This year, the only thing on my wish list
is more time with this pastry chef
and entrepreneur.
It's Candace Nelson.
On the opposite side of the North Pole,
from our southern hemisphere,
it's celebrated Australian pastry chef
Adriano Zumbo.
It's cooling down
in the Sugar Rush Christmaskitchen,
but the competition is heating up
as our bakers compete
in three North Pole themed challenges.
And, finally, our guest judge, actor,
musician, and cookbook author,
Sasha Pieterse.
Candace and Adriano are inside
presenting the first two rounds
-of our North Pole themed challenges...
-[bleeping]
...and that sound means
that competition has just begun.
Let's check it out.
Jordan, Jenna, "ice" to meet you.
Oh! I like these teams,
look like we got some polar opposites.
Good luck today, bakers.
I can't bear to see anyone lose.
Polar bear, that is.
-[Candace] Hello, Hunter.
-What a wonderful day to be here.
And welcome to our lovely guest judge.
-Sasha, how you doing?
-Thank you. I'm ecstatic to be here.
We have a very fun competition,
North Pole themed.
Candace, what will our bakers
be doing in round one?
The Arctic Circle is full
of so many cute little critters.
Everything from baby seals
to Arctic foxes to narwhals.
-Polar bears.
-Thank you.
-Polar bears.
-[Candace] Polar bears too.
We want them to create 12 cupcakes
that highlight them.
When you said the Arctic Circle's filled
with so many cute and cuddly creatures,
-it's really like six different species.
-[laughing]
Hard place to live.
What animal are you thinking?
Everybody's gonna do
a polar bear. I don't wanna do one.
-Uh...
-Okay.
-What about...
-Like, a walrus?
-A walrus.
-Okay.
-Polar bears would be super cute.
-You wanna do, like...
We can do them, like,
coming out of the cupcake.
-His head peeking out of the snow.
-Like they're buried.
What do you think?
What animals we can use?
Killer whale will be perfect.
This sounds great.
We'll have a cute little fox
with smiley face.
My name's Jordan.
I'm from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
and I own Velvet Sky Bakery.
My name is Jenna, and I work for Jordan.
We met in kindergarten, actually.
We've known each other
for 30... [mutters] ...years, and...
-[both laugh]
-Thirty hundred years.
Thirty hundred years,
and we work well together.
This cake's gonna be
so good for this round.
It'll have the cute little fox on top.
The flavors are gonna be so on point.
For our Arctic animal cupcake,
we're gonna make a poppy seed cake
filled with lingonberry gin gelée,
frosted with a cooling
monk fruit rosemary buttercream,
topped with poppy seed brittle,
an adorable fondant Arctic fox
and a green microwave cake bush.
[Jenna] The foxes are almost done.
[Jordan] Oh, I love them!
-Second batch in the oven. Same thing.
-[Jenna] Awesome.
-How much time do you wanna spend?
-Bad girls will take at least an hour...
-Hour and 15 minutes? Okay, cool.
-Hour and 15 minutes.
-I'm Ivan.
-And I'm Alex.
[both] We're the Cake Brothers.
[Alex] We're both from Chicago.
We grew up in the bakery business.
Our parents have a Mexican bakery.
Once I finished high school,
I had a clear vision
that that's what I wanted to do.
-And his passion was pretty contagious...
-And I...
...so it kind of spread on me, too.
[chuckles]
[Ivan] Soon as you finish
the chocolate cake, I'll jump into...
-The buttercream? Okay. Cool.
-Whoever finishes first.
We were actually born in Mexico,
and we wanna showcase Mexican flavors.
We add a little bit of spice.
We do cayenne pepper, chili powder...
-Trying to bring our culture in.
-Cinnamon... Yeah.
-[Ivan] How are we on the cake?
-[Alex] Good.
For our Arctic animal cupcake,
we're making
a chocolate Mexican spice cake.
We're gonna fill it
with white chocolate peppermint ganache,
and a Swiss meringue cinnamon buttercream
and a walrus macaron on top.
Hey, Rach, I got all my spices.
So our chocolate cake has a bit of pepper
-to give it extra spice.
-Ooh, la, la!
-How's that?
-Gimme spice, baby.
How's that for some heat?
I'm Rachel, the owner of Sweet Traders
in Huntington Beach, California.
And I'm Samantha, her head decorator.
[Rachel] We specialize
in wedding and event cakes.
I am the boss,
but Sam's really the boss in the kitchen.
It's a little over ten minutes,
so we've just gotta get this
in the oven as fast as possible.
For our Arctic animal cupcakes,
we're making a chocolate spice cake
filled with a orange-zested crème fraîche,
a Grand Marnier chocolate ganache,
topped with a polar bear
made out of fondant.
In we go, baby.
[woman sighs]
I'm so nervous.
We have three hours, Susana,
so we need to, like, be calm.
This is Susana. She's my student.
And this is Eric,
my amazing baking professor.
It's time for the world to see what
Puerto Rican sweet makers can do.
[Eric] Have to be darker.
I'm gonna put more charcoal on it.
We are trying to impress the judges by
bringing two different flavors of cupcakes
rather than just one cupcake.
It's perfect.
I think this cupcake's
going to taste amazing.
My cupcake will be a killer whale
made out of chocolate and charcoal cake,
filled with hazelnut paste
with a peppermint chocolate
buttercream frosting
and chocolate whale tail.
[Eric] When I put this in the oven,
I'm going to make the apple pie filling.
And Susana is gonna make
the other cupcake,
which will be the Arctic tern.
It's a bird.
It will be an apple pie cupcake
filled with cooked apple,
with whipped cream icing,
and two wings made out of wafer paper.
I love it.
You can feel the apple and the spices.
Okay.
What's your favorite Arctic animal?
What would you put on your cupcake?
Arctic wolf.
-Arctic... That's a good one.
-Yeah.
-I think a baby seal.
-[Hunter] A baby seal.
Yeah, so cute, so playful,
sweet little face.
-Sasha?
-Polar bear.
-The predator of the baby seal.
-[laughter]
-Keep your cupcake away from my cupcake.
-[laughter]
Alex, we're, like, two and a half hours.
Okay.
[Alex] We wanna definitely impress Adriano
with our macaron.
I've made macarons many times before,
but definitely not with the rush,
or a big giant clock on top of me.
[Ivan] For the walrus,
should I give it a little mouth?
Oh, those are cute.
Anything could go wrong.
Macaron is very temperamental.
Every single thing has to line up.
So, it's 2:20. At 2:12, I'll flip 'em.
[Jordan] I'm about
to start the buttercream.
Three more foxes, and then I'm done.
The monk fruit sugar's still cooling.
Bleugh, bluh, bluh, bluh!
When you hear North Pole,
immediately you think Christmas.
[Jordan] Ooh! Cold!
I think this is a perfect opportunity
to use monk fruit sugar,
because it makes your mouth
kinda feel cold, just like in the Arctic.
[Sam] The cupcakes, have you checked them?
[Rachel] I have not checked them.
-Oh, they're not done, Sam.
-It's okay.
[Rachel] They're not done.
They're really soft.
-[Sam] Relax.
-[Rachel] Jack up the heat.
-[Sam] They're good.
-[Rachel] They're soft.
-[Sam] Want to change it?
-[Rachel] We need to do something.
Jack it up to convection.
Go. Uh... Keep going.
[Susana] Eric, how do you feel
about Adriano watching you?
Very nervous, believe me.
[Susana] I knew it. [laughs]
When I start baking, I fell, like, in love
with Adriano Zumbo's techniques.
Susana, I'm gonna make
the whale tail with the chocolate.
[Susana] Okay. You're an artist.
It's a risk to make two cupcakes.
-Check yours, I think they're ready.
-They're ready?
[Eric] But we wanna
impress Adriano Zumbo.
[Eric] Just working on the filling.
I need to make sure it's perfectly done.
How they look, Susana?
-They look good.
-Okay.
[Ivan] You only baked one tray?
Yeah, we only have one tray.
[Ivan] So there's no room for error.
-[Alex] Did you taste one?
-[Ivan] I did not. I'll try it.
-Let's taste it.
-If we need to add more spice,
-we can do it now.
-Okay.
-[Candace] Look.
-Oh, yeah.
[Hunter] They ate one of their cupcakes.
-[Candace and Sasha] Oh, no!
-[Hunter] We need 12 cupcakes.
It's good. Very good.
-[Rachel] Feel like it's good.
-[Sam] Yeah.
More sugar or it's okay?
-It's good.
-It's good? Okay.
[Jordan] Where's the microwave?
We're adding some microwave cake,
it's just a little green touch,
because it mimics, kind of, a bush,
a plant life
that might be growing in the Arctic.
Do you wanna put
a little dollop of lingonberry on this?
Everything's gonna hopefully
come together as a story.
[Jenna] Soon as those cupcakes
are frosted, we're done.
[Jordan] Put the prettiest one on.
12, go hit the buzzer,
go hit the buzzer,
-go hit the buzzer!
-[bells jingle]
-Oh! Jordan and Jenna, done.
-Aah!
Let's head on down, judges,
to try our first cupcake.
-Oh, my God, they're done already.
-Oh, my God.
Ivan, they're already done.
[Hunter] Jordan, Jenna, pass out
your cupcake, tell us what you made.
We have a poppy seed cupcake that's
filled with a gin and lingonberry gelée.
On top of that is
a cooling monk fruit buttercream.
The monk fruit gives you
a cooling flavor in your mouth,
like as if you were in the Arctic.
On top, we have a cute little fox
of poppy seed brittle
with some of the lingonberry jam,
and a microwave cake to mimic what
we assume plants up there might be like.
Beautiful presentation.
I mean, that Arctic fox is perfect.
Flavors are amazing.
I love the poppy seed cupcake, and
the frosting is really refreshing and icy,
and you really added
that extra dimension to it.
-Thanks.
-[Hunter] Candace?
Such an incredible sensation,
that refreshing, cooling sensation
of the monk fruit frosting.
You also created a world on top
of your cupcake that was totally edible.
-Well done.
-The fox is adorable.
Personally, fondant on cupcakes,
I don't usually enjoy,
'cause I feel like
it takes away from the cupcake,
but because of how tiny the fox was,
you nailed it.
I was really impressed with the flavors.
-Great job. Yeah.
-Thank you so much. Thank you.
Adriano, remind them
what they're working on in round two.
If you make it past elimination,
we wanna see confections
that have colors like the northern lights.
-Amazing! Aurora borealis, my favorite.
-Aurora borealis, that's it. Beautiful.
You have an hour and 52 remaining.
See you in a bit.
Great. Thank you.
Confection round.
They told us the northern lights,
-aurora borealis.
-Something shiny and black?
Oh, such a good idea.
-We'll do mirror glaze. Amazing.
-Oh, oh, yeah. Totally.
We're about to buzz in, right, Ivan?
-[Ivan] Five minutes.
-[Alex] All right. Two, four, six, eight...
Ten, 11. Why am I missing a cupcake?
[music slows]
-[Ivan] Are you really?
-[Alex] Yeah.
[Ivan] How?
[sighs] The one I tasted.
Oh.
I just made the biggest rookie mistake.
I ate our 12th cupcake.
-What are we gonna do now?
-I don't even know.
Oh, crap.
Luckily, we have some batter left over.
[Alex] All I have to do
is pop 'em in the oven,
but this is gonna be 20 minutes.
This is terrible.
They must be so devastated right now.
That's why they always say
make yourself a baker's dozen.
Mm-hm.
-So you gonna... you put one in the oven?
-Yeah.
I'm so sorry, dude.
-[Sam] It's the snow.
-[Rachel] How's those butts comin' along?
[Sam] I am on my last one.
Do you need any more?
[Rachel] Yes, three more tushes.
-Right.
-[Sam] You ready?
-[chimes]
-[bells jingle]
Oh, my God! Another group...
[laughs] ...just finish.
[Hunter] Rachel, Samantha,
tell us what you made.
[Rachel] We have a chocolate spice cake
with a little extra kick of ginger,
filled with orange crème fraîche
and ganache Grand Marnier topping.
And our bears are
made out of white fondant.
[Hunter] Why a polar bear?
'Cause they're just so cute,
and they're also top of the food chain.
[laughter]
Your sculpting work with the fondant
was just beautiful.
-This is such a sweet polar bear.
-[Sam] Thank you.
[Candace] It was a delight to eat.
-Thank you.
-Thank you.
I loved it, and it is very cute.
Polar bear, as we discussed earlier,
-is my favorite Arctic animal.
-Oh!
Good job. I do wish that the liqueur
came through a little bit stronger.
[Adriano]
Your chocolate cupcake was delicious.
I love the little crunch on top.
That added another dimension to it,
which is good.
Only thing I would've changed is,
I wanted more orange.
[Hunter] Okay. Rachel and Samantha,
you have an hour 47 minutes.
-How you feelin' on time?
-[Sam] Feeling good.
-Stressed out.
-Just ready to jump to the next one
and, uh, get started.
[Hunter] Judges, let's head
back up to the judges' table.
[Sam] Northern lights confection,
something fast.
-I've never seen anyone do crêpes.
-Yeah.
[Susana] Looks nice. I love it.
Okay, cinnamon...
-Okay.
-[Eric] We're ready?
We're ready. Okay, and one, two...
-[chimes]
-...three!
-Eric and Susana are done.
-Wow.
[Hunter] Judges, let's head on down.
-Hi, Eric. Hi, Susana.
-[Adriano] How you goin'?
-[Susana] Hi.
-[Eric and Adriano] Hello.
[Hunter] Two cupcakes!
Pass those out, tell us what you made.
We start with dark chocolate cake
with charcoal, filled with hazelnut cream.
And, of course, inspired in the orca,
killer whale.
[Hunter] What's the animal
for the white cupcake?
[Susana] It's the Arctic tern.
The frosting is cold, it's cream cheese,
because I was
inspired by the cold of the North Pole.
And inside this, apple pie filling,
and that represents the nest.
[Sasha] Overall, they're great cupcakes.
I love the tail.
The chocolate work was great.
However, it didn't scream Arctic to me.
I think these reminded me
too much of angel wings.
Two delicious cupcakes.
I enjoyed the flavors.
Apple pie one was amazing.
The chocolate one was good.
Nice to have a decoration you can eat.
I would like more presentation.
More color, or something that connects
with the Arctic better.
Well done giving us not one,
but two Arctic creatures.
I thought this was
such a strong statement.
Just instantly recognizable as the orca.
I thought your cupcake was really tender.
I loved how you brought in
the hazelnut as well.
In terms of your apple pie cupcake,
my apples could have used
a little more cooking time,
because they were still crunchy,
but the flavors were wonderful.
-Okay.
-Thank you.
Good luck, bakers.
-Thank you.
-You have an hour 31 left.
-Thank you.
-Thanks.
So, he asked something for
the northern lights, or aurora borealis.
So, I was thinking if we make
a semifreddo al cioccolato.
Mmm, that sound perfect.
[Ivan] I have the macaron ready, Alex,
so it's just about the frosting.
[Alex] Finally, I pull out
the 12th cupcake,
but we're definitely gonna have
to cut corners for our second round.
-You ready, Ivan?
-Don't forget the ganache.
-[Alex] You got the macaron ready?
-[Ivan] It's ready.
-Face it towards them.
-[Alex] You ready, then?
-[Hunter] All right! Well done, bakers.
-[Candace] Whoo!
Fourth team to buzz in.
I know you had some issues.
Hopefully it paid off.
Let's see what our judges think.
Tell us what you made.
[Ivan] So, it's a Mexican
chocolate cupcake.
It has cayenne, chili powder,
cinnamon, so it's spicy.
We cooled it down with
a peppermint white chocolate ganache,
a light Swiss meringue
cinnamon buttercream,
and a walrus macaron.
[Candace] What an adorable macaron.
This cute little walrus
is such a clever idea,
and the cooling factor of
that white chocolate peppermint ganache
was really an added treat.
Beautiful presentation. I love how you did
something different and used the macaron.
My critique on the macarons,
bit hollow, but the cupcake was delicious.
I love the ganache center
with the peppermint.
-That chili goes well with the chocolate.
-Thank you.
I think your buttercream frosting
was delicious.
I would actually even want
a little bit more spice.
It was present, I definitely tasted it.
But, I don't know, I love spice.
I would have preferred just a bit more.
[Hunter] Bakers, you have an hour and 25.
Get goin'.
Judges, we have a decision to make.
-When I think of aurora...
-The aurora.
-...I think blue, purple.
-Blue?
[Ivan] Let's do a kiwi gelée,
raspberry gelée, blueberry gelée.
All right, judges.
Four cupcakes down, but only three teams
can move on to the confection round.
Before we make an elimination,
let's talk about who had
our favorite cupcakes.
Jordan and Jenna buzzed in first,
and I'm actually shocked that they did.
They created
so many elements in that cupcake,
from the sponge to the filling.
I was really blown away
by their Arctic fox cupcake.
The cooling effect in the buttercream
with monk fruit was pretty amazing,
and the textures of that poppy seed tulle
and the lingonberry jam in the middle.
It just made it.
And that little fox just popped on top.
Their flavors were original, and they
really just gelled together really well.
[Candace] Alex and Ivan. Very ambitious,
doing a cupcake with a macaron on top.
They gave us great flavors
and textures too.
I loved that hit of chili.
So, they did a great job, too.
I loved how the macaron was the walrus,
something different.
It was fun.
They did a really good job of it.
Even though they had that time constraint,
and unfortunately,
they had to make that 12th cupcake,
I still enjoyed theirs
over Rachel and Samantha's.
Speaking of Rachel and Samantha,
as well as Eric and Susana,
you guys have all put them
in your bottom two cupcakes.
Why is that? Sasha, we'll start with you.
Well, I think Rachel and Samantha,
I wish there was
a bit more punch in their flavors.
I think that was what was missing.
I just felt the flavors
were a little lackluster,
although that fondant polar bear
was adorable.
Yeah, Rachel and Samantha,
beautiful cupcake,
but the crème fraîche in the middle
wasn't acidic enough.
Eric and Susana, I enjoyed their flavors.
I just felt their connection
to the theme was a little bit off.
[Sasha] I thought that Eric and Susana's
orca tail was their best cupcake.
Unfortunately, I just feel like
they tried to do too much
and it didn't quite pan out.
I thought that their turn was a little
less strong in terms of the decoration
and there were some technical issues
with the filling
of that apple pie cupcake for me.
I think they would have done better
to just focus on one cupcake
and really amped up the presentation
and made sure those flavors were on point.
It seems like you've made a decision.
I'll go ahead and let our bakers know.
Bakers, can I have your attention, please?
Our judges have made their first decision,
and the team with the winning cupcake
and their "seal" of approval is...
Jordan and Jenna.
-Amazing!
-[Hunter] Congratulations!
-[Jenna] Whoo!
-[Hunter] You are safe from elimination,
and because it's the Christmas season,
and in honor of Santa Claus being from
the North Pole, we are giving you a gift
of two brand-new pastry decorating sets.
-Oh! We actually need one of those.
-Oh, cool! Yeah, we do.
Well done. Work on your confections.
-Thank you, judges!
-Thank you!
Unfortunately, now, one of the three
remaining teams has to go home.
And the team with our judges'
least favorite cupcake this round is...
Eric and Susana.
-We're sorry.
-It's okay.
-It was a very tough round.
-It's okay.
Two good cupcakes,
but again, not enough today.
Your time in the Sugar Rush Christmas
kitchen has run out.
Thank you, bakers.
-Thank you.
-Thank you.
We didn't win Sugar Rush, but we are happy
we were able to represent Puerto Rico.
-Thank you.
-Thank you.
[Eric] Bye.
So we are walking back home
with our head held high
because we know that
we bring to the table good cupcakes.
[Susana] This experience make us stronger.
-We are winners.
-Yes.
[Hunter] Bakers, you have one hour
and four minutes left on the clock.
Good luck.
Keep workin' on those confections.
Go out, come out, come out,
come out, come out. Thank you.
For our northern lights confection,
we are making a ricotta mousse bomb.
[Jenna] On the inside,
there is a ricotta mousse,
a blueberry gelée filling,
some Key lime curd,
and some really delicious
shortbread thyme cookie crumble.
Covered with a hard white chocolate shell
that we're then gonna coat
with mirror glaze.
It's gonna be perfect.
How do you work? Aaah!
[Jenna] Is that enough cookie bits?
You're the one who puts the cookies in.
-[Sam] Oh!
-[Rachel] We don't want that.
-[Sam] I need that.
-Oh. For what?
-[chuckles] My mirror glaze.
-Oh! Okay. This is the ganache.
For our northern lights confection,
we are making a crêpe
rolled into a roulade shape,
filled with sour cream chocolate ganache,
flambéd bananas, mascarpone cream,
and an amazing galaxy mirror glaze on top.
-Hey, Sam, is the salt still over there?
-Yeah.
-Oh, gosh, right in front of my face.
-[laughs]
[Rachel] I don't feel like it's a dessert
that the judges have ever seen before.
-A croulade.
-Croulade.
-[Sam] We have an hour and a half.
-We have to try.
-So...
-We bank as much time as we can
if we make it to the cake round.
-I'm so happy. After that error...
-Yeah.
-I thought... I thought we were gone.
-It was a rookie mistake.
We lost so much time.
So everything needs to come out perfect.
[Alex] How are you with the chiffon? Good?
-Concentrate on the chiffon.
-[Ivan] I am.
[Alex] We wanna incorporate our culture.
So we're gonna make
a chocolate chiffon tres leches cake,
with strawberry mousse on top, with
a strawberry, kiwi, and blueberry gelée.
I'll start blooming the gelatin.
Colors are very important
to interpret the aurora borealis.
We wanna keep it natural,
fresh, with flavor.
I think we're gonna be close again
on that time, Alex.
Jenna, the first layer of this,
from top to bottom, is gonna be mousse,
then the blueberry gel,
then I've got your thyme shortbread
cookies in here for a bit of crunch.
Key lime curd for some brightness,
then another layer of the ricotta mousse,
and then a little white chocolate for
sweetness and a little bit of structure.
Aaah! If I don't break all of it.
We have a fancy blast chiller here
which I've never used before.
I wanna get the molds in the freezer
as fast as possible.
I hope it's gonna make my mousse
freeze up quickly enough
so I can get it out of the mold.
Blast 'em for a minute. Moving on!
Will this come back on again?
I need to just flambé that.
I put a good amount of rum
into the flambé bananas,
because that was a comment
that was made in our earlier round,
that it was lacking a bit of
strength of flavor on the alcohol.
-It needs to burn out.
-Want me to turn off the heat?
[Rachel] No, it's still flaming.
I need to taste that.
Ooh, gosh. Holy Toledo.
That's got alcohol.
-[Sam laughs]
-Whoa!
[Ivan] Alex, what you do think
of this aurora green? Brighter?
-Oh, no, that's nice. I love it.
-Okay.
It's very important
that the gelée is colorful,
and it's not like a big, brown mess.
The gelatin is not setting, so...
[Ivan] It's taking a long time
for the gelée to set.
So in order to save time, I decide to
incorporate more gelatin sheets into it.
Let's just hope it's not too rubbery.
[laughing]
[Sam] Rach, you're working
-on our first crêpe right now, right?
-Yeah.
We're getting crêpes?
-Rachel and Samantha have crêpes.
-How fun! We've never had a crêpe before.
-But how...
-How will they use that?
-Yeah, how will they do the lights?
-Great question.
My first one's sticking.
[Sam] I'm gonna put ganache down
on the first layer of crêpe.
I'm getting my bananas on.
-[chuckles] Oh, those look like burritos.
-Oh, my God.
-I think this big. If you want smaller...
-Okay.
-[Jenna] They're so frozen.
-[Jordan] Yeah, they are so frozen.
They were not supposed to be
quite this frozen.
Oh, blast chiller. You are my nemesis.
I hope that the flavor profiles
are still gonna come through
even though it is a bit too cold.
My mirror glaze is
-at the perfect temperature.
-Okay.
Did I just hear someone say mirror glaze?
[Sam] Jenna and Jordan
are also doing a mirror glaze.
Our mirror glaze has to be better.
[Sam] I'm gonna put this in the fridge
for a hot second.
I think
the consistency of this is perfect.
Yeah, looks good.
Ready, go!
-[Jenna] We're ready to plate?
-[Jordan] This one's done.
-[Jenna] Buzz.
-[Jordan] Where is it?
-Right there.
-Buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz!
-[bells jingle]
-[cheering]
[laughing] We have a buzzer.
Let's go ahead and head down.
-They're done.
-It's pretty nice, too.
Jordan, Jenna, first ones done yet again.
Tell us about your northern lights
inspired confection and pass it out.
[Jordan] We went with a ricotta mousse,
and then there's a blueberry gelée,
thyme shortbread cookie and Key lime curd,
a very dark black mirror glaze,
and there's a couple of chocolate trees.
I think your presentation is gorgeous.
I love everything that you did.
I immediately knew what it was.
The blueberry is a little frozen,
but the taste is all there.
I love the cookie crumble in there.
That was really smart.
You nailed the challenge.
-Great, thank you.
-Beautiful presentation.
I love how you used chocolate outside,
it gives a crack as you break into it.
That's another bit of theater
and a little texture, a depth of effect.
-Really good work.
-Great. Thank you.
It was so clever that you worked with
the mirror glaze,
and worked those colors in there,
it was just lush,
and spoke to the luscious
flavors inside your dessert as well.
Thank you so much.
You banked 37 minutes, 40 seconds.
We wanted an hour,
but we'll take 37 minutes and 40 seconds.
Well done, bakers.
We have two more confections to try.
We will see you in a bit.
-Great.
-Good luck.
-Thanks, judges.
-Thank you.
-Thanks.
-Thank you.
We're using acetate sheets
to create a layered effect.
I want the judges
to see the layer of tres leches,
the layer of strawberry mousse
and then the glaze of the aurora on top,
and all the work we put into this pastry.
-I got you.
-Lot of things that have to set.
[Alex] Probably gonna set quick.
[Rachel] Ooh!
Oh, I love that.
Okay, ringing our bell.
-[bells jingle]
-All right, Rachel and Samantha!
Done with their confection.
Judges, let's head on down.
We got it done!
[Hunter] Rachel and Samantha!
-[Sam] Yes!
-Interesting northern light confection.
-Thank you.
-Pass those out, tell us what you made.
We've named it a "croulade."
It's a crêpe that we've rolled
kind of like a roulade,
layered with sour cream chocolate ganache,
flambéd bananas, mascarpone cream,
and then topped with a mirror glaze.
We've never had a crêpe
on Sugar Rushbefore.
Yeah!
Great presentation.
I like the marbling of the colors
to make the northern lights.
I love crêpes. I like how you've used it
in a roulade. It's quite unique.
-If I was gonna be critical...
-Sure.
-...there should be a bit of lemon juice.
-Ah! Always that citrus!
I put the lemon juice in,
but I think I cooked it out too fast.
-[Adriano] Yeah.
-Okay.
I will say that I was a little worried
that the crêpes were gonna be stale
'cause you guys made them so soon,
but they weren't at all.
They had plenty of texture and moisture,
and I love the nuts in there.
-I like the stars and powdered sugar.
-Stars for the star.
-Yeah, I... Thank you.
-[laughter]
I was really scratching my head
when I saw you guys making crêpes.
I thought, "How are they gonna transform
crêpes into the northern lights?"
And you did it.
You transformed this crêpe,
And then, the flavors and the textures
inside were all just yummy,
and satisfying, and warm, and cozy.
-Well done.
-Thank you.
We have one more confection to try,
and then a decision to make,
so we will see you in a bit.
-Thank you, bakers.
-[all] Thank you.
[Ivan] Here's another one.
That looks really good.
[Alex] We've never used a blast freezer.
The gelée definitely looks frozen,
and that's making me worry.
[Ivan] Just give it two minutes, Alex.
Ready?
[exhales] I'm hitting it at... 40.
-[bells jingle]
-Okay, Alex and Ivan buzzed in.
-Our final confection.
-Made us wait.
[Hunter] Forty seconds left.
Pass 'em out and, uh, tell us about
your northern lights inspired confection.
-[Alex] You have a...
-[Candace] So pretty.
[Alex] ...chocolate chiffon cake
with a strawberry liqueur tres leches,
and it has a strawberry mousse.
We wanted to have the colors kind of
be natural, something that you could eat.
So you got a kiwi gelée,
a blueberry gelée and a raspberry gelée.
I think it's beautiful.
I think you guys did a very different
presentation to everybody else.
I had a little bit of an issue
with the textures.
It tasted good,
but I almost liked everything separate...
-[Alex] Okay.
-...than all together in one bite.
-Flavors are good. Bit too much gelatin.
-[Alex] Yeah.
[Adriano] When you hit it with your...
You know, sort of a bit rubbery,
especially with the softer mousse texture.
-[Ivan] Mm.
-You can really feel that gumminess.
But other than that, look,
I think, great chocolate.
Really refreshing interpretation
of the northern lights.
I love that it wasn't
just a decorative element.
You really worked the flavors
into your decoration as well.
-That gets extra points for me.
-Thank you.
[Hunter] You guys banked 40 seconds.
That's a lot of time.
Don't use it all at once.
-Okay.
-[laughter]
Judges, we have a decision to make.
Thank you, bakers.
-[all] Thank you.
-Thanks so much.
Okay, so, judges,
all three confections have been tasted,
but only two teams can make it
to the final cake round.
Who had your favorite confection today?
Jordan and Jenna for me.
They had the flavors,
the presentation was glossy and shiny.
They had those little extra things.
Even though there was
a little bit of that frozen bite in there,
I think with their flavors
and their presentation,
it looked really professional.
They really captured, like,
the magic of the northern lights.
The flavors were outstanding and...
and just played really well together.
Since Jenna and Jordan are winning again,
it puts Rachel and Samantha,
as well as Alex and Ivan, in the bottom.
Rachel and Samantha, for me, it was...
I mean, the glaze wasn't as shiny,
it was a bit lackluster.
Good flavor. Good textures. It was just
missing that little pop for me.
I thought their dessert was delicious,
but in terms of their presentation,
they weren't working with a smooth canvas
with their croulade,
so the mirror glaze is not as successful
when you're not glazing something smooth.
[Sasha] I think they did well,
considering,
and I really did enjoy the flavors.
It was very different.
[Adriano] Alex and Ivan,
a beautiful presentation.
They had great flavors, great color.
But just that gelée on top
was very rubbery. It really stood out.
I liked that they used natural flavors
for the coloring and for the design,
and I think it did look beautiful,
but I had a problem with those textures.
Using purées, making it into a gelée
was really just brilliant,
but the gumminess of those gelées
did not work against
the creaminess of the mousse.
Sounds like you have made a decision.
I'll go ahead and let our bakers know.
Okay, bakers,
can I have your attention, please?
So our judges have made
their second decision,
and the team who showed them
the northern lights the best
and had their favorite confection is...
Jordan and Jenna.
-Ooh!
-[Hunter] Well done.
First round, cupcakes,
now the second round, confections.
Congratulations,
you're moving to the cake round.
And again,
because this is the spirit of giving,
we're gonna keep you warm all year round.
You're each going home with a deep fryer.
-Well done.
-Very cool.
Unfortunately, that means
that one of the two remaining teams
will be going home right now.
And the team with our judges'
least favorite confection is...
Alex and Ivan.
Your confection was incredible.
There was just
too much gelatin in that gelée.
Your time in the Sugar Rushkitchen
has run out.
-Thank you, bakers.
-Yes.
[Alex] I feel like
I let my brother down a bit, so...
It's pretty devastating, to be honest.
I'm proud of my brother and...
-I'm proud of my brother.
-[chuckles]
-[Hunter] Great job.
-[Ivan] Good luck, ladies.
We did compromise with the gelée, but...
I think overall we showcased
our culture, we were original...
-Yeah.
-And I'm proud of that.
Yeah. Anybody could've done mirror glaze.
[both laughing]
Congratulations, Jordan and Jenna,
Rachel and Samantha, you have earned
your spots in the final cake round.
And for the final cake round,
we want a whimsical igloo cake.
The outside, of course,
should be snowy and icy,
while the insides of the cakes
should be an explosion of color.
Okay, Rachel and Samantha,
you banked 19 minutes and ten seconds.
We're gonna add three hours to that,
giving you a total of three hours,
19 minutes and ten seconds.
Jordan and Jenna,
you banked 37 minutes and 40 seconds.
We'll add three hours, giving you a total
of three hours, 37 minutes and 40 seconds.
Sounds good to me!
You're gonna start first,
because you have more time banked.
-Your time starts in three, two, one.
-[bleeping]
Get cracking, bakers. Good luck.
If we stick with nature,
there's nothing interesting
-on the surface of the Arctic, let's go...
-Underwater?
[gasps] We could sculpt whales,
-and seals, and fishes...
-Okay.
What about an iceberg as the cake?
We'll just put the igloo
on top of the iceberg.
The igloo on top.
We've decided
to stick with that nature theme.
We're gonna go with a huge iceberg cake.
We're gonna incorporate the igloo on top.
Under the sea
there's gonna be some fish...
Whales and seals...
and a polar bear
will be sitting on top fishing.
We wanna create a really cohesive scene
like we did with the other rounds.
[trills and mimics mixer] Da-da-da-da-da!
Stop!
[Jordan] We're making a turmeric,
lemon and ginger cake
with a cream cheese buttercream
with pine nuts.
The color in our cake today
is gonna be natural.
Turmeric is bright yellow.
It'll be a great surprise
under the blue and white cake.
When you open it up,
the yellow will just pop through.
[Jordan] I'm about to put
the cakes in the oven.
Soon as they come out, I can carve
and put the armature together.
First cake's goin' in.
[Jenna] Awesome.
This is the only time that feels like
time is going by really slow.
-Three, two, one, go!
-[bleeping]
Okay. What do we think of
-when we think of ultimate igloo?
-I don't know.
I just think it's like,
ultimate igloo is an igloo.
-Maybe like a resort igloo?
-Okay. Okay!
You know the huts they have in Thailand
-that seem to float in the ocean?
-Mm-hm.
-Let's get that sort of thing going on.
-Okay.
-What if it's, like, a polar bear resort?
-It's a polar bear resort.
-I like that.
-A polar bear resort.
For our cake, we are going to do
the ultimate igloo resort.
It's a huge igloo cake
surrounded by icebergs.
We're gonna have
polar bears frolicking around.
One polar bear is going down a slide,
and the other ones
are hanging out in the water.
Okay. I grabbed the vanilla
and peppermint emulsion.
Inside of our white igloo,
we're gonna have alternating layers
of white chocolate cake
and peppermint cake
that we're gonna dye red,
a peppermint chocolate ganache
and vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream.
And then we plan on adding
a center of candy,
so when we cut into our slice,
it's not only an explosion of color,
but a little candy surprise.
I'm making a double batch of buttercream.
I'm gonna be filling our huge iceberg cake
with a cream cheese buttercream,
and the outside of our cake is
a traditional American-style buttercream.
Numero uno, finito!
Okay.
We need chocolate for the ganache
and cream.
While you do that, I'll get started
on the Swiss meringue buttercream.
Okay, I'm gonna add the peppermint,
Sam, to the, um, ganache.
Just make sure we don't go too strong.
Yeah, I'm gonna st... Ooh! Start off
with three teaspoons and then test it.
Peppermint is such an iconic flavor
for Christmas.
We just need to make sure
all our flavors are balanced and on point.
[slurping] It needs more.
-More?
-It's super subtle.
Okay.
Ooh, these are looking good, Rach.
I'm makin' our igloo.
[laughs] I was thinking of
what I could use that was round.
I'm gonna blow up a balloon.
[Jenna] I decide
to cut a 12-inch cake board.
Gorgeous.
Cut up a cup, make a little archway, pour
some chocolate over it and make a dome.
And pray that it works. [laughs]
All right, bakers,
you have two hours remaining.
I'm working on covering our board
with an icy, blue water look.
So, I'm just carving my slide right now
for our polar bears.
Right now, I'm gonna make my staircase
that's gonna be leading up
to the front door of our igloo.
-Do you like the shape of this?
-Beautiful.
Beautiful.
This is a really fun element, 'cause it's
where the polar bears are sliding down,
and it's just really playful.
The slide stairs are covered.
Startin' a fire, startin' a fire.
[Jordan] My armature
needs to be super sturdy,
so I'm using nuts and bolts
and a big board,
while Jenna makes all the decorations
and things like that.
I'm getting ready to pour
a big sheet of isomalt.
It's gonna be the delineation
between the surface and underwater.
What are you workin' on now, Jenna?
I'm makin' fish.
I want there to be a lot of creatures.
I make a bear for the top of the cake
and some seals.
Why won't your head flatten out?
-Jenna, what are you namin' the whale?
-Herman Melville.
[laughs]
Herman is going in the refrigerator.
These look great, Rach.
-[Rachel] They done?
-[Sam] Yeah.
[Hunter] So, when you put
a toothpick into a cake,
should there be nothing on it?
Are we okay with a little bit of...
-Like, a few crumbs is fine.
-A few crumbs?
-You don't want it to be liquid.
-Got it.
What's more helpful to me is
the touch test on top.
I'd like to get to the point
where I could touch it and know.
Rachel, you're gonna
start on filling, right, next?
-Yep.
-[Sam] Okay.
[Sam]
So, for this polar bear resort igloo,
our priority is
that candy cane sort of appearance.
-It's red, white, red, white.
-Okay.
As I'm layering the cake, I'm cutting
a hole in the center of each tier
because I'm filling this
with our burst of color
-which is going to be candy sprinkles.
-Sprinkles.
[Sam] So, I'm gonna clean up
to get space to work on our figurines.
Hopefully when the judges
are gonna be cutting through the cake,
they're gonna be able
to see this burst of color.
Okay, Rach, I'm getting our, like,
iceberg-y pieces in place, okay?
So that we won't have to do much
once the cake is on.
[Hunter] All right, bakers,
you have one hour left!
Time is a little scary.
Terrified! [laughs]
-They're covering stuff in fondant.
-Okay.
[Jenna] You gotta get that covered.
-[Jordan] What do you think I'm doing?
-[Jenna] I don't know. [gasps]
[Jordan] I look at the clock
and I'm getting nervous.
I need to work more quickly.
But I know it's gonna be
this amazing reveal
because that bright yellow is inside,
and blue on the outside.
As soon as we open it up,
it's gonna be a great show.
-Are you almost ready for isomalt sheet?
-It's not perfectly level, but...
Don't cut yourself on the edges.
It's sharp.
Thank you.
Tell me if I'm centered, please.
[Jenna] You look good.
Wow!
-Oh, my God.
-[Sasha] Oh!
All right, I'm gonna start
putting the igloo on the top.
[Sam] We need to get something together.
I need you to move faster.
Okay. Move fast.
And we're good.
-Wow!
-That's...
-Come to life!
-That's an igloo.
[Sam] I'll start making some bears.
Do you wanna get our igloo onto the board?
-Then finish the details?
-Yep.
How's it going?
[Jenna] We're not gonna acknowledge it
until it's done.
My white chocolate igloo
is not that exciting by itself.
Tea lights!
I'm gonna make a little campfire.
And I cut out a couple little polar bears
out of black fondant
so that you can see something in there.
[Jordan] Oh, it looks awesome!
You can... you can totally see it!
[Sam] Rach, the other team has, like,
a small little igloo
at the top with some light,
which reminds me we were gonna
also do some light elements at the top.
Okay. I've got one hole over here.
I feel like, at this point, let's just
keep making it look more amazing.
Oh, so bloody cute.
[Hunter] All right, bakers,
you have ten minutes left.
[Jenna] It's ready for Herman.
We've got some lower lights happening.
-[Jordan] How are they looking?
-[Jenna] Like an igloo.
Can I turn the igloo a little bit?
[Sam] You think these will look cute?
Kinda finish it off?
One minute left, bakers.
-[Rachel] Do we have time for a towel?
-Yeah. There's some there.
You can see the bears.
Everybody looks happy.
Do it next to there.
I don't know what else to add.
[judges] Five, four, three, two, one!
[Hunter] That's it.
Don't touch your cakes.
We did it.
Move away from the icebergs,
and the igloos, and the North Poles!
Judges, let's go get a closer look.
Jordan, Jenna, wow!
It's basically the iceberg under the sea.
You've got the whole undersea life.
We've got seals, we've got a whale,
we've got polar bears living in the igloo.
[Hunter] You did amazing.
-Before we cut into the cake...
-Yes.
...I think it's maybe a fun idea to dim the
lights and see what this cake looks like.
-I would love that.
-Awesome.
The way it's meant to look.
-Ooh!
-Oh, look at that.
Oh, that's amazing.
-They got a campfire inside.
-Oh, my God.
[Hunter] Right.
You took a really creative take
on the igloo challenge, right?
Because the igloo is not really
the main star of this cake,
but it is the crowning glory.
You gave us an inside view
into the amount of life
that's teeming underneath the surface.
It's such a wonder to behold, really.
I love the detail, I love the concept.
It's fun, it's artistic,
it shows a lot of skill,
-and I can't wait to try it.
-Thank you.
I love these seals, too.
I think they're so cute.
That's how they swim. You captured
their motion, which is brilliant.
I love the silhouette in the igloo.
You guys really pulled out all the stops.
-Thank you.
-We tried.
-Now we wanna see the color explosion.
-All right.
-We can do that for you.
-So cut us a slice of your cake.
-[Jenna] Hey!
-[laughter]
[Hunter] Well done!
-Nice.
-Beautiful color.
[Candace] That's a bright shock of yellow.
[Jordan] Isn't it cool?
The contrast with the blue?
Cut us three more slices.
We'll see you at the judges' table.
-All right. Thank you.
-Thank you, bakers. Judges?
Rachel and Samantha, this is amazing.
-Oh, my gosh.
-How fun.
We were inspired by those little resorts
that they have in Thailand,
where the little huts
seem to float in the ocean.
So we thought we would do that,
but do it in...
-Ice.
-...the North Pole.
[Sam] It's like a polar bear resort.
They're frolicking in the water,
sliding down,
and just, like,
having the time of their lives.
We've got the skylight,
and, like, the floor light
just to kinda show the upscale elements
of this resort.
[laughter]
Let's go ahead and dim the lights and
just see...
-how this skylight looks at... at night.
-Mmm!
[all] Oooh!
[Sasha] I think it's beautiful,
first of all.
I think it's a really cute idea
to do that resort igloo.
I love the slide.
I think the slide is so clever.
You're the only ones to do a pole
for this theme, which I think is so great.
-Everything just looks so magical.
-Thank you.
I think it's beautiful. Nice and clean.
I love your story, it's really fun.
I love the little polar bears
sliding around and swimming.
I would have liked to have seen a bit more
detail on your finishing of the igloo.
It feels a bit unfinished.
But thank you, you did well.
Well, you guys definitely delivered
on a polar bear Polynesian paradise.
It's luminescent. It's got sparkling snow,
and it's a really fun and special cake.
[both] Thank you.
Why don't you go ahead
and cut us a slice of your igloo cake?
-Oh! Look at the surprise!
-[Sasha] Oh, my gosh!
-It's like a stripe?
-Yeah, it's like candy cane.
-Oh, I like that.
-How cute.
-That's gorgeous.
-Beautiful.
Thank you, bakers. Cut us four slices,
and we will see you at the judges' table.
Okay.
-Enjoy.
-Thank you.
Jenna and Jordan,
walk us through the flavors of your cake.
It's a lemon and ginger cake
with candied ginger,
with a cream cheese buttercream filling
and some toasted pine nuts.
There's also turmeric in there,
which lends a little bit of flavor,
but adds a lot of color.
Well, Jenna and Jordan,
you have been just wowing us.
Your cake, it's spectacular.
That beautiful blue
of your underwater scene,
and then cutting into it and getting
that shock of egg-yolk yellow is so cool.
And what's even more cool is that
it's coming from an actual ingredient.
The flavors for me,
the cake was a little bit sour
and was sort of a jarring juxtaposition
against the very sweet frosting.
You did an amazing job
on your presentation.
It's very striking, from the shape,
and obviously the beautiful job
you did on finishing it.
The igloo I thought was well made.
I loved how you used chocolate.
And I love the silhouette.
I thought that was real smart.
I've never seen that before.
I'm gonna steal that one.
[laughter]
I enjoyed the flavor of the cake,
you know, the ginger and the lemon.
I like those kind of punchy flavors.
You did an amazing job.
I think that
that cake is incredible to look at.
You guys incorporated so many elements,
like the polar bear with the fishing rod
and your silhouettes in your igloo.
And I have to say, I love the taste
of your cake, including the icing.
Everything meshes really well for me.
I want to keep eating it.
So, I think you guys should be very proud.
Let's go ahead and switch
to Rachel and Samantha's cake.
[Sam] We have a red peppermint
white chocolate cake,
layered with
a peppermint chocolate ganache
with candy peppermints
in between the layers.
Rachel and Samantha,
you guys have such a way with fondant
here with this igloo,
and your imagination making it
into a vacation paradise tells a story.
You went above and beyond
on the color challenge here today.
You gave us alternating layers of cake
that were just so cheery.
Your cake is definitely more traditional,
but you worked with those flavors
really well.
The buttercream is silky.
The chocolate ganache is rich and fudgy.
You have the texture
from the peppermint candies,
and you had that great candy surprise
when you cut into your cake,
which was a lot of fun.
Thank you.
The inside of your cake is amazing,
like a candy cane.
Uh, beautiful red and white tones there.
The flavor, you got the peppermint right.
It wasn't too overpowering.
There was a nice texture of ganache.
You did a great job on your igloo.
You know, it's big, it's bold,
but feels a bit unfinished to me,
and a little bare in places.
Uh... Well, literally, I mean,
there's a couple polar bears there, but...
Um, but other than that,
you did an amazing job.
-Thank you.
-Thank you.
Rachel and Samantha,
I think your cake is gorgeous.
I think it's very clever.
I love the slide.
I think that's such a unique detail.
As far as the taste goes,
I want to say that
the peppermint, for me,
was the perfect amount,
because it was so subtle and
so well placed, but the color was there.
I love the red and the white,
and it really gives us that color pop
that we were asking for.
Well, I think it's safe to say both teams
did such an incredible job today,
but unfortunately, only one team can win.
Judges, it's time to vote.
Who had your favorite cake today?
Candace.
Jenna and Jordan, you guys created
a magical, whimsical Arctic world.
It's one of the most spectacular cakes
I've seen on the show.
Rachel and Samantha, you really put
that igloo front and center.
It was clear that you'd really
thought through the color challenge,
with those layers and those candies
falling out for a really fun surprise.
Thank you.
Ultimately, my favorite cake today is...
Rachel and Samantha.
Oh!
Rachel and Samantha,
that's one vote for you.
If you get one more vote
in the Sugar Rush Christmaskitchen,
you will be going home with $10,000.
Adriano?
Jenna and Jordan, you made us
a statement cake today.
Big and beautiful, with so much detail.
I enjoyed the different techniques
that you used.
Rachel and Samantha,
I really enjoyed your cake.
It showed great color and great texture,
and great flavor.
Today, my vote's gonna go with...
Jordan and Jenna.
Thank you.
Jordan and Jenna, that's one vote for you,
meaning the $10,000 is hanging
on our guest judge's final vote.
-I hate this position.
-[laughter]
Oh, this is so close.
I think, Jordan and Jenna,
your cake is just stunning to look at.
You used so many different elements
to make this Arctic wonderland,
and I was just impressed
with your flavors,
and I really appreciated
all the work that you put into it.
Rachel and Samantha, I think your flavors
were there, they were delicious,
and I think your design was gorgeous,
and well thought out and different.
I appreciated both so much.
Ugh!
This is so hard.
My favorite cake is...
-Jordan and Jenna's.
-[gasps]
-[squeals]
-[Hunter] Jordan and Jenna!
-Congratulations!
-Oh, gosh!
You have just won $10,000
-in the Sugar Rush Christmaskitchen.
-[Jenna] Oh, my God!
Losing to Jordan and Jenna's design,
I feel like there's no shame in that.
It looks like a museum piece.
I'm just so proud that
we've made it as far as we did.
-I still love you.
-[both laugh]
-That was so, so beautiful!
-Beautiful!
[both] We win!
This experience has just been
wild and crazy.
I don't know how I can go back
to normal everyday life now.
-I know!
-Aw, you're crying!
No! Oh, my God, no!
[both laughing]
I'm just so relieved!
[Jenna] I am emotional, 'cause
I am so relieved. I did not expect to win.
No, me neither.
I'm glad I got to do it with you.
Oh, no, I can't control it.
[both laughing]
You still have all your mascara in place,
-so you're fine.
-Okay.
-Keep going. No big deal.
-[both laugh]
Thank you, guys, for watching
this episode of Sugar Rush Christmas.
Merry Christmas and happy holidays.