In the first round, the Grill Masters find grilling classics hot dogs and hamburgers in the same basket. Rack of elk is a welcome ingredient in the second basket, but the 30-minute time limit presents some issues. And the final two chefs have high hopes for what they can accomplish in the dessert round featuring chocolate cupcakes.
It's time to see who will sink and who will swim as four bakers dive into baking cookies, cupcakes and a showpiece cake inspired by the deep blue sea. When six hours is up, host Buddy Valastro, Food Network Star Tregaye Fraser and Cake Boss sculptor Ralph Attanasia will award the most-impressive baker with a dream vacation.
It's back to basics on Thanksgiving pot luck parties. There's a foolproof no stress Turkey Roulade, with easy sides; Roasted Vegetables With Simple String Beans and the classics with the volume turned up, Cranberry Conserve and Homemade Gravy. Then for dessert, Gingerbread Cupcakes With Orange Frosting plus a festive table setting by Ina's new stylist Robert Ruffino.
Pat and Gina whip up a delicious ‘His and Hers’ menu starting with Gina’s savory Pimento Cheese Cupcakes. Pat then makes ‘his’ manly Dijon Pork Loin and mouth-watering His & Hers Buttermilk & Chive Mashed Potatoes. Gina adds spirit to the meal with a dainty but sinful Grown-Up Milkshake.
All in good fun, the baskets in this competition are packed with ingredients that might appeal to the basic male human. Some sharpshooter cupcakes and a meaty snack are part of the riddle in round one. The chefs have to include bacon in the second round, and beer brownies get enthusiastic support from the finalists in round three.
What makes desserts sweet? Usually it's sugar, but in the desert, it's agave. For this pre-heat, the five bakers must use only agave as the sweetener in an assigned dessert -- a tart, a flourless cake, an ice cream sandwich, a doughnut or a cupcake. For the main heat, the bakers make succulent cakes that rival the real thing.
For this challenge, hosts and judges Valerie Bertinelli and Duff Goldman ask the bakers to combine a lot of small parts to create one big whole by making cosmic cupcake pull-aparts decorated to look like the sun, a rocket, Saturn, a comet or the moon. At the end of the mission, one baker is eliminated.