Original subtitles

Previously, welcome to our first ever Next Level Baker.

Let's go!

Merry Christmas!

I literally cannot believe I'm here right now.

That platform come fast, and it leave fast.

Chad, get on there now!

Go ahead, girl. You deserve a drink.

Monoli.

These desserts need to be perfect.

What about a spoon?

Trust me. Trust the process.

Oh, no. Where'd it go? Somebody poached your whipped cream? Oh, no, no, no, no,

no.

That was not good.

It was so bad.

Get your skates on. You're next. Oh, perfect.

Oh, my God. That was incredible.

Amazing. Happy holidays.

Figure skating is all about timing, precision, and execution.

One wrong move, and everything's going to come crashing down, just like bacon.

Some of you all were like baby deer on ice last time.

Today, you all need to keep your cool in those kittens.

What flavors make you really think about the holidays?

Nutmeg. Nutmeg. Chocolate.

Chocolate. Ginger.

Yes. For me, ginger is the ultimate holiday spice, truly.

True. Just the thought of making gingerbread houses transports me to

afternoons and the sound of a crackling fireplace.

Right, for today's challenge, you'll have 75 minutes to create a next -level

holiday bake using ginger.

Ginger is such a core part of Christmas for me. I would definitely say that

ginger is in my wheelhouse, you know, genetically.

The grab's important, right?

Very important. So you've got to be really precise on what.

You need. The sad news is that one of you will be leaving after this bake. You

need to take some big risks out there today.

Based on the last challenge, Stephanie, Aubrey, and Chloe, you'll be baking with

me on the top level.

Deidre, Zohar, and Jeff, you'll be with me in the middle level.

Let's go. Let's go.

And you know what that means, Chad and Nikki?

It's my first time down in the basement. I am excited to cook with you all.

You're excited to be in that dreaded basement?

I am.

That happens in the basement. You can't take things for granted.

It happens in the basement.

Right, all of you have the elevators. We'll see you shortly in your kitchen.

Let's go, let's go, let's go.

How good was that ice skating? It's like Rockefeller Plaza in here.

Good luck, everybody.

Pray for me and Nikki in the basement.

Let's do this, Nikki.

Been waiting to make eye contact with the horse.

Just as beautiful as I remember.

Oh, my God. I finally did it.

Oh. Wow.

This is so different. There's, like, as many mixing bowls as you need.

It's almost overwhelming.

All right, people.

Let's break out the... basement fun i'm starting my day in the basement but in

my head whenever i'm ready to fight there's always music playing nikki this

our third time together chad this is our first time together and today maybe a

little metallica i'm so excited to work with you i can see you in the eye i want

to coach you to get out of here oh yeah i'm just kidding i don't like metallica

right

Let's go.

How are you feeling? Good. Ready for the day. You good? Yeah, feeling good.

I'm busy.

That platform will be descending.

Be smart with that grab.

That grab is everything.

So excited. We've hit the big time, ladies.

All right, bakers, time to line up.

Hands on the elevator doors.

Remember, you have to grab one ginger ingredient. Go for it.

This is my first time in the top kitchen, and I'm determined that I'm

get that fresh ginger in my apron.

When the platform turns green, go, go, go, go, go. There's so many good

ingredients today. Come on.

Sorry. Fresh ginger, fruit to go.

Ooh, girl.

I really, really, really wanted the fresh ginger, and I was too slow.

15 seconds.

Okay, crystallized ginger. What else are we going to pair it with?

I love citrus. I'm going to make a gingerbread -inspired tart with

curd and ginger pastry cream.

You're running out of time. Come on, guys. But it's really going to be a

for time with all of these different elements that I want to go into my tart.

Nobody got maple syrup.

What is happening?

Let's go.

Grab your ginger. Sushi ginger and ginger tea bags.

Dem ginger with syrup.

I see candied ginger and syrup. Oh, my goodness me.

And I just wasn't moving quick enough. Zoha grabbed it immediately.

No more ground ginger.

For us in Pakistan, ginger goes in savory food.

Not so much in the sweet.

I'm going to have to get creative today.

How much is that?

Quick, quick, quick, quick, quick, quick. I got ground ginger. I got

I'm happy.

All right, look all around.

I'm down here with a giant.

He just grabbed the ginger.

Pickled ginger. Yes.

I freeze.

Okay, you have ginger ale over here. Let's get it. Get the ginger ale. Get

ginger ale. What are you waiting on?

Ginger ale.

In my culture, that's medication.

Oh, I think I'm coming down with a cold.

You need ginger ale.

I see tahini. You see tahini? Where's your tahini? I see tahini right here.

Blueberries. Here, give me some of that. Dry blueberries.

Just grab it.

Grab it.

Oh, gosh.

You froze, Nikki. I froze again.

You have ginger ale. Okay. That's what you have to work with. How am I supposed

to make this taste ginger with ginger ale? Like, I might have to jump on that

horse and ride that ass out here.

Do I go home now? Girl, fight your way out of this.

Ugh. Your 75 minutes starts now.

Let's go.

Ginger and Spud Bakes.

Uh, Deidre, ginger, what did you get? Tea bag. Tea bag.

Probably put it in my raspberry filling for the cake. Right. I'm just eating

that up, so.

Yeah, how is it? Is it flavorful? It's strong. Okay.

This is a ginger challenge. I need to get as much flavor out of those ginger

bags as I can.

Noha, what ginger did you get? I got some ginger in the syrup.

How good is that? It's really good. I don't even like ginger.

I'm going to also try to make a ginger snack for decoration.

I don't know if it's too much. Why do you always go too far? I know. What is

with you? I just don't want to let you down. No, no, but just do one thing

brilliantly. The focus of the cake.

I'm very neurotic. I am a perfectionist, but I also would love to vent.

Only if I have time.

Jeff, what ginger do you got?

Ginger candies.

I'm going to melt them in a simple syrup, and I use them to soak a

cake trifle.

Vent.

time assembling that, please. Absolutely. Remember, we want to see the

on these bakes, yes?

Give it some real wow factor.

70 minutes left.

70 minutes left, chef. All right, Chad.

Great grab.

What are you thinking? I'm going to go with a pound cake. I'm going to infuse

pound cake with pickled ginger. And then what else?

I'm going to do a tahini buttercream. I like how you're pulling in these savory

notes, Chad. What is this?

That's my pound cake. I want a little texture. Is that stupid?

Normally pound cakes are just plain.

I just think you should puree it.

Here we go. We're going to do this.

Chad is a roadrunner whirlwind in the kitchen.

Check this out.

Uh -uh.

No, no. Hold on. Hold on. I thought I could wrangle Chad in.

What about a spoon?

Trust me. Trust the process.

And, um, no.

Let's get this out. I mean, just because you're in the basement doesn't mean I

get the okay corral.

Nikki, tell me what you're making.

I'm making a ginger molasses font cake with no ginger.

Okay. You have a little paralysis analysis.

I feel like you need a connection to home.

Yeah. How many grandkids do you have? Two.

Trent and Bryson. Trent and Bryson. Yeah. All right. Ooh, girl. Okay.

Trent and Bryson, this is for you. I need you to say it.

Trent and Bryson, this is for you.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Come on. Let me give you a hug.

This is for Trent and Bryson. You got this.

Okay. You got it. You got it.

Carla mentioned my grandsons, and that's what I needed to hear.

I'm here for a reason, and I got this.

I'm not going to stop fighting. It's going to be a Christmas miracle.

You guys, I think I grabbed tarragon.

Okay. It just smells amazing. I think if I whip it into the chantilly cream,

it's going to come together really well. Whatever it is, we're going to make it

work. Looks pretty.

Holiday green.

Very sweet in the top kitchen.

Hi, Chloe.

Hi. How are you doing? I'm going to make a gingerbread pettiford.

We're working on my chantilly cream, my toasted herbs. We're not going to add

too much. Have you tasted the tarragon? Because I thought to start very small,

keep tasting, work up from there. That's a wise move because it's quite pungent.

We want to taste it at all, but we don't want it to take you in the mouth.

Exactly. All right.

I feel like we need a visit from Santa or something.

I mean, that would be awesome.

All right, Aubrey.

I see a madeleine pan.

Yes. So I'm using the fresh ginger to make madeleines.

I'm going to make a little bit of a filling to go inside. My whole goal is

they feel as fresh out of the oven as possible. I don't think a baked good is

worth eating unless it's fresh, right? Exactly. That's Christmas, right? That

is. You pull the cookies out and you eat them together.

I grew up in a very untraditional manner. I grew up as Lutheran, Jewish,

Native. We have Hanukkah. We have Christmas.

I also do have a Christmas Eve birthday. It's a lot, but I love it so much.

Are you there yet?

I'm a little nervous. This oven's baking fast, so I have one. Yes, it looks

pretty golden brown in there. It looked like it was around 425, but I think it

was actually a little closer to 450. That is not good at all. I'm definitely

going to have to bake these again. Do not like what's happening. And I am

not to completely spiral out.

Uh -oh.

Madeline's had to go for a rebake. This will not be my last bake in this

competition.

This oven is not my friend. I'm definitely going to have to bake these

All right, flavor's there. That's what matters.

Madeline, definitely overbaked.

I'm in the nice kitchen, and I'm having a harder time baking. I am booking it as

fast as I can to get my extra batter and get it right back in the oven.

Everything's fine.

Former professional, I will not serve burned food.

One hour to go, bakers. Thanks, Seth.

Oh, wow. These are great.

You got it, you got it, you got it. Your cake's a tool. I love it.

I'm adding aromatics to this.

It's like I'm in culinary school.

You got this. I like it. You're such a bro.

Thanks.

I'm a bro.

I'm a bro.

More of my former self was a big bro.

Two years ago, I was 300 pounds.

But I couldn't continue to live the way I was for me and my family.

And honestly, they're so proud of my journey and just the man I've become.

I'm a bakery owner.

The holidays for me are cuckoo crazy.

I like to think I'm the Santa Claus and all my elves are helping me out. But

yeah, we work around the clock. You know, it's like the North Pole.

All right, so you're making like a little compote? Try that. Okay, all

Yes! All right, let's go.

Chad, get out of the basement!

Nikki, is this the base of your batter?

Yeah. The thing about ginger, ginger is spicy, right? Uh -huh. Because you only

have ginger ale, you need to get some spice in here. If it's cayenne, if it's

black pepper, get spice into it.

Recreate the ginger.

Okay, bakers, platform is on its way with a little mid -bake surprise.

Oh. Write down one ingredient that you need to take it to the next level. I

exactly. Dear Santa, all I want for Christmas is a lemon.

Aubrey, what's on your wish list?

Some cranberries. You better get it on there if you want those ingredients.

Go.

White chocolate.

Guys, come by. A little mid -bake surprise.

What's going to elevate your dish? Write your one ingredient you'd love Santa to

bring you. Jeff, what did you ask for? I asked for lemon. Lemon, love that. I

did pecans. That's all good, pecans. And then place it back on the platform.

Get it on there, quick.

Let's go.

My wish list is upside down.

Okay, y 'all, we got a platform coming down. Grab your wish list.

Okay. Write down one ingredient.

Clementine.

Clementine. Pecans. Pecans.

Okay. Thank you, Santa.

Thanks, Santa.

Stephanie, you look a little worried. What is happening over here? That's my

concentration. Oh, it is? So we shouldn't be concerned about that? Well,

be concerned.

My tart's got to get chilled.

I'm getting all these components done. I know they all have to chill in time.

Because I can't put hot curd and pastry cream in a warm tart caster. It'll just

turn into soup.

Come on.

But I'm running out of time.

24 minutes.

All right, bakers, we're about to see who's been naughty and who's been nice.

Let's see if Santa delivers.

Oh, my gosh, so many.

We got our lemons.

Our cranberries.

Thank you, Santa. All right, everyone on the top level has been very nice this

year. There's a platform, guys.

Oh, yay.

See you, Santa. Did he deliver?

Yay.

Thank you, Santa. Thank you, Santa. Let's go.

Thank you, Santa.

All right, here's the platform.

Oh, my gosh, Santa. Santa brought you what you wanted. Thank you, Santa. All

right.

No time to play it safe because someone is going home. So close.

You are a good seeker.

Not beyond the pressure of the top floor.

If there's anything about the top floor, it's that the heat rises.

Good book.

You had your first pick of ingredients.

There are no excuses for not bringing your A -game today. There we go. I just

made myself some whipped cream, but I'm thinking, why do I need to add so much

more tarragon to it?

We're just going to do a smidgen.

Here I am, adding more tarragon.

We're going to make it warm.

Let's go, bakers.

Toasty golden brown.

Just praying that it gets cold enough that I can put these ingredients in it

they'll stay nice and firm.

Oh, I have whipped cream.

Oh, no. Where'd it go?

You're fine. Everything's fine.

You're fine. Everything's fine.

What happened? I had whipped cream in the fridge, but I'll just... Oh, no, no,

no, no, no.

Somebody poach your whipped cream. Do we switch something up?

Oh, no, no. Boom, there it was.

There were two identical bowls, and I grabbed one instead of the other.

Ten minutes to go, bakers.

I definitely didn't ever expect to find myself in a situation where I could

endanger somebody else's bake.

Oh, no, where'd it go? What happened?

I had whipped cream in there.

Somebody poach your whipped cream?

Oh, no. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. No, don't be sorry. I'll just make some more.

I have to get this cream done. All these components have to chill. It really is

a crunch for time.

What happened with that whipped cream?

We were in identical bowls, and I think I pulled hers out of the fridge and set

it aside.

I was so confident I had grabbed something of my own and then continued

more Paragon to it. But we're here, the flavor is good, and I trust in that.

Just under seven minutes left.

Let's go. Someone is going home, and there's a title on the line. I want to

taste the beautiful ginger flavor, and I want to see spectacular holiday

presentation. My second batch of Madeline's are way too flat. There is no

that this is good enough for the judges. I'm going to stack them, and you'll get

like a Madeline tree.

It's going to be spectacular.

You can build that whole structure.

We shall see.

Last five minutes, guys, yes?

Jeff, start thinking about the assembly, my man. I'm going to start layering.

Make it look festive, no?

Oh, no.

That looks ugly.

Oh.

My dulce de leche started melting everywhere.

Okay, I have this ready to go just in case it works. I feel like I'm taking a

really big breath here, but ginger snaps are really, really fast.

This is a mad rush.

Platform is on the way, ladies.

Platform is coming. A platform is coming. Oh, my God.

The platform.

Is it here?

It's here. Get it on. Come on, Chad.

Chad, I need you. Really.

Come on. All this work.

Oh, my God. Whoa.

That's all we did, guys. Oh, no.

The move now.

Go, go, go, go, go, go, go. All right. 10 seconds to go.

Thank God I made those ginger snaps, because those hit a lot of mistakes at

end. Look, no. Wrong one. Down. Good job. Down. Down. Down. Down.

Okay. Here. Here, guys. Here, here, here.

15 seconds.

I know Candace wants to see this treat.

How's it going?

Not great. It is not going to happen.

You got this. You got this. It doesn't matter. Just get it on the platform.

Go, go, go, go, go, go.

Oh, you did it. Yes, you did it. Yay!

Wowza.

Look.

Are you excited?

Things are looking up. It looks like the holidays.

Unfortunately, this is a competition, and sadly, we do have to send somebody

home. Where should we start? You want to start at the basement? Let's go.

Oh, God. I want to start with Chad.

He did a ginger pound cake, and then he has a tahini buttercream.

I think it could have been a little bit more creative for the finishing.

I clearly know what the cake looks like.

I hope this tastes good. The pancake is good.

It's good. Really good. And ginger in that compote. That was a nice little

surprise there. Thank you, chef.

Next up is Nikki's spiced ginger ale butt cake.

It's rich. It's buttery. It's dense. I've got to commend you for the ginger

That's a tough grab. I get the ginger.

You did it!

Mm -hmm.

Shall we?

All right. Middle floor. You're in for a treat. First up is Deidre's spiced

gingerbread treat. She used ginger tea bags.

That is a flavor bomb.

Delicious.

Next up is Jeff's gingerbread trifle. He used the ginger candies.

The flavor, dude.

Yeah, I just wanted more time for the finishing. It's the construction that

you down a touch.

Lastly, on the middle floor, Zohar, she did a ginger caramel layered cake.

She grabbed the stem ginger and the syrup. It's gorgeous.

Absolutely stunning.

Stop it. Layers are looking even. Brilliant.

I can taste the ginger. The crumb of the cake is absolutely perfect.

All right, let's go to the top.

We're going to start with Chloe's gingerbread petit fours.

It has a tarragon chantilly cream center.

It's really a little heavy. She used a lot of tarragon, which is such a strong

flavor. I think that's the problem.

Moving on.

Daphne's tart with a ginger pastry cream.

A little messy?

No, it's just a shame curd sadly hasn't set.

Definitely my worst fear is confirmed. It just looks really sloppy.

Last up, Aubrey's ginger madeleines.

She had the fresh ginger, and there's a cranberry sage filling. For 75 minutes,

it feels simple.

Listen, I lived in France for three years, and I made madeleines every day,

these are flat and very heavy.

This decision is not going to be easy.

Excuse us, please. Wow, where do we start on this one? Good job.

Basement. What went on in there? Okay.

Chad really thought about the ginger.

I think it was his best cook. It was so delicious.

It was good.

Top floor, the madeleines. The madeleines are light and hairy. When

like that, you'd never send them out. You'd be too embarrassed.

And that's what it is.

The tart, you couldn't serve that, right? No.

Are we in agreement? Absolutely, yeah. Yeah, do it.

All right, there were two bakers today who leveled up that ginger flavor.

They are Soha and Chad.

You two will both be baking on the top level in the next challenge. Thank you.

Now, three of you have earned safety on the middle level. Those bakers are

Deirdre, Jeff, and Nikki.

Well done.

Well done.

Right, unfortunately, Aubrey, Chloe and Stephanie, that top

-level kitchen really got you today.

The baker leaving us tonight is...

The

baker leaving us tonight

is...

Aubrey. Yeah, I know. I'm sorry.

Yeah. Much love.

You did so good. Yeah, I'm so happy for you guys.

I really feel so grateful for this experience.

Take care, darling. Thank you. Best wishes go to everyone that is still

See you on the flip side.

Chad is back.

Last pro chef standing.

I'm telling you, we have to keep him in the basement longer.

Please, no.

Are you ready to go again?

Let's go.

Good.

All right, the holiday season isn't all about building snowmen and roasting

chestnuts on an open fire. No, it's different all over the world.

Makers, we're taking Christmas on vacation.

Because tonight, you've all got 90 minutes.

to create a next -level holiday bake with tropical fruit.

How cool is that?

Very cool.

This challenge is about putting an international twist on the traditional.

all know that fruit is a tough addition, so handle it carefully.

Otherwise, you're going to end up with a ticket home.

Understood? Yes. Good.

Head to the elevator. We'll see you shortly.

Let's go. Thank you. This is going to be so good.

It's going to be so exciting.

Here we go.

You guys have both been down there, right?

Yeah. Oh.

All right, good luck, guys.

All right, let's go. Here we go.

Let me introduce you to my humble abode.

Y 'all later.

You've been in this one, right?

Yes, I have.

I'm so excited to be in a decent kitchen where there is a measuring cup and a

measuring spoon.

So I'm like, hey, get at it, girl.

Maybe I'm going to make many pictures.

Hey, y 'all. Being the last professional chef in this competition, you know, I'm

going to walk around with a little bit more swag.

Hey, y 'all. Hey, y 'all.

Yay. I call myself Swaggy C.

Let's go.

All right. We got this.

Right. How are you feeling?

I'm feeling okay.

What's happened previously?

Forget it. Exotic cruise. Be careful. We'll be picking up what they don't

Hi, Fakers.

Hello.

How's everybody feeling about the challenge?

All right. We're used to working with tropical fruits, or is this going to be

little bit of a stretch?

A little bit. Depends on the fruit.

Oh, I'm back!

Hello!

Hello, Chad!

Hello! Oh, my God! Girl, you have been killing the game, and you, sir!

My God. You're my angel.

That Chad that Carla brought out of me today, I'm going to bring that to the

level. I think I'm going to be unstoppable.

The platform waits for no one. Take advantage of your long arms, Chad.

Unfair.

And go.

Get in here.

Grab something on the top.

Look all around.

I'm immediately hoping to get my hands on pineapple and coconut.

Look at all of the ingredients.

Because that screams the tropic.

Do you see mint anywhere?

Mints, mints, mints, mints. Can I grab the mint? Yes, grab it.

Mr. Long -armed Chad grabs the mint, and I'm thinking maybe he's giving it to

me. Sorry, chef.

Oh!

Nope. In the kitchen, gloves come off.

We get scrappy in there. We got to do what we got to do.

Honestly, I was looking for an herb, too.

All right, guys, here it comes.

All I see is papaya left. Papaya, okay.

But I've never baked with papaya. I'm racking my brain trying to figure out,

okay, what would be the best way to put this into a dessert?

Keep grabbing. We don't have much time.

I need pineapple.

Where is that pineapple you were looking for?

Huh?

Somebody nabbed it.

There's just guava.

Oh, good.

I've never touched a guava unless it was in a martini. Oh!

You snooze, you lose.

Yeah, I lost.

I didn't know if to peel it, slice it, dice it, throw it in the food processor.

Oh, God.

I don't even know if I know how to spell guava.

How could I think what to do with it?

Three, two, one. Let's go, ladies.

Go, go, go, go.

I guess I'll just drop it off.

You seriously never know what's coming down on that platform.

But there's almond flour, cream cheese.

Oh, my gosh.

I'm feeling like I just have the top floor picked.

Three seconds.

I don't want that.

Well done.

Your 90 minutes start now.

At the end of this one baker, we'll be going home tonight.

Let's go, ladies.

Do you see a sifter anywhere? I thought I saw one over here earlier. Oh, not

positive. I'm not trying to pick you up. I don't know, girl.

I'm just kidding.

I've got a short list. You are not on it.

Stephanie, what did you grab? What's the dish? What are you thinking?

I'm going to do macarons. Go big.

Macarons. Where's the olive flour?

It's right here. Nice. Yeah, and then fill it with the mango. I don't think in

the history of this competition anyone's ever attempted macarons. You know what?

I'm either going to do something great or go home, and I'm okay. In the

basement. I'm going to try. It's worth it. I love it.

Chloe, what are you going to do?

I'm thinking croquembouche. Love that. With an exotic filling, right? Yeah. A

dragon fruit compote. Love that.

Let's go.

Croquembouche is ambitious.

It's already going in. And we're working with the most archaic oven you've ever

seen in your life.

Top floor mentality.

But I'm not here to do safe.

I don't even know what to do with this.

You have any suggestions for this guava?

I don't even know how to cut a papaya right.

Me neither.

Nikki, what is your plan?

I'm going to do a creamy coconut cake with the guava compote. And what cake

are you using? I'm going to use the mini bundt. Mini bundt? Yes. Okay. I've done

a bundt cake before.

Next up is Nikki's spiced ginger ale bundt cake.

But hey, we're going to make the best of it.

All right, Jeff, tell me what you have planned.

So I pulled passion fruit. I'm going to create a curd out of these and then make

kind of a citrus part.

What inspired your love for baking? I discovered baking during COVID.

It was the first time I had free time to do something that wasn't work.

I work in finance. I'm a senior analyst at a hedge fund.

Wall Street, it's a demanding job, but I like to think that I break the mold.

I don't know about a lot of finance pros that love baking.

Maybe that softens my potential finance grown -up.

I just want to get cold enough to set.

Oh, that's going to come back.

Deirdre, I definitely just messed up my first pastry cream.

I've let it sit and was not paying attention.

We got scrambled eggs in there. Literally.

You want to make sure we're still going to have enough time for it to set.

Right. So the goal is to really make a fruit tart. So I wanted to do a papaya

fruit tart, I guess. Okay. How long have you been baking?

Since I was eight years old. Oh, wow.

Yeah. When I joined Girl Scouts in third grade, we would do these holiday bake

sales. I loved eating the dessert. I have a sweet tooth. I mean, what baker

doesn't? I love the holidays. Christmas is definitely my favorite.

I do make it a point to make the recipes based on the 12 days of Christmas. So

the first day of Christmas, a partridge in a pear tree, making a pear galette to

match. That's like surprisingly delicious.

Chad, talk me through what you've got.

I'm going to go with the coconut dacquoise.

I love a dacquoise. It's one of my favorite things.

A dacquoise, it's like a cake, but you take meringue.

And then you fold in nuts. What nut are you going to use in your decoise?

I'm using the fat from the coconut to substitute that nut.

Oh, okay.

You know what I mean?

Chad doesn't have nuts. Chad has no nuts.

So technically it's not a decoise because it's no nuts. But I get it. You

where I'm going with it. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I see where you're going.

Cocoa nuts.

Is it going to have enough structure with that?

I'm going to tell you the same thing I told you last time.

Trust the process.

All right.

I'm looking at this thing. I know this is not going to work.

Okay.

So hot.

I love pate a choux.

I'm making croquembouche. Fingers crossed.

I am back on the top floor and I just feel the need to prove myself.

Time flies in here.

Steph, how was that? The piping is terrible.

Oh, that's not good.

My God, I...

I hate this space one.

Honestly.

I wouldn't kill you all to play some Christmas music, you know.

All of a

sudden, I see a choir coming out, and I actually kind of love it.

Seriously, we're up dry, Ballsy.

right now. Merry Christmas.

Jeff Ramsey is not impressed with the care alert.

What the? What's going on? You guys are lovely.

I'm sweating down here.

Oh my God.

Get festive in here. How are we feeling?

Stressed?

This is insane.

Just that quick, I forgot what I was doing.

Oh, salt.

You know what this feels

like? The panic I feel every holiday.

Honestly, this is what I needed.

You know, I feel like I could just...

Happy holidays!

And good night.

Okay, I think these ones are getting dark, Chef. Right, Chloe, what do you

I think that's as far as I can let these go.

That's a lot.

Damn.

Damn, damn, damn.

Um, there is, like, no lift happening to my shoepastry.

All right, if they're not fillable, do we need to pivot to something like a

choux pastry sandwich? Yeah, pivot, girl.

That's what's fair, right?

Right.

You've got this. You know that? Yeah.

You love responsibility, don't you? Don't I?

Well, you're like me, but unfortunately, that came early on in your life, right?

It did.

We lost our mom to brain cancer.

My little sister is 11, and I started... Now, she got so much longer

than so many other people get.

And I am not ungrateful for that.

We have my little sister, my bonus son, and we have one baby of our own. Our

family is holiday obsessed.

Yeah. I owe everything in my life to the journey that I've had on social media.

2 .6 million people believed in me.

That's the Christmas present right there.

I just want to show my sister that all things are possible.

And I know that that's everything my mom ever wanted.

20 minutes, bakers.

This is just not it. I don't think the filling is going to set up at all. Is

that your papaya cream?

Yes. I'm going to fill it all first, then throw it in the blast chiller so it

can go at once.

No more pivot. Time to commit to the plan.

Let's go.

If this tart says, the Christmas gods have come down and blessed this bake.

If I could pivot right now, I'm like, I'm not going the way I planned.

Not good today.

Don't take your feet off the gas.

Laser focus, laser focus.

How's this working? It's good. It's just a little sticky.

I'm going to patch a little bit here.

Trust the process.

Trust me.

Trust the process.

I don't know why I'm talking like this, but trust the process.

I'm very concerned.

Ah!

Chad, come on. I really want you to finish this.

Yes, chef.

90 seconds.

That platform.

and it's going down to the basement. It will be backed up to us before you know

it. Come on. Here she is.

Let's get them on there and get them out. Carefully now.

Please don't fall.

You're going to be fine. It's beautiful.

Well done.

Seriously, well done.

Less than 30 seconds to get it on the platform, bakers.

It's time to move.

Time is now.

Deirdre, come on.

Come on.

Come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on. Oh,

my God.

That was not good. You did it. It was so bad. You did it. Come here, come here.

You did it.

No, you did it. I just know I could bake so much better, and it's probably the

ugliest thing I've ever made in my life.

Platform is here.

Fifteen seconds, y 'all.

Fifteen seconds.

Chad, do not miss this platform.

Come on, you got this.

Come on. Get it on there.

Come on.

Chad, get it here.

Shelby!

I think I hit it.

Look at these beauties. Oh, I love these.

My goodness me, exceptional.

A tropical holiday.

Where should we start? Let's go to the basement. I'm all in because you girls

are in for a treat. This one's not in the basement. First off, Stephanie's

cheesecake macaroon.

Great crunch and chew. A fun surprise with the freeze -dried mango. And made

the basement with the dregs of the grab from the platform.

Yes.

They're good enough to be a gift.

Amazing. Next up, Chloe's exotic fruit croquembouche.

Chloe pivoted brilliant. It's almost like a sort of profiterole sandwich.

It feels like a celebration.

Cream inside is really nice.

Good.

Let's go to the middle. Middle. Shall we? We're going to start with Nikki's

coconut bundt cake with guava citrus glaze.

Didn't you just cook a bundt cake?

I did.

I just want more from you, but it's just lacking the exoticness.

Next up is Jeff's passion fruit tart.

What? Are you kidding me? I mean, seriously. Set and set. I mean,

love that.

Let's dig in.

That's delicious.

The fact that you torched the egg whites, that gives me a little bit more

effect. Perfect for the holidays.

Well done. Thank you.

Lastly is Theodora's coconut papaya tart.

Tart or swimming pool?

It's a bit of a puddle.

So how should we go about it? I think we should dig in with a spoon.

Carla. Carla. Seriously?

Ready?

Oh, my God.

It's tasty.

Flavor's there.

What a shame.

Shall we head up to the top?

All right, let's start with Zohar's pineapple profiteroles. Visually, they

great. Yeah.

That's incredible.

The shell is exceptional.

The taste inside, exotic, absolutely perfect for the holiday.

Thank you, chef.

Next up, Chad's coconut dacquoise with the mango and dragon fruit cream.

Should we get in there? Yeah, let's get in there.

Having no nut really didn't do you any favors. It's inundated with all that

frosting. It destroyed the texture of that sponge.

We got some serious discussions to be had.

Use us, please.

Wow. All right. Let's do that. Get that, dude.

Hey, I love you.

Some great dishes out there. Oh, yeah.

Incredible.

As for those other near disasters.

She put cooled pastry cream into a piping hot tart crust.

But also that dacquoise.

It was just like a mouthful of butter.

Where was the cake? I was excited to dig in. The cake was about an eighth of an

inch thick.

I didn't even know how to help her. Santa, be a log.

Shall we?

Yeah, let's do it.

And good luck to you.

Good luck, guys.

Tonight was an exceptional test.

There were two bakes that stood out from the crowd.

Those were baked by Stephanie.

And Chad.

You will both be moving to the top level in the next challenge. Congratulations.

Two bakers are safe and moving to the middle floor.

Zoha and Chloe.

Unfortunately, that leaves Chad, Deirdre, and Nikki.

And the baker leaving us tonight, Chad.

Chefs, please say goodbye to your fellow contestants and head on out. Chad, it

was amazing working with you. It was so nice working with you too, Chef.

I have just been sent home.

But after I had a very short pity party, I'm feeling okay.

I'm going to try and keep trusting the process. This is just a step to where I

want to get to.

Right,

all of you, get some rest because...

The next time we see you, one of you will be crowned our first ever Next

Baker. Get out of here. Good night. Well done.

Good job.

Next time on Next Level Baker.

Go! Let's go!

You have to create a three -tiered cake.

Each tier baked on a different level.

Ah! Come on. Face it, face it, face it. Moving between all of these levels is

complete and utter panic.

My God, we don't have time for this.

I hate this challenge.

Your cakes are burning.

I don't even know what floor is on fire.

This is a nail biter. The winner of Next Level Baker. That's the title you will

have forever.

It is everything.

Is... Well done.