Original subtitles

Previously on "MasterChef"...

- Another mystery box. - There's just one per region.

- Ooh. - Jennifer, you get to choose one region

- that will start ten minutes later. - Oh, no.

I am choosing the Midwest.

- What the heck, Jen? - We'll remember this, too.

Let's go, let's go. What's the dish?

It's butter chicken, my signature dish.

She can't make a mistake.

You are playing this game at the highest level.

Congratulations, Kennedy.

I feel on top of the world right now.

Jennifer, I'm underwhelmed.

Sarah, the chicken's dry.

Purvi, this is oozing of raw spice.

But wait, it wouldn't be fair to send only one

- of the bottom cooks home tonight. - This is tough.

Sarah and Purvi, say good-bye.

Tonight we celebrate our 250th episode.

I present to you the United Cakes Of America.

Kennedy, you get decide who's baking which cake.

He's a great chef, so I'm gonna screw him over today.

- With nine layers! - Man, and I thought we were friends, Kennedy.

- That's a lot of layers. - I don't (bleep) know what I'm doing.

- Just change gear. - Stressing me out up here.

- Oh, jeez. - Between you and I, you're (bleep).

I think Kennedy might've sent the Midwest to the guillotine.

- Nailed it! - Kennedy set you up for success.

- You went rogue.

- This is a big one. - Big birthday today.

- This is a huge birthday. - Momentous occasion.

- Yes. Congratulations. - Come on. Congrats, man.

- Congratulations. - Felicidades.

250th episode.

Congratulations, gentlemen.

It's amazing to think how much

the culinary landscape in America

has changed over the 13 years.

Extraordinary. Let's get this party started, shall we?

- Let's do it. - Come on!

Bring the heat.

That's how you do it.

- Come on, guys, let's go! - Hurry up! Hurry up!

- Whoa! -Let's go! Come on.

- Oh, wow! - Hey!

- It's somebody's birthday. - What is that?

It feels amazing to be in the top 15.

Yeah, baby! All-American cakes!

I see this huge table of cake with sparkles, and I think,

"They're throwing us a party."

But something tells me

that it's not gonna be that simple.

- Wow. - Oh, my goodness me.

So good to see you all. Welcome back.

Tonight is the 250th episode of "MasterChef."

Now, as we all know, every great celebration calls for cake, right?

- Right. - You know it.

Aarón: And we go big here on "MasterChef."

- One cake is never enough.

- What is going on? - Oh, no.

I present to you...

- Oh, my gosh. - Oh!

Yes!

...the United Cakes Of America.

- Yeah! - All right! Yes!

Now, let me tell you, the cakes in front of you

are some of the most difficult cakes to nail

from all four regions of America.

In fact, there's one on there with nine layers--

- the Smith Island cake. - What?

Tonight your challenge is to exactly replicate

one of these iconic cakes.

This is, by far,

your hardest challenge in the competition to date.

Aw, man.

I'm trying to keep my Zen

thinking about how we're gonna have to replicate these cakes.

I see some cakes that could be fun,

I see some cakes that might cause me trouble.

And I see some cakes that I am terrified of.

Tonight you guys don't get to pick your cake.

- Aw, really? - Shocker.

This challenge needs some layers.

Kennedy, as the winner of the immunity pin,

you get to decide who's baking which cake.

- Make your way down, please. - Let's go, Kennedy!

Having this power is absolutely everything.

It's one of the hardest challenges of the whole season,

and those choices could literally determine who goes home.

I mean, handing out a tough cake

to someone who's not a baker is a savage move,

but sometimes you have to be a savage person.

Kennedy, let's start with your home region,

the West.

I'm gonna give MD something I know she's familiar with.

I know she likes island flavors,

so I'm gonna give her the key lime pie.

-Key lime pie, wow. - Wow.

- An easy one. - I love her.

Okay, next up, Lizzie.

I know she can bake, and I really want her to shine.

I'm gonna give her this marionberry cake.

-Off we go. -For the West,

I really wanna assign them something to get them by.

James with the ooey gooey butter cake.

- Certainly one of the easiest. - Good luck, y'all.

Moving onto the Midwest, Wayne, please.

Um, I'm gonna give him

this nine layer cake today.

- Oh! - There it is!

It should be a piece of cake.

- Thank you, Kennedy. - You're welcome.

Kennedy absolutely sees me as one of the biggest threats here.

Otherwise, she never would've given me the hardest cake to cook.

But this nine layer monstrosity has me a little worried

because I'm not a baker at all.

- That could be a direct hit. -Yeah.

Okay, what's it gonna be for Kyle?

He's definitely someone to look out for in the competition,

- so I'm gonna screw him over today. - Nice!

I'm gonna give him the Meyer lemon cake.

Wow, tough one.

- Okay, I've got this. -Much love.

- I hope so. - I hope so, too, Joe.

So this challenge, I'm kind of targeting the Midwest and the South.

Banana split cake for Jennifer.

Kolby has the apple stack. That is a tough one.

Strategically, the smartest move is to give some hard ones out

to the strongest regions.

I'm gonna give Kendal the Boston cream pie.

Man, and I thought we were friends, Kennedy.

Right, that leaves the Northeast.

- What we thinking, Kennedy? - For Brynn, I'm gonna give her the red velvet cake.

- Yes. - Wow, an easy one.

- Thank you. - Yeah, of course.

Which leaves Nina with a German chocolate cake.

Not bad. Okay.

Kennedy, some very strategic picks there.

- Great job. Head on back upstairs. - Good job, honey!

Right, here's the good news.

Tonight you've all got 90 minutes

to replicate the cake that Kennedy chose for you.

Remember, 'cause your final cake should look and taste identical

to the cake in front of you.

Whoever bakes the best replication

will earn the immunity pin,

and be safe from elimination in the next challenge

and save their entire region from elimination tonight.

But if you cook the worst cake of the night,

you will be eliminated.

Right, the very best of luck.

Your 90 minutes start now.

- Go! Go, go, go, go, go!

- Let's get it!

- Is there sugar? - All right.

All right, let's do this.

Coconut extract, where you at?

Better make sure I know what it tastes like before I freaking make it.

I'm excited about cakes because it's something that's familiar to me.

I own a donut shop.

Dessert, it's my thing,

and I'm confident I can pull it off.

Oh, man, that's beautiful.

So there's a lot of buttercream in each layer.

Ooh, cinnamon. Okay, that's where the swirl comes in.

Here we go, here we go, here we go, here we go.

It's gonna take me 90 minutes to cut through this cake.

There it comes. Okay.

Whoo! Look at those layers. Holy smokes.

All right, let's do this, South!

I am making a banana split cake.

It is a very popular dessert in my house for my kids,

so I'm very excited about pulling this together.

I was on the bottom three last week.

That's not okay for me. I'm here to win.

Okay, you. No splashing.

Okay. There we go.

Tonight we're looking for exact replication of these iconic desserts.

We're not asking them to imitate just the aesthetics,

also the flavor profile, the density.

- It has to accurate. Yeah. - But it's chemistry, right?

Okay, we need to be down to the exact gram.

15 minutes gone.

75 minutes remaining.

Last one. Kennedy gave me the apple stack cake.

It's not an easy cake by any means.

I'm mostly worried about the structure of the cake.

As you can see, there's no icing to keep it all in,

and if I get it wrong, it'll be very obvious.

Am I just making a mess? Ha-ha.

And then you-- ouch.

That crust looks beautiful, MD.

Thank you, love!

All right, in the oven you are.

MD, how are you doing?

- I'm great. How are you? - I mean, come on, key lime pie.

- Key lime pie. - Be honest, you've got one of the easiest here.

- Yes, Chef. - Now you've got a big affinity to baking of course...

- Yes, I love dessert. - ...with the phenomenal success

- with the donuts back home in Hawaii. - That's right.

You've got every chance if you nail this,

of getting yourself an immunity pin.

What would that mean for you?

I've been kind of in the middle lately,

so I'm kind of ready to go up there and say hi to you.

Make sure that base is ice cold before you put that filling on there.

Yes, Chef.

- Going in. - All right.

We should be getting cakes in the oven, y'all.

There we go.

Okay, Wayne, Wayne, Wayne, Wayne.

There's not one person in this room tonight that does not feel sorry for you.

- Let's do this together. - I know.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine.

Yeah, I'm feeling it. Trust me, I'm feeling it 100%.

But the ganache and the sheen of chocolate at the end.

Yeah, I got my work cut out for me for sure.

Let's be honest, between you and I,

- you're (bleep). - No way.

No, this is gonna happen one way or another.

- You need to be absolutely spot on. - Yes, sir, yep.

- I'm gonna let you focus. Nine layers. - Yes.

- Get those batters in the oven. - Thank you, Chef.

Going in the oven.

- All right. -Now, all of you, listen up.

Those batters should be in the oven by now.

Damn it. This one's thick.

I'm already getting stressed

because I just got a major setback.

I think this batter's so thick.

Wayne's butter doesn't look very smooth.

This is not spreading.

I've gotta get those cakes in the oven

and I've gotta move on to that buttercream,

otherwise I could be going home today.

Damn it. This batter's way too thick.

Nine layers is insane!

64 minutes to go. Come on, guys.

Nine layers is insane!

Tonight we're looking for exact replication,

not just on the outside, but on the inside as well.

- Aesthetic and flavor. - Absolutely.

- How you doing? -All the cakes should be in the oven by now,

otherwise there's gonna be no decoration.

- Aarón: Yeah. -For sure.

Wayne, for instance,

just the batter alone in nine cake tins.

Then you gotta take them out and cool down those sponges

before you start the assembly.

- He's in trouble. - Yep.

That's as close as it's gonna get.

You're not using the mixer, Nina?

- No, man. Arms never get tired. - Hell yeah!

Why isn't this melty in the way I want it to?

This buttercream is actually good.

- Hello. Good! - Hi, Brynn, how are you?

Hello. Red velvet, three layers. Was Kennedy kind to you?

I think Kennedy was kind to me.

I don't know if was being a little strategic

and then just being nice to the Northeast at the end.

There's only two left in the Northeast.

- What are you gonna do to us, you know? - I don't know.

Have you ever made a red velvet cake before?

I've always made the red velvet cupcake.

- I haven't done it as a cake. - This is a cake.

This kind of changes-- makes it a little bit more complicated

- 'Cause you're doing architecture, structure. - For sure.

Don't over-whip your frosting. It becomes grainy, okay?

- Thank you. - Please.

- All right, Nina. - Hi.

- What are you making? - Hello, German chocolate cake.

Did you know about German chocolate cake?

- Well, I am more than half German, so... - Aarón: There you go.

What makes a German chocolate cake unique?

I think it's gotta be the pecans and the coconut mixture

- along with the chocolate. - It has to be balance.

Yes, there's a lot of stuff going on in there.

Or it could be a flavor bomb in a bad way.

Have you ever baked this cake before?

- Maybe once. - Maybe once.

Certainly not something I've done a lot of.

Well, as they say in the Rhineland...

- That means, "Go faster." - Oh, does it? Okay?

Brynn and I are the last two people standing at the Northeast,

which means that one of us will have to be in the top,

one of us will have to be in the bottom.

But if we win, one of us can really save the other one.

That gives me even more motivation

to try to do even better.

We definitely wanna get that immunity pin.

Nine! Whew.

Okay, that was not easy.

Oh, my gosh.

- Lizzie. - Yes, Chef?

Have you ever baked a cake like this before?

- Not a marionberry cake. - Do you bake much at home?

I do. I bake a lot. But I mainly make macarons.

Right. Sponge is in the oven, right?

- Yes. - Just a quick look.

So, yep. Why are they uneven like that?

- Because I did not measure. - Oh, jeez.

- So one's gonna cook first, before? - Yes.

You know, you shake them, you can see they're still raw.

That one's still incredibly raw.

So already you've sort of made your life so much harder now

to get that thing even, yeah?

And that one on the right-hand side

- is gonna come out first. - Okay.

- Yeah? Good luck. - Thank you.

45 minutes to go.

Guys, gotta get those cakes out of the oven now.

I just don't think they're done.

- Ooh! - That's lots of apples, Kolby.

This apple stack cake, it's definitely something in my wheelhouse.

My 93-year-old Pawpaw makes apple pies all the time,

so this is another one of those dishes

that he's kind of taught me how to make.

- What's going on, Chef? -Oh, wow, this apple stack cake.

How many stacks we have? Count 'em, Aarón.

-It's six. - Six stacks.

It's certainly a little complicated

in its composition, I would say.

- Yes, sir. - Try the apple,

because that really kind of tells you

everything about what you're doing now.

- Okay. - See?

So it's soft, but it's still firm.

Why Joe is mentioning that

is because it's gonna reinforce all the layers.

Right, it'll keep it from falling over.

Yeah, if it's too soft, it's gonna slide.

- So you gotta be smart on how you cook those apples, okay? - Yes, sir.

-Good luck, Kolby. - I gotcha.

Please set. Come on. I need that to cool.

- I need that to cool. - Yes. God, I love that.

Oh, man, I'm feeling like I'm buried in cake right now.

That's a lot of pans on Wayne's station.

Kyle, Meyer lemon cake. Come on, look at it.

I mean, it is literally like a sculpture.

What are you worried about?

I think looking that professional.

I'm actually more worried about the outside

with the beautiful piping, the lemons, and the mint.

Honestly, so you need to be so accurate on that front.

Yeah. I'm trying to keep Zen here.

- This isn't necessarily my wheelhouse. - What does it say about Kennedy

putting that target on your back like that? What does that mean?

I think it's evident in the last couple weeks

people starting to be afraid of the Midwest.

- Yeah. Okay, good luck. - I got cakes.

Did your cake turn out, Lizzie?

- This one did, yeah. - Uh-oh.

It's taking so long to cool.

Waiting, waiting, waiting. Ugh, I hate waiting.

We have 30 minutes remaining.

The last half hour should be all dedicated towards

the finishing and the finesse of getting these cakes.

For the West, I'm seriously worried for Lizzie.

- All righty. - She's got a marionberry cake.

- How many layers in the berry cake? - Four.

I know Lizzie has a history in baking,

but right now, even with 30 minutes to go,

they're still not out of the oven.

And they have to cool down before she puts

any of that berry frosting in there.

I just need a reminder in three minutes

to pull out the other cake.

- Three minutes? - Yeah.

- You good over there, Sav? - I'm good.

Let's go. Right. Kendal, how are you feeling?

Uh, I think my cakes are cooked properly.

One of the easiest ones tonight, right?

It's one of the easier ones.

A Boston cream pie.

Out of Boston. That's about all I know about it.

But it still doesn't change the fact

that I've not cooked this cake before

and never made a cake like this.

I'm a little bit concerned.

You need to start getting this thing decorated.

What have you made there? What's in the center?

What's in the middle of this?

Well, it was supposed to be this cream that I just messed up here.

Careful, careful, careful. It's all coming out at the side.

I just royally that up.

All kinds of (bleep).

Damn. Damn, damn, damn.

- Here, take that. Take this, friend. - Damn.

It's not thick enough. This is a disaster.

That's never gonna set in the middle of the cake is it?

- I agree. No, sir, it's too runny. - Way too runny.

- So you still got time to start that again. - Yes, sir.

I'm in a full blown panic like a deer in the headlights.

- So he's restarting his cream? - Oh, (bleep).

I don't want to be the first to go home in the South,

but if I don't get the Boston cream right on a Boston cream pie,

then the whole thing's over with.

I'm so (bleep) over this (bleep) damn thing.

Just over 20 minutes to go

to replicate that stunning dessert!

You've got to start decorating, guys.

Wow, it's a lot of layers.

I don't know what I'm doing.

Come on, let's go.

Are you gonna have time to cool your cake before you decorate it?

I think I'm gonna make it. I'm gonna make it.

You're stressing me out up here.

How difficult are the skills--

- piping, frosting, using a palette? - Very.

Before you start building them, you need to make sure they're level.

Any little ridges, anything that needs to come off the top,

is a sort of architectural nightmare.

And the more layers you have, the more jeopardy you've got.

- Apples are perfect. -Kolby's from the South.

He's making apple stack cake. Six layers.

It's all about the assembly. You have to cook the apples at a perfect temperature

to make sure that they can stand up to the layers of cake.

All right. They look good, they look good.

To the Midwest, I think Kennedy might have

- sent Wayne to the guillotine. -A nine layer cake.

He needs to really buckle down.

The center filling with the ganache,

and the outside, the sheen, super important.

- Time's not his friend. - This is insane.

Kyle still hasn't started assembling his cake.

Oh, God.

Kyle, from the Midwest,

he's got that delicious Meyer lemon cake.

- Beautiful cake. - It is a beautiful cake.

Aarón: There's a lot of garnishing that needs to happen on Kyle's cake.

- He's struggling. -He's struggling?

He is abs-- he is struggling.

It's a little curdy.

My buttercream seems thin.

- And I'm worried about him

not understanding the techniques.

He's very loose with his cooking.

Damn it.

Slightly frantic, a little bit out of control.

Oh, jeez. This is not going well.

My vanilla buttercream, it's not coming together.

It's just this liquid, gross, granular frosting.

That's okay. Just be (bleep) smart. Gotta be (bleep) smart.

I know that my recipe doesn't have cream cheese, but I'm concerned about time.

I need something on this cake

that's gonna help give it some structure.

Look at that. What in the hell is Kyle doing?

- He's just added cream cheese. - Oh!

Meyer lemon cake does not call for cream cheese.

Dear, oh, dear.

- Okay. - How you feeling, Nina? You still good?

It's gonna be a little tight with the decorating.

On the Northeast, now Nina, she has, uh--

- German chocolate cake. - Yep.

- Very dense. Very rich. - Very rich.

Aarón: The key to Nina's cake is gonna be layering.

You can't put too much of the frosting

or it's gonna completely overpower

all the other elements.

100%.

-How you doing, MD? - I'm good. I'm just--

- Just waiting? - Waiting. It needs to be cool all the way.

You gonna be able to decorate it in six minutes?

- Yeah. - Okay.

Just doing a little bit more.

Keep going, Kendal. You got six minutes.

It's (bleep) impossible.

Kyle hasn't even started icing his cake yet.

My hand is slippery.

Guys, five minutes to go.

- I need everybody's cake on the stand, please.

Okay.

You got this, man.

Perfect drip, Jennifer. That looks amazing.

, man.

Just a little bit more. Come on.

, this cake is insane.

Last two minutes, guys! Let's go!

Whew!

Kyle, you gotta change gear. Just change gear.

Yes, don't worry about the frou-frou on top.

Just get this done, the frosting around the outside.

- Yes, Chef. - Quick, quick, quick.

- Oh, my God.

My pie is too hot.

Cool down, cool down.

We're coming down to 60 seconds remaining.

- Last minute! - Final touches.

- Oh, my goodness. - Oh, I'm gonna cry.

- This is so hard. -Ten, nine, eight,

seven, six, five,

four, three, two, one.

- Aarón: That's it! -And stop!

- Hands in the air! - Ooh-hoo-hoo-hoo!

- Dude! - Good (bleep) job.

Ha, ha, ha! Nailed it!

- I just feel really happy and relieved. - Okay, South. Okay, South.

- Good job! - Good job.

Wow. Holy crap.

Whew.

I'm not sure I'm gonna win tonight.

Oh, my God.

I'm very concerned that I'm gonna be headed home.

I know that they are going to see

all of the glaring flaws in what I did.

I just hope it tastes so good

that I can live to see another day.

Now all of you are done completing that 90 minute cake challenge,

which I think has been one of the most difficult

in the history of 250 episodes.

Now tonight we'll be tasting the best cake from every region.

But first we need to take a much closer look at all your cakes.

- Let's do it. - Okay.

Nina, what was the most challenging part of this cake for you?

I could've gotten some of the more decorative bits

to be a little bit smoother, flatter, nicer.

- Very good. - Thank you.

- Brynn, so, red velvet cake. - Yes.

Aarón: Do you think you lived up to its reputation?

It'll come down to what the texture is when you cut it open.

Okay.

- So, Kolby, the apple stack cake. - Yes, Chef.

Yes, sir, I definitely was meticulous about how I cut the apple,

- so that way they kind of stacked up. - Good. Thank you.

I am sure that Kennedy views us, the South, as a threat.

- It's a hard ratio to get right. - Mm-hmm.

We still have all five cooks, but looking around,

- we got some great cakes... - Yep.

...and then we got some not so great cakes.

So you struggled a bit, huh?

Yes, sir. I had some real struggles with the cream.

MD, do you think you did a good job?

I think I did. It's just once I piped the cream,

it was just a little too hot still.

That's a shame.

Wayne, underneath that ganache, are there nine layers?

Yes, sir. That was tough.

I'm curious to hear what the judges have to say,

but I'm also hoping somebody pulls a fire alarm.

Mm.

This was a hard challenge.

Yeah, thank you.

And I think Kennedy's strategy sure worked today.

- You think it looks great? - I think that if you guys

were blind, I might win tonight,

but I know that you're not.

Kennedy, you made some really ruthless picks tonight,

and now we're gonna see if the ramifications from those picks paid off.

Please make your way down.

- Great. Thank you very much. -Thank you.

Thank you.

Okay, now we'd like to taste the four outstanding cakes from their region,

and the winning home cook will win that amazing immunity pin,

and they'll keep their entire region safe from elimination tonight.

The first cake we would like to taste, it's almost a replica.

From one of the two home cooks in the Northeast...

Please come forward, Brynn.

- Whoo! - All right.

- Good job, Brynn.

Back in the top again feels good.

I'm on a little bit of a streak now.

I've had two top dishes

- so far for the Northeast. -Wow.

I didn't let the challenge get the better of me,

and maybe that's gonna be what gets me my immunity pin tonight.

Tell us what you made, please.

Kennedy gave me the red velvet cake.

It's finished with a whipped cream cheese frosting,

red sprinkles, and decorated strawberries.

- Brynn, I just wanna say well done. - Thank you.

The elegance of it, it's eye-catching, it's beautiful.

They're identical. But it's all gonna be in that cut from the center.

- All right. - Shall we?

Wow.

The flavor of the cake is great. I think it's airy.

I think it's moist. It just-- I would've loved to have

- more filling on the inside. - Absolutely.

I totally agree. The sponge cake is moist

and dense and has good flavor.

- Good job. - Thank you.

- It is a very good delicious cake. - Thank you very much.

- Well done. - Thank you.

- Good job. - Really good.

- Yeah, Brynn! - Go, Brynn!

- Good job. - Good job, Brynn.

All right, so the next cake that we'd like to taste further is from the South.

They absolutely nailed

the aesthetics of the original cake provided.

Please come forward, Kolby.

- Whoo! - Good job, Kolby!

- Good job, honey! - Whoo!

- Good job, Kolby! - Whoo!

Here you go, Chef.

Kennedy gave me the apple stack cake.

It has six layers of cinnamon cake,

stewed apples in between each layer, and toffee sauce.

Visually, beautiful.

We are asked for a replication,

and you've done just that.

- Aarón: Wow. -Looks good.

Whew!

The cake is moist.

The apples I thought might've been undercooked,

but in fact, they are perfectly cooked.

- It's spot on. Good job. - Thank you, Joe.

Kolby, I think one of your best performances

so far in this competition. Sauce is delicious.

Texture of the sponge, the fragrance of the cinnamon.

- It's just-- - Yeah, it's impressive.

- Good job. - Thank you very much, Chef.

- Thank y'all very much. - Nice job, Kolby.

Good job, Kolby!

- That's awesome. - Thank you.

Okay, the next cake we wanna taste from the Midwest

impressed us with its execution despite some artistic issues.

- Please come forward, Wayne. - Oh. Really?

Whoo!

Kennedy gave me the Smith Island nine layer cake

that has layers of chocolate buttercream in between,

and then on top is this chocolate ganache.

Visually, I'm happy for you. Let's be honest,

no one wanted that nine layer cake,

and what you've created in 90 minutes

while it's visually not perfect, I'm still very impressed.

I just hope it tastes as good as the original.

- Shall we? -Mm-hmm.

- Nine layers, right? - Yes, sir.

Nine excruciating layers.

It just keeps going and going.

That's crazy.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight...

- Right, Wayne, nine layers right? - Yes, sir.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight...

- ...nine. Good job. - God.

Let's taste.

Nine layers? It feels like you had nine lives on this one.

Because you really did what was necessary,

- and I commend you for it. - Thank you.

You'd think a cake like this would be heavy, and it's really not.

- Really quite good. - Ganache, delicious.

It does need to be thicker, but you've pulled off something not short of a miracle.

I'm impressed. Good job.

- Thank you. - Nice, Wayne.

- Good job. - Go, Midwest.

Right. The final cake we would like to taste from the West

also comes from someone making it into the top

for the first time.

Please step forward, Lizzie.

I'm finally on top, and it feels so good.

I think that I stand a chance because I'm looking at my cake,

it's got all the right components.

I know it tastes incredible.

I am so proud of myself.

Kennedy gave me a marionberry cake.

It is a four layer cake.

It has a Swiss meringue buttercream, chiffon cake,

and also a whipped cream filling.

Yeah, I'm so impressed that you continued to fight.

The frosting needs a little bit more refinement,

but you've got the elements in there.

- Let's see how it tastes. - Yes. Thank you, Chef.

This is an excellent balanced cake.

You taste the berries, you taste the richness of the sponge.

It's quite perfect.

I would just love to have more kind of, like, an aesthetic

- even on the inside, but the flavor's top notch. - Thank you.

I think the chiffon cake is really the star here.

It's airy, it's fluffy, it's fragrant.

I agree. It's creamy, it melts, and it's just so more-ish.

Really good job. Well done.

- Good job, Lizzie. - Good job, Lizzie!

Good job!

Wow. It's a tough one, this one.

Brynn, the red velvet cake, beautiful.

Aesthetically, you couldn't tell them apart.

Aarón: I mean, Kolby, come on.

There's nowhere to hide.

Even from the outside, there's no icing.

You see it all. You get what you get.

And then to eat it and have it be that good is really something.

Wayne, a shock for me tonight. Delicious.

I know it wasn't the perfect cake aesthetically,

but I'd like to reward the courage.

- We talk about Lizzie... -Lizzie.

- Best tasting cake. -Exactly.

Perhaps the best tasting cake of the evening.

-Yeah. - I mean, at the end of the day,

- we are asking for replication. - It's true.

So who came the closest?

Come on, Wayne.

- All in agreement? - Yep.

- All right. - Yeah?

We all agreed that tonight's best cake

was executed by...

- Kolby.

- You did it, baby! - Okay! Swear to God.

-Kolby, well done. - Go, Kolby!

It was just replicated to the highest order,

which means you win the immunity pin

and you'll be safe from elimination across the next challenge.

Come on up, young man. Congratulations, bud.

- Yes, Kolby! - Good job, baby!

I won, baby!

- Thank you, Chef. - Congratulations.

That means tonight all of the South are safe from elimination.

- Get 'em up there. - Good job.

I've been waiting on this moment for the entire competition,

and it's finally here.

- Great job, man. - Thank you much.

One of the hardest challenges in the MasterChef kitchen,

- and I just won. - Kolby, well done.

Thank you, Chef. Thank you.

Now, Joe, and Aarón, and myself

have noticed at least one cake from each remaining region

that really missed the mark tonight.

The first cake we must take a closer look at,

it's from the Northeast.

Please step forward, Nina.

You're gonna be fine, Nina.

Obviously, I knew this was coming.

I have to be the worst cake in my region

because there's only two of us.

All right.

I know there are visual flaws on the outside,

but I think when they cut into it,

it's gonna be delicious.

Kennedy gave me the German chocolate cake,

which is a three-layer chocolate cake,

then a chocolate frosting around the outside.

It doesn't quite have the professional aesthetic sheen.

But, look, that being said, the dimension is similar.

- I'm super curious to try it. -Shall we?

It's very wet in the middle.

I think this cake has one fundamental problem.

You see there's just too much liquid, too much moisture,

the center of the cake is falling out.

It almost kind of feels like oatmeal.

Damn.

Nina, the sponge is delicious,

but, yeah, it needs to be stronger in order to hold up.

- Yeah. - Yeah, I'm always so afraid of cakes being dry

that I tend underdo them just a little bit.

- You went the other way. - You've gone the other way.

- Gordon and Joe: Thank you. - Yeah.

Good job, Nina. Still looked good.

The next cake we need to dive into, for the Midwest,

made too many changes too late in the game.

Please come forward, Kyle.

This kind of like a seven-year-old's fever dream

of a crayon drawing of a Meyer lemon cake.

I just hope it tastes so good that it can overcome the flaws.

Kennedy gave me the Meyer lemon cake. It's got three layers.

There's a layer of cream and lemon curd

in between each layer of cake.

Well, obviously there's no comparison.

Every aspect of it is incorrect.

This is such a departure from that.

-Oof. - This is a mess.

Dear, oh, dear, oh, dear, oh, dear.

Kyle, like, every aspect of it

is incorrect.

- Shall we? - Sure.

A big part of this whole challenge

is accuracy replication, and you went rogue.

Cream cheese should not even be anywhere near this cake,

and it's a shame, 'cause I know you know how to cook better than this.

Yeah.

Kyle, it's called Meyer lemon for a reason.

Unfortunately there's no lemon in the center

because the weight of the sponge,

it's pushed out all the curd.

And the curd's the essential part.

That's the essence of this whole cake.

- Yeah. - Damn.

I mean, it doesn't even come close to being what it's supposed to be.

It really tastes like something between a cheesecake and a carrot cake.

Thank you.

And I failed today.

The final cake comes from the West.

This cake should've been absolutely perfect.

It's one of the easiest on the map.

Please come down, MD.

You got this, MD.

I'm a little embarrassed

that this is something I'm known for,

desserts, and this is where I fail.

Kennedy gave me the key lime pie.

It has a graham cracker crust, a lime custard filling,

and then finished with whipped cream rosettes.

MD, a double-edged sword for you tonight,

the simplest cakes certainly need to be nailed 100%.

The finishing touches with the cream,

that's almost liquid.

Looks like something left over from a cake sale

sat in the sun for three hours.

You're gonna need a spoon, Chef.

I know. It's just-- it's just not coming out.

Oh, boy.

The custard for me, it barely set,

but I think has great flavor.

But the crumble crust is burnt, like eating a burnt brioche.

Ouch.

MD, Kennedy gave you this to set you up for success.

You're in her region,

but the key lime filling needs more lime in there

and the pipe on the cream, it's amateurish.

- Yeah. - Thank you.

Thank you, Chef.

Nina, Kyle, and MD,

this is gonna be a very tough decision.

Please give us a moment.

Oh, man, this is hard.

Okay, so Nina's cake

just sort of sunk into itself like a--

- Yeah. - Like a pudding.

Yeah, like a pudding. It's exactly that.

Um, Kyle, that was a disaster for me.

Honestly, a Meyer lemon cake should taste of lemon.

- There was no lemon in there. - And it has to be refined.

That's a cake that needs elegance.

And what happened with the frosting?

'Cause pivoted and just came up with a different recipe?

Aarón: You can't do that.

This is about accuracy and replicating.

Right. Can't do that.

-MD? - She makes donuts.

This should've been in her wheelhouse.

That should've been easy.

I was expecting an absolute flawless key lime pie.

I'm nervous, 'cause I like all of them.

All right, the moment of truth.

MD, Nina, Kyle,

unfortunately one of you have just cooked for the last time

inside the MasterChef kitchen.

The home cook who will be leaving is...

Kyle.

Wow.

Nina and MD, say good-bye to Kyle, please,

and head back to your station.

Kyle, I go back to the beginning of our relationship

and you made a mark.

That pork chop from the audition? Extraordinary.

And tipped you for the top ten.

Tonight the technical ability got the better of you,

but I love the confidence, the bravado.

And I am really deeply sorry to see you go, man.

- Thank you, Chef. - Tell us you're gonna continue this journey, right?

I came in here saying I was gonna do some hard things,

I was gonna take some risks, and I was gonna push myself.

This challenge got the better of me,

but it's an absolutely honor to cook for you guys,

so thanks for having me.

- Come and say good-bye. - Thank you, Kyle.

- Love you, Kyle. - Love you, Kyle!

- Oh, man. Good luck. - Bring it in.

- Thanks, Gordon. - Class acts, guys.

- Okay, buddy. - Thanks, guys. Thanks, guys.

Good luck, brother. Love the bravado. Keep it up.

-Rock on. - You a real one, Kyle.

Please place your apron on the station and say good-bye.

You know, any day, any challenge, anyone can go home.

I came to "MasterChef" just to be a good role model for my boy.

I think I did it,

and I'm proud of what I got to do here.

Love you, Kyle!

Next time...

For the time in "MasterChef" history...

Oh, come on, Freddie. Welcome to Dodger Stadium.

Today you'll be cooking lunch for over 100 kids.

- Woohoo! - Kolby, you get to pick one person from the blue team

and trade them with one person from the red team.

- Dang.

- Who's ready to eat?

How long on burgers?

They are coming right now, James.

Oh, my Lord. Don't overcook them.

Yes, sir. I am a barbeque grand champion.

It's raw. Congratulations, you've lost.

I am not confident on the grill.

Do you think kids like fried carrots?

- Oh, crap. - How are we on that chicken?

It was like dust in my mouth.

We're not in the ass end of nowhere!

We're in the Dodger's stadium! Does anyone care in here?