Highlights from Spring Baking Championship Season 11 Episode 5

The recent episode of Spring Baking Championship, titled Spring Forward & Spring Backward, aired on April 7, 2025. This week’s challenge tasked contestants with crafting a unique “top-forward clock cake” , where cakes stand on their tops rather than the traditional way. Among the competitors, Paul unveiled a steampunk clock cake. Unfortunately for him, it did not meet the judges’ expectations, putting his place in the contest at risk.

The Judges’ Verdict

After sampling Paul’s creation, judge Duff Goldman expressed his doubts to fellow judges Kardea Brown and Nancy Fuller, stating:

“He [Paul] needs to learn how to decorate.”

The judges were particularly disappointed not only with Paul’s decorative skills but also with the unwelcome presence of berry seeds within his sponge cake. This resulted in Paul landing in the bottom two contestants alongside Kareem, putting him one step closer to elimination.

Challenging the Contestants’ Skills

For the primary round of the competition, the bakers were again challenged to produce top-forward clock cakes, an increasingly popular trend showcased across social media platforms. Host Jesse Palmer encouraged the bakers to select their desired clock design and set the clock hands to a personal “magical time.” With only two and a half hours on the clock, contestants rushed to their stations to begin their creations, aiming to leave a memorable mark on the judges.

The Creative Process

Paul reflected on the challenge, admitting that creating a steampunk-inspired cake was daunting for him, as he lacked confidence in his cake-making abilities.

“I don’t think the details of the clock are going to be difficult for me; it will be the structure of the cake,”Paul remarked.

Interestingly, he decided to set his clock hands to 3 AM, symbolizing his early morning routine when he could tackle various tasks before his children woke up. Paul aimed to impress with a raspberry cake layered with white chocolate ganache made from ruby chocolate, complemented by raspberry jam and fresh fruits adorned with golden gears and lettering, all encased in pink and white marble fondant.

Technical Difficulties in Presentation

As Paul began cutting his cake, he quickly recognized that it had turned out “a little too fragile.” He realized that he should have allowed the cake to cool longer before unmolding it.

“I’m going home today,”he lamented.

In an effort to salvage the situation, he froze the sponge cake in hopes of restoring its structure, resorting to using a cardboard cutout as support due to time constraints.

Judges’ Feedback

Upon presenting his clock cake, Kardea immediately pointed out a messy area at the back, stating that it appeared “messy” and suggested that “things could be tight.” Following tasting the cake, she commented:

“Your sponge is really soft. I don’t know how your cake, like, held up.”

While Kardea expressed her discontent with the sponge’s texture and the berry seeds, Nancy did offer praise for his ganache, providing Paul with a glimmer of hope.