Crime Scene Kitchen is back.
(Coughing)
And this realm of culinary mystery is more exciting
and smokier than ever before.
(Coughing)
This season, two groups of contestants,
six teams of family members and six teams of friends,
go head-to-head to see who works better together in the kitchen.
Competition.
This is the Crime Scene Kitchen.
Something was baked here...
That smells like strawberry.
- Yeast? - Yeast. Okay.
...but has since gone missing.
Look. What is this?
JOEL: Our bakers/detectives
have to work out what they think was made and then bake it.
Y'all gonna have to clean that up. I'm sorry.
It's like a real criminal investigation,
but with fewer forced confessions.
Wah!
Holy hell, I did it.
JOEL: Guess and bake correctly...
You ain't going home today.
...and they're one step closer to a $100,000 prize.
(Cheering)
Guess incorrectly, and they're one step closer to death.
- Ehh... - Oh, my gosh.
Now, I'm scared.
Oh, sorry. Read that wrong.
One step closer to being eliminated from the show.
That sucks, too.
It's $100,000 on the line. We cannot go home today.
- ADAM: Oh, no. - I can't watch.
Drama, pressure, baked goods,
sweeping lights, and because of contracts, me.
- You're done. - Okay. There I go.
- You're done. - See you later.
Bye, Joel.
Preheat your ovens and your brains.
This is Crime Scene Kitchen.
♪
PRODUCER: Okay, rolling.
Three, two, one. Send in the bakers.
(Gasping)
KATELYN: Oh, my gosh.
To be here at the Crime Scene Kitchen,
I feel like a can of biscuits, I'm bursting with excitement.
- I'm Katelyn. - RONAN: I'm Ronan.
And we're the...
BOTH: Newlywed bakers from Utah.
And on our first date,
I knew she's the one I'm going to marry.
I can't believe we're here together.
I'm very excited to be right here on Crime Scene Kitchen.
I'm Courtney.
This is my beautiful niece, Danielle.
Uncle Courtney is my biggest cheerleader.
Yeah.
Uh, Team Rock It.
'Rock it', like we're going to rock the show.
- Not 'rocket'. - Yeah, play on words.
The goal is to check everything.
I'll check Joel's pants, if I have to.
Wait! Stop. Cut.
Welcome to an all-new season of Crime Scene Kitchen,
where the latest advancements in forensic science
and frosting technology collide.
Here in season three, we've divided you teams
into two distinct groups,
family members and friends.
- I'm Nigel. - I'm Karen.
- NIGEL: And we're mom and son. - KAREN: From Winnipeg, Canada.
Baking's in my blood, very clearly.
First job in a bakery was when I was 13
and my mom was a baker.
I think we make a great team.
And watch out, here we come.
- And sorry. - That's mean.
Next week, our teams of friends compete.
But for now, we're starting with you, our teams of families.
You'll compete in alternate weeks,
until midway through the season when the remaining teams merge.
We'll keep going until we're left with just three teams
for our season finale,
battling it out for $100,000 and the title of...
rich.
(All laughing)
Don't mess with Texas because we're bringin' all the heat.
- We're sisters. - I'm the oldest.
She acts the oldest.
We own a bakery together. She's the boss.
But she don't boss me.
Behind me is the Crime Scene Kitchen.
RONAN: Wow.
Whoa.
Something delicious and mysterious was prepared there,
but it's gone missing.
You must search the remains of the bake,
piece together what was made, and recreate the dish.
Now, say hello to the only people
who know what the mystery dessert is-- our judges.
She has forgotten more
about fondant than most of you could ever hope to learn.
(Contestants laughing)
It's cake-savant Yolanda Gampp, everybody.
- (Cheering) - YOLANDA: Hello.
(Cheering)
How are you?
- Hello, Yolanda. - Hello.
(Cheering)
Oh, my god. I used to watch Yolanda in high school.
She's the Beyoncé of cakes.
We can't flop.
He is a Michelin star-awarded chef, restaurateur,
and placed second in our Curtis Stone lookalike contest.
It's Curtis Stone.
(Cheering)
Hello.
SONJII: I think Curtis is hot.
- I love his hair. - ANYATTA: He's hot.
It's hot in here.
There are two bakes tonight. The first is the safety bake.
The team that comes closest to the mystery dessert
in this round gets to skip the next challenge,
our elimination bake,
and automatically advances to the next round,
where they will take on Gonzaga.
(Contestants laughing)
STARLETT: Kai and I are super tight.
We work together every single day.
But I'm always the mom. That's not going to change.
KAI: When I was about ten,
that's when we started selling our baked goods
and going to different pop-ups and farmers markets.
There is no better partner for me than my mom.
Now, she's going to make me cry.
JOEL: Now, who is ready to rummage?
(Cheering)
Danielle and Courtney, start your search.
Excuse me.
JOEL: Each team will take turns
going into the Crime Scene Kitchen.
Check the trash. Check the trash.
KATELYN: Okay, check the trash.
JOEL: One team at a time.
They'll each have two minutes to examine the same clues.
Nothing in the sink.
Okay, they used a mixer.
Some all-purpose flour. Let's look in the fridge.
There's one stick of butter missing.
STARLETT: Kai, what is this? What is this?
- Pumpkin. - Okay, pumpkin.
Looks like some raspberries were used.
The first thing I see when I open the fridge
is this container of pumpkin puree staring right at me.
But I don't understand why raspberries would be used.
I just can't figure out how these go together.
I definitely think the raspberries are a decoy.
BECKY: Ooh, eggshells.
DANIEL: We have note cards on the island.
BECKY: Oh, okay, so, we have some recipes.
Rhubarb crumble, blueberry oat bars, pumpkin pie, magic bars.
We see the recipe cards on the island,
four different recipes on them.
We need to figure out what ingredients
on each recipe card are in the kitchen.
So, we're trying to do a process of elimination
based on some of the clues that we know have been used.
There is butterscotch chips that are opened over here.
Nothing where it where it could have been made in?
This crime scene is a lot harder than we thought it would be.
You think this is easy, but it's not.
Okay, look at here. Look at the cards.
Nigel. Pumpkin, evaporated milk, eggs.
There was eggs, but no evaporated milk.
NIGEL: I open the fridge, and I see the pumpkin.
KAREN: It could have been used.
I'm not convinced it's used. It looks too pristine.
And most importantly, there's raspberries used.
And I'm not seeing pumpkin and raspberry playing together.
I see pumpkin pie. Pumpkin pie.
I think it has to be raspberries.
I think a pumpkin pie,
a pumpkin tart with a crumble.
No.
DANIELLE: Oats.
Oh, there's recipes over here.
When I turn around, I find recipes on the island.
And then, I go into the freezer.
Frozen blueberries and frozen rhubarb.
It's either rhubarb or blueberry oatmeal.
The rhubarb was actually lighter than the frozen blueberries.
I'm starting to think that
frozen rhubarb may be the main ingredient for this dessert.
Raspberries.
I see pumpkin. Oh, okay.
SONJII: Freezer, blueberries.
ANYATTA: What is that? Rhubarb?
- SONJII: Rhubarb, as well... - Mm-hmm.
What in the world
has pumpkin have to do with blueberries and rhubarb?
Did you see an apron or anything like that?
You see an apron or anything?
ANYATTA: No.
SONJII: You see any fresh fruit?
ANYATTA: Lemon.
I immediately notice lemons on the island,
but I have no idea if they've been used.
Fridge.
There's pumpkin puree that could be left over.
- RONAN: Okay. - KATELYN: Some raspberries.
Is there anything in the apron? Oh, oh, oh, these were in there.
In the apron pocket, I find three more recipes.
BOTH: Apple cranberry crisp.
Lemon raspberry bars. Brown butter shortbread.
Now, that I found three more recipe cards,
we have seven to choose from.
I don't know how we're supposed to pick one.
KATELYN: Ten seconds left.
- RONAN: Ten seconds. - Ahh!
- BOTH: Ten seconds. - Okay.
Pumpkin pie, magic bars.
COURTNEY: But the butterscotch chips?
Are they open or are they just out?
- (Alarm blaring) - BECKY: Any clue? Any idea?
DANIEL: I don't think the pumpkin was used.
SONJII: Oh, let's see...
And that is time.
Bakers, you'll now have two hours and 15 minutes
to recreate the mystery dessert. Here we go.
Three, two, one, bake.
So, I saw a package of butterscotch chips.
They were ripped open.
There was pumpkin filling in the fridge,
but I don't think it was used. So, I'm thinking it's magic bars
with the butterscotch chips in it.
- Do you feel good about that? - Yeah. Yeah.
We're super confident about this bake.
DANIEL: Because of the eggs,
the butter, the butterscotch, and the recipe card,
we are going to make magic bars with butterscotch chips,
and then flaked sea salt on top.
So, you're going to put the brown sugar
and the white sugar in the same bowl.
BECKY: Okay.
Daniel is my younger brother.
We are 13 years apart.
DANIEL: We have the same father but different mothers.
He's literally my brother from another mother.
DANIEL: Spray it really well.
The last thing we need is anything sticking to our pan.
So, I trust Daniel to boss me around
because he's held some amazing positions
at five-star restaurants.
Good enough, right?
Yeah, yeah, perfect.
Sonjii.
- SONJII: Yes. - Anyatta.
Yes.
JOEL: What are you guys making?
We're going to make a triple-berry cobbler.
- Like a cobbler. - A triple berry cobbler.
We saw the recipe cards, but we could only remember two of them.
I think there was a recipe
that has rhubarb, as well as berries on it.
ANYATTA: So, we're making a triple-berry cobbler
because I saw blueberries, raspberries, and rhubarb.
This is not a berry, obviously.
- No. - No.
JOEL: Okay.
We're calling the rhubarb
the mystery berry because we couldn't find a third berry.
But I think if it tastes good...
I'm not convinced that pumpkin was used.
I feel like it's the biggest red herring of all time.
It could be a big can, and then they used part of it.
We saw the recipe cards.
There's a lot of bars.
So, I think we're making some sort of bar.
So, you want to do a raspberry...
Raspberry oatmeal bar.
- Streusel topping. - A streusel top-- okay.
There was raspberries and oats in the Crime Scene Kitchen,
- So, we're making... - KAREN: Raspberry bars.
- NIGEL: With a raspberry curd. - KAREN: Shortbread crust.
NIGEL: And oat streusel topping.
We are manifesting raspberry bars.
I want to win the safety bake.
I want to be 100% sure that we're going on for another day.
KAI: Okay, cookies or coffee cake.
I don't know, I was thinking a coffee cake.
I was thinking maybe it was a coffee cake
because it was four eggs, and if it was a cookie,
it would have been like one or two.
STARLETT: Right.
Because of the leftover pumpkin puree, eggs,
and the butterscotch chips,
we are going to go ahead
and make a pumpkin spice coffee cake with brown butter streusel
and a spice glaze on top.
I'm going with you on this one, Kai.
- Okay. - All right.
Turbo boost activated.
Courtney and Danielle.
Joel McHale, the one and only.
I'm the host of this show.
COURTNEY: Fantastic.
JOEL: Courtney, what do you do?
I'm a chef.
DANIELLE: Oh, he's an amazing baker.
And I was a cop in the Air Force.
So, you've had some experience in gathering evidence?
Absolutely.
One of the biggest cases that I cracked
was the case of the lobster candy bandits.
These guys were taking a bunch of lobsters and candy bars,
and they were selling them off base.
So, we broke up the ring, and everything was safe again.
True story.
What did you find in the crime scene?
There was blueberries and rhubarb in the freezer.
But weight-wise, the rhubarb felt lighter.
We are making a rhubarb drop cookie.
We're also adding some oatmeal.
I have never baked with rhubarb.
I have never even seen rhubarb.
(Laughing)
These contestants have had the chance
to watch season one and season two,
so we've got to step up our game.
They should come in here ready for a challenge
because that is what we are providing.
♪
Whisk it quick.
Great job. You're doing so, so good.
Love it.
JOEL: Ronan and Katelyn.
- Hi! - RONAN: Hey.
- You're brother and sister. - BOTH: No.
We get that more than you think.
No, you're kidding.
- No. For real. - We do get that a lot.
I think being married is definitely going to give us
an edge because we bake in the kitchen all the time.
We've already had all the arguments
about who's going to do the dishes.
It's me.
So, you went through the Crime Scene Kitchen.
BOTH: Yes.
We think the real key clue here
is the recipe cards in the apron.
We saw the raspberries and lemons on the counter,
so we are making raspberry lemonade bars
with shortbread crust, lemon curd mousse,
and topped with whipped cream and a raspberry.
It's gonna be delicious.
Is it the right thing? I have no idea.
- RONAN: Yeah. - Okay.
Guys, carry on. This kitchen's a mess,
and I expect this guy to clean it up.
I will. (Laughing)
60 minutes remaining!
There's no turning back. I'm sticking with this shirt.
(Laughing)
The pumpkin...
The pumpkin, the pumpkin...
We are making berry cobbler.
But I cannot stop thinking about the pumpkin.
What if it was pumpkin butterscotch bars?
Girl. You said no.
ANYATTA: What if it was two different bars?
Oh!
I think the mystery dessert could be two desserts
because pumpkin doesn't go with berries.
It's probably two desserts.
I don't know why we was thinking it was one dessert.
So, that's why we decided to go ahead and make two.
Yes. We're going to do a pumpkin pie bar.
This isn't a joke. This is like the real deal, Holyfield.
Okay, you know we have less than an hour.
Welcome back to Crime Scene Kitchen.
This season, it's teams of families
against teams of friends.
Tonight, it's the teams of family members.
And there's already been a shocking number of decisions
based purely on spite.
How'd you bruise yourself?
Welcome back to the triangle table, guys.
Yolanda, you set this safety bake.
So, what are you noticing?
YOLANDA: Every single kitchen
is baking something different.
Becky and Daniel are making magic bars
with butterscotch chips.
They found the magic bar recipe card in the kitchen.
They seem really confident.
Well, I hope they're magic.
I'm happy with these.
JOEL: Sonjii and Anyatta, what are they making?
YOLANDA: They're making a triple-berry cobbler.
They've decided to add a second dessert,
pumpkin butterscotch bars.
Are you saying you possibly might have set the crime scene
with two different desserts?
Anything is a possibility.
It all boils down to this.
CURTIS Danielle and Courtney,
they're making rhubarb drop cookies.
JOEL: Have you ever had one of those before?
Absolutely not.
Normally, rhubarb is pre-cooked.
- They're putting it in raw. - CURTIS: Yeah.
They are the only team making cookies, however.
So, if they're right...
They could win the safety bake.
Kai and Starlett are making a pumpkin spice coffee cake.
KAI: Oh, (Bleep).
STARLETT: What?
Oh, man.
They seem very concerned with their bake.
(Sighing)
YOLANDA: Ronan and Kaitlyn are making raspberry lemonade bars.
They seem confident.
They also seem to be having
a great time baking together.
NIGEL: Okay, we doing this? We're pulling?
- You pulling or I'm pulling? - KAREN: I'm pulling.
They look good.
Nigel and Karen are making raspberry bars
with an oatmeal and streusel topping.
KAREN: I don't think you can pull them.
What if we're stuck? The shortbread's so stuck, Mum.
They seem to be having trouble getting them out of the pan.
CURTIS: They do.
YOLANDA: That is not a good sign.
JOEL: Ten seconds.
Oh, my god.
Gosh. Are we going to finish this in time?
Seriously, dude.
ANYATTA: I hope I'm right.
HOSTS: Five, four,
three, two, one!
JOEL: And that is time, everybody.
Step back and ask yourself
if you've done enough to earn that night in the fantasy suite.
(Contestants laughing)
- (Sighing) - Yeah.
(Sighing)
Danielle and Courtney, please bring us what you thought
was made in the Crime Scene Kitchen.
CONTESTANTS: Ooh.
DANIEL: Cookies.
I didn't get cookies from anything.
COURTNEY: This is a rhubarb drop cookie.
YOLANDA: Tell me about the clues that you discovered.
I saw the blueberries and rhubarb.
The rhubarb felt a little bit lighter than the blueberries,
so that's how I got to rhubarb.
So, we just chopped it up.
It's interesting because, rhubarb,
it's almost never used raw.
Hmm.
- All I taste is oatmeal. - COURTNEY: Okay.
And it's a shame that I can't taste the rhubarb.
I'm sorry, you guys, this is quite a dry cookie.
But if this is what was baked
in the Crime Scene Kitchen, you'll win safety.
So, good luck.
- All right. - Thank you.
Thank you, Danielle and Jimmy Buffett.
- Thank you so much. - (Both laughing)
Becky and Daniel.
- If I see another cookie... - (Sighing)
- I don't. - Uh-uh.
CURTIS: Ooh.
Oh, they went with the bar.
(Daniel laughing)
I'll take that reaction.
Today, we prepared magic bars with butterscotch chips in them.
- I don't know. - Yeah.
The first thing that we noticed
was all of the different recipe cards on the island.
We saw an open bag of butterscotch chips.
So, did you use sweetened condensed milk?
No, we did not.
- Is that usually in magic bars? - Yeah, sweetened condensed milk
is the key ingredient in a magic bar.
The butterscotch flavor is definitely there.
I think it's very nice.
But without sweetened condensed milk, this isn't a magic bar.
Okay.
Kai and Starlett.
CONTESTANTS: Ooh!
RONAN: Okay.
Oh, wow.
We brought you a pumpkin spice coffee cake.
We saw pumpkin puree. There were some raspberries.
It didn't look like the raspberries had been used.
So, we automatically thought it was something pumpkin.
YOLANDA: It's very gummy inside.
CURTIS: It does look more moist than normal.
But I quite like a moist coffee cake.
I'll take that.
BOTH: Thank you.
JOEL: Anyatta and Sonjii.
CONTESTANTS: Oh...
Oh, it is two bars.
- It's two bars. - Oh!
ANYATTA: We made a triple berry cobbler
and a pumpkin bar with the oatmeal crumble.
Two flavors?
Do you both believe that the mystery dessert is two desserts?
- I do. I do. - Or are you placing two bets?
YOLANDA: We don't often get two desserts unless the clues
specifically point to it.
We did see the berries, but she wouldn't let the pumpkin go.
And then, at the last hour, we came up with...
Pumpkin bar.
I really like the pumpkin.
I think it's moist and it's tasty.
I do think it's an odd choice
that your bars do not have a base because, technically,
a bar is the type of treat that you pick up and you eat,
and that would be impossible.
If this was two desserts, then you guys are home-free.
I know.
- But we'll see. - BOTH: We'll see.
JOEL: Ronan and Katelyn.
CONTESTANTS: Ooh.
Show-offs.
STARLETT: Oh, my god.
KATELYN: We brought you raspberry lemonade bars.
There was lemons on the counter and raspberries in the fridge,
and then, we found extra recipes in the apron.
Oh, no.
What? We did not see an apron.
(Imitating explosion)
We didn't look in the apron. I walked right past it.
ANYATTA: Mm-hmm.
We decided to make a lemon curd mousse.
And we hope you enjoy them.
RONAN: Yes.
That mousse is so soft that it's messy to eat.
But wow, does it taste good.
- Oh, good. Thank you. - Thank you so much.
It's definitely lemony. It's nice and bright.
BOTH: Thank you so much. Thank you.
It will probably haunt us for the rest of our lives.
Nigel and Karen.
CONTESTANTS: Ooh.
STARLETT: That looks good.
KAI: We all did something completely different.
- That's kind of scaring me. - Yeah.
DANIEL: We made raspberry bars
with an oatmeal streusel topping.
- Oh, raspberry bars. - Oh, okay.
KAREN: We chose raspberry bars
because the raspberries definitely looked like
half of them were used.
That part I can't recall.
Now, we saw a dropped cookie earlier,
and your bars look a little like someone dropped them.
What happened?
Our shortbread got stuck.
YOLANDA: Did you line your pan?
We did. We only lined it one way,
where we should have lined it both ways.
The streusel on top is really good.
CURTIS: And the flavor of it's quite good.
This is the first raspberry bar
with an oatmeal streusel topping.
So, if you're the only ones to bake this,
and that was made in the Crime Scene Kitchen,
you'll be sailing on through to safety.
- Great. Thank you. - Fingers crossed.
KAREN: We should have done two bars.
It's just one bar. I still think we're right.
I think it's one bar.
So, we got safety. It's us all day long.
Welcome back to Crime Scene Kitchen.
Based on the clues they found,
our bakers have recreated
what they think is the mystery dessert.
We've got a vast array of bakes here -
a coffee cake, some drop cookies,
and a whole lot of bars.
Whichever team wins this safety bake
gets to skip tonight's elimination bake,
earning a guaranteed spot in the next round.
It is now time for the Confectionator 3000 to emerge
from its season-long slumber in the caverns beneath our studio.
Confectionator 3000, bring forth the mystery desserts.
Oh, my god.
What is it?
♪ Rhubarb, rhubarb
KATELYN: Do you see it? Do you see it?
DANIEL: Here we go.
BECKY: What is it?
KATELYN: Do you see it. Do you see it?
- Bars? - It's bars.
It's lemon raspberry bars.
ANYATTA: Whoa!
What?!
Oh, no.
JOEL: Shortbread crust with a tart
lemon raspberry curd topped with torched meringue.
The Crime Scene Kitchen was full of ingredients,
but your job was to figure out which were used in the bake.
There were four recipe cards on the island
and three additional recipe cards in the apron.
I cannot believe I forgot to check the apron.
Each card had a list of must-have ingredients.
By process of elimination, you should have been able to deduce
that only one of the seven recipe cards was correct
because all three must-have ingredients
were present in the kitchen.
Although blueberries and rhubarb were present in the kitchen,
they were frozen, and the recipe called for fresh fruit.
I did not notice that it said fresh fruit.
The only recipe with all the must-have ingredients present
in the kitchen was lemon raspberry bars.
(Sighing)
Look, this was a challenging first Crime Scene Kitchen.
That said, there were two teams that came closest
to the mystery dessert,
Ronan and Katelyn, and Karen and Nigel.
And the winners are...
♪
...Ronan and Katelyn.
- What?! - (Contestants applauding)
I can't believe it. I can't believe it.
- BOTH: Wow. - Oh, my gosh.
Yes! Yes, yes, yes.
- It was all you. - I love you.
- I love you. Yeah. - Oh, my gosh.
We had raspberry bars, but no lemon.
No lemon.
Ronan and Katelyn,
congratulations on winning tonight's safety bake.
You now advance into the next round.
Thanks, guys. Good job.
Now, it is time for the elimination bake.
Lighting change.
At the end of this round,
one team of family members will be sent home.
The mystery dessert for this bake was chosen by Curtis.
By that I mean a producer told him what it was,
then Curtis shrugged
and went back to watching women's cricket.
You have two minutes to scour
the Crime Scene Kitchen for clues.
Nigel and Karen, please start your search.
- KAREN: Okay. - NIGEL: All right.
Stick together. Stick together.
DANIEL: All right, go.
SONJII: Okay. Flour, brown sugar...
ANYATTA: Mixing bowl.
This is some type of cake.
Egg whites, sour cream.
My gut is telling me that it is a cake.
My gut is telling me we have no idea what it is.
Okay.
I see cream cheese, eggs, and butter.
KAI: What liqueur is this?
SONJII: Rum or brandy.
Oh, Kai, look at this. Look at this. Okay?
KAI: What? Is this caramel?
(Sniffing)
Yeah. That's caramel there.
KAI: That's a caramel.
DANIELLE: Caramel is in the pan.
COURTNEY: Yep. Okay, some liquor was used right here.
I'm moving and grooving, and I come across measuring cup.
- Smell that? - Mm-hmm.
- What's that smell like? - Vodka.
No, not vodka. It's brown.
Oh, vodka, tequila, it's clear, whatever.
Anyway...
I'm a mixed drink girly, okay?
Uh, sex on the beach.
Don't use that part.
Okay, there's a turntable in here.
Oh, wait, it's got residue on it. So, here.
I'm pretty sure this is caramel sauce, but there's a glaze.
The way that caramel sauce was spaced,
you could tell there was an opening in the middle.
So, maybe a cake of some sort with a hole.
COURTNEY: Okay.
A cake plate, caramel, pastry cream.
A cake stand is kind of a cruel thing to put in the dishwasher
because anything can go on a cake stand.
Well, it's a cake. It's a cake.
BOTH: Eggs.
Cream cheese.
KAREN: Butter.
I always think the garbage is like a major focus.
You're obsessed with the garbage.
I am obsessed with the garbage.
BECKY: What is this white stuff?
DANIEL: Some kind of cream cheese glaze.
Fruit on the counter.
There's a peach label sticker in the compost.
Inside the compost bin,
there's this little teeny-tiny peach sticker.
We're not seeing any other evidence
of peaches in the kitchen, but at the same time,
there's another bowl of fruit on the island.
(Sighing) What is this?
NIGEL: Ten seconds.
KAREN: Ten seconds?
We have ten seconds. Is there anything else we're missing?
That's rum. Smell this. It's rum.
Rum. Maybe a rum cake.
KAREN: Is there any fruit on the counter?
There's mangoes.
KAI: Sugar. Brown sugar.
And that is time.
All right, let's go.
We really cannot miss anything, or we're going home.
In this elimination bake, it has to be redemption.
JOEL: Bakers, you'll now have two-and-a-half hours
and unlimited breadsticks
to recreate a mystery dessert based on what you found
in the Crime Scene Kitchen.
DANIELLE: What do you remember seeing?
COURTNEY: I remember the caramel.
Uh, peach sticker in the trash can.
DANIELLE: I believe it's a cake.
I believe I saw dots in the center of the cake stand,
so that's how you know it's a bundt pan.
Oh.
She's next level.
And then, we have a cup with a brown liquid in it
that we believe is brandy.
So because we found a cake dish,
a caramel sauce, the brandy, and the peach sticker...
DANIELLE: So, we are making a brandy-infused pound cake
with fresh peaches, a caramel sauce, and royal icing.
We know exactly what we need to do.
DANIELLE: We are going to be on top of it this time.
Or else we're going to be going home.
Yeah, I think we're doing good. I think we're doing good.
Let's make sure this is done this time.
- Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. - Yeah.
- JOEL: Starlett? Kai? - KAI: Hi.
- STARLETT: Hi, Joel. - Guys, what's happenin'?
We are making a cream cheese pound cake
with a rum caramel sauce and peaches.
This may not be what a usual host says,
but that sounds (Bleep) great.
(Laughing)
SONJII: We saw the caramel,
the peach sticker in the compost,
I saw one block of cream cheese, a lot of eggs,
and I saw a whole pound of butter in the trash.
That's pound cake.
- Kai. - Yes?
It's funny because your mom smiles all the time,
and then you never smile.
You're just like this...
That's her resting face.
- Kai, I have to bring this up. - KAI: Okay.
I heard you speak 22 languages.
Let's go for four. French.
- JOEL: French. - KAI: Spanish.
Mandarin, Chinese.
- Oh, that's it? - (Kai chuckling)
What's the Mandarin word for 'pot'?
- (Speaking Mandarin)
- (Repeating Mandarin) - KAI: Yeah.
Could you describe
the recipe in Chinese, in Mandarin?
- You asking a lot, Joel. - KAI: Bye, Joel.
(Speaking Mandarin:)
STARLETT: Thank you, Joel.
SONJII: You sure it wasn't like a bourbon?
- ANYATTA: Let me smell bourbon. - That's what it was. Bourbon.
ANYATTA: That's what it was, a bourbon.
As soon as I smell the bourbon, I know instantly
it's what I smelled in the measuring cup.
I know the bourbon smell because my husband, he drinks bourbon.
I was familiar with the scent.
We should do a caramel bourbon cake.
Cut the rum.
A sour cream cake with a...
BOTH: Caramel bourbon drizzle.
- Okay, that sounds good. - Okay, sounds good.
Because I saw the sour cream, caramel,
and smelled the bourbon,
we're going to do a sour cream vanilla cake
with a caramel bourbon drizzle and a vanilla glaze.
We only have an hour and a half.
Because of the sour cream,
because my mom normally makes a sour cream pound cake.
BOTH: Top notch.
I feel like it took us a bake to get our groove,
and now we're kind of rocking.
We've never worked together in a professional kitchen.
We have different ideas. But I do think there is a bond,
knowing that, no matter what happens,
we're good, we love each other.
Nigel and Karen.
- Hey-o. - JOEL: Happy times?
- BOTH: Yeah. - What are you guys makin'?
Going to make a cream cheese...
- Rum cake. - ...rum cake.
Cream cheese rum cake.
- And fruit. - Okay. What fruit?
- Uh... - KAREN: Mangoes.
- Fruit. - Mango fruit.
Mangoes might be there.
Mangoes might be on there. And there was rum.
Then, you've got to think tropical.
So, mangoes are tropical.
NIGEL: Because we see rum, caramel,
we're going to make a rum cake with pastry cream, caramel,
cream cheese icing, and fruit.
Mangoes.
- Your shirt, very tropical. - Yeah, sure.
You're dressed like he's in a steel drum band on a cruise.
KAREN: Yep. No, I'm very proud of him.
I'm never going to stop. I can't help it.
- All right, you guys. - KAREN: All right.
- Carry on. - Thanks, Joel.
KAREN: Thanks.
All right, while you finish that,
I'm going to get our pan prepped.
Oh, Daniel and Becky.
- Guys, what are you making? - DANIEL: We are making
a spiced rum peach pound cake
with a caramel drizzle and cream cheese icing.
Okay, you live in Texas. You live in Miami.
I mean, you guys don't see each other too much?
Not very often.
- No, really not. - Not as much as we'd like.
And now look at you.
Never in our wildest dreams imagined
it'd be in such a grandiose matter
with such grandiose presence.
- See? - Which is definitely a bonus.
Points. Points. You guys are winning.
(Mixer whirring)
KAI: Let's just go for this one.
(Bleep).
What?
Everything is off right now.
This does not look like my typical pound cake.
KAI: Let's not freak out.
(Sighing)
I'm making the batter for this pound cake and it looks curdled.
It's $100,000 on the line. Like, we cannot go home today.
There is so much riding on this batter.
I cannot afford to make any mistakes.
That's not going to bake up right.
(Sighing) I'm trying not to mess up.
Okay, okay, I need you to relax.
We sacrificed so much to be here,
and I just feel like...
I'm going to be letting her down if we leave.
If the batter doesn't look good by the time it's done,
make another one. That's it.
- STARLETT: Okay. (Sobbing) - KAI: Okay.
This kitchen is so overwhelming.
You're second-guessing every decision that you're making.
- KAI: How's the batter look? - STARLETT: It looks good.
- KAI: Okay. - You wanna see it?
It's better than it was.
I was freaking out.
You just had to mix it some more.
The emulsion probably broke, that was it.
STARLETT: Okay.
All right.
That looks really, really good.
30 minutes remaining.
Sorry, not for you guys. I'm parked at a meter outside.
(Laughing)
Please don't break, please don't break.
Please don't break. Please don't break.
Holy hell, I did it. Oh, my god.
Curtis, you picked this challenge.
How are you feeling about it?
CURTIS: Look, we've got two teams doing round cakes
and three teams doing bundt cakes.
- Looks all right. - Yeah.
So, we've got a mixed bag.
All right, so Anyatta and Sonjii...
CURTIS: Most of the teams smelled a spirit
in the Crime Scene Kitchen, and they thought it was rum.
Sonjii and Anyatta actually thought it was bourbon.
So, that could be important once we get down to the nitty-gritty.
Nigel and Karen, it seems like they're trying to fill
their cake with pastry cream.
If you don't pipe a proper buttercream dam,
it'll just ooze out the sides.
- I'm worried. - CURTIS: I mean, look at Nigel.
I don't want to look.
NIGEL: Dear god.
Kai and Starlett are making a cream cheese pound cake
with peach caramel rum sauce.
Using the peaches on top of the cake,
whether that's good or bad, who knows?
With Becky and Daniel,
their bundt cake looks beautifully caramelized.
Let's talk about Danielle and Courtney.
CURTIS: That caramel looks very thin.
YOLANDA: That caramel is extremely thin.
Oh, now, he's going straight over the top.
Oh, my Lord...
YOLANDA: The glazes have just morphed together.
It's running straight off.
DANIELLE: I thought it was right. It's not right.
Oh, boy.
JOEL: 30 seconds.
It's not structurally sound. Please stop jumping.
ANYATTA: I'm going to drizzle.
SONJII: Whoo, girl.
- HOSTS: Five, four... - Leave it. Stop, stop.
- Just making a mound. - ...three, two, one.
JOEL: And that is time.
- We like. We like. - Please step back
and let the uncertainty wash over you.
That is time.
Relax. Just stop. It's okay.
This is it. Go big or go home.
Karen and Nigel,
please bring us what you thought was made
in the Crime Scene Kitchen.
CONTESTANTS: Oh...
Beautiful.
NIGEL: We made a rum cake with pastry cream,
caramel, cream cheese icing, and fruit.
Mango, to be specific.
I didn't see mango.
What led you to believe mango
was used in the Crime Scene Kitchen?
There was a fruit basket on the island.
Very tropical.
And my mother got very into the mangoes.
YOLANDA: Looks good.
I love mangoes, but I do feel like
it's sort of just plopped on top.
Okay.
It's almost like that pastry cream
has disappeared from the middle
because it's just such a soft filling.
I mean, here's the good news.
If this is what was baked in the Crime Scene Kitchen,
you ain't going home today.
Excellent.
JOEL: Courtney and Danielle.
CONTESTANTS: Oh...
Okay.
- We have a bundt. - We have a bundt.
DANIELLE: We have a brandy-infused pound cake
with fresh peaches, caramel sauce, and royal icing drizzle.
The way that the caramel dollops were put on the cake stand,
it looked like there was a hole in the middle of the dessert,
which led me to believe that it was a bundt cake.
Oh, gosh. I hope that pan don't,
ooh, cost us $100,000.
♪
As far as both glazes go, I just taste sweetness,
and my mouth isn't sure what to do.
Unfortunately for me,
it's a lot of strong flavors going on in that cake.
JOEL: Daniel, Becky.
Oh, another bundt cake.
We might have been outsmarted.
Bundt versus layer cake, I don't know.
DANIEL: We prepared a spiced rum peach pound cake
with a cream cheese icing and caramel drizzle.
We ended up
dicing up fresh peaches and folding that into the batter.
- CURTIS: Mm, looks good. - DANIEL: Thank you.
♪
The pound cake is good. The caramel is really good.
BOTH: Thank you.
I just want to taste more of it.
Good job.
This was exactly the type of response
that I wanted from Yolanda. I love this feeling.
- I feel great. - Yeah, me, too.
Yeah, right?
JOEL: Anyatta and Sonjii. Don't drop it.
That's a layer cake.
ANYATTA: We made a vanilla sour cream cake
with a caramel bourbon glaze and a vanilla glaze.
It could have been.
Okay, well, let's taste it.
- Presents well. - Look at that.
Nice even layers.
Fingers crossed.
♪
You taste the bourbon, but it's not very pronounced.
It's very subtle.
But it's still sweet and yummy.
Okay.
If a vanilla sour cream cake
with a caramel bourbon drizzle
is the mystery dessert, then you guys have done well.
- Yes, I hope we're correct. - Okay.
JOEL: Starlett and Kai.
CONTESTANTS: Oh...
KAI: We made a cream cheese pound cake
with a caramel peach topping.
I infused the sliced peaches with a rum-infused caramel.
♪
I'm going to pass out.
Let's not do that, okay?
Look, the problem with pound cakes is they can get quite dry.
Yours isn't dry.
Oh, thank you.
The peaches are really good. They're a nice addition.
The pound cake is good.
BOTH: Thank you.
(Contestants applauding)
After seeing all the different things
that everybody else made, I'm kind of nervous.
But if we at least guessed bundt cake correct,
we could still be in this.
All right, teams,
let's reveal the Crime Scene Kitchen dessert.
- Come on. - Confectionator 3000,
rise and belch the smoke of truth.
Here we go.
We want a bundt cake.
Please be a bundt cake. Please be a bundt cake.
- What is it? - What is it?
- (Exhaling sharply) - Come on, come on.
- Here we go, here we go. - Bundt cake. Bundt cake.
Bundt. Bundt.
JOEL: The mystery dessert is...
...peach bourbon bundt cake,
a pound cake baked with caramel and peaches
drizzled with a vanilla cream cheese glaze.
Close enough.
Raise the roof. Yeah.
Where the heck were the peaches?
The key clue was the cake stand with a circular glaze
and caramel on the perimeter and center of the cake stand,
suggesting a bundt cake.
The evidence of the large amount of eggs and butter used
suggested this was a pound cake.
The remains of the caramel coated peach in the frying pan,
the scent of bourbon in the measuring cup,
and the peach sticker should have all led you
to the flavor profile of the cake.
Oh!
We got the bourbon, but peaches...
We totally missed it.
Unfortunately, two of our teams,
Anyatta and Sonjii, and Karen and Nigel,
missed the key ingredient of peaches
and also the correct batter and shape of the cake.
Knowing that we're one of two teams
that might be going home, it's a lot.
I'm not ready to go home yet. Nope.
Of these two,
the bakers who were furthest from the mystery dessert
and going home tonight are...
...Nigel and Karen.
Ah!
Sorry, you guys.
It's been the best experience.
There's no one else I'd rather come here with then...
Yeah.
Thank you so much for being here
and bringing so much passion.
Thanks, you guys.
(Contestants applauding)
It's a once in a lifetime opportunity
to do something like this with my mom.
It's been awesome. Yeah.
- COURTNEY: Good job, guys. - (Contestants applauding)
No more crying.
I've got a lot more crying to do.
Oh, do you? Oh, no.
Anyatta and Sonjii, what's going on?
They were better than we were.
We fell short.
We just need to do what we know how to do.
Be Anyatta and Sonjii, you know?
Woulda, shoulda, coulda doesn't win $100,000.
Well, congratulations.
You five teams of family members are moving on.
You have next week off to lick your wounds
and your mixing bowls because that's when we'll be challenging
the teams of friends.
You now have two bakes under your belt
and are that much closer to the $100,000 prize.
Nicely done, guys. You did it.
(Contestants applauding)
Join us next week when our talented teams of friends
bake their hearts out.
Ooh, baked heart pie. I can't wait.
See you next time.