The rules were simple: make a randomly-drawn baked treat from scratch - without a recipe. We each had an hour, a plethora of ingredients, an apron and our own noggin. Then we rated each others' cakes on a scale from one (disaster) to five (par). This is what we cooked up.
MeganMission: Lemon Poppyseed Bundt Cake
Megan says: I have never baked a cake before, and I have no concept of what even goes into one! I think it turned out pretty good. Tastes a little funny but that was expected.
Amy says: Looked great, but tasted a bit bland. The glaze was good though. What was this supposed to be?
Average Star Rating: 3.25
Brent
Mission: Chocolate Turtle Layer Cake
Brent says: Honestly, there wasn't a lot of thinking behind my thinking. I just tried to put in ingredients and amounts that seemed somewhat logical. And 2 tablespoons of salt, apparently, seemed a logical amount to me. I'm pretty pleased with the visual result.
Lori says: Perfect visually!!! Salty and slightly dry.
Lori says: Perfect visually!!! Salty and slightly dry.
Average Star Rating: 3.31
Mindy
Mission: Almond Cake
Mindy says: When I drew almond cake, I was pretty nervous. I have never heard of it before, so I didn't know what it was supposed to be or taste like. I saw a can of Almond filling so I started with that, continued to throw in what I thought went into a cake, sifted in some flour and called it cake batter! And Voila! Almond Cake!
Carrie says: Yummy! Moist, wonderful almond flavor, nice glaze and garnishing!
Average Star Rating: 4.63
Amy
Mission: Mixed Berry Coffee Cake with Cinnamon Streusel Topping
Amy says: I've never baked a cake before, so I thought about the ingredients used in making cookies. The only ingredient I was absolutely sure about was coffee (after all it was supposed to be a coffee cake), but was told otherwise after I had added a few teaspoons. Oops! :) The mixed berries made the cake a dark purple and the streusel on top looked like ground sausage, so it was not the prettiest cake, but it tasted good!
Mindy says: Good flavor; interesting color.
Average Star Rating: 4.5
Amy says: I've never baked a cake before, so I thought about the ingredients used in making cookies. The only ingredient I was absolutely sure about was coffee (after all it was supposed to be a coffee cake), but was told otherwise after I had added a few teaspoons. Oops! :) The mixed berries made the cake a dark purple and the streusel on top looked like ground sausage, so it was not the prettiest cake, but it tasted good!
Mindy says: Good flavor; interesting color.
Average Star Rating: 4.5
Kinzie
Mission: Tres Leches Cake ("Three Milks" Cake)
Kinzie says: I drew this recipe and the only thing I understood was that it needed milk. Never heard of it before. Apparently it's supposed to be a very moist, rich, white Mexican cake. Mine turned out more like a spice cake with the consistency of over-cooked brownies (and that was my 2nd, more successful attempt of the day).
Brent says: Tastes like a dense pumpkin pie.
Average Star Rating: 2.83 - one star penalty for asking Lori for help and taking 2 1/2 hours in the kitchen.
CarrieMission: Vanilla Bean Cheesecake
with White Chocolate Glaze
Carrie says: Luckily, I've made cheesecakes before so I knew what the ingredients were - it was just a matter of remembering the proportions. The top got a little too brown (I used a bit too much sugar), but fortunately, the white chocolate glaze covered that up! It ended up being pretty good.
Anita says: Yum!!! That's amazing!
Average Star Rating: A perfect 5 out of 5!
with White Chocolate Glaze
Carrie says: Luckily, I've made cheesecakes before so I knew what the ingredients were - it was just a matter of remembering the proportions. The top got a little too brown (I used a bit too much sugar), but fortunately, the white chocolate glaze covered that up! It ended up being pretty good.
Anita says: Yum!!! That's amazing!
Average Star Rating: A perfect 5 out of 5!
Natalie
Mission: Strawberry Shortcake
Natalie says: I had no idea what I was doing, so I don't really know if I made a strawberry shortcake or just a cake with strawberries on top.
Kinzie says: You could totally sell this at the bakery! Holy cow!
Average Star Rating: 4.43
Anita
Mission: Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Anita says: I've made carrot cake before, but couldn't remember how many cups of carrots to use. I shredded 3 carrots, and that gave me a little over a cup which I thought was plenty. Turns out, I needed quite a bit more! It would have made for a much moister cake. Overall, it wasn't too bad. The icing was definitely the best part!
Natalie says: The frosting is great! I'm not a big carrot cake fan, but it's still tasty.
Average Star Rating: 4.07
LoriMission: Chocolate Brownie Torte
For those of you who don't know, Lori happens to be an amazing chef (which is why she was not allowed in the kitchen while the rest of us were baking). We knew her cake would be off the charts compared to the rest of ours', so instead of competing, she gave us a step-by-step demo on how to make an amazing, homemade chocolate torte from scratch.
Lori says: An easy yet elegant dessert anyone can create at home! Give it a try - here's the recipe.
The In Crowd says: Definitely a purple-ribbon winner.
Our arsenal of ingredients.
Brent gave the women
a run for their money
in the kitchen.
Amy contemplates
skipping her 2 o'clock
meeting to make a
lemon meringue pie
for extra credit.
Round 2 with
Kinzie's batter
Lori's incredible torte
Mindy puts on her game face.
