The Independent Student Newspaper of St. John's University

The Torch

The Independent Student Newspaper of St. John's University

The Torch

The Independent Student Newspaper of St. John's University

The Torch

Netflix Bakes Up A Winner

Have you ever seen those baking pictures on Instagram or Twitter where people try to recreate something they saw on Pinterest and fail epically? You may be wondering how you went from this seemingly simple emoji cake to a yellow blob that’ll give you nightmares.

Well, Netflix’s new original show, “Nailed It!” shows these baking “fails” and “nails.” In each episode, three terrible home bakers compete for more than two rounds to win $10,000. All you have to do is bake a  dessert that looks the closest to the expertly made cake. Sounds simple, right?

However, as in any good-natured competition, the cakes that these competitors have to recreate are a little…wild. In the six-episode season, the final baking challenges included making a huge shark cake, an erupting volcano cake and even a realistic-looking Donald Trump cake.

Each episode features two rounds; the first round has the bakers making something seemingly easy, like cupcakes and cocktails, small emoji cakes or pirate donuts. At the end of the first round, the person who makes the best tasting and looking baked good gets to wear a special gold baking hat (which I now need to find for myself), and some sort of baking prize, whether it be a standing kitchen mixer or piping set.

There is no elimination. Basically, everyone gets two chances to make some epic fails. In the second round, we see the home bakers trying to recreate these epic cakes and the chance to tell the judges, “Nailed It” and actually mean it.

Whether you’re into baking or not this new baking show is a hilarious surprise to the often technical and specialized baking competitions. The clearly unprofessional bakers are judged by renowned chocolatier Jacques Torres, comedian, and actress Nicole Byer and a special guest judge each week. Most notable on the first episode, the special judge was Sylvia Weinstock, wedding cake maker for the celebrities like Oprah, the Clintons and Kim Kardashian and Kanye West.

The real spark of the show are these home bakers and their extreme mistakes. While watching the show, the choices of the bakers frustrate and often shock the judges and viewers. If you want to find a way to learn some baking tips and tricks, watch these bakers make them and learn from these rough mistakes. From kneading fondants when you’re supposed to roll it to using melting chocolates when you need to use chocolate chips for a ganache.

The show features more fails than nails, but is a good time and leaves the viewers wanting to try to recreate some of these creations. With an arsenal of baking supplies and a recipe at their disposal, many, including the professional judges, are left to wonder, “How did they fail this badly?”

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