03x07 - Cakes Ahoy!

[bunniefuu]

-[adventurous pirate music playing]
-[seagulls chirping]

[pirate accent] Ahoy! Semifinalists
coming up the port bow!

-[Grace] There's a flying seagull.
-[voice] Caw!

That is Pedro.

-And this here, his name is Kevin.
-[laughter]

Ye thought I was obnoxious before.

-Now I be talkin' like a pirate.
-[Julie] Oh my God.

[normal voice]
Okay, I think we suffered through that.

-All right, let's be losin' this.
-[group] Wow!

Welcome to the semifinals. Come on!

[group cheers]

[Mikey] Five of you remain,

and after today,
only three will continue on to the finale

to compete for the title
of Is It Cake? champion.

That's right, bakers.

Two of you will be...
walking the plank today.

-Oh man.
-[Mikey] Let's get right into it.

Let's set sail

into a round of Find That Cake!

[cheering and applause]

Cake wall, spin, matey!

[tense music playing]

-[Julie] Oh!
-Oh my God.

[Mikey] Welcome aboard my ship, bakers.

And yep... there's a stowaway cake on deck.

[Timmy] Oh no.

[Mikey] It's up to you to find it.

Ooh.

{\an8}You will have 30 seconds to find the cake
and lock in your answer.

{\an8}Your time starts... now.

{\an8}-[tense music playing]
-[timer beeping]

-[Grace] Oh my God, this is so hard.
-[Timmy] I don't know.

[Grace] I have no idea.

[Mikey chuckles] Seas be too rough for ya?

[tense music continues]

Fifteen seconds.

I don't know.

[Mikey] Ten seconds, bakers.

Five seconds! Lock it in.

Three, two, one.

-[bell dings]
-Time's up!

All right, let's see who found a cake.

What is it?

For this one,
I'm gonna need a pirate's knife.

-[Henderson] Oh-h*!
-[Grace] Ooh.

I'm the captain now, my friend.

[Grace laughs]

Jujhar, you wrote, and I quote,

"Telescope thing underneath side."

-[laughing] What?!
-[Julie chuckles]

Do you mean... this?

[laughs] Yeah.

It looks like one color from here,
so it just looked a little cakey.

That makes sense.
Let's see if you're right, Jujhar.

[suspenseful music playing]

Hi-yah!

-[Henderson] Oh.
-Yar, yar, yar!

Nope.

Not cake.

Julie. Hello.

-[pirate accent] Don't be scared!
-[laughter]

[normal voice] You wrote down "cannon."

What about this cannon is cakey to you?

The siding. Of all the wood,
it looked the least real wood.

Let's see if this cannon is cake.

[suspenseful music playing]

Let's see.

[upbeat music plays]

-Oh!
-Yay!

-[Mikey grunts] Look at that!
-[Grace] Whoa!

Boom! It's cake!

[cheering and applause]

[Mikey, pirate accent]
I tell ya what, that be cake!

-[normal voice] Julie! Great work.
-[group exclaims]

You were the fastest baker
to find the cake,

so we're giving you first pick
of the object you want to cake-ify

when we play Is It Ca-a-ake?

[group cheers]

Each of you will choose something
up here on my ship to turn into a cake.

Julie, you found the cake the fastest.
What would ya like to bake?

I want to try on that pirate hat,
so I'm gonna go with that.

{\an8}-[Grace] Ooh.
-[Mikey] Oh!

{\an8}Good job, first mate.

-Would you like to try it on?
-Yeah.

Let me help ye onto my ship.

It's a big step.

Whoa!

Oh-h*-h*.

-[pirate accent] Ya make a good pirate.
-Oh, so cute!

-Pirate hats are hard to pull off.
-[Grace] You look so cute.

[normal voice]
Our second-fastest baker was

Grace!

[group] Ooh!

I'm gonna go with the barrel.

{\an8}-[Mikey] Ah-ha-ha!
-[Henderson] Nice.

-[Mikey] Why did you pick the barrel?
-I really wanna paint the wooden texture.

-[Timmy] Hm.
-[Mikey] Wow.

Grace, always the risk-taker.

-[laughs]
-Next baker up is...

-Who?
-[bird chirps]

Oh.

-Timmy!
-[group] Timmy!

I'm gonna go with the spyglass.

{\an8}[Mikey] The spyglass! And leather case.

Henderson!

My daughter's favorite color is purple,
and I'm purple today, so...

Oh!

...I'm going to the octopus.

{\an8}[Mikey] The octopus!
So you're doing it for your daughter.

-[Henderson] Yep.
-Adorable.

-And finally, Jujhar!
-I'm gonna go for the lantern.

{\an8}-Ooh.
-[Mikey] The lantern!

-I like a challenge.
-Of course you do.

There are only three spots in the finale.

So, unfortunately, two of you have to go,

and this bake determines everything.

[Grace] Mm.

{\an8}You'll have eight hours
to complete your cakes.

{\an8}Anchors aweigh, bakers.

{\an8}-It's time to bake! [echoing]
-[timer beeping]

{\an8}[Mikey] And there they go!

{\an8}Get that booty, bakers! Run!

[Grace] My God, what a busy kitchen.

[Julie] Oh my gosh,
it's so fun to have everyone in here.

[Grace] Guys, we're in the semifinals!

[group] Whoo!

It's not only semifinals
but a double elimination.

That's a bit of a curveball.

-I don't wanna be part of these two.
-I want to go till the end.

[Grace] I want everyone to win.

-Is that an option?
-Why'd you choose the hat?

-A couple had a size element.
-Right.

But I feel like the smaller ones
always sneak up on you

-and end up being trickier to make.
-Yeah.

{\an8}For my pirate hat, we've got one color,
we've got one texture,

and we've got one feather.

So there's really not enough wiggle room.
It really needs to be seamless.

What flavor are you making?

It's gonna be
a chocolate Guinness espresso cake.

Little toffee bits, chocolate buttercream,
dark-chocolate ganache.

-[Grace] Oh my God.
-Going all in...

-[Grace] I love it.
-...on the... the richness.

I wanna win this competition so badly

because it's finally going to give me
the opportunity to start a cake school.

[Julie] Mmm.

-[Henderson laughing]
-I got so excited 'cause it was so good!

I would love to open
a cake school in Charleston.

Just something small
where I can have a handful of workshops

throughout the year.

All of my cake skills
were entirely self-taught,

so teaching people the different skills
that I've taught myself

would be the absolute best.

Oh, it's gonna be so good.

-[Grace] Yeah.
-[Julie] What about you, Grace?

Um, I chose the barrel

'cause I really wanted
to paint the wooden texture.

{\an8}Being in the semifinals, I really want
to showcase my painting skills.

I actually have a bachelor's degree
in fine arts,

and the barrel is very different
from what I've made before,

and I feel like
it's going to be a challenge,

and I love challenges.

-Look at the batter color.
-Let me see.

-[Grace] Look how pretty it is.
-[Henderson] Oh, that's so cool.

[Grace] This might sound like
this is not pirate themed,

but I'm going with a matcha cake
with yuzu buttercream and red-bean paste.

All those three elements
are very Asian flavors.

[Henderson] It's a cool combination.

-I wanna try that.
-I love our high fives.

Yeah.

One of the hardest parts about making
this barrel cake is going to be the shape.

If I don't get the shape right,
that's going to be a dead giveaway.

Nobody found my second or third cake,

so I'm really hoping
that I keep that streak going.

I'm just one step away from the finale,
and I really want to win.

All right.

[energetic rock music playing]

Jujhar, how you feel?

At first I was really nervous,
but I'm excited.

-Yeah?
-[Jujhar] It's the semifinals.

{\an8}Let's go big, go with the lantern.

{\an8}It has a lot of skills
and techniques involved.

Like sharp, crisp, clean edges.

The cake also has windows,

so I gotta really work
with structure here.

You know how pirates,
they love adventure, they love exploring.

I wanted to make an adventurous flavor
that I feel like is not so typical.

It's gonna be, like, a Earl Grey cake

with, like, a raspberry compote
and pistachios.

-[Henderson] That sounds really good.
-[Jujhar] Arr!

Timmy, what's your item again?

The spyglass with the case.

[Grace] Why did you choose that?

Making two items seems harder.

-And I love a challenge.
-You love challenges.

And so, hopefully the... the risk pays off.

{\an8}Everyone in the semifinals
has won some money except for me,

so I really want to get the win today
so I can go into the finale on a high

and just keep winning.

-It's just a lot to do in eight hours, so...
-[Grace] Yeah.

-You're making a lot.
-Yeah. Maybe too much.

The spyglass itself,
it's really long, and it's really narrow,

so adding cake in there
and then getting it to look metallic

is gonna be
some of the biggest challenges of this.

[Grace] What are you making?

I'm making, like, a play on a Bahama Mama.

[Grace] Mmm!

[Timmy] So a coconut cake with a rum soak,

orange curd, and grenadine buttercream.

[Grace] That sounds so good.

Thank you.

I've overcome a lot of things in my life.

I've went through a divorce,
I've changed careers,

and I've ran a small business.

All those things have really made me
a stronger, independent baker,

and I think that getting to that final
will be so much more rewarding,

and so, it's something
I'm really striving for.

Going in the oven, guys.

-Henderson, what object are you making?
-I'm making the octopus.

I love it because it's the only one
to have bright colors

and looks different
between everything brown.

-That's such a fun one.
-[Henderson] I know, right?

It is the semifinal. I'm so happy.

{\an8}This is the big opportunity of my life.

{\an8}But at the same time, I'm nervous,
because my octopus is really tricky.

The hard part of this cake
is the tentacles.

It's really, really hard to replicate,

and they can just fall off
because it's too heavy.

So I need to figure out
how to make the structure.

[Jujhar] What flavor?

[Henderson] Blueberry cake
with lemon ganache and blueberry gelée.

-I love that.
-I wanna make it match everything.

I want to use purple cake batter
for my blueberry.

I'm very proud about everything that I do
for seven years in the United States.

My first job
was the dishwasher in a restaurant.

And I worked really hard,
and now I'm the owner of my own business.

Now I'm just one cake closer
to the finale.

It's a good opportunity
for showing my daughter

she can keep dreaming
and follow her dreams.

{\an8}-Oh, here come the decoys.
-[Julie gasps]

-Ahoy, bakers!
-Ooh.

I see my semifinalists!

-Ahoy!
-Ahoy!

I have your decoys!

[Grace] Yay!

[upbeat music playing]

Come up and get 'em.

Got your spyglasses and cases,
lanterns, barrels, octopi.

Wow, those look really good on you.

-[Jujhar laughs]
-Thank you. [laughs]

[Grace] Okay. Cakes should be done.

[Mikey] Yar!

[upbeat pirate music playing]

[Mikey] Yar!

[voice 1] Caw!

[voice 2] Fire!

[cannon blasts]

[Timmy] Oh yes.

[bird caws] Mikey wants a cr*cker!

{\an8}So I'm building my side one.
I have to do this four times.

[upbeat music playing]

For my structure,
I'm gonna be using a frame with wood

and pouring chocolate on top.

-I'm gonna let this mattify.
-It looks awesome.

Then I'm gonna use a blade
and take it off.

The next important part for me
is to make the glass windows.

The only thing I feel like
that would work is isomalt.

Is it finally time for isomalt?

Isomalt is a sugar substitute
to mimic glass.

I need to hurry up.

Isomalt gets cloudy,
it gets fingerprints really easily,

so I have to be so perfect
to achieve this.

This is the semifinals,
and there's a lot of pressure.

And every little detail, texture, color
is really important.

These panels are taking forever.

-The bag is a really beautiful leather.
-[Timmy] It's a beautiful leather.

First I'm gonna do my leather case.

I'm going to add modeling chocolate

and texture that with a brush
so I can get these small holes,

and then a leather impression mat
that looks just like this leather.

Ah, it's getting there.

For the lid strap,

I'm rolling out really long strips
that I can just add the textures in,

and then it would look
like a true leather strap.

Timmy, how are your details coming along?

[Timmy] Going pretty good.
I'm just finishing up this strap.

{\an8}Grace, what's the latest in barrel land?

-I'm freaking out!
-What are you worried about?

[Grace] The base is, like, sagging.

I'm spending so much time
just shaping this cake

'cause I need to get the size right.

This shape is hard.
I just wanna start painting.

Once I put the fondant on,
it became too big,

and the bottom is drooping down.

Oh dear.

And it's going to be really obvious
if the size is off.

So I'm really conflicted.

I want to spend more time,
but I wanna move on.

I need to make a decision.

I still have to paint.

The good thing is
you're an expert painter.

[Grace sighs]

I don't know. Aah!

[dramatic music playing]

{\an8}[bad Australian accent]
Dan Cutfork, Cake 15,

{\an8}live from the semifinals,

{\an8}The most important
baking event of the year,

{\an8}and I'm covering every single moment.

{\an8}Nothing is more exciting
than hours of long-form baking.

[laughter]

{\an8}This modeling chocolate's,
like, uber crumbly.

{\an8}It's really important to me to make sure
that my coloring is spot-on for this cake.

How to get the color on the best way.

I'm taking a little bit
of gel food coloring, a dark brown,

and then I take my paper towel
and I dab it in a sponge-like fashion.

Found a winner.

And then I'm using
my leather impression mat

to make these perfect indentions
to get the leather texture.

The texture up close is much more detailed
than I originally thought it was.

I wasted some valuable time testing out
these different coloring options,

but being perfect in this challenge

is going to set my cake apart
from the others.

I can get crankin' on this guy.

Henderson, what are you doing
with the glue g*n?

Working on the structure of my octopus.

To make the body and the tentacles,
it's just wire,

for making the shape,
every single tentacle.

It's time to add my modeling chocolate.

The tentacles, they have a standing shape.

The only way it can have this shape
is with modeling chocolate.

I think to make cake is very similar
to make buildings or houses.

Yeah, like you need
structure, design, math.

I got my degree in architecture
ten years ago in Venezuela.

Before I started baking,
I had my own business

remodeling houses and apartments.

So definitely my background
is helping me a lot with this challenge.

-Henderson, what are you doing now?
-In Spanish, it's tentáculos.

[music warps]

A who-da-what-a?
What did you say, Henderson?

-You said you're making ten tacos?
-What is ten tacos?

Did someone say tacos?

Yeah, ten of them.

-Ten tacos?
-Ten tacos.

Tentáculos.

-[ding]
-Tentacles!

-Oh.
-Tentacles, in Spanish, it's tentáculos.

Oh!

I want tacos.

[laughs]

{\an8}[Mikey] Bakers, two hours left.

{\an8}Now that I have all of my buckles
and my straps made for my leather case...

-Yay!
-...I need to move on to the spyglass.

Timmy, what are you working on now?

I'm working on my telescope,
so I'm using some tempered chocolate.

-Yeah.
-I will cover it in modeling chocolate.

I'll paint them at the same time.

I did take a few sculpting classes
in art school.

There's a lot of skills that I've learned
that's translated into hyperrealistic art,

like painting, color theory,
and sculpture.

I would love to finally win a challenge.

Man!

Why is this so much harder than it looks?

I wish I had more time
to perfect the shape of the barrel,

but time is running out.

Okay, I don't know. Just gonna paint.

Luckily, I specialize
in very intricate hand-painted cakes.

My first hyperrealistic cake
was actually during culinary school,

and I made a little purse
that was completely hand-painted.

And I was very surprised
that it came out amazing.

And I thought, "Wow, maybe this is
what I should be doing with my life."

I have so much to do.

As soon as you get the rings on it,
that's what's gonna bring it to life.

To make the black rings,
I'm going to use wafer paper.

I'm adding a little bit of luster dust.

Then I'm cutting it,
putting it around the fondant,

and gluing it down with water.

♪ Uhh! ♪ I'm putting straps on my barrel.

[singsong] I don't know
how I feel about it!

I still want to stay in the game,
and I wanna make it to the finals,

so I really hope, with the detail work,
my barrel cake fools the judges.

♪ Why did I choose this? ♪

-Henderson, it's looking really cool.
-[Henderson] Thank you.

I don't have much cake in this octopus
because the head is really tiny.

The shape is really tricky.

I'm gonna use modeling chocolate
for the head.

I wanna do everything by hand

because it's really hard
to replicate the head shape

and make it look like the decoy.

My octopus arms take, like, forever.

Julie, how are you planning
on doing that v-lift?

So I'm using modeling chocolate.

-Uh-huh.
-I have yet to make headway on it yet.

I'm taking one of the decoy hats

and tracing it
over the modeling chocolate.

-Uh, I'm trying to get this on.
-Let me see.

Ooh!

Then fold up the sides
that the real pirate hats have.

-Well, that went quickly.
-But now I have to paint the whole thing.

I have fooled the judges
every single time,

so there's a lot of pressure
to keep that going.

{\an8}-[Mikey] Bakers, one hour remains.
-[dramatic music playing]

{\an8}One hour?

{\an8}[Australian accent] It's a pirate theme,
and the seas are getting rough.

{\an8}Where's my camera?

{\an8}Which camera will I look at?

{\an8}This one or this one? [chuckles]

{\an8}It's a fight for my focus.

[Henderson] I'm almost finished my eyes.

Okay, it's time to match the color.

[upbeat music playing]

[Henderson] Oh cool.

Building the structure is...
is so much work.

Now everything is ready to go.
I start assembling my pieces.

-[Henderson] Oh, wow. It looks good.
-[Jujhar] It's so hard.

First three panels look great,

but the fourth one,
I casted it a little too thin,

and it keeps on breaking.

Ugh. I don't have time to wait.

I'm feeling really rushed,
nervous, and stressed.

[groans]

And on top of that, the top of my lantern,
when I take the mold apart,

I notice that there's
a lot of imperfections in here.

Oh my God! It's so hard.

I'm super nervous
because there's a lot on the line today.

Okay. Can my brain work?

I really wanna win
because when I was growing up,

I didn't see
a lot of people like me baking,

not a lot of people like me on television.

Now I'm here, I'm so close to the finale,

and I really hope to inspire someone
that I actually did it.

[groans]

{\an8}Bakers, 30 minutes left!

{\an8}[shrieks]

{\an8}Oh gosh.

{\an8}[Australian accent]
These final adjustments

{\an8}could make or break their cakes.

{\an8}This is when it heats up.

-[Henderson] Ready to make the feather?
-That's what I have to get started on.

Time is ticking away,
and I still have to start on my feather.

It's the only thing
that's a different color,

so it's going to stick out
like a sore thumb.

So it needs to look realistic.

You're gonna fool the judges, trust me.

-Thanks.
-It looks really good.

{\an8}[Australian accent] Grace, ten minutes.

{\an8}Timmy, ten minutes.

{\an8}And I had to jump over cartons.
You could not see that.

[echoing] Ten minutes. Ten minutes!

[Timmy] Now that I have
all of my things ready,

I wanna go in
with some hand-painting details

and add all of that color

so it looks like it's weathered
and textured like the decoys.

I like it.

I still know I'm the only one here
that hasn't won any money,

so I'm looking at all of these details.

This is my chance
of getting to the finale,

so I'm not gonna leave anything to chance.

Like, I'm so tired, I'm, like, hyper.

{\an8}-[Australian accent] Five minutes.
-Eee!

{\an8}-[Mikey] Five minutes remain in the bank.
-Boo.

{\an8}-Okay, guys.
-My heart is racing.

-Oh my God.
-Oh dear.

Eee!

One minute stands between you
and a potential spot in the finale.

All of your hard work
has come down to this.

{\an8}Five, four,

{\an8}three, two,

{\an8}one.

{\an8}Time is up!

-[applause]
-Oh my gosh.

[normal voice] I hope
you all fool the judges.

Good luck.

[all] Semifinals!

[dramatic sting]

[shards clinking]

Bakers, you've been
in the kitchen for hours,

so it's finally time
to see if your hard work has paid off.

If you can sneak your pirate cakes
past the judges,

you can win up to $10,000

and move on to the grand finale.

So it's a big day, bakers. Y'all ready?

-Yeah!
-Ready.

[Mikey] Let's meet our judges.

First, you've seen her on Selling Sunset.

{\an8}It's real estate boss
and empanada queen, Emma Hernan!

{\an8}-Hello, hello! [laughs]
-[applause]

-Do you have an empanada business?
-I do.

-[Mikey] Or do you just like empanadas?
-A bit of both.

I have an empanada company.

When you sell homes, are you like,
"Would you like an empanada?"

Yeah. It comes with a freezer
stocked full of my empanadas.

-Yeah.
-[laughter]

Next up, comedian, magician,
and star of Netflix's Magic For Humans,

{\an8}Justin Willman!

{\an8}-Hey! What's up?
-[applause]

I think you might be uniquely qualified
to spot cakes.

I can get in their heads.

-[Mikey] Yeah?
-Uh-huh. I'm an expert in deception.

You are a magician,
so you can think like a magician.

Exactly, and I can combine
magic and baking.

Ooh!

-The mystery of the silver orb...
-[group exclaiming]

...that levitates.

-It's a ladle, guys. It's a ladle.
-[laughter]

It's your ladle.

-Were your guys' minds just blown?
-Yes.

That was insane.

And finally, star of the mega hit
To All the Boys films on Netflix,

{\an8}-it's Lana Condor!
-[cheering and applause]

{\an8}What's up? Hello.

You do so much. You are very talented.
I hear you like to ride horses.

-Yes, I do jump and equestrian.
-Really?

It's my secret hidden talent.

-Whoa!
-That's amazing.

That looks terrifying.

I think this is probably scarier.

-Really?
-[Lana] Yeah.

[Grace laughs]

Judges, you are all here
on a very big day.

It's our semifinals.

-Whoo!
-[Mikey] Here's how it's going to work.

We're going to do
five spins of the cake wall.

We'll be presenting each cake
in a pirate scene alongside two decoys.

But don't be distracted.
You're just looking for cake. Cool?

[judges] Cool.

When all is said and done, the winning
baker is pocketing up to $10,000,

and two bakers will be eliminated.

-[ominous music playing]
-Oh.

-Okay.
-[Justin exhales]

That will leave us
with our final three bakers

moving on to the grand finale.

So this is a big one, judges.

We're kickin' it off with Julie!

-[Grace] Yay!
-[Mikey] Yes, Julie!

Okay, judges, when the cake wall spins,

you'll get 20 seconds
to try and pick out the cake

and lock in your answer
on the keypad in front of Justin.

-Okay.
-Cake wall, spin!

[tense music playing]

[Mikey] Okay, judges, coming around,
Julie made a pirate hat.

You have one job. Find it.

I'm so nervous about this one.

{\an8}Your 20 seconds start now.

{\an8}-[timer beeping]
-[Justin] Okay.

{\an8}[Emma] Oh my God!

-They look the same!
-[Lana laughs] Okay.

-[Justin] Something about One looks cakey.
-[Emma] I feel like One.

Two looks like a hat.
I feel like Two is a hat, 100%.

-[Justin] They're all hats.
-But I feel like you can't eat Two.

-[Mikey] Ten seconds, judges.
-[Justin] Number Three's a little shorter?

It looks cleaner.

Yeah, I feel like that's a hat,
not a cake.

[Mikey] Five seconds!

One of the two red feathers maybe is cake.

-Okay, One. One? Cake.
-[Justin] Yes?

[Emma] Cake. One. One. Cake!

-The lobster knows it's One.
-It's giving cake.

One. We're going for One.

-[bell dings]
-[Emma] Yes, yes.

-[Mikey] Time's up.
-Whoo!

-[Lana] This is so hard.
-[Emma] So hard.

-[Mikey] It is very hard.
-[Lana] What?

-I should have worn my contacts.
-Okay, judges, how you feelin'?

[both] I feel tricked.

-Yeah.
-I don't like feeling tricked, Mikey.

[laughter]

All right, judges, you chose Number One.

-We did.
-Yeah.

Not the first time
I'm gonna ask this. Why?

For me, I was like, "Mm, the red feather."

I feel like the coloring.

-[Lana] It's the color, maybe.
-[Emma] The color kind of gave it away.

It's less worn.

Let's see if you're right.

Julie, if this is cake,
you'll be up for elimination.

If it's not, you'll be one step closer

to that cash prize
and a spot in the finale.

Moment of truth.

[suspenseful music playing]

Is it cake?

Oh my God, my heart is racing.

[Mikey] Oh.

-Looks like that...
-[Justin laughs] Wow.

-[Grace] It's pretty though.
-[Mikey] ...is ca-ake!

-Well done, judges.
-[Lana] Beautiful layers.

Julie, I'm sorry.
That means you're up for elimination.

I know.

-[Mikey] How are you feeling?
-A little nervous.

A few more cakes to get through though.

[Mikey] We do have some more spins to do,
so stay positive.

-[laughs]
-Up next, let's hear it for Grace!

-Hi, Grace.
-[Justin] Hi, Grace.

Cake wall, please spin.

[tense music playing]

Here we go, judges.
Grace made a wooden barrel.

[Lana] This is gonna be tough.

I don't know barrels.
Barrels is not my specialty.

{\an8}Your time starts now.

{\an8}-[timer beeping]
-[Emma] Okay. A barrel.

Oh my gosh.

-Okay.
-Barrel Number One is adorable.

[Emma] Number One,
I think silver's too hard to do.

-So I think that one's probably real.
-These bakers are good.

Number Two is upright, so I feel like
maybe that's easier to make?

-It's perfectly spherical.
-[Lana] It's very shiny too.

[Lana] Number Three, I feel like
those might be chocolate.

Three's a little wabi-sabi, like...

-What is wabi-sabi?
-[Mikey[Five seconds. Gotta lock it in.

Number One I feel is smaller,
so it's real.

-I really think it's Number Three.
-[Mikey] Three, two, one!

-Three!
-Three is cake?

-[bell dings]
-[Mikey] Time's up!

[Emma] Whoo-hoo!

[applause]

All right, judges,
you picked Number Three. Tell me why.

Three, it felt it has
a handcrafted look to it.

I feel like the striping
seemed like it could be chocolate.

It's not as shiny as the other striping.

Okay, Grace, you know the deal.

If this is cake,
you're up for elimination.

If it's not, you could win up to $10,000
and a spot in the finale.

[suspenseful music playing]

Is it cake?

Oh gosh. I feel like
we're about to get embarrassed.

[suspenseful music continues]

[Lana] Oh.

-[Mikey] Hold on.
-[judges] Oh!

That looks like cake!

-[Justin] That is cake.
-[Lana] Wow.

-[Emma] Green?!
-[Lana] Looks like a yummy cake though.

It does look yummy.

[Mikey] Grace, you're up for elimination
alongside Julie,

but we still got more spins to do,
so anything could happen.

-Up next, we got Timmy!
-[Grace] Whoo!

[Mikey] Timmy!

Cake wall... spin.

[tense music playing]

Coming around, Timmy made a spyglass
and leather case.

-Ah.
-Wow.

[Mikey] I ask you, simply,
can you find it?

How are these cakes? [chuckles]

{\an8}And your time starts right now.

{\an8}-[timer beeping]
-[Emma] This is really hard.

Jeepers. Spyglass, leather case.
See, I need a spyglass.

-[Emma] Number One...
-[Justin] Number One looks legit.

-I feel like there's actual copper.
-It has like a brass patina.

[Emma] Number Two, I see brass.

The coloring.
And there's no reflection on Number Two.

-Oh! That is true.
-[Mikey] Ten seconds.

[Justin] But look at Number Three.
Three is kinda sloped out a little bit.

-It's sloped out too much.
-Five seconds, judges.

[Lana] I think it's Number Two.

Number Two, no reflection.
Could be a cake.

Number Three would not be a good spyglass.

-No!
-[Mikey] Three, two, one!

-Lock it in!
-[bell dings]

-[Emma yelps]
-[Mikey] Time is up.

-[Lana] I said Two!
-I said Two!

We both said Two!

-[Justin] I picked Three.
-A divided panel.

Did you panic?

-Uh, did I panic?
-[Emma and Lana] Yeah.

-[Lana] You panicked.
-Did it look like I panicked?

-[Lana and Emma] You panicked.
-That's just an illusion.

You went with Number Three.
Is that mostly on you, Justin?

I talked 'em into it.

-There was no "we".
-He went with Three. He went rogue.

-The finger wants what it wants.
-Justin, why did you lock in Number Three?

Listen, Number Three
would not be a great functional spyglass.

If it is real,
it's not working really well,

'cause one of the joints is a little off.

A slant. You think you see a slant?

Timmy, if the spyglass
and the case are cake,

you'll be up for elimination
alongside Julie and Grace.

If it is not, you're our first baker
to make it to the finale

and you could be walking away
with up to $10,000 today.

Let's find out. Is it cake?

[suspenseful music playing]

-No-oh! Not cake!
-[upbeat music playing]

Justin, you're in trouble!

-You are in trouble!
-[Justin] Well...

-[Emma] You are in trouble.
-Whoo!

Timmy, you did it, buddy.

You out-magicked the magician,

and you just fooled your way
into the finale.

-Well done.
-Whoo!

-[Justin] Well done.
-Looks like he's gonna cry.

-Aww! Are you crying?
-Don't make me cry.

-Ladies, you thought it was Two?
-Yeah.

Let's see if Justin's in trouble.

-Please.
-[suspenseful music playing]

[clears throat]

-[Lana] Oh my God!
-[Emma] Oh my God! I knew it!

We could've been perfect!

Seriously, we could've been
three for three.

Okay, you're in the pirate house.

-I'm sorry.
-[Lana] That's crazy.

-That's amazing.
-There's no, like... That's all cake?

[Mikey] That's all cake.
Even the spyglass.

-[Lana] No!
-Bravo. Bravo.

-[Justin] Very good.
-[Lana] Wow.

-Up next is Henderson!
-Whoo-hoo!

[applause]

Cake wall, spin!

[tense music playing]

Coming around, judges,
Henderson made an octopus.

Oh my gosh.

-Wow.
-[Emma] Wow.

[Mikey] Can you find it?

We're gonna focus.

Yes, team... team decisions, okay?

{\an8}Your 20 seconds starts now.

{\an8}-[Emma] This is really hard.
-[Justin] Look.

-They're all shiny. One is reflective.
-[Lana] Very reflective.

-But you could spray stuff to make it...
-No, that's plastic.

-[Lana] Two is shiny.
-[Justin] Number Two...

[Lana] It's a different color.

Number Two is purple,
but could be some sort of cake.

[Mikey] Ten seconds.

-[Emma] Number Three is shiny.
-[Lana] Three is also shiny!

-But the tentacles are... defying gravity.
-Five seconds.

-[Lana] Not One.
-[Emma] I think Number Two.

-Number Two is very imperfect.
-[Emma] Three, it's too perfect of a curl.

That is not a cake. It's Two.

-Two?
-It's Two.

-[Mikey] One. Lock it in!
-Two!

-[bell dings]
-[Mikey] Time is up!

[Lana] This is really hard.

[Mikey] Judges, you picked Number Two.
Why?

[trills lips]

Well, something about the color.

I've never seen a octopus
that color in nature.

Although I have also
never truly seen an octopus in nature.

[laughter]

It's also in a different position.
It's profile.

-What's it trying to hide?
-What are you hiding?

-What are you hiding?
-[laughter]

Let's find out.

-Is it cake?
-[suspenseful music playing]

Oh my God.

-[Mikey] No, that is not cake!
-What?!

[laughter]

Henderson, you just nabbed yourself
a spot in the finale alongside Timmy,

and you're one step closer
to today's cash prize.

Well done.

All right. Now let's find out
where the real cake is.

Judges, do you have a second choice?

Three is cake?

[Emma] I don't know.
It looks plasticky, so...

-I don't believe anything anymore.
-[Mikey] Okay.

[suspenseful music playing]

Just to be clear...

-[Lana] Wow!
-[Emma gasps]

Oh, wow, and your... the tentacle!
The tentacle!

-That is fire. Wow.
-[Lana] That's crazy.

-[Mikey] Henderson, great work.
-[applause]

-Well done.
-[Justin] Well done.

That was amazing.

Here we go. Our final spin.

-Let's hear it for Jujhar!
-[cheering and applause]

Jujhar!

Cake wall, spin!

[tense music playing]

All right, comin' around, judges,
Jujhar made a lantern.

Oh.

[Mikey] Which one is it?

-I don't know. You tell us.
-[Lana] How do you do that?

-How do you make glass?
-[Mikey] It's getting intense.

[Emma] Oh my God. This is impossible.

{\an8}All right, your 20 seconds start now!

{\an8}-[Justin] Oh.
-[Emma] Unreal.

{\an8}-They're identical!
-Perfect!

They're all not cake.

They're... Okay. Okay, okay.

-Okay.
-[Emma] One, it looks like smoky glass.

-One looks like a t*rd. The grain looks...
-The top looks real of One.

-Yeah.
-The top looks real, not cake.

Fifteen seconds.

-[Emma] Number Two looks painted.
-Number Two is bigger.

-Number Two looks...
-Number two looks hand painted.

-Ten seconds.
-[Lana] Three has, like, a little crack?

-Number Three structurally is...
-[Justin] Is it tilted?

-[Lana] A tilt!
-Five seconds!

-[Emma] I don't know.
-[Justin] Go Two?

-[Mikey] Lock it in!
-What is it?

-[Emma] The hand paint for Two. Two!
-[Mikey] Come on. Three.

-[Emma] Two!
-[Mikey] Two.

-One!
-[bell dings]

[Mikey] Time's up!
Judges, you guys okay over there?

-[Lana] No!
-[Emma] No. We're not!

-[Justin] Did we start yet?
-[Mikey chuckles]

-There's a lot of pressure.
-Yeah.

What looks cakey about Number Two here?

We were thinking that the paint
on the front looks like it could be...

[Justin] The wood grain.

The wood grain, yes,
could be hand painted.

[Mikey] The wood grain?

-It was the smoky glass for you.
-Yeah.

So the glass was sus?

-Yes, thank you.
-Yeah, that was some sus glass.

All right, Jujhar, there's a lot
riding on this one, my friend.

If this is cake,
you'll be on the chopping block.

If it's not cake, you'll be joining
Timmy and Henderson in the finale.

Unfortunately, that will also mean
that Julie and Grace

will be automatically eliminated
from the competition.

So let's find out.

Ooh.

Is it cake?

[suspenseful music playing]

[exhales sharply] This is a big one.

-[metal clangs]
-No! Not cake!

-Jujhar, my friend, congratulations.
-[applause]

You are going to the finale.

[Julie] So proud of you.

-[Mikey] Judges...
-Wow.

One other guess.
Where do you think the cake is?

-I think it's One.
-Going to One.

-[suspenseful music playing]
-Let's find out.

-[object rattles]
-Is it a cake?

I'm getting some out.

Oh-h*-h*!

-That's cake.
-Wow.

[applause]

Okay, this is the hard part.

Julie, Grace, because you were
the only bakers to not fool the judges,

you are eliminated from the competition,

but you should be very proud
of the work you did.

You two are extraordinarily talented,
and also lovely, kind people, so...

-[group] Aww.
-[Mikey] That's amazing.

I just want to say, like,
on the bingo card of life experiences,

nobody gets to have this,

and I can't believe
I get to mark it off my life bingo card,

so I love you guys.

It's so sad to go out at the semifinals,

but I am just so proud
of everything that I've been able to do.

I know that this is the career path
that I'm meant to be on.

What's next for me?
Definitely getting a new refrigerator,

and hopefully I get to open
that cake school one day, but we'll see.

Grace?

To live a life
doing something that I love and enjoy,

and then to be able
to share that with people,

that's quite a life to live.

-[Mikey] Well said. That's amazing.
-[applause]

I'll hire you both
to make an empanada cake.

-Oh, yay! Thank you!
-[laughter]

I'm obviously disappointed,

but being eliminated in the semifinals
is so surreal to me.

We're gonna miss you both.

Coming into this competition,
I was actually pretty terrified

because I'm pretty new
to this cake industry.

-Oh my God, good luck, guys! Bye!
-You're gonna crush it!

[Grace] And having come this far,

I am actually
really, really proud of myself.

[sniffles]

-Bye, Mikey.
-[Mikey] I love you two.

That is never fun.
But there's a lot to celebrate right now.

Jujhar, Timmy, Henderson,
you are our top three bakers,

and you are moving on to our grand finale!

-Whoo! Whoo!
-[applause]

All right, judges.
It's going to be up to you to decide.

You'll get to inspect each of their cakes
and give them a taste

before deciding which baker
will be today's big winner.

[gasps]

All right, this is the fun part.
Judges, let's taste some cakes.

-[Emma] Whoo! Yay!
-Cake wall, spin!

-[Emma] Here they are.
-[Mikey] All right.

-[Lana] There they are.
-[Mikey] There they are.

-Judges, come on up.
-Fooled us.

The taste and the details of these cakes

will help you all determine
today's winner.

-Okay?
-[Justin] Okay.

We'll start with Timmy.

[Timmy] Today,
I'm taking you to the Caribbean

with a coconut cake
with a rum-simple-syrup soak,

a orange-curd filling,
a grenadine buttercream,

and candied almonds
with freeze-dried pineapples.

-Oh my gosh!
-That is so good.

Thank you.

I love the touch of rum,
which I think is a pirate shoutout.

-It is.
-Oh, look at that!

This looks still real. I'm still convinced
that this is real leather.

The raw... like, the suede. Look at that.

-I could totally use this for my purse!
-[laughter]

All right, judges,
we can move on to Henderson's cake.

I come from Florida,
so I really like, uh, fresh flavors.

Blueberry cake
with a lemon whipped ganache.

-Oh, wow.
-And a blueberry gelée in the center.

[Justin] In terms of attention to detail,
like with the varying sizes...

-The suction cups!
-[Lana] Suction.

-[Emma] Wow.
-[Lana] And the eye?

Look at that. That's a real eye.

I've never actually had a cake

that tastes almost like a cake
and a blueberry muffin had a baby.

-[Lana] It is really good.
-That's exactly what it is.

Judges, we can move on to Jujhar's cake.

Bye, octopus.

[Jujhar] So it's a light Earl Grey cake
with Earl tea simple syrup.

There's a raspberry compote,
raspberry Swiss buttercream,

and toasted pistachios.

It's working for me.
I like the raspberry. It's very good.

I actually don't think
I've had cake that's Earl Grey.

-It's really, really good.
-Thank you.

-[Justin] Wood grain is incredible.
-Three, two, one!

Yeah!

This cake is very fun to eat because
you can kinda take your aggression out.

-[Justin] You know, break it.
-[Lana] Look at that!

[laughter]

Okay, judges, you've tasted all the cakes,

so please take a moment
to decide today's winner.

A little privacy, please.

It's hard to compare them
against one another.

Timmy's metal work. Those pieces of brass.

-[Emma] Loved that.
-[Justin] The stitching.

I'm still, like, questioning the fact
that, like, my brain thinks it's leather.

-[Emma and Justin] Henderson's octopus.
-It was so convincing.

The skin looks like
it was just plucked out of the ocean.

-It looks wet.
-It looks wet.

[Justin] I think the decorative elements
of Jujhar's lantern,

you can technically eat it,
but it's not gonna be a real treat.

[Lana] Oh, I hear what you're saying.

But Jujhar's cake
might have been my favorite taste.

-Looks-wise, I was, like, so in awe.
-[Justin] I know.

I feel like we're torn between all three.

-I do have an overall winner.
-I feel like we do.

Okay, judges, have you reached a decision?

-[chuckles] All right.
-Yes.

Please tell us the good news.
Who is our winning baker?

So it was a tough one.
All of the cakes were absolutely amazing.

One of the cakes today
not only fooled us from a distance,

but, like, up close, fooled us even more.

-The winner is...
-The winner is...

[suspenseful music playing]

-[judges] Timmy!
-[Mikey] Timmy!

Timmy, the Tennessee Titan!

Congratulations, Timmy.

{\an8}-You just won $5,000, my friend.
-Thank you.

-Is this your first win?
-It is my first win.

[all exclaim]

We didn't know that! We didn't know that.

You'll continue on to play Cake Or Cash?,

Timmy, where you could win
an additional $5,000, dude.

Well done!

-[Lana] Yay!
-Congrats!

Well, congratulations, Timmy.

-Henderson and Jujhar, great job today.
-[upbeat music playing]

We'll be seeing you in the finale.

But for now,
you can take a seat in the gallery.

-Well done, gentlemen! Well done.
-[Lana laughs] Yay!

Judges, what a day. It was intense.

-Oh my gosh!
-But it's time to say goodbye.

Give it up for our judges,
Emma, Justin, and Lana, everybody!

Whoo!

-[Mikey] Ahoy!
-That was awesome.

-I can make people disappear, too, Justin.
-[laughter]

-[Mikey] Timmy.
-Mikey.

All of Tennessee is very proud right now,

and all of Tennessee
knows what time it is. Do you?

-I do.
-It's time to play Cake or Cash?

Yes.

[dramatic music plays]

-How are you feeling?
-I feel good.

-$5,000 richer.
-You waited long enough.

I know. Best for last.

-[laughter]
-[Mikey] Ooh-h*-h*!

Let's win some money.

Cake wall,

spin!

All right, Timmy, on the other side
of the cake wall are two treasure chests.

Okay.

One of them is real. The other is cake.

-[Timmy] Okay.
-Guess the cake, get the cash.

Wow.

{\an8}You have 15 seconds, my friend.

{\an8}Your time starts now.

{\an8}-[tense music playing]
-[timer beeping]

{\an8}[Timmy] Oh yay, they're perfect.

-[Timmy sighs]
-[Mikey] Ten seconds, Timmy.

[Timmy] Oh my gosh.

-[tense music continues]
-[timer beeping]

[Mikey] Five seconds.
You gotta lock somethin' in, dude.

-[Timmy] Oh my gosh.
-[Mikey] Three, two, one.

-[bell dings]
-Time is up!

Wow.

To me, those look exactly the same.

They are. They are exactly the same.

{\an8}-[Mikey] Why'd you pick Number One?
-[ding]

{\an8}From here, for me,

it looks like the outside
is kind of going out a little bit.

At the top.

And so I'm hoping that that's cake.

Let's see how you did.

-[Mikey exhales sharply]
-[suspenseful music playing]

-[blade rings]
-Here we go, Timmy.

[groans] Oh gosh.

-[suspenseful music intensifies]
-[Mikey] Hm.

-[Timmy sighs]
-No! Not cake.

-[Timmy] No!
-[Mikey grunts forcefully]

-I'm sorry, Timmy.
-[Timmy] Yep.

This is not cake,
but you're still going home with $5,000.

That's a lot of money.

All right, should we cut this?
I'm very angry at it.

Ooh, it's getting in there.

-[Jujhar groans]
-Ooh, look at that.

-[Henderson] Ooh.
-Wow.

-Should we do some more?
-Yes. Attack it all.

[Jujhar gasps]

Whoa, look at that! We got some sprinkies!

Wow.

All right, fellow finalists,
please join us over here.

-Good job.
-Thanks.

Only one episode remains between you
and the title of Is It Cake? champion.

One of you will walk out of here
with $50,000.

Let's hear it. You gotta duke it out!
Just like Rocky.

-Have you seen Rocky, Jujhar?
-[upbeat music playing]

-No.
-No!

-[laughter]
-Gentlemen, I'm excited.

Ooh-hoo-who will win?!

-I'm excited.
-Very excited.

-I'm scared.
-[laughter]

-[ding]
-[upbeat music continues]