Page 100 of The Baking Games

One of the things that stood out to me in an interview with her was how much she loves fairy tales. She plans to write children’s books about fairy tales when they have kids. She even has a castle painted on her bedroom wall in her New York City apartment.

So I decide to do a fairy tale castle wedding cake. It will be very ambitious in the four hours allotted, but either go big or go home, right?

I start to work on the design. I will make a six-tiered cake, and the top will be designed as a castle turret. I'll even do sugar towers and flags. This will require detailed sugar work to create the castle walls, windows, and drawbridges. I'll use edible glitter and shimmer dust to give it a magical sparkle.

Each of the six tiers will have a different flavor profile. Tier one will be a vanilla sponge cake with blueberry and cream cheese filling. Tier two will be a coconut cake with pineapple curd and coconut buttercream. Tier three will be a carrot cake with walnut pieces and cream cheese frosting. I want to ensure carrot cake is included because it's Keira's favorite. Tier four will be a pistachio sponge cake with rosewater buttercream. And tier five will be a dark chocolate cake with a mint chocolate ganache. The castle turret will be made of white chocolate sponge and a raspberry mousse filling.

For the finishing touches, fondant in pastel shades will be used to create a fairytale look. Sugar ivy and flowers will climb up the castle walls, and I’ll make tiny little sugar figurines of the bride and groom in their royal attire. If this doesn’t win, then nothing I could make would. I’m very confident in what I’m planning and hope nothing goes wrong.

RHETT

Savannah definitely has the upper hand on this one. I know she follows pop culture, which I don't. It's just never been my thing. I've seen these two celebrities before but don’t follow their lives closely.

But still, I have skills. I know I can make an impressive wedding cake. I've done it before. Anytime someone gets married on one of the cruise ships, it's usually me sketching out the cake and making it with my crew, so I know I can do this; it's just coming up with an idea.

The fact that these two are celebrities immediately makes me think of Art Deco—something glamorous. After all, Kiera looks like she would enjoy that. She's wearing a very crisp, off-white pantsuit with beautiful jewelry. I have to believe that she'd love Art Deco.

For the design, I will do a four-tiered cake with very sharp, geometric edges. Each tier will be adorned with intricate Art Deco patterns, sugar decorations, and bold geometric shapes, including fans, zigzags, and chevrons, which will be all over the cake, painted in metallic gold, silver, and black. I will do a mocha sponge cake with espresso buttercream and chocolate ganache for tier one. And then, on tier two, I'll make a red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting with just a hint of vanilla.

Tier three will be a champagne cake with strawberry and champagne buttercream. Finally, tier four will be a dark chocolate sponge cake with raspberry filling and chocolate mousse. I’ll put a striking black fondant base with gold and silver edible paint for the finishing touches, creating that Art Deco design. I'll even use edible pearls and crystal sugar shards to add extra glamor and sophistication.

I think I could win with this. I can't see what Savannah is doing, and I know it’ll be great whatever it is. But I will put my best foot forward and try to win this competition. And who knows? Maybe if I win the $200,000, I can take Savannah on a very nice vacation and actually admit to her that this isn’t make-believe for me; this is real life, and I want her in it.

SAVANNAH

The bell to end the competition dings. I can't believe that's the final bell for the whole competition. It's over. There's nothing else that I can do to change the outcome at this point.

I'm really impressed with my cake. I was working down to the final minute, and I thought I wouldn’t finish it, but I did. It looks like a real princess castle, and I'm proud of myself. That's not something I say lightly.

I look over and notice that Rhett has made some kind of Art Deco cake. It's beautiful. It looks like a work of art. Now, it just comes down to the judges, the home audience, and most especially Keira and Keaton on which cake they prefer to have at their wedding. I really don't know.

Keaton and Keira are very into the artistic scene in New York City, so they could very well choose to go with Rhett's cake. Or if Keaton really wants to do what Keira likes, they'll choose my cake.

Either way, I'm happy I got to go through this experience, and if I don't win, maybe the notoriety of being on a reality show like this will help me get a better job than the one I work in now.

I don't think I've been as nervous as I am here waiting to be judged. Maybe I was nervous that time that Big Thelma stood behind me when I first started working at the bakery and made me make forty-eight doughnuts in a short period of time. She said it was a test. I'm not sure for what because she ended up taking most of the doughnuts home with her. Maybe she was testing how high she could get her blood sugar.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Dan says, “it's time for the moment that we've all been waiting for. For the last six weeks, our finalists have created exceptional desserts and proven themselves to be two of the top pastry chefs in the world. Now, they have designed two stunning wedding cakes, and our judges, along with Keira, Keaton, and the home audience, will decide the winner of The Baking Games. Let's get started with Rhett's Art Deco cake."

The judges, along with Keira and Keaton, walk closer. “Rhett, I have to say that this cake is visually stunning. The way you’ve made these geometric patterns is so precise, and the gold accents give it a beautiful elegance,” Tessa says, leaning down and looking closer. Rhett has cut a piece for each of them to try. The judges, along with Keira and Keaton, each take a bite.

"Wow, the flavors you chose are bold. Can you walk us through them?" Marco asks.

"Of course. The bottom layer is a dark chocolate sponge cake with raspberry filling and chocolate mousse, the third tier is a champagne cake with strawberry and champagne buttercream, the second tier is red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting, and the top tier is a mocha sponge cake with espresso, buttercream, and chocolate ganache."

Keira smiles. "It looks so beautiful, almost too beautiful to eat. And with so many different flavors in the layers, it's hard to decide which one I like the most. The chocolate and raspberry combination is just divine. The bitterness of the dark chocolate is perfectly balanced by the tartness of the raspberry."

Keaton nods. "Yes, it's hard to pick which is my favorite layer, but I think it might be the red velvet cake."

"Well done, Rhett. You definitely brought your game up to be in the finals," Chef Alain says. "Good luck." Rhett shakes his hand and nods, looking over at me. Now they're walking toward my station.

"So, what have you made here?" Tessa asks as she walks up.

"Well, I made this fairy tale princess cake, which might seem a little odd for a wedding, but I chose it because I know that Keira loves fairy tales and plans to write children's books when she has kids. And I also know that she has a fairy tale mural on the wall of her apartment in New York City." Rhett looks over at me, surprised that I knew so much. He has a knowing look on his face, like he's almost proud of me.

"It is just gorgeous," Keira says, leaning down and looking around all the little details. "Oh my gosh. Did you actually create little figurines of both of us?"

I nod. "I did. That took a while. I tried to make them look very similar to what you actually look like."

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