A week after almost getting eliminated on Food Network’s “Kids Baking Championship,” Arielle Yang found herself back on top — for the second time this season.
The 11-year-old from Sandy, Utah, has been the top baker for two of the three episodes that have aired so far this season, making her a strong candidate to win the $25,000 grand prize.
What happened on ‘Kids Baking Championship’ Episode 3?
During the most recent episode of “Kids Baking Championship,” which aired Jan. 20, the 10 remaining bakers split up into teams of two and were tasked with creating a two-tier cake — one tier dog-themed, the other human — to celebrate the upcoming animated movie “Dog Man.”
The young bakers had three hours to complete the challenge.
Arielle and her partner, Ella Hayek, from Ann Arbor, Michigan, were given the assignment to create a Cocker Spaniel/pilot-themed cake — a task Arielle said she felt good about because she had previously done a research project on Amelia Earhart.
For her pilot-themed bottom tier, Arielle, a sixth grade student at the Waterford School in Sandy, chose to go with red velvet cake because she had learned during her research that pilots like to drink tomato juice while in flight — according to the episode, studies have indicated that tomato juice tastes more flavorful at higher altitudes.
Arielle’s cake, decorated to look like a pilot uniform, featured a raspberry pastry cream and a vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream. Partway through the challenge, judges Kardea Brown and Duff Goldman revealed that all of the contestants had to include bacon in their final product, so Arielle added candied bacon bits between layers.
The result went over well with the judges.
“We would fly anywhere with your cocker spaniel pilot,” Brown told Arielle and Ella during the taste-testing.
Brown called Arielle’s red velvet cake “delicious” — which was a high compliment considering the judge said it was her favorite kind of cake. Goldman, meanwhile, had just one critique: He wanted even more raspberry cream on the cake because it was just that good.
At the end of the episode, the judges placed Arielle and Ella in the two top teams of the round, making them safe from elimination and moving them forward in the competition.
In the end, the judges eliminated Noah Azeez of Toronto, Canada, from the competition.
Next week’s episode, airing Jan. 27, will challenge the nine remaining bakers to create sea animal desserts in an ocean or beach setting. The episode comes with a particularly exciting twist — the top baker will win a Disney Cruise vacation, according to a TV listing for the show.
Episodes of “Kids Baking Championship” air Mondays through March 3, culminating in a season finale that features the final three contestants baking zoo-inspired cakes for a shot at the $25,000 prize.
Who is Arielle Yang?
Arielle almost faced elimination last week, landing in the bottom two after a baking mishap, as the Deseret News reported. But overall, she has been a strong contender this season.
Her love for baking started years ago, watching her mom bake birthday cakes and cupcakes for her. After her mom taught her how to pipe a rosette, Arielle began watching videos of bakers piping flowers.
“It sparked an interest in baking that I’d never had before,” she previously told the Deseret News. “So I just kept baking new and different things, and I’d like to say I got better.”
Now, Arielle has a fairly good shot at claiming the $25,000 prize on “Kids Baking Championship” this season. But whether or not she wins, just making it on the show — she said she had her doubts she’d get accepted — was a major milestone.
“The show was such a fun experience,” she told the Deseret News. “I think it’ll give me memories that I’ll have forever.”