Utah baker Arielle Yang has been a standout competitor in the current season of Food Network’s “Kids Baking Championship,” being named a top baker in three out of the four episodes that have aired so far.
The 11-year-old from Sandy, Utah, is a strong candidate to win the show’s $25,000 grand prize — but she narrowly missed out on a special prize given out at the end of Monday night’s episode.
What happened on ‘Kids Baking Championship’ Episode 4?
During the most recent episode of “Kids Baking Championship,” which aired Jan. 27, the nine remaining bakers were tasked with creating a sea animal-themed dessert with an ocean setting.
The young bakers had 2.5 hours to complete the challenge. This time around, there was an extra incentive to doing a really good job — the top baker of the episode would receive a family Disney cruise to the Bahamas.
Arielle went all out for the challenge, making a no-bake pineapple cheesecake with a graham cracker crust for her ocean setting (the graham cracker crumbs represented the sand).
She made octopi using pate a choux cream puffs filled with a cinnamon pastry cream, and noted that she would have to focus on time management to get both the cheesecake and cream puffs done within the time limit.
“I’m taking a big risk here,” she said during the episode. “But I think I can make it work.”
Judges Duff Goldman and Kardea Brown were thoroughly impressed with Arielle’s creation.
“That’s how you play the game,” Goldman told her. “I feel like you have your eye on that cruise.”
At the end of the episode, the judges once again named Arielle a top baker, placing her in the top two of the round and making her safe from elimination.
But the Disney cruise ended up going to Arielle’s fellow top baker, Carly Van Pelt from Wisconsin.
In the end, the judges eliminated Carter Siporin of Pennsylvania from the competition.
Next week’s episode, airing Feb. 3, will challenge the eight remaining bakers to create paw print gridiron desserts inspired by Animal Planet’s “Puppy Bowl,” 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.
‘I think I worked well under pressure’
Arielle, who is a sixth grade student at the Waterford School in Sandy, previously told the Deseret News that while the time limits proved to be a challenge throughout the show, it ended up working in her favor.
“I think I worked well under pressure,” she said.
Baking has always been an activity that calms her down, so even amid the stress of it all, Arielle said she felt fairly relaxed. And under the pressure of the judges and the cameras and the time limits, Arielle said she was proud of herself for being able to bake new things and trying out new techniques in the kitchen.
“At first I was really nervous, but I was also really excited, too, because my brain was like, ‘I’m on TV!’” she told the Deseret News. “And it was also really surreal, because I saw the show on TV before. But to see it in real life was really cool.”