Paul's elimination from Spring Baking Championship has me convinced that following the brief matters as much as taste

**Disclaimer: This Spring Baking Championship article is based on the writer's opinion. Readers' discretion is advised.**

Spring Baking Championship season 11 aired episode 8, titled Secret Garden, on April 28, 2025. The segment saw Paul get eliminated from the race to the finish line after presenting the panelists with an underwhelming tabletop cake. Not only were the cake's flavors not hitting the mark, but it also failed to qualify as a tabletop cake.

Essentially, tabletop cakes ran all the way down the table, covering almost its entire length. Spring Baking Championship host Jesse Palmer described them as a "decorative cake table runner" made by combining a few cakes in one. He then informed the chefs that they needed to include a "secret garden theme."

Paul was assigned the "magic entrance" theme, for which he needed to include a decorative gate in his cake. However, the judges, Kardea Brown, Duff Goldman, and Nancy Fuller, were unimpressed by his efforts. They concluded that Paul's cake failed to fit the description of a tabletop cake and also lacked taste.

The Spring Baking Championship panelists also criticized Priya's dry cake and put her in the bottom two, but did not eliminate her because her cake at least fit the brief and resembled a tabletop cake. Thus, Paul's elimination confirmed that while cooking food, fitting the description and meeting expectations mattered as much as taste.

His eviction made me believe that although taste mattered while judging a plate of food, it was not the only factor that influenced someone's opinion about the dish. Presenting the panelists what they asked for mattered as much, if not more, when judging the preparation.

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"It looks like a rectangular cake" — Spring Baking Championship judge Nancy Fuller refuses to qualify Paul's cake as a tabletop cake

While Paul had to include a "magic entrance" in his cake, Priya was challenged with creating a "magic path" in hers. While describing her cake, she explained that she wanted to create shrubs out of rice cereal, fondant mushrooms, and a macadamia nut caramel praline "rocky path." For the sponge, she decided to infuse it with orange, lemon, and lime flavors.

While the judgment of taste remained in the hands of the panelists, Priya was shown making elements that corresponded to the concept of the challenge. Moreover, her cake sponge consisted of thin sheets and was long, making it a tabletop cake.

Elsewhere, Spring Baking Championship's Paul created a rectangular cake with pink and purple fondant flower decorations and a golden fondant gate placed flat on the cake. When compared to Priya's, Paul's cake lacked dimension, which was another key element of the bake.

Thus, right from the start, Paul had strayed away from the brief while Priya managed to follow the essentials. Paul added that his sponge would be vanilla with white chocolate, feuilletine, rice crisps, and blonde chocolate ganache.

After a while into the bake, Priya was shown doing "patchwork" to ensure her cake was thin and long. Meanwhile, Paul realized that his cake, at first glance, looked square.

"To look at the visual, it has a square shape, but I think it's okay to be honest," he said.

Paul's cake was the first one judged by the Spring Baking Championship panelists. Nancy Fuller immediately said:

"Well, I question whether it's a tabletop cake. It kind of looks like a rectangle cake."

While Duff and Kardea agreed it was a sheet cake, they ultimately concluded it was not a tabletop cake when set side by side with the other cakes baked by the contestants. Nancy added that it lacked dimension, and Paul pointed out that because of it, "there was no magic" behind the door, which took away from what the judges had expected from the contestants.

After tasting his cake, they further pointed out that the blonde chocolate flavor overpowered its other elements.

While judging Priya's cake, the Spring Baking Championship panelists appreciated its appearance, saying they got the "magic path" they had hoped for.

"The bushes are really cool with the cereal treats. The path looks a little rocky, but you know what, our paths are a little rocky sometimes," Duff remarked.

The judges had no hesitation in acknowledging that Priya's cake fit the brief as it gave them the "magic path" and a tabletop cake. However, they thought that the sponge tasted dry and felt unfinished.

After deliberating and tasting all preparations, the judges put Priya and Paul in the bottom two but sent Paul packing because his cake not only lacked flavor but also failed to qualify as a tabletop cake.

"Your dimensions were a little bit off," Jesse told the contestant.

Consequently, although both contestants presented underwhelming flavors, Paul's inability to follow the brief cost him his spot in the competition. Thus, it convinced me that taste did not always trump technicalities, especially in a contest where professional bakers competed to showcase their technical abilities.

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Spring Baking Championship episodes can be streamed on Amazon Prime Video.