Who got eliminated in Spring Baking Championship season 11 episode 7? Details explored

Spring Baking Championship season 11 episode 7, The Magic of Spring Foraging, premiered on Food Network on April 21, 2025. In this episode, the seven remaining contestants were challenged to create ethereal roll cakes infused with an assigned citrus fruit.

The bakers were then asked to unleash their creativity and prepare tiered macaron cakes featuring an assigned garden vegetable for judges Kardea Brown, Duff Goldman, and Nancy Fuller.

Executive pastry chef Kari Cota, from San Diego, California, failed to impress the judges with her macaron cake in the main heat challenge and was ultimately eliminated from the show.

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How did Kari Cota get eliminated in Spring Baking Championship season 11 episode 7?

Spring Baking Championship season 11 episode 7 brought in a whimsical theme of a magical forest, accompanied by high stakes and even higher expectations.

With no more immunity for winning challenges and the finale approaching, the stakes were high on Spring Baking Championship. Even a small mistake could lead to elimination.

Kari Cota, usually a strong competitor, struggled in both the Pre-Heat and main challenge, which led to her being sent home.

In the Pre-Heat, host Jesse Palmer welcomed the bakers to a magical spring forest and challenged them to make ethereal roll cakes with a specific citrus flavor.

In addition to the citrus infusion, the cakes were to be adorned with enchanting forest-themed accents, using the intricate imprint design method. This technique allowed delicate patterns to be baked directly into the cakes, transforming them into stunning pieces of edible art.

Most of the bakers struggled with the challenge, either failing to balance the flavors or with the decoration. When Kari presented her roll cake, the judges found it overly dense and tough, a misstep that overshadowed her artistic intentions.

For the main heat challenge, the Spring Baking Championship season 11 contestants were challenged to prepare macaron cakes while incorporating vegetable flavors and including a surprise ingredient, Fresno chili.

Kari, alongside many others, found it difficult to prepare a cake with such requirements. Most of the macarons turned out to be poor, as they would either be underbaked or broken.

After Corey used his last remaining immunity, Lisa and Kari found themselves at the bottom of this episode's challenge. While the judges commended Lisa's cake for its décor, they felt its macarons were improperly baked. Meanwhile, Kari's macaron cake was called out for its poor texture, besides other technical issues

Ultimately, while Lisa’s main-heat presentation didn’t fully impress, Kari delivered weak performances in both challenges, putting her at a greater disadvantage.

By the end of episode 7, the judges gave Kari's macaron cake the lowest place on the main heat challenge line up, and she was eliminated from the show.

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Contestants still competing in the Spring Baking Championship season 11

After seven weeks of competition, the remaining Spring Baking Championship season 11 contestants are as follows:

• Priya Winsor – Chocolatier and pastry chef from St. Albert, Alberta, Canada.
• Corey Jamison – Pastry chef from Washington, DC.
• Raveena Oberoi – Pastry chef and bakery owner from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
• Lisa Clark – Executive pastry chef from Boston, Massachusetts.
• Paul Feybesse – Pastry chef and bakery owner from the Bay Area, California.
• Mary-Frances Bahun – Culinary instructor and pastry chef from Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

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Spring Baking Championship season 8 episodes premiere every Monday on Food Network.