Jacques, get in here. I'm intro'ing the last Cake Bake.
Sorry, Nicole.
I cannot believe we are coming to the end of our experiment.
It's not the end just yet.
We have to put our last two bakers to the test.
[Georgina laughing] No!
[baker exclaims]
-The winner is Georgina! -[all cheering]
I came in as one of the least experienced bakers...
[Jacques] Where's the cake?
...and now I think I've grown the most by far.
-This is a really great improvement. -Thank you.
I just have butterflies in my stomach
because now I'm going toe-to-toe with Ignoisco.
-Our winner is Ignoisco! -[all cheering]
He is a fierce competitor. He has such a good eye for flavors.
He's very meticulous.
But I'm really good at decoration, so if I can let my artistic side shine,
that $100,000 grand prize definitely feels closer than ever.
[laughing] There she blows! Nailed it!
[laughing]
Coming in here, I never thought I would be making cakes like this.
To excel and actually be on top, every step of the way, I surprise myself.
You have won yourself another $1,000.
But Georgina is about to give me a run for my money, y'all.
She excels at the visual.
I mean, that gravity-defying pizza she made was so amazing.
[Nicole] This is great. The details are all there.
It's really delightful to look at, Georgina.
[Ignoisco] I have to make sure that I bring it just as hard
with my visuals as I do with my flavors.
This is insane.
Come on, Jacques.
We gotta find a winner on The Big Nailed It! Baking Challenge.
Come on! We got to find the winner!
-Where's the winner? -[laughing] Where... Where are you going?
[regal music plays]
[laughing] Oh my God.
-[gasps] Oh my God. -Oh! Look at the stations.
[pleasant music playing]
-Can you believe it? -Last two.
-Look at that! Oh my goodness. -[Ignoisco] This is so crazy.
Good morning, and welcome to the last Cake...
-[both] Whoo! -[imitating air horn] ...bake, bake, bake!
-[imitates air horn] -[chuckles]
[Nicole] You're one step closer to the big $100,000 prize.
[Jacques] Bakers, we are so proud of you and your progress.
You know, I've been teaching all my life,
and it's not every student that really want it
and going to succeed in it.
You guys are special.
-Thank you. Thank you. -Thanks.
Congratulations to both of you.
You know, you've made it really far just to get here.
Every cake that you've made, it's been better and better.
I can't wait to see what you do for your last Big Cake Bake.
You've spent weeks learning everything from the basics to advanced techniques,
and now the time has come to put all of that to the ultimate test.
-Uh-oh. -Ready to see what you'll be making?
-[bakers] Yes. -I think so. [laughs]
-You ready? -Yeah.
-You ready? You ready? -[Ignoisco] Okay, yeah. We ready.
-We're ready. -[suspenseful music playing]
-Ha-ha! -[music fades]
That's right!
-Nothing! -[all laughing]
[hopeful music playing]
So today you'll be making a stunning cake of your own design,
as well as two additional treats that complement your cake.
You'll have 12 hours in the kitchen
-to complete your creations. -[scoffs]
-Twelve hours? -[chuckles]
Tomorrow, you're gonna present your cake and treats to me, Jacques, your coaches,
and our guest judge, a former Nailed It! competitor, actor, and comedian,
Jack McBrayer.
-[gasps] -Oh!
My baby.
[chuckling in silly voice]
[disconcerting music plays]
-[clinks] -[laughs]
-Isn't that fun? -[Ignoisco] That's exciting!
-[Nicole] That's not all. -Oh!
As the final test of whether our experiment has worked,
we have invited some top pastry chefs from around the country to dine with us.
Oh, okay. That's gonna be...
-[Nicole] Isn't that fun? -[both] Yes.
[Ignoisco] I am really excited about this.
Like, there's so many things that the coaches have been pouring into us.
I feel like I have, like, this giant toolbox
of techniques and skills.
I just want to do something amazing! [laughs]
[melodramatically] Luckily, you won't have to do it alone.
We hired two baking assistants...
-Oh! -...that might look a little familiar.
[shouting] Where they at?
[pleasant music playing]
-[gasps] -[both exclaim happily]
[Ignoisco] Oh my goodness!
-[Nicole] It's Frank and Richard! -[Georgina] Hi!
Stay on your marks.
-Oh. -[all laughing]
Don't you dare move.
Hi!
Wes.
Okay, you're gonna draw a spoon,
and you'll find out who you're working with.
-[Ignoisco] Okay. -Yes.
[gasps]
-[Nicole] Ignoisco, who you working with? -I have Frank!
[all laughing]
-Richard! -[Ignoisco laughing]
-Come on. -[Frank] Let's go.
-Yay! Yeah. -[Richard] It's good to see you.
Having 12 hours with an assistant,
you really can do something beautiful, I'm sure.
Now, the time has come for you to dream up your cake designs.
So, Georgina, Ignoisco, you'll meet with Erin and Robert,
and figure out how to bring your vision to life.
So get all the tips you can because during the bake,
hate to break it to you, your coaches aren't gonna be there!
-What? Wait, really? -[coaches chuckling]
Oh my God, no, no, no, no.
-[whimpers] -Surprise.
You really have to put everything that you learned from making those cakes,
to build them, to the chocolate, to the fondant, to the modeling chocolate,
to the little figure, and create something of your own.
[Nicole] You'll be judged on taste, appearance,
creativity, and the execution of the skills that you have learned.
Say goodbye to your assistants for now and get to planning.
[dramatic music playing]
-So happy to see you. -It's really good to see you guys.
Yeah!
What do you have planned for your cake? Because this is something you get to make.
Not sure I've ever shared this with you.
There were three businesses I've always known that I wanted, a bakery, of course,
the other is a performing arts school,
and the third is a homeless recovery center.
I'm gonna just draw something.
This cake is gonna be a representation of a childhood dream.
The bottom tier is gonna represent the bakery,
so there's gonna be this big recipe book.
The middle section is gonna be the world cupped with two hands
for the homeless recovery center,
and then the top is gonna be a big music note
to represent the performing arts center.
-[Robert] It's a really... -[laughing] It's a lot. That's a lot.
But it's a really cool design, and you can pull it off.
Are you thinking of this being kind of a carved cake then?
-Mm-hmm. Yes. -Okay.
[Ignoisco] Probably end up being like four sheet cakes high.
I like that plan, kind of like this book is opening up
and these other ideas are coming out of it.
-I have one other request. -[Ignoisco] Uh-huh.
Whatever's written on the book pages might need to start with "bello and belli."
-[both laughing] -Oh yeah?
Oh, I didn't even think about that. That would be cool. Yes.
What flavors are you thinking about for the cake?
I love mixing drinks.
So in all of my flavors, I want to do some alcohol-inspired.
-[Erin] Okay. -But I do want to remind you,
your rum cake that you made, we didn't get a lot of rum in that.
-So make sure you taste along the way. -Yes.
What about the treats to accompany this?
I'm thinking of strawberry-margarita cupcakes,
and then cookies and cream cheesecake bites,
and maybe adding, like, Baileys to it.
This is a great plan as long as you think about all the flavors.
I think you'll do a really good job.
-I have faith. [giggles] -You got it.
-Thank you. -We'll see you soon.
-That's so cool. -I think it's a really cool design.
-[Erin] Hey, Georgina. -Hi.
-So excited to see you. -So what are you going to make?
My whole thing coming into this competition
was I wanted to be able to make something nice for my dad.
He has been playing the guitar for, like, over 30 years,
so I was thinking, like, a guitar.
I'm pulling my inspiration from a tradition my family has.
We like to go to the beach every Saturday, ride our bikes there,
then my dad will sometimes play some music.
So my cake will be a guitar
sitting in a mound of sand on the beach with seashells.
What about the details, the frets and the strings?
[Georgina] Right. The whole neck would be covered in, like, modeling chocolate.
For the frets, maybe some, like, fondant
-with silver luster. -Yeah.
And for the strings, I was thinking maybe, like, royal icing just piped very...
-[Erin] I like that. -...very nicely.
Sounds great. I think the royal icing strings will be little difficult
because the cake will be standing up,
so you just have to be really careful with that.
What about the flavors? What are you thinking for this?
Yeah. So, my dad loves his, like, coffee, chocolate, Tiramisu, like that whole vibe.
-[Erin] Very nice. -Yeah.
For your two treats?
My first instinct was, um, kind of like cutout cookies and cupcakes.
I was thinking, like, musical note cookies.
And for the cupcake, maybe like, um, chocolate hazelnuts?
Okay.
[Erin] Just wow them with flavor is gonna be the smart move.
[Georgina] I want to win this thing really badly,
so I just need to get my flavor muscles stretched and ready to go.
-Thanks, guys. -See you soon.
-Uh, that's a big showstopper. -Very cool.
-[Ignoisco] You ready for this? -[Georgina] Yes, I am. Are you?
-Yes! The battle is on. -[Georgina laughs]
-Let's get this, bud. Whoo! -Awesome.
How dare they high-five. Let's high-five.
-You know! -[grunts] Okay.
[both laugh]
Let's get this. This is gonna be the base.
-Hey, Georgina, are you ready for this? -Yeah, are you?
[Ignoisco] I've been ready.
I'm gonna go... I'm gonna go get some cake pans.
We need to make a lot of cake batter for this because this is a big guitar.
First thing, Richard and I are gonna make the cake batter together.
Let's make just some more so we have extras for the cake.
[Richard] All right.
[intriguing electronic music playing]
I think at least six batches to be safe.
We need to build this guitar ASAP, so we can then work on the details,
and make two sweet treats.
One.
I'm mixing all the dry ingredients, Richard is handling wet ingredients.
I need all the help I can get.
I'm almost done. Just have to add water and that coffee.
[Ignoisco] Hey, Georgina, Richard, you messing up already?
-Oh, you know it. -Fi... I'm counting.
-Don't let him get in your head. -[Ignoisco chuckling] Sorry!
Since I don't have a panic button, I'll just distract you.
[scoffs] How dare you.
[giggles]
-[Richard] How strong you want the coffee? -[Georgina] Pretty strong.
Because from my experience,
-the instant espresso bakes off. -[Richard] Okay.
[Ignoisco] Nutmeg, cinnamon,
ginger, cloves, and allspice.
The first thing that Frank and I are going to start working on is all of our batter.
So I'm going to work on the batter for the bourbon spice cake,
and Frank is gonna work on the strawberry cake for the cupcakes.
So we need to make how many cupcakes, 24?
-[Ignoisco] Yes. -Okay, cool.
This is about to be a lot of work.
What's with all the spice cakes you've been doing?
Nicole was always craving it,
and that's a way to get in the judges' good graces,
do something that they want to taste.
The whole purpose of this last Cake Bake
is to really show that we've learned some things.
You know, this time, instead of the rum, we're doing some bourbon.
The very first time I tried to add some spice,
it wasn't enough.
I do think it was well executed, I just think for me personally,
a little too sweet.
[Ignoisco] So the next time, we made it work.
-It's a good combination of, uh, spices. -It's very cinnamonny, nutmeggy.
[Ignoisco] I want to make sure that they can taste the bourbon.
So this is attempt three, you all.
I'm ready for it.
[Richard] When you get a chance, taste this.
I'm gonna add a tablespoon of coffee extract in each of them just to be safe.
Okey-dokey.
I think at this point, the judges are definitely expecting perfection.
Okay, that's good.
I'm hoping to improve the flavors of my cakes this time
by tasting everything,
and making sure it all tastes strong enough.
-All right. -Eight hours, everyone!
[exciting music playing]
[Georgina] Oven's open behind you, Richard.
[Ignoisco] The cupcakes cook faster than these cakes,
so we'll just have to make sure we keep a watchful eye.
[Frank] Yeah, I'll keep an eye on it.
[Georgina] All right. Ooh!
[beeping]
Okay.
This is the last thing I need to bake, are these pecans.
[Frank] I'll start on the buttercream.
I'm going to move on to my cookie dough.
Because my main cake is pretty ambitious,
I want to keep my treats on the simpler side.
It's about a quarter-inch.
One of my treats is a music note-shaped sugar cookie with a royal icing.
[Richard] Are these okay? You like them?
[Georgina gasps] Beautiful. Thank you, Richard.
I'll also be making cupcakes.
Okay.
-What is that? -Uh, hazelnut.
My cupcakes will be hazelnut-flavored with a chocolate hazelnut buttercream.
I mean, these are flavors that I like, my dad likes.
Hopefully, might push me over that finish line and get me that win.
Let's get this in.
[Richard] I've never made a Nutella buttercream before.
I love the story.
I mean, it's a daughter doing something for her father.
Georgina deserves the $100,000, and she's definitely using my strengths.
You know, I make a good buttercream.
[Georgina] Ooh!
[whimpers]
-[Richard] Is that better? -That's really good! Yeah!
Um, and go ahead and do like...
Just go ahead and zest that whole lime.
-That's what you're doing? -I'm doing two whole limes.
Oh, good, good.
For my first treat,
I'm going to have a strawberry cupcake with fresh strawberries packed inside
and a tequila lime buttercream.
-You already put tequila in it? -It has tequila.
-[Frank] Yeah, I think maybe more tequila. -A lot more.
A lot more. I'll just put a shot in.
-Okay. -[Frank] Okay, cool.
-Like, get me drunk. -[Frank] Yeah, okay, cool. Sounds good.
I really want to make sure that every step of the way I am tasting every element.
If I'm going with these alcohol flavors,
I need to make sure that you can really taste the alcohol.
Yeah, still not enough tequila. Put a little... Yeah, put some more.
And then let's leave it alone.
[exciting music playing]
-[Ignoisco] Smell the bourbon right away. -[Frank laughs]
[Georgina] Alright, they're all coming out at once.
That's good.
[Georgina] Whoo! Oh, wow. That came out real easy. Okay.
Now looking at this blue,
-do you want it bluer? -[Georgina gasps] Oh!
It's just a matter of adding more color to it.
Yeah, yeah.
For cupcakes, I'm coloring the buttercream to represent the ocean.
[chuckling] Do you remember that piping Baking 101?
So now I'm going to take this buttercream
and actually going to stripe this bag because this is going to be two tones.
-Oh, where you do the two smears? -Yeah.
[Richard] I mean, I could probably do that.
I have nothing to lose.
-[Georgina] Yeah. We have... -[both laugh]
[Georgina] Half the cupcakes will be frosted in a dual-toned blue buttercream
to represent the water,
and then the other half will be brown buttercream to represent the sand.
I learned a lot from these Baking 101's.
So I'm hoping I tap into whatever vibration I was on during those challenges
and kind of bring that into the last Cake Bake.
So sand-like. So talented.
-Um, you're starting on the chocolate. -I'm gonna start.
Awesome. So while you do that,
I'm gonna go ahead and make cookies and cream.
I didn't know what a bonbon was when I had to make it the first time.
I mean, the bonbon was terrible. First of all, I had Runts inside of it.
[all laughing]
I smell the Baileys. It smells delicious.
So we are going to make the correct bonbon,
filled with cookies and cream with a hint of Baileys.
That looks really good.
And we're gonna make them taste extremely good.
-This is 24 right here, right? -24, right.
-[Ignoisco] Yeah. -[Frank] Amazing.
[exciting music playing]
Four hours left, you guys.
All right.
Now that I have all the pieces for the cake, we can start assembling.
To create this book, I'm taking ten-inch cakes
and I'm kind of mushing them together.
You want me to level these two, right? Flat?
-[Ignoisco] Yes. -Cool. Got it.
And the world part of the cake
is two dome cakes that are gonna be pressed together.
[Frank] Just needs a crumb coat, and that's good.
[in sing-song] Oh, Frank, you are a genius!
The cake is definitely the most important piece.
If the cake doesn't come together,
then, really, the story won't really come together.
It's gonna be a big book.
[Frank] Just say because you have giant dreams. [chuckles]
[Georgina] Do you want some cake? It's pretty good.
-That is really good. -It's good, right?
This cake is so moist.
-Ooh! -[Richard] No, you're good. You got it.
-So the neck will be about 13 inches tall. -[Richard] So just...
[Georgina] Just this part, and then we have that tuner bit on the top.
[Richard] Let me start compressing it.
[Georgina] God, I'm nervous.
[groans]
I want to show off my stacking and carving skills.
The guitar will be made of stacked sheet cakes
that are then carved into the shape of a guitar body.
That was one of my favorite things I learned this competition.
It makes me feel like an artist.
So my guitar cake can be not just a cake, but, like, also a sculpture.
This part should go in a little bit more. [whimpers]
[Ignoisco] Is that your guitar you're stacking?
-It is. It is. We've got the bottom half. -[Ignoisco] Nice.
I see we went with some chocolate cake.
[Georgina] Exactly! A little tiramisu-inspired number.
Oh! That's gonna be really cool.
Just kind of in between.
They're sticking together a bit, so I'm gonna...
My cake is stacked and carved.
So before I start covering it in fondant,
I need to unstack the layers and add in the fillings.
[Georgina] Ooh!
Move it on to here.
That's the top one.
As I'm trying to unstack these cakes, I realize, if they break,
then the structure will be shot, and structure is key to this cake.
I'm really hoping, with Richard's help, I can keep them all in one piece.
What was I thinking doing a guitar cake?
-Oh my God, so stressful. -No, it's... The idea is really good.
[Georgina groans] Oh, God.
Here we go.
[dramatic music playing]
Just doing a light dusting of espresso powder on top of the cake.
[music continues]
All right. [chuckles]
It looks gorgeous.
-[Frank] One hour left. -[Georgina] Thank you.
[exciting music playing]
Oh, it's beautiful.
[Ignoisco] It's looking great.
I feel like you all are so dirty right now.
[Frank laughs]
[Ignoisco] Georgina, you have chocolate all over...
-[Frank] You have chocolate all over. -On my face?
-[Frank] No, you're good. -Okay.
-[Ignoisco] On your face. Everywhere. -All over my face?
These don't look as good as my first clouds did.
And I'll get the top.
Now overlap, get it on, smooth it out.
[Georgina] And then trim.
Yeah, and then just twist that in.
Do me a favor? Yeah, thank you.
I'm exhausted. But we're on schedule.
This looks great.
If we can work fast enough tomorrow, we will even have time to, like,
really add extra details to all of our treats.
-We can do it. -[Frank] Yeah.
We just have to work fast and work intentional.
Yeah, for sure. Cool.
[mouth full] Here, I just feel like this...
-Hmm? -...is missing something.
-[Georgina] It's missing something? -[Richard] Try it. That's my opinion.
The cookies we made, they're just lacking some flavor.
They're a little bit bland and they're also a bit sloppy-looking.
I feel like it's a little too late to add extra flavor to this.
I know, but I'm just saying, it just... I feel like it's missing something.
We'll leave 'em. If we have time tomorrow, we'll re-bake them.
-Tomorrow is a big day. -It's gonna be a big day, you guys.
[dramatic music playing]
-[music fades] -[power thrums]
[hopeful music playing]
-You ready? Yeah? -Hey, Georgina. Yeah, yeah.
[both grunting]
-[both laughing] Boom! -[suspenseful music playing]
Make sure there's no banana peels in my way, okay?
[Ignoisco] We really need to just focus on the fine details.
So we need to do all the decorations for the treats,
and I actually want you to focus on that,
and then I'm gonna focus more so on finishing the big cake.
I'm ready.
I walked in this building ready to have a really productive day.
So today, we're focused. We're ready to go.
We're ready to take care of business. Let's get this started!
I'll hopefully finish a little early so I can help you out a bit more.
Oh, that would be great.
Okay, we're gonna need to finish this top with Rice Krispies, do the strings,
the rest of the guitar, build that beach, and, um, you know, add some seashells,
sheet music, and, if possible,
maybe we can re-bake the shortbread cookies.
-Yeah. All right, let's go. -Okay. All right.
The energy in the kitchen is a bit more serious today.
Everyone's a lot more focused because these are the last three hours,
so everyone's just really plugged in, their heads are in the game,
because $100,000 is on the line,
so I just want to make sure that I'm going all out.
That's crazy. She literally is making a guitar cake.
That is so cool.
Georgina's cake is great.
I mean, this girl literally made a guitar.
-The bottom's great, it matches that. -Should it go wider?
Wider on the top.
This is really about to be a tough decision for the judges. It really is.
-Oh my God. Look at that. -Cheers.
-This is the life! -To delicious, delicious cakes.
-[Jacques chuckles] -Ooh.
[slurps]
First time on Nailed It!that we can eat those cakes and celebrate them.
[slurps]
-I'm happy to drink. -Yes.
I'm happy to taste some tasty cakes.
-[Jacques] To relax. -Mm-hmm.
[Jacques] I love my little rabbit.
-[Nicole] Mm! -What do you wear? Oh!
[Nicole] Little tiger feet.
[slurping]
Yo, Frank. Remember this?
-[Frank] Ah! -[chuckles]
[tense music building]
[both chuckle]
[Ignoisco] This is the fondant to cover the Earth.
That is... not enough at all.
I'm just gonna restart.
[Frank] It is a pretty big globe.
The problem with fondant is, if you are not working on a flat surface,
the fondant starts to weigh down.
And now you have tears and rips in your fondant.
Oh, Ignoisco.
The longer I take getting it stuck to the sphere,
the more potential I'm taking with the fondant tearing,
and, y'all, this fondant is tearing in every which way.
Uh, not really enjoying this world here.
This does not look good.
I might need to do something similar to what I did with the chocolate challenge
when I put that label around.
[chuckles] That did something.
That way they can't see all of these mistakes.
I mean, I still have to mold these hands, which is gonna take quite a while.
-Here, you'll have to smooth out... -[gasps]
-...your seams a little better. -Yeah, no. It looks great.
I'll leave it right here.
[Georgina] Thanks. Did you want to start, uh, the shortbread cookies?
-Want me to do the cookies again? -Yeah.
The cookies we made yesterday are just not quite up to par with my standards.
So I think it'd be best if we re-bake them.
We'll use coffee extract, maybe a nice flavor for the cookies.
We're swapping the chocolate for some coffee-flavored royal icing.
It's gonna need a lot of coffee extract because this stuff is not that strong.
At this point it's up to you.
[Georgina] It's important to get these details right.
I would hate to dig my own grave or, like, shoot myself in the foot,
and the slightest mistake could cost me the win.
Thank you.
[intriguing music playing]
Um, uh, we have two hours.
Um, I think I'm ready for the music note.
-[Frank] Uh, how's this? -[Ignoisco] Awesome.
-I just got a little happy. -[Frank] Oh, why?
Like, this, I freaking dreamed this up.
-Look at it. Like, that's so exciting. -It looks sick.
[exciting music playing]
Not only am I serving guitars on the beach, we need to work on other details.
[Richard] Ice mold time.
[Georgina] Like, the sand, the seashells.
Then I'm gonna have a drink next to the guitar
because my dad does enjoy a little alcoholic beverage.
Georgina, look at this cup. Check this out.
It looks awesome. Whoo!
[squeals happily]
I'm so, like, geeked about this.
It looks great.
[Ignoisco] Twenty minutes left.
Please. Please.
These final details are about to take me quite a while to do.
[suspenseful string music playing]
[Ignoisco laughing] Oh my goodness. Look at me!
[Georgina] As for our sweet treats, the cupcakes are coming along.
We're happy with them,
and now my cookies are done, and they look pretty good.
I mean, I've got the golden edges,
and I got, kinda like, the pale golden brown center.
[gasps]
It's glistening in the sun. Oh my God. I'm obsessed with this.
-[Frank] I love the art style. -[Ignoisco] Thank you.
I finally managed my time well.
We're in really good shape.
All of our treats are done, and I have a lot of detail on my cake.
Erin and Robert, and Jacques, and Nicole have given us all the tools we need
to make these cakes amazing.
Five minutes left, you guys.
Last details, last details.
I'm literally taking the time to fine-tune.
And I've never been able to do that in this competition.
[suspenseful music continues]
[Georgina] Four, three, two, one.
-Yay! We did it! -[Richard] Yay!
Come on, bring it in. All four of us.
[Ignoisco and Georgina] Come on, Frank.
-Aw. -[Richard chuckles]
No, close it, close it.
-Love you guys. -Aw, love you.
So amazing!
[Georgina] Let's go. Let's go. Let's go.
[enchanting music playing]
[Jacques] After you.
-[chuckles] -[in French] After you, please.
[Erin in English] Thank you. Oh wow.
-Look. -It's beautiful.
Wow.
So to our guests, thank you and welcome.
[all] Cheers.
Nailed It!, historically we had bad cakes.
So we decide to do a new experiment,
and have the same baker, who doesn't know how to bake, come.
We have Robert and Erin who teaching them.
-And the cakes... -But then... Oh! They got so much better!
-They did so much better... -[laughs]
...and we are so proud to show you.
So I'm so happy. Let's drink some champagne to them.
[all cheering]
Let's walk around the gallery and see the things that they made here.
Lead the way, Jacques.
-So, this is Ignoisco's first cake. -[Sherry] Ooh.
[Nicole] Business in the front,
-party in the back. -[Jack] Oh!
[laughs]
[Nicole] That's the name of the cake. It only shows the party side.
How was the business side?
-Not good either. -[chuckles]
I never would think that somebody would be putting my cakes in a frame.
Some of these cakes are not great. That fruitcake,
looking back at that orange and the pineapple,
I'm like, "What was I thinking?"
Child, I could have went home on some of those cakes.
But the second "business in the front, party in the back" cake,
it turned out amazing.
And I ended up winning that challenge too.
The main thing about this is the progress.
From that first cake to that last cake, progress has been made, y'all.
-This is Georgina. -[Jacques] Georgina.
-[Amirah] Is it the front or the back? -[Jacques] This is the party.
I actually just thought it was an abstract art.
-[Jacques] Exactly. -[Erin] When we cut into it,
that whole bottom cake wasn't even cake.
[Jacques] That was bad.
-Okay, and this is... -Oh! This is the same person?
-[Nicole] Yes, this is Ignoisco's. -[Sherry] This is not the same person.
The symmetry, and the lines, and the piping, my goodness.
-Well done, Ignoisco. -Wow.
[Jacques] They start to understand cake. They start to understand construction.
-The structure. -[Jacques] As we go...
-[Amirah] It's all clear now. -[Maya] Absolutely.
[Jacques] You can see how much they progress.
This experience has been, honestly, so, so great.
I've learned so much.
It's crazy that in the very first challenge,
I was about to go home because I used those Rice Krispie Treats,
and now, I might win.
I would say, the highest point was when I got my first Big Cake Bake win
with the Really Big Top Cake,
and, you know, I'd say I'm really proud of my pizza cake.
I know it tasted horrible, but I think it truly looks so stunning.
I'm just so proud of the growth I made throughout this whole competition.
I'm from Chicago, and this looks like deep-dish.
Realistic and believable.
[Erin] This was one of the first weeks I really started to be blown away
by how much progression they had made.
[Amirah] I love that.
-Are you guys ready to meet our bakers? -[guests] Yes.
Open the doors!
-[both exclaiming happily] -[guests cheering]
-Look, Georgina! -Oh!
Oh my God.
So cool.
[Georgina] Oh my God.
Hi.
Hi, guys.
[Ignoisco] Hello.
Ignoisco, Georgina, to your success.
-Thank you. -[Jacques] Cheers.
-[woman] Cheers, my dear. -Mm.
We just saw your progress, so to progress as well.
Yes, it really was great.
Congratulations. And I'm very excited to see your cakes.
Yes. Me too.
Okay. Great.
[Amirah] Amazing.
Ooh, what a dream.
-[Jacques] This is so good. I love it. -[Amirah chuckles] Glitter!
Ignoisco, Georgina, I want you to meet our guest judge for today.
Jack McBrayer!
-[bakers] Hi. -[Jack] Nice to meet you both.
I've been in your shoes, sort of.
I was in Season Six of Nailed it!
Please, oh please, after everything we've been through.
-[Jacques] Oh! -[Nicole] Okay! Oh no.
[chuckles]
Spoiler alert, I didn't nail it.
[all laugh]
We also have some of the top pastry chefs in the country.
-[chuckles happily] -[Nicole] Maya-Camille Broussard.
-Yay! -[Nicole] Sherry Yard.
Hi.
[Nicole] And Amirah Kassem.
Yay!
Ignoisco, you're first.
-Let's see those treats. -[drumroll]
Awesome.
-Nailed it! -[all] Ooh!
[Ignoisco] So these are music notes, and it's an extension of my big cake,
so the full realization will come to fruition then.
What's your inspiration behind this?
Music is... is something that's really close to me.
I'm a music teacher.
[Erin] Maybe you should sing for all of our guests
because we've all gotten to hear your voice.
Ooh, describe your treats in song.
All right, so...
♪ We have a strawberry cupcake ♪
♪ Fresh strawberries inside ♪
♪ With a lime buttercream on top ♪
♪ And on the side ♪
♪ We got some bonbons Inside you'll find the Oreo... ♪
♪ Cookies and cream ♪
[all laughing]
[man cheering]
[laughing]
Ore-oops.
♪ Ore-oops ♪
[Jack chuckles]
[suspenseful music playing]
-Thank you. -Mm.
[Ignoisco] All of these were kind of inspired a little bit
by a type of drink,
and so I was really kinda thinking of a strawberry margarita.
That brought me to the strawberry lime flavor.
I'm very impressed by how vibrant all the colors are.
I love that you've paired such tropical colors together.
[Jacques] And the bonbon. They look nice.
[Erin] And I'm so excited by the temper on the chocolate.
The bonbon, it's a cookies and cream filling with a bit of Baileys in it.
We saw how the banana went...
[chuckling] ...and so this is a huge improvement, so good job.
Thank you, Ignoisco. Georgina, let's see your treats.
[drumroll]
[triumphant note plays]
[guests] Ooh!
[Nicole] What have you made for us?
I have made some chocolate hazelnut cupcakes
which are kinda like beachy vibes.
We have some sand, some water here.
And then we have music note shortbread cookies
that have just a dash of coffee in there.
This is inspired by a tradition I have with my father.
We like to go to the beach and play music together.
Do any of the flavor profiles come inspired from memories at the beach,
or is it more visual?
The flavor profiles are inspired by my dad's favorite flavors.
He's the reason I'm in this competition, so I really wanted to pay homage to him.
Does anybody have sand or sea preferences?
[chuckles]
Does anyone have sand or sea preferences?
I'll try some sand.
[suspenseful music playing]
I'm a sea person. I'll keep the sea for me.
I love not just the color of the blue, but you used two different tones.
-It's very beautiful. -Oh, thank you.
I love seahorses. It's so cute, and it's well done.
I am loving all the different colors and the luster.
The thickness of the cookie seems really good.
I think you hit the right note on your notes.
-[chortles] Sherry! -[Sherry chuckles]
[imitates rim shot]
[laughs]
[Nicole] Alright, thank you both for these beautiful treats.
We'll call you back when we're ready for your cakes.
-Okay, bye. -Congratulations. Thank you.
[Nicole] You guys can watch us eat from the bakery.
-[chuckling] I know. -[Nicole giggles]
-Do they like it? -[laughs]
-We're so hungry. [laughs] -[Nicole laughing]
-[sighs] Goodness gracious. -Goodness gracious.
-Can we do another handshake? -Congratulations. Yeah.
-Aw. -[Jack] Aw, that's sweet.
[both grunting softly]
Small kick!
-[chuckles] Yeah. -[both imitate explosion]
-[giggles] -All right, let's taste
Ignoisco's treats first.
[suspenseful music playing]
It's baked to perfection. The color is great.
This is good. I couldn't have done this. I could not have done this.
I do wish that just had a bit more of lime.
I taste it, but if he didn't mention it was lime, I wouldn't have known.
-I love that lime. It's so good. -Strawberry.
[Jacques] Now to come back to his truffle or to his bonbon,
the shell is a little bit thick.
But overall, the amount of filling, kind of, helps.
And that Baileys. I could taste it.
-[Jack chuckles] -It's in there. [laughs]
I love this bonbon.
I look up and you're just licking it!
[chuckling]
From where he start to where he is today, that's amazing.
It's... It's a huge improvement.
Wow. So well tempered.
[Nicole] Let's move on to Georgina's treats.
[intriguing music playing]
The cake is a little bit more crumbly as a cupcake.
I agree. It is because, you know, when you add so much chocolate...
It's a very dry ingredient.
Oh my gosh, what is happening over there?
[all laughing]
I'm so sorry. I couldn't finish my thought.
[all laughing]
[Amirah] ♪ Under the sea ♪
-[all laughing] -[Sherry speaks indistinctly]
They're having a very serious conversation,
-and we're just like... -[laughing]
Right! Your teeth...
[all laughing]
[Maya] Look at your teeth!
Oh my God!
I think I made the right choice with the sand cupcake.
You can go on, I'm so sorry.
Chocolate is such a dry ingredient.
I feel like it dried out the cupcake a little bit.
I do wish she had taken it out of the oven
maybe two minutes earlier so it stayed a little fudgier.
But overall, really good. What's everyone think of the cookie?
I think the only thing blonde in the bakeshop should be my hair.
[Nicole chuckles]
I agree. It could have stayed in the oven a little bit longer.
And she said there was coffee in it.
-Right. -[Robert] When I tried it,
I just thought it was a sugar cookie.
Well, I'm from the South, and you know we put butter in everything.
[laughs]
Uh, and I could taste butter in the sugar cookie.
I was... I was happy.
-Oh, the cookie is so well made. -Right?
Alright, on to the main attraction. Are we ready for the cakes? Let's do it.
Georgina, Ignoisco, we're ready for your cakes.
[all cheering]
[Jacques] Hey! Exciting now.
[guests] Oh!
I'm so impressed.
All right, Georgina, tell us what you did for your last big cake.
So the inspiration behind my cake is a tradition that I have with my dad.
We are very much a beach family and we're also a music family.
As a child, we'd go to the beach every Saturday,
and I really wanted to pay an homage to those little moments with our family.
Okay. Well, let's see it.
[drumroll]
-Nailed it! -Hey!
Wow!
This is unbelievable to me.
Wow.
So this is a guitar on the beach,
and some sheet music there that my dad would look at while he plays.
A drink, because my dad, you know, likes to unwind sometimes.
-Wow. -[Georgina] All edible.
-[Jack] That is amazing. -[Nicole] That is great.
Is that a real song on the paper?
-This is an original composition. -[all laughing]
This truly looks incredible.
The details are just all there,
and I think it's a lovely homage to your time with your dad.
[Jacques] I think that, looking at it,
you use pretty much all the skills that we teach you.
You know, from the fondant, to the carving, to the filling,
to... to the construction, to the leveling.
You didn't shy away from any of that.
You tried them all. I'm really proud of you.
You end up doing something I don't think all professionals would be able to do.
And so, you know, really, congratulations.
[Sherry] This is definitely a next-level cake.
I mean, this is beyond cake. This is sculpture.
I do want to pick it up, I wanna play it, and then break it off and take a bite.
-Yeah. -[all laughing]
I'm getting a little emotional. I'm very proud of you.
You've come so far, and I know your dad would be really proud too.
I'm getting emotional now. Oh God.
All right, Georgina, cut it up!
[exciting music playing]
Oh look. Look at her slices coming out.
So this is a mocha cake with a mascarpone filling and chocolate ganache,
and some crispy chocolate pearls inside the filling.
Ooh! Okay, thank you, Georgina.
Ignoisco, tell us what you did for your last big cake.
Since the seventh grade, I've known what I want to do with my life.
I made this cake kind of inspired by those dreams that I have,
bringing all the things I love together in one place.
I would like to see it.
[Ignoisco] I would love to show you, Nicole.
[drumroll]
Nailed it!
-[all exclaiming] -[woman] Dang!
[Ignoisco] These are my three businesses.
Up top is the performing arts school, represented with the music note.
Then in the middle we have the homeless recovery center.
It's about the world coming together.
And then the third one is a bakery, represented with a recipe book.
And then on one side is written "to be continued..."
because my story has yet to end.
[all] Aw.
I love that your cake has a story,
and it's your story, and you bring that to life.
You carve your cake very well.
-It's a lot of structure. -Thank you.
Everything that we threw at you, you retain it.
Writing on cakes is actually very challenging, and that's very neat.
And it takes a very steady hand.
It looks incredible.
[Erin] I'm so proud, Ignoisco.
You really brought that to life,
and I was so impressed with the idea, and you've achieved it.
Thank you.
-All right. Cut that cake! -Cake!
-[Erin] Thank you. -[Jacques] You can smell the spice, huh?
So this is a bourbon spice cake, and some salted pecans in there.
[Nicole] Thank you both for these stunning cakes.
-We'll call you back when we're ready. -[kisses]
[all conversing indistinctly]
All right, Georgina's cake first.
-We did it! -We did it.
[suspenseful music playing]
[Nicole] Mm!
Georgina's cake is opposite of her cupcake.
It is extremely moist.
It's not over-sweet. The filling is not too sweet.
I was gonna say that, it's not that sickly sweet.
[Amirah] This is actually amazing.
-I like those little surprise crunches. -Yes.
I definitely can taste that mocha flavor that she spoke of.
It's a perfect slice for me.
And I have to say that Georgina has problem during the competition
with flavor a lot of time.
Here, we have a good cake.
-The mascarpone is just genius. -[Erin] It's delicious.
But I keep wanting everybody else's mascarpone.
[Amirah] Yeah, I ate all of mine too.
[Nicole laughing]
-[laughing] -[Jacques] Have some champagne.
This is probably, like, my only cake
where I think the looks and the tastes are equally there.
Yeah, it looks great.
I guess now we should eat Ignoisco's.
[suspenseful music playing]
Mm! It smells so delicious.
Mm-hmm.
It's well-baked. I think the flavor is really nice.
I like the frosting.
Flavor profiles really work together. It really brings me to this fall flavor.
It really is.
I like that he had the pecans in here, that they were still crunchy.
I was really happy that Ignoisco kept the alcohol theme,
because it was in the cupcake, in the bonbon.
-Oh yeah. -[Maya] We all know
that baking with alcohol is not easy because it's chemistry.
So I applaud Ignoisco for actually taking a risk
of using something that could have been a disaster taste-wise and texture-wise.
For me, the pecans did wind up not being as crunchy as he wanted them to be,
but just such a great effort on both their behalves.
-I mean, just bravo all around. -Oh yes. Yes.
Just really well done.
[music fades]
-[all cheering] -[pleasant string music playing]
-They liked us, they really liked us. -[giggles]
To Ignoisco and Georgina.
Thank you for making good cake. Finally we have good cake.
Thank you. Cheers to you guys. Merci beaucoup.
-Thank you. -[uplifting music playing]
Okay, I just want to thank you guys for being here.
Truly so lovely to share this with us.
-[Jack] Really and truly. -[both] Thank you.
Bye.
-[Sherry] Congratulations. Good job. -[Jacques] Bravo.
Wow.
We are so proud of both of you. This was so amazing to see.
Well, we're filled with champagne.
-Now, let's make a choice. -[groans]
-[laughs] -Who's gonna get $100,000?
-This is stressful. -So, okay.
[both] It's very stressful.
Georgina really keep going up and up and up...
-Mm-hmm. -...and the cake was moist.
-Mm-hmm. -The mascarpone was really good.
[Nicole] I thought it looked really nice. The sand looked like sand.
I did not love her cupcake, and I did not like that cookie.
There was no coffee in that cookie, right?
Yeah. She went a little bit on the easy road by doing a cookie.
You know, when you do something simple like that, it has to be flavorful.
[Nicole] Yes.
You both did such a good job using all the techniques,
and you both had good stories to go along with it.
And that's one thing that we said, when you make something,
you have to sell it as well.
And you both did such a good job describing the flavors,
-pinpointing what exactly you could taste. -[Erin] Yes.
Georgina's cake was better baked, moister.
But I will say I liked the flavor of Ignoisco's.
I thought it was a little crumbly, a little dry, but I liked the cheesecake.
I liked the spices. I loved his cupcake.
[Jack] I'm a big fan of a moister cupcake,
so I, uh, feel that I appreciated Ignoisco's cupcake a little bit more.
I loved his bonbon. Me personally, you know me.
He didn't go the easy road. He did something...
That was very ambitious.
-I love alcohol. -[laughs]
I mean, his cake is very complex.
I think his work was
maybe a little bit too ambitious, so it didn't...
He cannot go to all the little details.
[Nicole] I think the music note at the top could have been cleaner.
I love the way he did the world.
The hands could have been cleaner.
-The book, I thought, looked lovely. -[Jacques] Yes.
He took things that he learned
-from previous exercises... -[Nicole] Mm-hmm.
...and he really did utilize them.
And he was... You have one cake who was more ambitious...
-Right. -...and the finishing is not as well done.
Then you have another cake where, a little bit less ambitious, maybe,
but the finishing is better.
It's hard.
Without the Baking 101's, like, this wouldn't have been possible.
-It all happened right here with you guys. -That's so cool.
I mean, it's amazing to hear.
My takeaway, and I am but a simple man.
But beautiful.
-Thank you. Thank you. -[both chuckle]
Uh, I am a person who appreciates a theme upon first glance...
-Mm-hmm. -...and so when I saw Georgina's cake,
I was like, "I get it."
-"I get this beachy music feel." -[Nicole] Mm-hmm.
Ignoisco's cake looked amazing, but it kind of required explanation.
[Nicole] Both of them are very personal, and I loved that.
So neck to neck.
Best of luck to both of you.
-Thank you. -[Erin] See you soon.
-All right. -See you later.
[Ignoisco] This is mind-blowing.
Like, one of us is going to win this.
-It's time we tell the bakers who won. -Let's do it.
-All right. Let's go. -Thank you.
[uplifting music playing]
-Après vous. -Thank you.
[Georgina] I am so happy with what I've done here.
I gave it my all. I did my best. I hope the judges make the right decision.
[chuckles]
[Nicole] Wow, this has been a wild ride.
I just want to say, watching your artistic skills grow
from week one to now has been incredible.
Georgina, you improved so much,
and your dad's going to be so proud of you.
You can make good cake for him.
Maybe he eat bad cake like us
-for a long time. -[laughing]
But your cake today was delicious, moist, flavorful.
You did a beautiful job.
Thank you, Jacques.
Ignoisco, you take a big risk today.
I love that you play with flavor and you keep surprising us.
I really feel that you give us everything.
Thank you for that beautiful journey.
As you know, only one baker can win.
Tell us about that baker, Jack.
The winning baker not only presented treats and a cake
with ambitiously creative visuals,
but they also had a taste that blew away our expectations.
It is truly an honor for me to announce that the first-ever winner
of The Big Nailed It! Baking Challengeis...
[suspenseful music playing]
[music fades]
...Ignoisco!
[all cheering and laughing]
Wes! Bring out the check!
Wes!
[laughing]
-Ignoisco, can you believe it? -[all cheering]
[yells happily]
[laughs] I'm so happy!
And to all my students, your dreams can become your reality!
This is a full circle moment.
Never feel like a fail means the end of the world.
I am feeling amazing.
I'm sorry, I'm about to cry!
Oh my goodness!
In order for people to grow, like, you have to push them past their limits.
It's the same thing I do with my students.
You worked so hard and it paid off.
My baking dreams are possible.
All of my dreams are possible.
I'm really grateful, I really am.
[sobbing] I'm sorry.
-Congratulations. -[Ignoisco] Thank you.
-Georgina, that was very, very close. -Thank you, Jacques.
-I promise you. -[Georgina] Oh my God, thank you.
Everybody, everybody, one more thing, one more thing.
We can't let you go without a...
-[dance music playing] -...pantry raid!
-[all cheering] -And guess what, bakers?
You both get to join in on the fun!
[cheering]
But all of your loot will go to Georgina, our runner-up, so let's do it.
All hands on deck, 60 seconds are on the clock.
I want to see you both go at it like it's the last time
you'll ever see a muffin pan in your life.
-Your time starts now! -[all cheering]
I never thought I'd be able to do what I did today.
Stainless steel.
I thought I'd leave that first challenge,
so even though I'm not bringing home the $100,000,
this is definitely a major accomplishment for me
because I learned so much and I beat eight other people.
All clad. All clad.
Over the course of the competition, I've learned that if I really push myself,
I could probably do anything.
[Nicole] Ten, nine,
-eight, seven... -[Jacques groans]
-...six, five... -[Ignoisco] Rice Krispies!
-[Jacques] You almost killed me! -...four,
-three, two, one! -[people whooping]
[Nicole] You're done!
[all cheering]
[Jacques] Ignoisco, congratulations.
I just won $100,000!
This is crazy. Child, that's more than I make in a year, okay?
[Jacques] Are you ready? We're going to do...
[all cheer]
[Ignoisco] It feels like life is really about to start for me.
This competition has shown me that maybe I'm really
where I'm supposed to be, doing what I'm supposed to be doing.
[Jacques] Smile!
Whoo!
[closing theme music playing]