Cupcake Wars: Hanson

535a6c6b2f220790c96812e05ff7d331I know, I know I said I didn’t have time to post. But when you hear that Hanson is scheduling a 25th anniversary tour (coming soon to a city near you!) and you may finally have the opportunity to hear your favorite song of all time played live, you have to RE-PRIORITIZE. Plus, I’ve seen this episode before so it shouldn’t take long. Back in 2013, Hanson stopped by Cupcake Wars to promote their album “Anthem.”

Round 1:
The Challenge – Oklahoma (BBQ Pork, Fried Squash, Sausage Gravy, etc. The teams have to use three ingredients to make a cupcake reminiscent of Hanson’s home state. It sounds pretty disgusting).
Cupcake 1 – Brown Sugar Corn Cake, Graham Cracker Crust Strawberry Filled, Black-Eyed Pea Cream Cheese Icing, and Fresh Strawberry Garnish.
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Taylor said, “I think you took the challenge and actually wove it into a whole flavorful cupcake that I would actually want to serve to someone. I can see this at the after party to launch the tour.”
Cupcake 2 – Sweet Corn and BBQ Pulled Pork Cupcake, With Brown Butter Strawberry Cooley, honey butter cream, and fondant corn on the cob.
Isaac said “the flavors were impressive and the frosting was really good.”
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Cupcake 3 – Sweet Corn Cupcake filled with Strawberry Braised BBQ Pulled Pork, topped with Strawberry Italian Butter Cream, and garnished with fresh strawberries.
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Zac said, “This cornbread felt like an Oklahoma meal to me. Oklahoma’s kind of Southern food, barbecue, cornbread, and so the butter cream to me tasted like the way people put butter on their cornbread.
Cupcake 4 – Cornmeal & Grit Cupcake, Filled with Strawberry Glazed BBQ Pork, Strawberry Frosting, and Garnished with Strawberry on top.
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Taylor said, “It was great to have the barbecue in there. I thought that was really creative.”
(Sadly, this was the losing cupcake. Sorry, cupcake.)

Just in case any of this sounded at all appetizing to you, here are some recipes from the episode!

Round 2:
The Challenge – Make 3 cupcakes of your own choosing and make them look pretty (50% taste, 50% presentation).
Cupcake Set 1 – Boston Cream Pie, Apple Pie Cheesecake, Citrus Beer
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Taylor said, “I think there’s a lot of creativity, but it doesn’t particularly represent this album. It looks a little bit more like a country band. I’m not sure you nailed it.”
Cupcake Set 2 
PB&J, Coffee Liquor and White Chocolate Ganache, Chocolate Stout Beer
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Isaac said, “I didn’t love them.” (Spoiler alert, this team lost.)
Cupcake Set 3 
Sweet Potato Pie with Blueberry filling, Raspberry Cake, Creme Brulee
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Zac said, “This is like the worldwide smash hit. The flavors are great. And I think you did a great job.”

Round 3:
The Challenge – The 1000 Cupcake Display!
Display 1 – A guitar on a stand with a spinning record that shows the name of their record in lights.
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Display 2 – A Hanson stage with a drum kit, piano, and electric guitar sitting on the stage. The name of the album will be above the stage, big, and in red. (THIS ONE WON!)

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Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming.

Brotherly Love: A Roman Holiday

I kind of forgot that this sitcom existed, but I really liked it in the mid-late 90’s. I feel like the Lawrence Brothers were kind of like my elementary school version of Cher’s “Baldwins” in Clueless.

Also, this theme song is really fun! And the opening credits make a junk-yard look like a fun, kid-friendly place! I’ve never been so excited at the prospect of looking for a few still usable tires! Or maybe a carburetor!

 

And I’m going on record here, Brotherly Love demonstrated Joey Lawrence’s best hair length ever. He should never have his hair shorter or longer than this. And whatever that blond phase was should never happen again.

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He looks like a freaking BeeGee! He should tour with Barry Gibb STAT!

If you’re not familiar Brotherly Love, real life brothers Joey, Matthew, and Andrew Lawrence play the “Roman” brothers whose father has just died. Joe is Matt & Andy’s half-brother and he’s getting a little more involved in their lives and getting to know his step-mother. He’s also running their family automotive business (hence the junk-yard in the opening.)

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This year, Joe has chosen to spend Christmas Day with his mother instead of with his brothers/step-mother, which means they’ll all celebrate Christmas together on a different day. And Andy is whining like crazy about it. Dude, would YOU spend Christmas with Joe’s mom if it was the other way around? I think not. Sorry,  you get to have two Christmases.

In some ill-fated attempt to be magical about Christmas, this dude named Lloyd (who works at their shop) tells Andy that he and Santa are fishing buddies. Andy then harasses him into calling “Santa” on the phone and Lloyd is all like yes, Santa said that Joe would spend Christmas with you and not his mother. ???? Ugh.

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Also, Matthew Lawrence can SING. Did other people know this was a thing? I mean he’s forced into a Christmas pageant in this episode, but his a capella is on point. I’m going to search YouTube for further videos of him singing.

Okay, here is everything that I found–
Baby Matt who has the same haircut as Andy in this show:


Singing in this Christmas Episode:

This Flashback Episode of Boy Meets World:

This Video where the Lawrence Brothers Announce that they’re making music together like but I’m pretty sure they haven’t actually laid down these tracks yet:

Also, watching the video above made me want to listen to Hanson, so here you go:

Whoops, got off track there.

So Andy is whining, Matt is in a pageant he’s not too keen on, and Joe is just trying to spend the holidays with his biological mother because he devotes the other 364 days of his year to his step-mom and half brothers.
Joe learns from Andy that Lloyd promised him that Santa said Joe would stay home for Christmas. By the way, you might recognize Lloyd from the Jonathan Taylor Thomas classic, Tom and Huck, in which he played “Muff Potter.” What a name.

Meanwhile, everyone tries to make Andy feel better. They’re like look we have a white Christmas and a giant surprise Christmas tree! But Andy’s still like everything sucks and screw all of you! But ultimately Andy gets his wish because that white Christmas canceled Joe’s flight.

Very Special Holiday Lesson: If you whine a lot but are also adorable, the universe will grant your wish.

Total Sidenote: Hanson is now brewing craft beer, called “Mmmhops“. If you’ve tried this, please leave a comment and let me know if it’s any good!