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NATCHEZ — Natchez’s Molly Manning Robertson teamed up with fellow baker April Franqueza of Sapphire, North Carolina, to take the top prize in Monday night’s episode of the Spring Baking Championship.

In an ode to ex-lovers, the bakers honored the Spring Fling in a love-themed season of baking.

The subject of the first team challenge of the season was an ill-fated romance. Robertson and Franqueza created what judges called the winner.

The challenge was to team up, and each baker would create one half of a cake. The outside of the cake was to match perfectly, but on the inside, the cakes were to be opposites.

Robertson and Franqueza created a seamlessly decorated wedding cake. Robertson’s half was a lavender cake with elderflower Swiss meringue buttercream and lemon buttercream, while Franqueza’s half of the cake was devil’s food.

Unfortunately, eliminated Monday night was the German-born Manja Blackwood of Tuscan, Arizona, who relocated to the United States when she was 21. Blackwood works as an executive sous chef at the University of Arizona. Judges were not kind when it came to the cake she created.

Monday night’s warm-up challenge almost tripped up trained pastry chef Robertson, who said she had not created a napoleon in a long time.

The Napolean is a pastry with alternating layers of pastry and pastry cream. While Robertson’s pastry cream didn’t quite hold up as it should have, judges loved the taste of the pastry and pastry cream.

Robertson moves on to Week 4 in her quest to take the $25,000 prize and be named Spring Baking Champion. The Food Network hit series, in its ninth season, airs Monday at 7 p.m.