Sean Williams and Jennifer Low stand proudly in the front of the Frosted Fox Cake Shop, which they opened in 2015 at 6511 Germantown Ave. (Photo by Susannah McLean)

by Constance Garcia-Barrio

“Sugar Rush” is a Netflix show where bakers compete, using every nanosecond to make divine desserts from scratch. “You’re under huge pressure,” said recent contestant Jennifer Low, 34, the co-owner with her husband Sean Williams, also 34, of Mt. Airy’s Frosted Fox Cake Shop, 6511 Germantown Ave. “You’re on camera, thrilled and terrified,” Low said of the 8-episode show that began streaming on the network July 13.

Low joined forces with Peri Anderson, 36, owner of Phoenixville’s Brooklyn Girl Bakery. Low and Anderson, friends since they worked together at the Night Kitchen in Chestnut Hill, vied with three other teams of two bakers each for a $10,000 prize. “We made desserts in three categories,” Low said, “cupcakes, confections and cake. Judges eliminated one team in each round.”

Besides skill in making toothsome treats, competitors need on-camera charisma. “Peri and I did video interviews before the casting crew chose us,” said Low, veteran of a few TV segments, including one featuring her 5-layer Earth Day cake made for Sustainaball, a fundraiser for Philly’s Sustainable Business Network. “Viewers can’t taste the food, so a lot hinges on the judges’ descriptions and the bakers’ oomph. “Peri’s even more bubbly than me,” Low said.

After Low and Anderson aced the casting test, producers flew them out to Burbank, California, in October 2017 to tape the show. “The night before the show, we strategized about who might take the lead in which round,” Low said, “and we combed through our favorite recipes.”

For the first round, bakers had to whip up cupcakes with a Thanksgiving theme. Disaster soon threatened. “Peri and I made sweet potato cupcakes,” Low said. “They baked up beautifully, then imploded. We hadn’t used enough flour. Forty minutes into the competition — we only had three hours for the first two rounds — we had to start over again.” Low and Anderson barely had time to put marshmallow icing on the cupcakes before the nail-biting moment of the taste test, but the cupcakes got a good score on flavor.

Low may have sweated, but on the home front Williams remained calm. “I never had a moment’s doubt about Jen,” he said. “I knew she and Peri would do well.”

The team from Brooklyn fell short, which pared the contest down to three teams for round two.

Judges included international royalty of dessertdom: Candace Nelson, cupcake queen from L.A.; Adriano Zumbo, master pastry chef from Australia and Thiago Silva, born in Brazil and raised in Queens, a prince among patissiers. “They judged desserts on look, flavor, texture, theme and overall execution,” Low said.

The judges announced Australia Day as the theme for round two. Low and Anderson decided on a pavlova, an Australian dessert with passion fruit, raspberries, whipped cream and crunchy meringue separated by a layer of soft meringue. “The judges loved the microwave technique we used to make fast, crunchy meringue,” Low said. “They’d never seen it before.”

Contestants not only made desserts, but also answered the judges’ questions. “They’d say, ‘How will you regain time?’” Low said. “It was tricky to chat with the host and stay witty, yet focus on the challenging work.”

Low’s and Anderson’s triumph in round two whittled things down to just two teams: “We were up against two senior women — they called themselves ‘silver foxes’ — owners of a Nebraska bakery called Sweet Indulgence.”

The grand finale required a big tier cake with the theme of carnival, maybe a nod to Silva’s cultural roots. That topic gave Low and Anderson an edge. One of Low’s two siblings, James Low, 31, dances the samba and does Brazilian martial arts while other relatives live in Brazil.

Low and Anderson made a devil’s food cake with butter cream icing and dulce de leche filling, then decorated their five-tier creation with a fantasia of pearls, other jewels and blue feathers, all edible, to suggest a samba dancer.

Their cake did wow the judges, who nevertheless said that the filling could have had more flavor. Still, Low felt confident. “The silver foxes had trouble with their oven, and you could tell they felt disappointed with their cake,” she said.

The judges pronounced Low and Anderson the winners — each received $5,000—but swore them to secrecy until the show aired on July 13. Low and Williams threw a viewing party that day for family, friends and neighbors at the Mt. Airy USA co-working space. “The actual filming took six hours, but editors condensed it to 45 minutes,” Williams said. “Our guests booed and cheered during the show.” Boosters included Low’s mother, Kelly White, 64, who lives in the apartment above the cake shop and helps to care for Evelyn, 2, Low’s and Williams’ daughter. They’re expecting another baby in April.

Autumn has brought more milestones for the Frosted Fox. “It’s the cake shop’s third anniversary,” Williams said. The bakery’s community presence has also grown. “Our cupcakes were in the Woodmere Museum’s Halloween Cake Show,” Low said. “We decorated them with creepy-cool stuff.”

More information at 267-900- 5453 or frostedfoxcakeshop.com