Holiday Baking Championship (2014) - full transcript

Did I mention
that this season is massive?

No, I mean like huge! Boom!

We are going to be
in the holiday spirit.

It's chilly outside,
but in here,

12 bakers are facing
some heated competition.

Hopefully, santa will bring in
a christmas miracle.

More bakers, more challenges,
more surprises.

- Wow.
- They're vying for

$25,000 and the prize of
holiday baking champion.

Yes! But first,

They must amaze our judges.



This cake is naughty.

It's so good. The dried fruit
is like boom, boom, boom!

Yeah.
It's christmas
right on my plate.

It tastes good.

Snow my goodness!

Let's go!

It's "holiday baking
championship!"

Well, you're officially
on the show.

- I am?
- Yeah!

- Really?
- Yeah!

No!

- You are officially on the show.
- I've been waiting

To hear that for so long.

Are you excited
that you're on the show?



Here's my happy dance.

Yay!

Look out california,
here I come.

I'm ready to bake.

Alright, it's finally time to
go. My bags are packed.

Bye, guys. I love you.

Good luck on the show!
I love you!

So we are here at the airport
and I am ready to board,

But somebody is not so ready
for me to board.

Alright, that's my team.
Wish me luck, guys.

Good luck. We'll see you soon.

See you, bud!

So I just flew in from detroit
and landed here in l.A.

And oh, my gosh, this is real.

I can't believe it.

I'm so excited
to see what I can do.

Oh, my god!

Oh, my god!

Wow.

Walking into this
place reminds me of home,

It reminds me that I'm ready
to get the game on

And to start baking.

Oh.

Hi, bakers, welcome to
"holiday baking championship."

Alright, you made it,

It's all about to begin...
The mouth-watering,

Seasonal sweets,
the fun, the stress,

And it's all
going to be worth it

Because one of you
will walk out of here

With $25,000,

A chance to be featured
on the food network kitchen app,

And the title
of holiday baking champion.

Let's get to baking already,
let's go.

- Yeah!
- Yeah!

For your first
preheat of the season,

We're going to kick things off
with a kind of dessert

That people are embracing
like crazy at home...

Quick bread.

Okay.

To be honest, I'm not thrilled.

I don't really do
too many breads all that often.

I'm a cake guy,
so I'm definitely

Outside of my comfort zone
already.

And since this is
a championship,

We don't want the kind
of old-school quick breads

That impress your neighbors.
No, we want festive.

We want decorative...
Quick bread wreaths.

- Ooh!
- Ooh!

Alright. Now take
a look around the kitchen.

There are 12 mini wreaths

And they're hung all around.

Now, when time starts,
you're going to grab one

To discover what flavor
quick bread you got to bake.

Now, bakers, trust me
when I tell you

Doing well in the
preheat has never

Been more important than today.

Oh.

In a first-ever in
the holiday baking championship,

The least successful baker
will be leaving us

After the preheat.

- Oh.
- Wow.

Your place in this competition

Is on the line right away.

Okay, we're giving you two hours

To create a festively decorated
quick bread wreath

And your baking time starts...

Now.

All-spice. Okay.

Chocolate orange.

My name is aubrey shaffner.

I'm an executive pastry chef
from baltimore, maryland.

For me, holiday traditions
are very busy.

We celebrate hanukkah
on my mom's side.

We celebrate christmas
on my dad's side.

And my birthday
is christmas eve.

So if that wasn't
an eventful 24 hours

To you people,
I don't know what is.

So I got chocolate orange,

So I'm going to actually do
three chocolates,

Blonde roasted, dark chocolate,

And white chocolate
all combined.

Today I'm making a
triple-chocolate

Orange quick bread wreath.

A quick bread is a bread
that's usually leavened

Through a quicker leavener,

Which is like baking soda
or baking powder

Rather than long proofed

By like some kind of
fresh yeast or instant yeast.

I mix my first batter

By starting
with my blonde chocolate.

I want this to be
really orange focused.

Once I have all of those
mixed together,

I start on my second batter.

So I make a dark
chocolate quick bread batter.

I'm definitely going to
use a molded pan.

And I'm thinking right now I'm
going to do a couple minis.

I feel like at the holidays
you want something

That's like people can pick up.

They don't have to do
a lot of cutting.

I just put my two different
batters in a piping bag

And I swirl them together
right into the pan.

My name is jon buatti.

I'm 16 years old
from auburn, new hampshire,

And I own my own bakery out
of manchester, new hampshire.

Big jon,
what flavor did you get?

I got citrus ginger.
Feel good about it?

Uh, I've been hot and cold.
I didn't like it at first.

It's coming around on it
and I'm not liking it too much.

You got to him them
everywhere with ginger.

I love a good moscow mule.

Around the holidays,
I like to make them

With some tennessee honey,
splash of cranberry,

A little bit of lemon,
and of course, the ginger beer.

A couple more and
then we're good.

I'm making a ginger quick bread
with candied ginger,

Candied lemon, candied orange,
and some dried cranberries.

Let's go, baby.

I'm gonna need way
more spice in these.

My biggest concern for the bake

Is really making sure
that the flavors

Are going to pull through.
This is going to be interesting.

I've never tried
this method before.

You got to get in the oven.

An hour and 15
minutes left, bakers.

Man, oh, man,

The time goes fast, doesn't it?

Ho ho ho, everyone.

I am the santa from atlanta.

I'm jeff gray.
I'm from atlanta, georgia,

And I live there with my husband
and my corgi.

You want to come
with me in the suitcase

And try out the desserts?

I worked for 33 years
in the advertising industry

And about a year ago I gave it
all up to become a home baker.

I got into baking just,
you know, over the years,

You know,
watching my grandmothers,

Watching my mother bake.
She didn't bake a whole lot,

But she always baked
at the holidays.

And once they passed,
I was keeping,

You know, family recipes
alive at the holidays.

All this new equipment. Fun.

Right now it's kind of a hobby.

And winning would give me
the confidence

Probably to grow it
and take it in other directions.

I got a cranberry orange
quick bread...

Two of my favorite flavors.

Not worked with them together.

I'm making an orange
and cranberry quick bread

With candied oranges
and orange glaze.

Jonathan, I used that bag of
cranberries.

I think there's
still more in there.

I'm going to put
whole cranberries

Inside the quick bread
for a quick pop of sour

With the sweet orange.

I'm working with
these pans here,

So I'm hoping to make them
a little more of an elegant

Round wreath
with these little starbursts.

Alright.
And then decoration on top.

Hopefully use some bay leaves
for the green

And some other things
I need to find out about.

And I hope this turns out.

Nothing ventured,
nothing gained.

Hi, lashonda. Hello.

How are you?
You're so beautiful.

Aw, you know, I was going to say
the same thing about you.

Oh, well, thank you!

My name is lashonda sanford,

I am from newport news,
virginia,

And I own scratch bakery.

Pears?
Who want to make with pears?

Who wants to do this?
This is awful.

The flavor I get is spiced pear,

And I automatically think
ginger and pear.

I am making
a spiced pear quick bread

With a ginger
cinnamon reduction.

I'm going to put them on
to the platter.

I'm going to arrange them
in a circle of a wreath.

This could be super spicy.
I don't know.

I don't make things with ginger.

I want a piece of pear
in every bite

So the judges can
taste pear flavor

Bursting through
when they bite it.

I'm taking like
five crystallized ginger

Because I don't want
them to say,

"I cannot taste the ginger."

Going in, baby!

All we can do is pray.

Can I borrow the nutmeg
real quick?

No! Please?

Thank you.

I'll bring it right back.

Hey. What's up, guys?
Welcome to my kitchen.

My name is jamaal.
I am from atlanta, georgia.

I'm a pastry chef and single
and ready to jingle.

So lame.

Let's give it a taste.
Ah, that's rude.

Here, first one's for you.
Got a winner.

Being from the south,
my baking style

Is definitely all about comfort.

All you need is just
a little bit of butter and maybe

A couple of pieces of bacon.
And, you know,

You got a delicious start
to whatever you're doing.

What do you have for ginger,
boss?

Just the crystallized
and the...
yeah.

Alright, well, I have ground
ginger if you need it.
Okay, cool

If I win the holiday baking
championship,

It just might get me
a boyfriend because they say

The best way to a man's heart
is through his stomach.

Ginger citrus.

My flavor that I pulled
is ginger citrus,

Which I'm immediately excited
about just because

That's two
of my favorite flavors.

And they work so well together.

I'm making a blood orange ginger
quick bread with a blood orange

Ginger glaze and a little bit
of candied orange peel

And fresh ginger.

What am I going to do with this?

I'm using just a pinch of salt
just to balance

All the sweetness that's going
on in the quick bread.

I don't want to use
too much salt just because

I don't want it
to turn into a savory pastry.

I use a little bit of
dried ginger just to drive

The ginger flavor home
and just a little bit of nutmeg

Just because it's not the
holidays without nutmeg.

Smells good.

Not in the oven at all,
anywhere near it.

I'm jonathan peregrino.

I am a pastry chef
from detroit, michigan.

Calm down. You got this.

I am actually new
into the food industry.

About two years ago I decided
to leave corporate america

After 15 years and I really
just wanted to follow the dream

And the passion.

Sure, that looks good.

I got cranberry and orange,

So I'm making a buttermilk dried
cranberry and blood orange

Quick bread,
a little bit different

And add a little bit
of blood orange puree.

I'm also adding orange zest
to the batter

To add additional orange flavor.

I then mix my wet ingredients
and my dry ingredients.

Okay, this looks a little weird.

This looks a lot drier
than it should.

A lot of the quick bread batters
that I've done,

Typically they're very light
and almost are runny.

My batter is looking more like
a biscuit than a quick bread.

This does not look right.
This does not look right.

A little more cream.

Throw another egg in there.

Oh, gosh, this looks not right.

Oh, lord,
I'm just hoping it sets.

Hopefully
it's not going to be a dry.

Yeah, that's my question
is whether or not

They are going to come out dry.

Please do your job.

I'm freaking out. Aaah!

One hour left, bakers.

Show us your festive side
with these quick bread wreaths.

I don't know about that.

My batter is not looking like
how it should, and I am worried.

Whew, doggie!

And remember,
bakers, one of you's

Going to receive an advantage

And somebody also
is going to receive a goodbye.

This is a little
bit more biscuit-y,

But I think the flavor tastes
really good right now.

And I think I can add
more flavor in the decoration.

Megan, you okay, baby?

I'm good, girl. How are you?

Whoo! I'm alright, girl.

I don't even know. That's right.

Back of the room, right?
Come on, girl, we got this.

I'm megan rountree,
I'm from keller, texas,

And I own legacy cakes.

Let's get creative.

I got chocolate orange
quick bread.

So I'm going to do a
chocolate-based quick bread

With some orange zest in there,

Some candied oranges and then
some extra chocolate chips,

So it's good and chocolate.

The chocolate chips give you
a good punch of chocolate,

The candied oranges...
- Alright.

...They kind of
have like a gummy texture,

So it changes up the texture
within the bread.

And then the orange zest is just
like true natural orange flavor.

And that's exactly what I want.

Hey, jeffrey,
am I older than you?

Yes.

Thanks a lot, pal.
Hey, but I'm right
behind you.

My name is eva roberts.
I'm from spokane, washington,

And I own a bakery called
just american desserts,

Which I have been
the proprietor for 35 years.

I'm 61 years old.

However, I feel like I'm still
25 in my mind.

So it's really weird.
I feel like I'm the same age

As some of these people,
but I realize

I'm old enough
to be their mother. Ugh!

Get these babies peeled.

I have spiced pear.

So I'm making a spiced pear
quick bread

With a spiced fondant icing

And then do a holly berry
design on the top.

Everything's better
with a little port, right?

I decide, first of all,
to poach pears in port

To get some flavors,
that mulling spice flavors

So that they're cooked enough
and I can chop them up

And add them to my batter.

Don't want to overbeat this.

The problem
with the quick breads.

My inspiration for this spicy
pear quick bread

Comes from all the cream puff
wreaths I make

During the holiday time
at the bakery

And with my grandchildren.

They're the apple of my eye.

Let's get this show
on the road here.

What is it again, lasandra?
Lashondra?

Is that your name? Me?

Yeah. no.

My name's julianna.
I'm not lashondra.

Sorry, my bad! My bad!
I was like "what was that?"

My name is lorenzo delgado.
And I am 23 years old

And I work as a pastry chef
in miami beach, florida.

So I got maple pecan.

Girl, god is on my side,

Because I feel super comfortable
with those ingredients.

Using a lot.

I'm making a pecan
quick bread base

With a maple glaze on top

With some chocolate drizzle
and candied pecans.

I'm using the square pan
because do I want to be

Like everybody else and just
grab another circle pan?

I want to make it
a new innovative wreath.

Into the oven.

Oh, peeler out here?

Oh.

That's better.

Aw.

Wasted so much time.

My name is kess eshun,
I'm 40 years old.

I'm a pastry chef and I live
in frisco, texas.

That is pretty good.

Yes.
That's supposed to be a
christmas tree, right?

It's really good.

I'm married and I have
three boys

And I came over
to the united states

To go to the university
for computer science.

And I hated it.

But my parents were like, "you
can go to culinary school."

So I drove to the culinary
school one day

And I enrolled
in culinary school.

And here I am, a pastry chef.

I'm here to prove to my kids

That you should follow
your dreams.

And to my parents,
I never gave up.

And look at me now,

I'm here competing
on a baking championship.

That's good enough.

I get apple cinnamon,

So I'm going to make apple
cinnamon quick bread

And apple butter cinnamon
cream cheese frosting.

Oh, good.

The first thing
that came to my mind

Was my delicious
banana quick bread,

Which I can make in my sleep.

So I was like, "okay,
instead of banana,

I can caramelize apples
and, you know, add the cinnamon

And make the same quick bread,
and hopefully it works."

I want to get this in
the oven really fast.

Whew! As my pan cake is baking,

I started working
on my cheese cheese frosting.

We going to make it amazing.

I decided to add apple butter

And cinnamon to my cream
cheese frosting.

I wanted to make sure
there's a little bit of cinnamon

And a little bit of apple.

Ooh, double yolk!

It's good luck, right?

My name is kristina stephenson,

And I'm a pastry chef
in spokane, washington.

Pecans.

I get maple pecan.

So I am going to make
a pecan quick bread

With a maple cream cheese swirl,

A maple whiskey glaze,
and a pecan crumble.

Oh, you know what
I forgot to add?

I forgot the leavening.

I combine my dry ingredients
and my wet ingredients

And then I folded
in the toasted pecans.

And then I set it aside so I can
make my cream cheese filling.

Let's get that softening.

So that I can swirl it
into the batter.

Alright. Into the oven.

Bakers, 45 minutes left.

Quick bread wreaths to stay
in this competition.

Julianna.

Julianna,
you just stole my thunder

And ran in front of the camera.

Sorry!

Such a camera hog.

Everybody,
julianna wants to be on tv.

How'd you know?

Jesse's really good looking.

He's really cute but
I'm married so I can't do that.

No.

My name is julianna
from champaign, illinois.

I work in health care industry
as a product manager

And baking is my hobby.

So I'm going to make
a banana bread

But with applesauce
and a lot of cinnamon.

So I get apple cinnamon,
which I love.

I am going to make an apple
cinnamon quick bread

Stuffed with apple
vanilla caramel

Topped with apple
cinnamon buttercream.

This is a quick bread,
so it's just going

To mix everything in there.

This looks a little shy.

Hope for the best.

350. In we go.

Now that the quick bread
is in the oven,

I decide to start on my caramel.

Sugar.
Okay, let's go, sugar. Let's go.

Well, the sugar was sticking
to the sides of the pot

And it was not melting
on the side.

So I have sugar melting.
It's not going too well.

Hopefully it'll
come back to life.

I have no clue what is happening
at this point.

My sugar is not... oh!

You know what, no,
I'm not going to do this.

I cannot serve crystallized
caramel or burnt caramel

To the judges at all.
Man, I feel stupid.

30 minutes left, bakers,
quick bread wreaths.

Someone's going home.

Come on.

So I'm trying to make
this caramel

And nothing is going my way.

I don't want to redo you.
You know what?

No, I'm not going to do this.

There's going to be an
elimination on this challenge,

And it definitely scares me.

Man, I feel stupid.

So I decide to get a sauce pan,

Which has more surface area
which will melt more evenly.

I heat up the cream, which has
vanilla and cinnamon in it.

It's looking good now.
I'm liking this.

I add my butter and then
I use an immersion blender

To blend it a little bit
to make it smooth and soft.

I'm happy with this.

I'm a mess right now.

So my cranberry orange quick
bread looks a little bit dry.

It is definitely lighter
and fluffier than

A biscuit would normally be.
So I think I'm going to be okay.

And I think adding
the glaze on top

Is going to help soften
the outside of it.

I'm making a blood orange glaze.

So I mix it to a very thin
consistency

So it comes off of the mini
quick breads.

Trying to make sure to see these
little imprints of the rose.

The inspiration behind my wreath
is around the holidays,

I'll try to find like a bouquet,
especially a bouquet of roses

Just to give to my mom
when I come to see her.

You got some big ones
over there, aubrey.

I know. I know.

Mine look tiny
compared to yours.

This is the holiday.
Go big or go home.

That's what all the girls say.

Now it's time
to decorate and assemble.

Okay, so what am I going to do
for decoration?

When I was in middle school,

We lived in virginia
near colonial williamsburg,

And the homes would be decorated

With magnolia leaves
and fresh fruit.

So my first thought is to try
to recreate one of those wreaths

In baked goods.

Making a glaze
to go on top of this

And using a little bit
of an orange liqueur

That I put into the bread.

So hopefully it'll
bring another kick to it.

I arranged my quick breads
in a circular pattern.

I'm going to use
candied oranges,

Whole cranberries and bay leaves
in part of my decoration.

Now comes the fun part.

Let's get a glaze a-going.

Once I'm ready
to start decorating,

I get my chocolate orange
quick bread leaves

Out of the pan
and then I'm going to dip them

So that the orange glaze
can start setting up.

There we go! Cute, cute, cute.

In order to add
another dimension to my wreath,

I want to add in some
chocolate ornaments

So I melt some red chocolate
and I use a sphere mold.

So perfect.

It smells good over here. Yeah.

Thanks!

So to make my maple pecan
quick bread looks like a wreath

I'm going to make
a pecan streusel

That I'm going to color green

To get that color and festivity
in there.

So I combine oats, flour, brown
sugar and some toasted pecans,

A pinch of salt
and some green full color.

Wrap it up in plastic wrap
and I throw it

In the blast chiller to chill

So that it'll be hard enough for
me to be able to grate.

What are you? Bourbon whiskey!

I grab the whiskey
and I come back

And I make a really quick glaze,

Dip them into the glaze,

And then I proceed
to dip them into the crumble

And they come out
just like I was hoping for.

Ooh, what is that?

It is a streusel topping.

That is so cute. Thank you.

This one's for you, nancy.

For my wreath, I'm making
a cinnamon whiskey glaze.

After I finish with the syrup,

I start working on my tuiles.

You know what,
nancy is going to see this

And she's going to say
it has no color.

So I got to add some food color.

I realized that there's
no cutouts of leaves,

So I literally had
to make my own with acetate.

And then I just started
smearing on that tuile batter,

And then baked it in the oven
until I got some color.

Pretty good.

A bit of whiskey.

So I go over,
I grab some whiskey and I grab

A little bit of ginger syrup
throw that in my buttercream.

A bit more whiskey never hurt.
Ooh!

A good splashing.

Alright, bakers, 5 minutes left.

Can't go home today.

Ooh!

I'm going to add a little
bit of apple butter and water

And make an apple
cinnamon syrup with it.

Just going to brush it
and let it soak in a little bit.

It will infuse my cake
to prevent it from drying up.

And I place it on my cake board
and start frosting.

Oh, I'm shaking. I'm shaking.

Whew!

Julianna, what's going
on over there?

That looks delicious.
It's a lot of caramel.

I'm trying to control it.
That's a lot of caramel.

But I'm not sure if it'll work.

My decorating plan
is to take all the quick breads

Laid out in a circle, coat the
whole wreath all around.

My hands are shaking.

And then place some
flowers on top.

Okay, that's more like a wreath.

Look at that.
Ain't that beautiful?

I'm going
winter wonderland for this year.

I get my cookie cutters,
I get a snowflake,

I get a snowman,
and I just start cutting those

Out of my modeling chocolate
and I just start painting away,

Trying to spray a little bit
of silver dust on there

To give it sort of
a sparkly glowy effect.

Jon, what's up with the bowl?

I am trying to make sure
that it's a nice, clean center

In the middle of my wreath,
just like that.

Let's go. 45 seconds.

In my last minute, I realize
I have no proper color.

I had to put something
on this plate,

So I throw the coating chocolate
in the bag

And I pipe probably
the worst bow I've ever made.

10 seconds left.

Hurry up!

Time's up! - Whoo!

Nice job, guys.

Oh, my god.

So judges, for this
preheat challenge,

Our bakers had two hours

To create a festively decorated
quick bread wreath.

Let's bring in lorenzo.
- Alright.

- Oh! What up?
- What's up?

Way to make an entrance. Okay!

Of course, remember our judges,
nancy fuller,

Duff goldman,
and welcome, carla hall.

Tell us about
what you decided to make.

Okay, so luckily
I got maple pecan.

So I have a pecan quick bread
with a maple glaze icing

With a little bit
of cinnamon whiskey, nancy.

Ooh! I got you, girl.

And then I got
some vanilla tuiles

With some candied pecans.

As you can see, I went for
a nontraditional type of wreath.

I went for the square pans.
On the actual tray itself,

It's supposed to be a door with
a little christmas wreath on it.

I love it. I love
that you thought it through you.

You have sold me
on the square wreath.

I'm doing a square wreath
this year.

When we sell the square wreath,
it's because of you.

Yes. Definitely getting maple.

Yeah? Yeah. Really nice.

I did get the pecan. Okay.

I did get the maple. Yes.

But I didn't get enough of it!

I knew it was coming.
I knew it was coming.

Okay.

Alright, lorenzo.
Thank you, man.

Awesome. Thank you guys.

- Thank you.
- Bye!

Hey, lashonda. Oh, my god,

You're actually
here in the flesh.

I was thinking there
was going to be like

Little stand up dolls,
but it's really you.

So what flavor did you get?
Spiced pear.

What I've made for you today
was a spiced pear quick bread

With a spiced ginger
cinnamon reduction glaze

With some fondant decoration
and some sliced pears

And some powdered sugar on top.

So you have these, like,
beautiful cakes with the glaze,

Like, dripping down
and they're like really organic.

And then you have
bright red fondant

And bright green fondant.

I could hear nancy say "color."

- Thank you.
- Yes, absolutely.

I mean, the color is important,
but you want to, like,

Blend those together like that,

Kind of like make
a little more sense.

Okay.
I just can't say enough
about the flavor.

And the spice
is so well balanced.

I actually love the raw pear.

I find the cake
to be a little sweet,

But because of the raw pear,

It actually resets your palate
to go back in.

Lashonda, great stuff.

Thank you so much. Thank you.

Hey, guys. Hi, jeff!

Santa's here!

Yes, that's right, I was dubbed
this morning santa of atlanta,

So I guess
that's my new nickname.

Santa of atlanta. I love that.

Well, I got cranberry orange.

So it's an orange
cranberry quick bread

And it's got whole
cranberries and orange zest,

Orange juice inside,
a little bit of orange liqueur,

Topped with candied orange peel,

A little bit of buttercream
and a drizzle of a glaze

That has some orange
liqueur in it as well.

Mmm!

I think it's very festive.

I'm thinking it's a little
more thanksgiving

Than it is christmas.

Okay. I like this a lot more

Than I thought
I was going to.
Oh, that's great.

I like the orange. I really like
that chew on there.

I think your cake,
it's not quite as like

Just tender as I wanted.

Okay.
But your flavors
are really great.

The cranberry orange flavor
overall really works.

And the cranberries
that are inside give you

That a little bit of bright.

Alright. Thank you, jeffrey.

-Thank you.
-Thank you.
-Thank you.

Kristina, hey. Hi!

It's really you guys.

I pulled the maple pecan,

So I have made a pecan quick
bread with a maple cream cheese

Filling, a maple whiskey glaze,

And then I have
a pecan streusel.

One of the things
I love about christmas

Is all the wreaths
and the trees.

And I think looking at yours,

It just feels like
really kind of woodsy.

Yeah. The yellow kind of
like wakes you up a little bit,

Though, like.
It's not my favorite bow
I've ever made.

It's a bow? Yeah.

It's a pop of color!
Damn, nancy!

It's an accent.

I'm sorry.

They love me because
I tell it like it is.

Yes. I kind of expected
that reaction from you.

I think that the bow looks like
a flying animal went by

And pbht, and kept going.

Like I went the forest theme.

Oh, dear.

It's time to taste.

You have wonderful, wonderful
pecan flavor.

Thank you.

Well, I get the maple
in the glaze,

If you're only eating
the top of the cake.

I actually love how it's baked.

I just wish... maybe you needed
a simple syrup.

The sides and how crunchy they
are are great.

You just needed
to introduce something moist.

Alright, kristina,
thank you.
Thank you so much.

- Thank you!
- Thank you very much.

Hi, jonathan. Hey, judges.

- Hi, jonathan!
- Oh, my god.

Oh!

Ohhh!

I got cranberry and orange.

So what I made for you today
is a dried cranberry

And blood orange
buttermilk quick bread.

I think that the green
is a little vibrant.

It doesn't say holiday to me.

Right now you have
some circular roses

That are the start of a wreath.

But then now you have
to decorate it.

Jonathan, honey,

I think we need to
change the recipe

Because I think that
it's way too dense.

All of the flavors that you
promised, the candied orange,

The blood orange,
the cranberries, I got.

What did this look like when
you were putting it in the pan?

It was a little thicker
than I'm used to seeing.

I had tried to lighten up
a little bit with a little bit

Extra of the milk
and just another egg.

Ooh, the other egg.

Might have been the egg.
The other egg.

- Alright, jonathan, thanks.
- Thanks.

Thanks, jonathan.

The texture was way too dense.

It was way too thick.
Very bready.

- Yeah, it was really bready.
- This is the first time

In a holiday baking championship

That someone's going to be
eliminated in the preheat.

So if I get sent home
because of this,

I'm going to be
super disappointed.

Judges, holiday decorated
quick bread wreaths.

Hey, guys. Hi, jamaal!

So I got citrus ginger,
so this is a ginger

And blood orange quick bread.

So there's a ginger
and orange glaze on top

And candied ginger
and orange peel.

It reads like a plate
of cookies to me,

Though, and it doesn't
say wreath.

I'm getting the citrus,
I'm getting the blood orange.

There's something missing.
I need a punch of flavor.

I think it's salt.
Did you put salt in?

I did it, just like
a quarter teaspoon.

A quarter teaspoon?
Probably could have used
a little bit more.

What is really nice is that
I'm definitely getting ginger.

I'm definitely
getting the citrus.

Alright, jamaal, thanks, man.
Thank you guys so much.

- Thank you.
- Thank you!

Hi, eva. Hello.

I love your hair.

It's warm in here, and I thought
I'm just going to be dripping.

The tall jon and he goes, "well,
I have some extra bandanas,"

So I'm going to go
back to spokane

Eventually looking really hip.

Yes. This is a new look for eva.

You're welcome.

Spiced pear is the flavor
that I received.

So this is a spiced pear
quick bread with poached pears

That I poached in port

With a spiced fondant glaze
on the top.

I think it reads wreath,
you know?

Definitely like this
is a wreath made of baked goods,

But I think it says wreath.

Mmm! Mmm!

Oh. I know.

- Oh-ho!
- Oh-ho!

I think I want to take you home.

Ooh, wow! Whoo-hoo!

It is absolutely divine.
Thank you.

I want a little more
spice in the cake,

But the pear carries
so much flavor.

I would say,
because the cake is so tender,

I would have thinned out
that fondant a little bit.

Okay.
But this is...
I'm excited about you.

Well, thank you.
Hope I don't disappoint.

Eva, thank you so much.
Thank you.

Thank you very much. Thank you.

Hi, my name is aubrey,
I'm from baltimore.

Nice. Yes.

Yeah, baltimore! Whoo!

I got chocolate and orange.

So we have a swirled
chocolate batter

With a blonde chocolate
and orange batter

That are mixed together.

And then I finished off
with a white chocolate glaze.

Zhuzh'd it up with some orange
liqueur for you, nancy,

And then finished it off
with some really nice

Candied garnishes to kind of
bring in that festive spirit.

Uh, these look delicious.

The drippy-ness of it,

All the stuff that's on top.
Unfortunately,

It just looks like
a circle of delicious things,

Not necessarily a wreath.

I love all the textures.
Thank you.

But I find it to be dry.
I mean, it really is dry.

I mean,
I can actually crumble it.

I got a little orange,
but I-I-I...

I was disappointed

Because I wanted it
to be really good.

You and me both.

Alright, aubrey,
thank you.
Thank you so much.

- Thank you very much.
- Thank you.

- Hi, julianna.
- Hi!

So I had the apple cinnamon,
I was lucky,

I love apple cinnamon,
so I have apple cinnamon

Quick bread filled
with cinnamon vanilla caramel

And I have a cinnamon
apple buttercream.

Can't wait. I don't want
to touch these roses.

They're so beautiful.
But I will.

Are you a cake decorator?

I'm a home baker.
Are you really?

I am. So this is home baking.

You know, I tell you,

Like making organic shapes
with buttercream

I find to be
incredibly difficult.

It's really impressive.

-Mmm. -Mmm. -Mmm.

Crunchy. It's okay?

- Oh!
- Wow.

Well, it's one of the best bites
I've had today.

Okay!

It was really delicious,
the caramel that you did,

That bitter note
was really great inside.

I got apple,
I wanted more cinnamon.

Okay, next time.

I'll make sure
you get some cinnamon.

Nice job. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you.

Off you go. Okay.

Beat it.

Bye, judges!

Hey, jon. Nice to meet you guys.

My flavor that I got
was citrus and ginger.

So what I have in front
of you today is a ginger muffin

Quick bread with candied ginger,
dried cranberries,

Candied lemon and candied orange
as well, with a whiskey

Ginger buttercream.

You're talking my language,
honey, thank you.

It's kind of like a kentucky
mule in my buttercream,

So I'm pretty excited
with how that came about.

I can't wait!

I like the fact that

It really looks like snow.

Like when I was first
looking at it, I was like,

This just feels like colder
and like a little more wintry.

Dude. You got a dude.

No, I'm from tennessee,
but I don't drink.

But the buttercream is really...
Nancy should be really happy.

I got a little twirl.

Whew! Ha! Whew!

Perfect.

You got to stay warm
out in new England.

I think the ginger
comes through beautifully.

Thank god.
I'm not sure
I'm getting the citrus.

I agree with carla.
I'm definitely getting ginger.

I got no citrus.
It could be because

There's like a shot
and a half of whiskey in there.

I could stand
a little more myself.

Shocker.

Alright, jon. Thank you, man.

Thank you, judges.
Appreciate it.

Thank you, jon.

It was a lot of bourbon.

But I think if you had had
the citrus to balance that,

It wouldn't have been
so whiskey forward.

You know, it it had the citrus.

Alright, so judges, out with
the old-school banana bread

And with these
quick bread wreaths.

Let's bring in megan.
- Hi, megan!

Hi! So I got chocolate orange,

And so I made a chocolate-based
quick bread

With a little bit of candied
oranges on the inside,

Some orange zest and then an
orange glaze going on the top.

I really just wanted
to kind of bring

The holiday wreath to life.
I love dimension,

So trying to get
a couple of layers in there,

A little bit more chocolate
with some chocolate pinecones,

Some chocolate ornaments,

And then just kind of ribbons
and candy canes

And things that you would
typically find on a wreath.

Well, I think it's the best
wreath we've seen thus far.
Oh, good!

And I'm delighted to know that
those ornaments are chocolate.

What's going on inside here?

A little bit of chocolate
chips, candied oranges,

And then some orange
zest as well.

I just think these are great.
It's nice to sort of have

This cake that's like
kind of chocolate flavor.

And then every once
in a while, chocolate.

You know what I mean?
You get like a bigger

Sort of chocolate flavor,

And the orange is really nice.
Thank you very much.

If I'm having chocolate,
I want some friends.

Orange is a really great friend
to chocolate.

The thing that makes this
so delicious and the crumb

So moist,
the candied orange peel,

The chocolate chips,
and that beautiful batter,

And it is really fantastic.

And then you
get the crunches on the outside.

- Thank you very much.
- You're very welcome.

- Thank you, megan.
- Nice job, megan.

- Hey, kess.
- Hi.

- Hi!
- How are you doing?

I got apple cinnamon,

So you have the apple cinnamon
quick bread with cream cheese

Infused with cinnamon
and apple butter.

I think it's lovely.

I think it absolutely epitomizes
a wreath,

Gets extremely holiday,
and I can't wait to taste it.

It tastes good.
Does it taste good?

That, I know. "that, I know!"

Can't really wait now. Enjoy.

Mmm! Oh.

Duff, talk to me.

Mmm! Everybody just "mmm!"

Everybody said, "mmm!"

Man, the inside is just like
a cloud, you know,

Got the cinnamon,
I'm tasting apple,

But I'm really tasting cinnamon.

This is a nice little cake.
Thumbs up.

Thank you so much.
And it is so well balanced.

Your spices, your cinnamon,

Your apple, everything
is perfectly balanced.

We don't get that a lot.

So well, you just keep it up,
girlfriend.

You get the apple,
you get the cinnamon.

The cream cheese that you wanted
to give us is fantastic.

Well done.
Alright, kess.
Thank you so much.

-Thank you.
-Nice job.
-Thank you.

This is delicious. Delicious.

This is delicious.

Bakers, as you see,

We've done a little bit
of redecorating.

This is the naughty
or nice list.

We're going to be
tracking your status.

The naughtiest of the bunch
will be at the very bottom.

Now, the naughty or nice list

That's going to be
hanging around all season.

And it's going to remind you
basically where you stand.

Your quick bread wreaths
really put us

In the holiday spirit. eh.

But only one of you
will be opening the door

To the advantage.

And that baker is...

Kess!

Oh, my god! For real?

Yes, kess, for real.

You won the advantage,
you won the preheat.

Wow!

So I bet you wonder
what you've earned.

Yes.

I'll tell you about that
in a minute.

I did let you know earlier
that you really needed

To perform in this preheat

Because the least
successful baker

Is going to be going home now.

There are two bakers that
struggled in this challenge.

And they ended up in the bottom.

Jon and...

Jonathan.

Jon and jonathan, will you guys
please step forward?

Good luck, man.

Alright, guys, when I show
you the naughty or nice list,

If your name is in red,

That means you're going
to be leaving us.

You guys ready? Yeah.

Okay.

Alright, guys, when I show you
the naughty or nice list,

If your name is in red,

That means you're gonna
be leaving us.

Jonathan.

Sorry, man.

I'm so sorry, man.

Unfortunately, your time
with us was short.

It was also definitely sweet.

But now is the time
to say goodbye.

You did a good job, man.

We all have bad days.

And it's still been
a wonderful experience.

But I guess I'm really
just disappointed

That I wasn't able
to show everybody

Who I am as a baker,
and what I can really do.

Brr!

It's really getting cold
in here, bakers,

Don't you think?

It really of makes you realize
how important a winter hat is

This time of year.

I mean, because if you were
all wearing hats,

You wouldn't be getting snow
in your hair, right, kess?

Yeah.

Which is the inspiration
for the main heat.

You're gonna have 2 1/2 hours
to create winter hat cakes.

Now, when time starts,
you're each gonna claim a hat

To use as inspiration
for your cake.

Oh, and kess,
as the winner of the pre-heat

That green w next to your name,

That gives you the first choice
of a winter hat

To inspire your cake.

So, kess, come on up.

Choose a hat.

Kess runs right up, and picks
the christmas tree hat.

And that's the hat
I had my eye on.

Kess, why did you
choose that one?

'cause I like
the color and texture.

I want to scream.

Alright, bakers,

2 1/2 hours, winter hot cakes.

And sadly, another one of you
is gonna be leaving

This cozy kitchen today.

So, make sure it isn't you,
alright?

Okay. Your baking time starts...

Now.

I want the chicken.

I got this little
striped knit guy.

I love the amount of detail
that's in the knit,

So I'm hoping
that I have enough time

To do that, as well,
with some piping.

I love everything
about the holidays.

And it just means family time.

You like it?

I am married, with two kids, and
I have another one on the way.

I want this bad enough
that I came out here

Seven months pregnant......

So I am ready to bring it home.

My daughter is really into
earmuffs in the wintertime.

So, headgear is something
that I'm familiar with.

So, I am gonna do
a cinnamon swirl cake

With a cookie dough filling.

So, it's going to end up tasting
like a snickerdoodle.

To make it look like a hat,

I'm going to end up using
five layers

That I can try to carve
into a dome shape.

And then, I need to make
my brown sugar swirl.

We always have
a snickerdoodle cake

Around the holidays,

And I think that it's definitely
a winning flavor.

Let's swirl these guys together.

The pressure to stay
on top of my game

Is definitely real,
with the naughty or nice list,

Because it is quite obvious
where you're standing.

Right. Let's go to the oven.

Look at megan.
Going in first again, megan.

Nobody cares.

The hat I got
was a reindeer hat.

I love hats like that.

My hat looks like two little
antlers, and little elf ears.

Get that flour out of there.
Come on, baby, let's go.

You're officially on the show.

Oh, my gosh.

Let me sit down.

I am married to a wonderful
man named diedrich sanford.

We've been married
for 23 years now,

And we have three children,
and I am a grandma.

My baking style is that
old-fashioned home-cooking

Pound cake-eating bacon.

Today, I'm gonna make
a double chocolate cake

With a chocolate whipped ganache

As my filling,
with chopped pretzels.

And I'm going with a
milk chocolate frosting, too.

Because my hat is brown,

So, I thought, "let's bring
chocolate inside and outside."

Most people use boiling water.

I use coffee in mine.

This is my secret potion
to my cake.

I feel like this is gonna
make the chocolate really shine.

All cakes in.

- Jeffrey, how are we doing?
- Doing great.

How are you doing?
- Doing great.

I see a beautiful blue hat here.

Why did you pick that one?

I love the cool colors.

It reminds me of
the winter season.

I'm making a
white chocolate peppermint cake

With a white chocolate
buttercream.

I want to convey the feeling

Of why you would
put that hat on.

I was in alaska a few years ago,
and to see the glaciers there,

One of the highlights
of my life.

The ice is so bright white
that it's actually blue.

So, that's why I'm using
this blue color palette.

I want to have a little bit
of a wow factor

When we cut into the cake.

So, I color
one of the layers blue.

Ooh, that's bright blue.

So, the hat I chose
was a red hat with,

Like, fluffy inside.

So, I'm gonna do a toasted
coconut cake for the fur.

And then, I'm gonna do
a cranberry filling with coconut

And cream cheese coconut icing.

This in there.

Now that my cake is in the oven,

And I start moving on
to the cranberry filling.

I toss that in the pot
with some sugar,

Some lemon juice,

And I just mix those until
they get to a nice consistency.

I've never paired coconut
and cranberries before,

But I feel like the tartiness
of the cranberries

And coconut rich flavor,

I feel like it'll
mesh well together.

So, I had the advantage
to pick the first hat.

My eyes just caught
the green christmas tree,

With the christmas colors.

So, I'm making a bourbon
butter pecan coconut cake

With a bourbon-infused
swiss meringue buttercream.

To make the shape of the hat,

I'm going to bake the cake
three layers, and carve it.

Now, they're beautiful.

The judges wanted
a lot of spices,

So I'm gonna put a lot.

I'm gonna do a cardamom cake
with some pear filling.

And I'm gonna have a buttercream
that's honey flavored.

Coming out well.

I'm excited.

This is stella, 5 years old.

And this is porro,
just 5 months old.

And we live
in champaign, illinois.

I moved to champaign,
illinois, about two years ago,

When my husband
started medical school.

And I knew that,
coming from a big city...

Seattle... there would be
less activities

To be participating in.

So, I wanted to
keep myself busy.

So, I gifted myself
a blast chiller.

I always took this baking
as a hobby.

But if I really do win this,

I feel like I could be...
It could be more than a hobby.

It could be something
that I go into.

So, I really hope I win.

I placed exactly in the middle,

So I'm not naughty or nice.

I'm, like, average, really.

I don't want to be average.

Right in the middle.

Nobody touches my cake.

So, when it came to
the pear filling,

I start by chopping up
the pears.

I put it on the stove.
I put my spices,

Which was cinnamon,
some cardamom.

I, personally, love yuzu.

Yuzu has more, like,
a floral flavor,

To go along with the spices.

It'll be so good.

So, I picked the hat
that I thought was,

Like, the most cool to look at.

It's a pretty intricate hat,
so I'm gonna try to go ahead

And capture
some of those colors.

I'm gonna do a
cranberry almond cake

With a cranberry compote
in the middle,

And a simple
vanilla buttercream.

My hat has antlers,

And it's a huge design
element of the hat.

So, to replicate this,

I decide to make
some shortbread cookie.

No matter what you do,
make it look like an antler.

- Hey, kristina.
- Hello.

You got the turkey hat?

I did.
And I'm very excited about it.

Did you want to get
the turkey hat?

Oh, yeah.

I definitely think I have

The most difficult hat
to recreate,

But I think mine
is the most fun.

So, what are we making today?

Huckleberry muffins.

That's right.

My fondest holiday memory

Is probably baking
with my children.

I get very busy around
the holidays, just, with work.

And so, I've made a deal
with santa that he will put

All of the special gifts
into a ginormous santa bag.

And he will leave it
for the kids,

So that they can't open
any presents without me.

I just found out...
Mom's on the show!

My daughter, one day,
wants to be on

The "kids baking championship,"

So I think she's gonna
be pretty stoked

That mom's got a little foot
in the door for her, there.

I need to get
these pans prepared.

My plan for this is to use cake

For my turkey legs
and turkey wings.

Then, I'm going to use fondant
to make the santa hat.

Alright. Cream, baby. Cream.

So, I have decided to make
a vanilla cake

With a black pepper
cardamom pastry cream,

A salted caramel
and a roasted apple filling,

And then, a sort of
caramel swiss buttercream.

To make my apple filling,

I sprinkle on some pectin,
throw in some cubed butter.

I got this beautiful
snowflake hat.

And I was totally taken back
to the coldest place

I've ever lived, which was utah.

I felt what - 20 feels like.

So I was like, "I need something
to warm me up."

So, I thought of hot cocoa.

I'm making a peppermint
hot chocolate cake

With layers of
devil's food cake,

Chocolate ganache,
marshmallow fluff,

Candied peppermint,
and cocoa nibs.

So, to make this
look like a hat,

I'm gonna take
regular white fondant,

Lay that over
my buttercream cake,

And then finish it with some
black and silver snowflakes.

Alrighty.

I got the trapper hat.

It reminds me of
my favorite, favorite movie,

"christmas vacation,"
where you have cousin eddie.

I'm making my standard
delicious, moist,

Wonderful chocolate fudge cake.

It's made of unsweetened
chocolate, brown sugar,

Sour cream.

There you have it.

While my cakes
are baking in the oven,

I am making my buttercreams.

The chocolate buttercream
is gonna be

The filling for my cake,
and also my fur.

My filling is basically
chocolate and butter.

It's a very, very rich,
almost fudgie type of frosting.

Beautiful.

Can I just steal
a squeeze, real quick?

I'll bring it back.
Can I steal a squeeze?

For my marscapone frosting,

I'm hoping that
the color combination

Is gonna be enough
to stay "holiday."

That's the red
I was looking for earlier.

As I'm working away
on my marzipan frosting,

I realize I smell something
a little off.

Oh, no.

And I'm like, "oh, my goodness.

My cookies."

Santa don't like
no burn cookies.

I'm definitely
a lot stressed out,

So, try to make it work.

90 minutes to go.

Winter had cakes,

So, I burned my cookies.
I'm freaking out a little bit.

But I've got a little bit
of extra dough.

So I'm gonna try to get this
all assembled,

Bake off a couple more,
and assemble my cake,

And pull it off in the end.

Alright. Be blessed.

Cake day, baby.

Kess, miss cool calm and
collected, is at the top.

Makes sense.

And then, you've got me
at the bottom,

Mr. Poor time management.

Not surprised.

So, we're getting ready for

The "holiday baking
championship," here,

Prepping up our recipes.

Got my best
little helper right here,

Mr. Stark.

Hogging up my textbook, though,

So, gonna have to
figure that out.

Oh.

No, he's still out.

People don't usually think
I'm a baker when they see me.

I'm a pretty tall guy.
I'm about 6'4".

I've got this big,
ugly thing on my face.

But don't let it fool you.

I can still throw down
in the kitchen.

I am engaged.

Back in February,
I proposed to my best friend.

So, I've got a wedding to plan,

And $25,000
would definitely help us,

As far as that goes.

We've got a little bit of clove.

Today, I'm gonna be making
a vanilla spice cake

With cinnamon whiskey
simple syrup,

With a cream cheese filling,
and cinnamon buttercream icing.

After my cakes are in the oven,
and baking,

I start getting going
on that buttercream.

Jon, what's up, man?
How we doing?

We doing okay?

Yeah. I'm planning my next...
My next move.

Why did you choose this hat?

'cause that's a hat
I would wear at home.

I love the hand-knitted hats.

My fiance's mother
loves to knit,

So she makes me one every year.

That's awesome.
So, yeah, that's my inspiration.

Behind this, is my soon
to be mother-in-law.

Which is a very smart...
Very smart...

This one's for you, susan.

You have a very,
very smart son-in-law.

So, the inspiration
for my fake flavors

Is peppermint hot chocolate.

While my ganache
is finishing up,

I start my marshmallow fluff,

Because you can't have hot
chocolate without marshmallow.

They told me
my cakes were too dry,

And I will not have
that happen again.

I'm going to soak my cake
with my mint liquor syrup.

I really want to bring
those holiday flavors in there,

So I have my chocolate ganache
and chocolate cake...

Like the cocoa...

My marshmallow fluff
to go on top,

And then a little bit
of peppermint accented.

This is not how this works.

Just let this naturally
do its thing.

After finishing
this cranberry filling,

I start working on
that cream cheese frosting.

I wanted to make sure
that my flavor components

Correlated with the colors
of the actual hat itself.

So, I've been baking
for seven years, now.

Everywhere I work, I have always
been the youngest one in there.

And all the 28-year-olds,
the 30-year-olds,

They just look at you like you
don't really know anything.

But in reality, I do know a lot.

I'm gonna go to the freezer.

The sheetcake is done,
so I'm filling, stacking,

Filling, stacking.

And then, you close it on top.

Ooh.

Wow.
- How does it smell for you?

Oh.

Oh, my gosh.

I would just eat it like that.

It's my favorite cake. It is?

- Yeah.
- Really?

And I have some pear filling.

I think I'm gonna cook it
a little longer.

So, for the buttercream,

I decide to do a honey
bourbon buttercream,

Which goes really well
with cardamom.

Go, but I buttercream, go.

I've got to hurry up.
I have a lot of piping to do.

And then, I pipe buttercream
around the edges of the cake,

And I fill the middle
with the pear filling.

I think this is enough.

Behind you.

I'm making a cranberry compote
for my cake

Because it's one of my favorite
flavors of the season,

And I think it is really nicely
with almond.

Fresh cranberries, a little bit
of sugar, and orange juice.

So, essentially, it's cooking
those cranberries

Down into a jam,

So that I can make
a filling for my cake.

There's gonna be a nice pop
tart cranberry compote there

To balance out some of
the sweetness of the cake.

That's is as good
as that's gonna get today.

So, with the cranberry compote,

I'm going to put that between
the layers of the cake.

So, in addition to
the swiss buttercream,

There's gonna be a nice pop of
tart cranberry compote, there.

Making it happen.
I'm making it happen, you know?

Ooh. Smell that peppermint.

Trying to match the colors
of the hat itself

Is very challenging.

It's very muted blues,
and greys.

I want to match them
as much as possible.

That's gonna do.

There's a white layer
on the bottom.

Then, I put
a layer of buttercream,

The blue layer,
and some white chocolate chips.

I'm a huge white chocolate fan.

Growing up, at easter,

I always had a white chocolate
bunny in my basket.

Plus, it's a little burst of,
you know, extra white chocolate.

Most people are going into
sculpted cakes.

I have never sculpted a cake.

I weigh my options,
and decide I'm going to go with

The traditional round cake,
piped with a design

That is going to be inspired
by my hat,

But not sculpted.

We're good.

I pull out my cakes.

Then, I'm gonna make

My black pepper-cardamom
pastry cream.

Alright, let's get
this pastry cream started.

Oh, you're thickening. Perfect.

Good, good, good, good, good.

Black pepper is one of
my favorite ingredients.

My style is to pull in some
savory aspects into my desserts.

My biggest concern
for this challenge

Is making sure that I can get
all the flavors into the cake

And still have time to decorate.

Put a little bit of the caramel
on all the layers,

And then, I alternate where I've
got the pastry come on one layer

And the apple filling
on the next.

Oh. Lovely.

Yeah, baby.
That's what I'm talking about.

Once everything's chilled,
and it's all cooled down,

I level them,
and then stack them

With the chocolate buttercream.

You can do it.

What's really challenging
with the trapper hat

Is going to be
carving the shape.

Make this look like a hatch.

Oh, my goodness gracious.

Eva, how are we doing,
over there?

We're doing good.

What are we doing?
What are we in the process of?

We are making a trapper hat.

A trapper hat.

A trapper hat. Okay.

It has the earflaps, you know,
like elmer fudd would wear.

Yeah. We wear those
in canada, eva.

That's where I'm from,
originally.

Eh? Yeah. Eh. That's right.

I got some good-looking cakes

Coming out of my oven.

And I'm really happy about it.

My cakes are done.

My buttercream is done.

I'm taking some advice
from duff this time,

And I'm hitting this with
a little bit of simple sirup

My cake is gonna be filled
with a cream cheese buttercream,

And then topped with a cinnamon
buttercream on the outside.

Alright, bakers,
winter hot cakes.

And this is to stick around.

Let's make some filling.

I'm going to get started
on my cookie dough filling.

This is not a real cookie dough.

This is an icing
that we have made to taste

Exactly like cookie dough,
with no egg moves.

So soft and fluffy.

Oh, yeah.

Cinnamon.

Okay.

- Hey, megan?
- Yes?

Want to hear a great joke?

Oh, boy. Do I.

Alright.

So, two hats are hanging out
in the hat rack.

And one looks at the other
and says, "you stick around,

I'm going to go on ahead."

Oh. That's a good.

That was a good one.

My cake filling is going to be

A whipped ganache.

I take heavy cream,

And I take my melted chocolate
chips, and I whisk it together.

Once I get my
whipped ganache together,

I end up folding
some chopped pretzels,

'cause I'm thinking
I want to add

A little bit of salty
into my sweet.

And I think it's gonna be
a good crunch.

Oh, oh.

Yeah, baby.

My cakes are out of the oven.
I'm feeling great.

Just got to get them assembled.

I put the whipped ganache
pretzel filling

On every layer of my cake.

And on the outside, I have
the milk chocolate frosting.

Come on, cake hold on.

My cake is still in the oven.

And so, I start working on my

Bourbon-infused
swiss meringue buttercream.

I'm against the clock.

I have to get my cake baked
and cooled, so I can ice it.

Otherwise, I'm not gonna get
anything to show the judges.

After some time,
I just checked the cake.

I took it out.

I've got to put this
in the blast chiller.

If the cake is not cool,
the buttercream is gonna melt.

Bakers, may I have
your attention, please.

Oh, crap.
I forgot about this part.

Well, we're still getting
to know all of you.

So, for this twist,
it would be really helpful

If you could embroider your name
onto your winter hate cake,

Like this.

No.

Okay.

Please make sure it has
an embroidered look.

And also, make sure that
it's clearly readable.

Thanks, jesse.

This cake is still hot.

I took it out of
the blast chiller,

And it was still hot.

I've got to do this.

So, I just put it
on the cake board.

Oh, gosh, this is melting.

I put the second cake on top.

It's moving 'cause
the bottom filling is melting.

Now, I have very
little time left,

And I have to start carving
and put into buttercream on.

I'm a little freaked out
right now.

This is not good.

30 minutes left, bakers.

Winter hat cakes.

I've got to say it...
Hats off to you bakers.

Oh! I get it.

Ha ha. Someone's got jokes.

How are you feeling, kess?
How's you cake going?

No good.

What's going on over there?

It's just melting.

Getting a little big.

I've never really
sculpted a cake

That was kind of in a dome form.

But I feel like I would be able
to just trim a little bit off

The top, just to give it
that round dome that it needs.

So, right now, I'm trying to
make the pompoms for my cake,

And I just made it out of
extra leftover cake

Mixed with some icing,
to make, like, a cake ball.

And now, I'm rolling it
in toasted coconuts,

To give it that color.

And I want to pipe that little
knitted texture on the hat.

And I want to make sure that
those little flaps

Are just flapping away
on the end of the board.

Okay. I just have extra icing.

So I'll just use this

For this twist,
I have extra icing,

So I'm just gonna pipe my name
on this cake.

Boom.

So, in order to create
the sort of knitted,

Quilted look into this hat,

I'm just gonna be hand-piping
in small, intricate lines,

That sort of quilted pattern
going throughout the whole cake.

In order to embroider my hat,
I'm just gonna simply pipe j-o-n

Right on the front
in buttercream.

Jon, what the heck?

What's up?
I said "what the heck?"

That looks amazing.
It's what I do, man.

My dome is too hot, so I'm not
even gonna work with it.

I'm gonna go with what I have.

My plan to make my cake
look like a hat

Is to use buttercream, and make
it look like a sweater texture.

Lashonda, how are we doing?

We're making it.

We are hurriedly piping, I see.

Yep. You gonna make it on time?

I think so.

On a scale of 1 to 10, how
stressed would you say you are?

200. 200.

To make the chocolate
for my antlers,

All I do is melt chocolate,

And I just pipe it in a bag.

Fridge.

I also roll out some gum paste
for my little ears,

Because it's the one thing
that I think is gonna hold up,

And not melt,
and not fall apart.

I don't want to do this anymore.

I don't want to do this anymore.

To incorporate my name,
I run and get the fondant.

I roll it out.

And I take a marker
that's edible,

And I write my name, shonda,
on the plaque.

I'm thinking, "it's simple."

But I'm thinking
"I've met the challenge."

Oh, don't break on me. Come on.

Oh, you little pooper.
Don't do that.

Don't do that.

To decorate my cake,

I'm going to put
green fondant on first,

And start brushing some luster
dust on my green fondant,

And pray that
it looks like plaid.

The worst thing that anybody
can ever say when you do a cake

Is "what's that supposed to be?"

Then, I will take
chocolate buttercream,

And attempt to make fur.

You know, I've seen better
looking for in my day.

Alright, little guy,
red at the time.

My plan to decorate this

Is to individually pipe
with buttercream,

In order to get
that stitching detail.

So, every single inch
of this cake is hand-piped.

Let's figure out
how to embroider a name.

My plan here is to, hopefully,

Make it kind of
look like the knit hats

That have some leather
patchwork on there.

So, I'm going to cut out
fondant letters.

And then, I'm going to go back,
and add some stitching details,

So that it looks like
somebody's actually stitched

Some leather letters
onto the hand.

Yes.

How am I gonna do this?

I have to get these legs
and wings on.

So, we're going cake-pop style

With this buttercream
and this cake,

To make the legs... the little
kickers... and the wings.

I've got my gloved hands.

I grab some buttercream,
and I grab the cake,

And I start rolling
into the shape I want,

And I adhere it to the cake.

Kristina, you've got
6 minutes and 48 seconds

To make that turkey hat cake.

Just gobble, gobble.

Pray for me.

I think it looks like that hat.

That's just me, though.

I don't think we have
the warm and fuzzies right now.

It's kind of like
a christmas tree, right?

That's cool.

Do not forget the
"embroider your name" twist.

How is my name
going on this thing?

Oh, yeah.

Okay.

I look like grinch
on this cake... no joke.

Julianna isn't a grinch.

I'm gonna pass out.

Well, at least
I got "kess" there.

I need a christmas miracle.

That is a crazy topper.

But okay.

It looks like a hat, at least.

You've got 90 seconds left.

Pipe like the wind, jeffrey.

I'm trying.

No time to do the tassels.

This might be
my swan song, here.

Ah!

What are you
dancing to, lashonda?

I'm waiting on my chocolate.

What music's playing
in your mind?

Jingle bells.

You better pull that cake
out soon, lashonda.

We got 20 seconds left.

Go, lashonda!

Be quiet, jeff.

10 seconds, bakers.

3... 2... 1.

Time is up.

Alright.

Alright, so, judges,
our bakers had 2 1/2 hours

To make winter hat cakes.

And they had to embroider
their name on it.

Alright, judges,
we're gonna bring in lorenzo.

Oh, boy.

Guess who?

Had to be a little extra.

Great match.

Thank you.

Lorenzo,
tell us about your cake.

So, it's a toasted coconut cake
and a cranberry filling

With a toasted coconut
cream cheese icing.

And then.
I piped my name on there,

On the side, as best as I could.

I mean, I think the name
doesn't look like it was

Knitted on there.

But, you know,
everything else is so fabulous.

Here's to you, lorenzo.

I'm not tasting
enough coconut, lorenzo.

Really? Wow.

But the good news...
It's amazing!

Thank you.

Thank you, nancy.

I love coconut.
Its' an earthy flavor.

It's sweet, not very acidic.

And the cranberries
are really brightening it up,

And making it delicious.

Alright, lorenzo, thanks again.

Awesome. Thank you.

Bye. Guys. - Bye.

- Okay, let's bring in kess.
- Alright.

What's up with that?

I don't want to
get closer to it.

Of course,
you won the advantage.

You had the first choice
of the hat.

You chose this one.

So, it is that bourbon,
butter pecan coconut cake

With bourbon-infused
swiss meringue buttercream.

Ooh.

I know. It is amazing, for sure.

You know, kess, from far away,

It's actually pretty spot on.

It's a tenner cake.

You just need to be
10 or more feet away.

Let's just eat it.

Yeah. Look at the inside.

Whoa.

Hello.

Oh.

This is the best cake
I've ever eaten.

The cake is so soft that
that coconut

Is just kind of
floating around in there,

On this cloud of
butter pecan deliciousness.

It is delicious.

Alright, kess,
this is why they say

"do not judge a book
by its cover."

That cake tastes delicious.

Thank you so much.

- I want to eat the whole thing.
- I know. Me, too.

Hey, julianna.
Tell us about your hat.

I have a cardamom cake inside

Filled with spiced pear.

Instead of lemon,
I decided to go a little bit

Floral flavor with it,

So I put a little bit
of yuzu in it.

And it has honey bourbon,
and my name, julie, on it.

It's short for "julianna."

I think you have captured
the winter home.

I love your pompoms.
I think they're great.

But I wanted it to look knitted,

And it doesn't.

It just... I don't know.

It feels to me like
you decorated the cake,

And then, you just sort of
put your name on.

I happen to love cardamom,

And it goes so well
with the spiced pears.

And the ganache
with the buttercream.

What?

So good.

And not too sweet.

Alright, julianna. Thank you.

Thank you. Bye.

It was delicious inside,
and not cute on the outside.

But she... she did replicate
the hat.

Kind of.

Judges, winter hat cakes
with embroidered names.

Hey, jeff.
- The santa from atlanta.

Santa from atlanta.

Alright, jeff,
tell us about your hat.

I made a white chocolate
peppermint cake.

Ooh.

An then, a white
chocolate buttercream.

And then, there's some
white chocolate chips

In between the layers, as well.

I like your name,
because it does look

Like the knitting on the cap.

If you had put your batter
in a bowl, then turned it out,

Then, you would have more like
the shape of a hat.

I've never done that before.

And today, I just didn't think
was the day to...

- Try it?
- Exactly.

Oh, man. What does
that taste like?

Like a winning cake.

Like the tin of christmas bark
that you usually get.

This is really good.

It's really... it's peppermint-y

Without, like,
burning my nose out.

Your cake is really moist.
I dig it.

Thank you.

If somebody came to your house,
and you gave them this cake,

They're coming back.
And they feel loved.

- Thank you.
- Truly.

Alright. Thank you, jeff.

Thank you.

Hey. Megan.
Tell us about your hat.

It's a snickerdoodle cake.

So, it's a cinnamon brown sugar
swirled white cake,

And then, it's a layer
of cookie dough filling.

And then, on the outside,

We have just a vanilla
american buttercream.

My embroidered name,
I took some fondant.

And I went back,
and I added, like,

Some little stitching details.

It looks like a knit cap...

I hat that jesse would wear
if it had a big pompom.

Even with you name on it,
megan, I would wear it.

Oh.

Oh.

Wow.

Oh.

It just... you know what
I need to give you?

A snickerdude!

My entire mouth is engaged,
and it's so great.

You've really given us, like,
that essence of snickerdoodle.

It's that warm cinnamon.

It's real buttery.

This is great. - Thank you.

Alright, megan,
look, if I were you,

I'd get out of here right now.

Thank you very much.

I've come back. Hey, aubrey.

So, tell us about your hat.

We have a peppermint
hot chocolate theme going on.

I made a layered devil's food
cake with chocolate ganache,

Marshmallow fluff,
cocoa nibs, and peppermint.

I like the presentation.
I get the hat.

I get the slouch, a little bit.

Your name looks great.

The blue is bleeding
a little bit.

But your name reads so well
from afar.

Usually, when a cake
falls apart like this,

It usually means it's gonna
be really good.

Or really dry.

It is not dry.

Fuller and the crunch
of the peppermint...

Right on.

You got peppermint?

I did. It's in the bottom layer.

I didn't get any peppermint.
I wanted more peppermint.

You know, I got really excited
about hot chocolate

And peppermint, you know?

So, yeah, I think...
And I think, yeah,

More of the crunch. More, like,
little peppermint pieces.

Alright.

Alright, aubrey.
Great job. Thank you.

Well, hopefully till next time.

Thank you.

Alright, jamaal.
Talk to us about your hat.

Yeah, so, today,
I made for you guys

A cranberry almond cake
with a vanilla swiss buttercream

And a meyer lemon
butter cookie antler on top.

And I think I'm on the beach.

But then, I realized I was at

The "holiday baking
championship."

And I didn't see
any correlation to the hat,

And the cake, and the challenge.

Your fine piping of your name
is pretty fine.

It looks so tender.

This crumb looks beautiful.

The cake itself is delicious.

It's tender.
It's got a nice almond flavor.

The texture of your cookie,
the sandiness, is really great.

Thank you.

Alright, jamaal. Thank you.

Thank you, guys.

- Thanks, jamaal.
- Thank you.

Your mouth is bright blue now.

Your tongue is bright.

Eva. Welcome back.

Hi, everybody.

That headband is working.
It's working for me?

Oh, good.

I got the trapper hat.

I did a sour cream
fudge cake on the inside

With a chocolate
butter frosting.

And then, I did just
some chocolate buttercream.

Tried to make the fur.

Tell us about your embroidery.

So, I just did it in white.

I only have three letters,
which was really easy.

I love the buttons.

I love all of
the little details on the back.

It was really well thought out.
And the plaid looks great.

- Thank you.
- Sour cream fudge cake.

So rich.

Really chocolaty.

Really moist.

I feel like you can
dial down the sugar.

A little sweet.

I think it's a little
on the sweet side.

Well, I love chocolate.

And the sour cream, I think,

Takes away from the sweetness.

So, it really wasn't...

Too sweet.

Alright. Thank you, eva.

Thank you, eva. - Bye.

Alright, kristina,
tell us about your hat.

I made a vanilla cake
with a black pepper

And cardamom pastry cream,

And a salted caramel
and a roasted apple filling.

And then, I made a salted
caramel swiss buttercream.

I decided to turn the lights
into my name.

So, now, my name is in lights.

Ta-da.

If I was in this competition,
and I saw that hat,

That's the one
I would have picked.

It's probably
the hardest one to do.

You've got a turkey hat.

Your cake looks like
a raw chicken.

I would like to see it baked.

Okay.

But I love that your name
is in the lights.

I can't really read it.
What does it say?

So, my name is kristina,

But a lot of times,
my friends call me "k-tina."

It's funny, how, like,
in get all these cakes

Where people had to do
their names,

All of a sudden, everybody's
got really short nicknames.

Have you noticed that?

Really bright, crisp apples.

Your cake is almost...

Almost underbaked.

Almost.

It's a little floury,
a little bland.

The filling was nicely spiced.

But I think duff is right.

I think it's
slightly underbaked.

Alright, k-tina, thank you.

- Thank you.
- Thank you. Thank you.

Yeah, it definitely looks like
a raw chicken.

Judges, charming winter hat
cakes to keep out the chill.

Hi, lashonda.
Tell us about your cake.

I call it "the best
chocolate cake you ever ate."

Has a little whipped ganache
in the center,

With chopped pretzels,

With the milk chocolate frosting
on the outside.

So, if you look at my hat,
there's little antlers and ears.

And so, I was trying to do both.

The reindeer hat and your cake
are very similar.

Thank you, nancy.

Well, except
your antlers melted,

And your ears aren't big enough.

I kind of thought
those were eyes.

Sorry.

I put my name on there
as best I could,

With a little patch of fondant
and a little handwritten sign

That says "shonda."

It looks like it's,
like, some gaff tape.

You just wrote your name
with a marker, and stuck it on.

I could do that.

Ooh, look at the inside.

That whipped chocolate ganache,

It's really chocolaty,
but it's clean.

And there's a nice salt
in there, too.

I was looking forward
to the pretzel,

Because I wanted that crunch.

I think, what happened here,
all your pretzels dissolved.

But they left their salt behind.

I taste the coffee.

And the coffee is great
with chocolate,

Because it intensifies
the cocoa.

Alright. Lashonda, thank you.

Thank you guys.

- Thank you.
- Thank you.

Big jon. Alright, man.

And tell us about your hat.

Today, for you,
I have a vanilla spice cake

With a cinnamon whiskey
simple syrup.

The filling, I want with
a cream cheese buttercream.

And then, the outside is frosted
in a cinnamon buttercream.

It looks like a hat.

That's what we're going for.

The hat you chose is, like,
really kind of fuzzy and warm.

And, like, your cake
is kind of fuzzy and warm, too.

Like, I feel like you really
captured that sort of, like,

Just the coziness.

You know, I love that you're
not shy with the cinnamon.

You know, you promised us
cinnamon, and it's in there.

I like a lot.

The other thing I love...
I love cream cheese.

Is there nutmeg in here?

A little bit of nutmeg
in the batter. Yeah.

I think, maybe,
get rid of the nutmeg.

86 nutmeg.

In the preheat,
you were in the bottom.

Yeah.

And this is
a really nice comeback.

- Appreciate it.
- Okay.

Okay. - Okay.

Great comeback, jon.
Thanks, man.

Thank you so much, judges.
Appreciate it.

- Thanks, jon.
- Thank you.

Man, we have good bakers.

Good bakers.

Bakers, hats off to you.

You made a really strong showing
with your winter hat cakes.

And two cakes topped the rest.

Lorenzo.

Congrats, boy.

Your cake looked exactly
like your hat.

Thank you.

And the coconut cranberry cream
cheese frosting combination...

That was delicious.

Megan, your cake emulated
your hat successfully.

And your embroidery
was so well thought out.

Thank you.

And bakers, by the way,
megan also received

The first ever "snickerdude"
from carla in history.

However...

Only one baker's cake
was the most captivating today.

And that baker is...

...Megan.

Congratulations,

You and lorenzo.

You're both gonna
be back next week.

Awesome.

There were a few other bakers
that did well enough

To keep their spot warm
for next week.

Jon.

Aubrey. Seriously?

Eva.

Kess.

Julianna.

Jeff.

And jamaal.

Of course, that leaves
lashonda and kristina.

Please step forward.

Lashonda, your reindeer hat cake

Had broken antlers
and a funky nametag

That didn't remotely
look like embroidery.

And the pretzels inside,
they disintegrated.

Kristina, the judges really
struggled to read your name

On your turkey hat cake,
which resembled a raw chicken.

And the undercooked theme,
that continued on the inside,

Which was underbaked.

Second elimination of the day.

This one is twice as hard
to see somebody go.

But unfortunately,
that's how this thing works.

Kristina, I am so sorry,

Please say your goodbyes,
and exit the kitchen.

Thank you.

Bye, guys. Good luck.

Awesome job, kristina.

I'm disappointed to go home
within the first week.

But I did have a good time.

Kristina, I loved your cake.

Thank you.

I definitely agree that
it looks like a raw chicken.

But unfortunately,
this bird is done.

Welcome back, bakers.

Next week, the bakers
have to make holiday sweets

With nuts and seeds.

You put your foot in this.

I know what that means.

Give this wheel a spin.

Now, you're holiday-ing
up dessert.

Bring holiday spice,
dried fruit, or holiday spirit.

This might be my last bake.