In the semifinals, the six remaining bakers are surprised to learn from host Jesse Palmer that there are no more teams, and they will be competing individually as they face a gauntlet of three challenges. First, the bakers must create retro Christmas desserts and add holiday flair to the decorating. Then, in a second heat, the competitors are tasked with making desserts with old-school gelatin mold flavors like lime cream cheese, peach buttermilk, or orange marshmallow. In the main heat, bakers must turn things like canned apple pie filling, canned pineapple, or instant chocolate pudding into retro ingredient desserts that are impressive enough to land them in the finale. Guest judge Stephanie Boswell joins Nancy Fuller and Kardea Brown to decide which bakers move on and which baker is eliminated.
Nothing says Halloween more than scary monsters, and in the pre-heat, the seven bakers must create creepy bite-sized monster treats. For the main heat, zombies attack as the bakers are faced with whipping up a zombie dessert that makes the judges hungry for a bite.
For the pre-heat, the six remaining bakers must work in teams and put their minds together to create the most outrageous and delicious left brain/right brain desserts. In the main heat, the bakers face their fears by using common phobias like insects and ghosts as inspirations for desserts.
Things are only getting spookier with just five bakers left in the competition, who must head to the haunted circus for the pre-heat and create a dozen scary clown cake pops. Then, the main heat moves to the freak show, as the bakers make frighteningly strange mashup desserts.
The finale has arrived! For the pre-heat Halloween party, the bakers must make a glowing edible centerpiece and three creepy treats for a spooky dessert bar. For the main heat, the bakers must create light-up jack o' lantern cakes. The winning baker carves out the title of Halloween Baking Champion and takes home $25,000!
Revisit the creepiest Halloween sweets, from the smallest of creepy crawlies to the biggest, bloodiest zombie desserts. The judges' reactions to the taste, presentation and baker's technique guide the scores as the best of the best are ranked in every creepy category!
For the pre-heat, mummy's the word as the six remaining bakers are asked to make a Halloween mummy dessert using pre-made pie dough. Next, the bakers must create a candy-stuffed, wicked cake based on a Halloween icon.
For the pre-heat, the five remaining bakers take a light, sweet and utterly harmless dessert -- the cream puff -- and head to the dark side by creating "scream puffs." Next, it's a main heat filled with frights as the bakers make scary mask desserts to spook the judges. One baker is eliminated at the end of the round.
A group of talented bakers enter the fortune-telling tent at the Circus of Dread in the pre-heat challenge. The competitors are tasked with creating tarot card desserts featuring blood orange, fig or passion fruit. The bakers then enter the Creepy Clown Hall of Fame in the main heat where they create impressive desserts that will land one of them in the finale.
In the final pre-heat, the three remaining bakers must fill a haunted tree with decorated Halloween cookies. For the grand finale, the bakers have just six hours to construct a spooky "ginger dead" house. Special guest Duff Goldman stops by to put a fright into the bakers, then the most impressive house wins one baker the title of Halloween Baking Champion and $25,000!