Competitor Padua cracked his way to victory when he made this bread pudding during Episode 1's nutty chocolate dessert challenge. Padua received praise from the judges for his toasted caramel praline sauce, made from walnuts, sugar and heavy cream, and the surprise layer of gooey white chocolate that lined the bottom of his ramekins.
First Snow Cherry Pie with Snowflake Sugar Cookies
Despite her limited pie-making experience, self-taught baker Susan wowed the judges when she made this pie during the premiere's Main Heat pie decorating challenge. With its refreshing blend of cherries and orange zest and its minimalistic sugar cookie decoration, Susan's pie, which she used to make for her children, was one for the victor's circle.
Santa's Hat Peppermint Scones with White Chocolate Ganache
Resident scone expert and judge Lorraine Pascale loved these scones from Susan, who made them during Episode 2's candy cane dessert challenge. By replacing half of the scone's sugar with crushed candy canes, Susan added just the right amount of freshness to every sprinkle-bedazzled bite.
Cookie Swap Wreath
Orange-zested langues de chats, coconut and lime Russian tea cakes, spiced sugar cookies and lemony hippen tuiles were held together by royal icing to make this monochromatic cookie wreath, which pastry chef Steve made during the episode's edible-wreath Main Heat challenge.
Pilgrim Whoopie Pie
Steve's risky decision to present the judges with doughnut-shaped, marshmallow and devil's food cake whoopie pies during Episode 3's holiday whoopie pie challenge proved to be successful and gained him a Main Heat win. Using a buckle-shaped hippen tuile cookie to give life to the Pilgrim theme he was assigned, Steve showed just how sweet Thanksgiving can be.
Chocolate Beet Cake
Baker Melody gave the judges something to smile about when she made this unique cake for the candy-stuffed-cake challenge. Marrying the rich decadence of chocolate with the moistness of pureed beets, Melody put a winning spin on the chocolate-coated caramels housed inside her cake.
Apple, Pear and Cranberry Crisp with Toffee Pecans and Cinnamon Ice Cream
Baker Padua transformed a simple can of cranberry sauce into this autumnal crisp to win Episode 4's cranberry dessert challenge. The judges were particularly impressed with Padua's "smooth as silk" creme anglaise sauce and his chunky crisp topping, made from rolled oats, pecans and cubed butter.
Roasted Butternut Squash Pudding Cake
Before assembling this cake, Adalberto soaked each of its pecan sponge layers in a pecan rum syrup. He then covered each layer with a serving of butternut squash pudding, which he made by pureeing roasted butternut squash and seasoning it with pumpkin spice mix and cinnamon. For the finishing touch, a whipped marshmallow meringue frosting was added and torched to give the cake a toasted brulee look.
Gingersnap Ice Cream Sandwich
Baker Steve used Episode 5's candied ginger mini dessert challenge as an opportunity to highlight ginger in three different ways; using dried, fresh and candied ginger in his vanilla ice cream and his gingersnap cookie, Steve achieved the perfect balance of sweet and spicy, and won 10 extra minutes of baking time.
Holiday Cookie Trio
Using her three sons, Jace, Wade and Ryan, and their love for these cookies as her inspiration, baker Melody went on to win the Main Heat challenge, which required her to make three cookies from scratch. For the rolled sugar cookies, Melody added sour cream to the dough to make them moist and soft. She mixed a cup of vanilla pudding into the cinnamon chip, cranberry and pecan cookies to give them a creamy and dense texture. Lastly, for the molasses crackle cookies, Melody combined butter and butter-flavored shortening to make them light and airy.
Rugelach and Coconut Macaroons
Tasked with the challenge of updating and modernizing the classic Hanukkah treats of rugelach and macaroons, bakery owner Haley left the judges screaming "Mazel tov!" with these crescent-shaped and chocolate-dipped creations. Modeled after traditional baklava, Haley's rugelach combined the crunchiness of pecans with the crisp zest of lemon and honey. For her coconut macaroons, Haley used orange zest and pistachios to give each macaroon a nutty, citrusy flavor.
Quince and Prickly Pear Croquembouche
After weeks of being edged out by the competition, baker Maeve finally earned a Main Heat win! Given two hours to make a croquembouche, Maeve amazed the judges with her towering rustic-meets-magical cream puff creation. Filled with a quince-and-prickly pear paste and a vanilla-bean whipped cream and dipped in a treacle sauce, Maeve's croquembouche was daring and unique.
Apple-Cherry-White Chocolate Frangipane Tart with Green Apple Sorbet and Cherry-Apple Brandy Compote
Deemed "flawless" by judge Lorraine, Adalberto's transformation of a white chocolate and dried-cherry candy apple into a crispy apple and almond frangipane tart in Episode 7's regifting challenge ensured his place on the judges' "nice" list.
Pretzel-Crusted Flourless Chocolate Cake with Sauteed Spiced Pears and Salted Caramel Sauce
Using Episode 7's regifting theme as his guide, Adalberto re-created the same flourless chocolate cake he made during the premiere and added some spot-in-the-finale winning touches, such as a sophisticated brandy-infused whipped cream.
Sugar Cookie with Orange-Cinnamon Icing
Tasked with making a sugar-cookie tree for the finale Pre heat, Maeve used her mom's recipe, which features Irish butter. Maeve went above and beyond in decorating her cookies, creating icings in varying blue hues to mimic an icy-cold winter's day. She earned her first advantage of the season.
Picking "Sleigh Ride" as her theme in the final Main Heat of the season, Maeve created a hot-chocolate cake with chocolate ganache and marshmallow buttercream filling, and frosted it with cinnamon-nutmeg buttercream. But the piece de resistance was a sleigh topper she piped out of hot isomalt sugar, which blew the judges away. Maeve secured the title of Holiday Baking Champion.
Get more from the competition by going behind the scenes of the baking battles, meet the competitors, learn more about the host and judges, and get inspired to bake this holiday season.
