Holiday Baking Championship – Season 13 Episode 1 (2026) - Vidéo Dailymotion

proMoon

Watch Holiday Baking Championship, Season 13 Episode 1 on Dailymotion (2026).

Transcript

00:00:07Sous-titrage Société Radio-Canada

00:00:30Sous-titrage Société Radio-Canada

00:01:00Sous-titrage Société Radio-Canada

00:01:03Sous-titrage Société Radio-Canada

00:01:14Sous-titrage Société Radio-Canada

00:01:27Sous-titrage Société Radio-Canada

00:01:31Sous-titrage Société Radio-Canada

00:02:35Sous-titrage Société Radio-Canada

00:02:39Sous-titrage Société Radio-Canada

00:02:44Sous-titrage Société Radio-Canada

00:02:49Sous-titrage Société Radio-Canada

00:02:52Sous-titrage Société Radio-Canada

00:03:23...with each baker's name.

00:03:25Sous-titrage Société Radio-Canada

00:03:27Sous-titrage Société Radio-Canada

00:03:28Sous-titrage Société Radio-Canada

00:03:33Sous-titrage Société Radio-Canada

00:03:36Sous-titrage Société Radio-Canada

00:03:40Sous-titrage Société Radio-Canada

00:03:56Sous-titrage Société Radio-Canada

00:04:10Sous-titrage Société Radio-Canada

00:04:13Sous-titrage Société Radio-Canada

00:04:15Sous-titrage Société Radio-Canada

00:04:39Sous-titrage Société Radio-Canada

00:04:42Sous-titrage Société Radio-Canada

00:04:48Sous-titrage Société Radio-Canada

00:04:50Sous-titrage Société Radio-Canada

00:04:51Sous-titrage Société Radio-Canada

00:04:54Sous-titrage Société Radio-Canada

00:04:56Sous-titrage Société Radio-Canada

00:05:00Sous-titrage Société Radio-Canada

00:05:02Sous-titrage Société Radio-Canada

00:05:05Sous-titrage Société Radio-Canada

00:05:07Sous-titrage Société Radio-Canada

00:05:08Sous-titrage Société Radio-Canada

00:05:09Sous-titrage Société Radio-Canada

00:05:10Sous-titrage Société Radio-Canada

00:05:11Sous-titrage Société Radio-Canada

00:05:12C'est bon.

00:05:12Vous avez le pire.

00:05:14Oui.

00:05:15Je suis sur la randier crew.

00:05:18Je suis vraiment heureux d'être à la team parce que je n'ai pas de pression de solo compétition

00:05:23maintenant.

00:05:24Nous allons le faire avec le cutest des déceintes de la crée.

00:05:26La randier.

00:05:27La randier.

00:05:28La randier.

00:05:29La randier.

00:05:30La randier.

00:05:30C'est une grande chasse.

00:05:33Je pense qu'il y a des jeunes chefs qui sont plus jeunes et plus de plus de plus de

00:05:40experience.

00:05:40Go Reindeers!

00:05:44Ok, Reindeers crew, they should just be called Rowdy Crew.

00:05:48I know they're gonna be like so loud and like so energetic.

00:05:53Girlie!

00:05:54It's ok.

00:05:55We have a lot of calmer people on our team, but we're gonna bring more focus and intention,

00:06:00I feel.

00:06:02My glaze.

00:06:03The heavy cream, does it get warmed up with?

00:06:06No.

00:06:06I didn't think so.

00:06:07It's added at the end.

00:06:10It's like unpacking when you go Christmas shopping.

00:06:14If I were to describe myself in my own words, I would say very chaotic.

00:06:18Girl!

00:06:18Don't get me ready.

00:06:19You know whiskey is my favorite.

00:06:20Very hilarious.

00:06:22Ooh!

00:06:23I love drinking.

00:06:24I'm very positive.

00:06:25Yes!

00:06:26Baby girls, go!

00:06:27I'm Christina and I'm a pastry sous chef at Scratch Baking.

00:06:31We make everything from scratch.

00:06:33All your cakes, your cookies, the frostings, the toppings.

00:06:37Today I'm doing a spiced chai cheesecake.

00:06:39Every Christmas, my sisters and I will decorate like for Christmas in the house.

00:06:42So we always get our chai teas together.

00:06:44So I wanna kinda represent that.

00:06:46So it's gonna have a speculose crust with brown butter.

00:06:48Cause I wanna have a lot of like those holiday like warm flavors together.

00:06:52To decorate it, I'm gonna do one of my favorite family traditions where we decorate the tree together.

00:06:56Every year, my dad will pull the lights from the attic and they're all tangled.

00:07:01So I kinda wanted to put that together.

00:07:03This is gonna help fill out my employee profile by just showing I know holiday flavors.

00:07:09Get my big knife.

00:07:11Call it my big girl knife.

00:07:13Being 22 years old, I have to prove that just because I'm young and the youngest,

00:07:18I can do just about anything that anybody else could do.

00:07:22Ooh!

00:07:24That worked out perfectly.

00:07:26I'm Audrey and I'm the owner of Sweet Sunshine, which is a custom bakery located in Dallas.

00:07:30I come with a smile 99.9% of the time.

00:07:35What's that other 0.1%?

00:07:37You don't wanna see that.

00:07:39How's the reindeer crew doing?

00:07:41Yeah!

00:07:42Audrey, tiny but mighty.

00:07:45I try.

00:07:45I'm gonna make a cinnamon roll blondie.

00:07:48Cinnamon rolls are one of the most important parts of our family mornings on Christmas.

00:07:53It's gonna have some pecans in it, some cinnamon chips, cream cheese frosting,

00:07:57and then topped with Christmas lights because I love looking at Christmas lights into the oven.

00:08:04I think this is just gonna show who I am on a plate, so I think it's gonna be perfect.

00:08:09Miss Montana, how are you doing?

00:08:11Good.

00:08:11Do you need anything?

00:08:13For us to win.

00:08:15Well, that'll be a group effort.

00:08:17That's all I need.

00:08:18That's all I need for Christmas.

00:08:19So when I win the $25,000 prize, I'm trying to be a housewife.

00:08:23I'm trying to be at home with the kids, cooking, single, ready to get married.

00:08:28It's like, forget the mingle, just marry me.

00:08:31Hi, my name is Montana Brumfield, Montana with two N's.

00:08:35I might be considered a home baker because I have my own company, Serene Noir.

00:08:39But I have training from the Culinary Institute of America, the world premiere culinary school.

00:08:45Because I'm such a hard worker, like Santa's elves.

00:08:48I am on the elf squad.

00:08:50The elves, I feel, make Christmas because without the toys, what is Santa flying around for?

00:08:55Yeah?

00:08:57How does it feel for you being here in Santa's workshop?

00:09:03That's literally how I feel.

00:09:05If blinks could...

00:09:06Yeah, they say a picture is worth a thousand words.

00:09:08Speechless blinks are like...

00:09:10You're feeling all the feels right now.

00:09:12I'm feeling it.

00:09:12What did you decide to make?

00:09:14So back home, me and my mom, hot chocolate.

00:09:17But she always adds a little alcohol in there.

00:09:21So chocolate petite gâteau, Irish cream mousse.

00:09:23So it's gonna basically be like a fallen spiked hot cocoa, where it's so hot that you just drop it.

00:09:31And drop your grandma's favorite mug.

00:09:32And that's okay, because there's more.

00:09:35Can't wait to see what you do, Montana.

00:09:36Yes!

00:09:37I am cutting my cake for my petite gâteau right now.

00:09:41So a petite gâteau is just a small mousse cake.

00:09:43So like entremets, which I'm sure everybody sees with a nice glaze and everything, these are baby versions of those.

00:09:48The most difficult thing about making petite gâteaus is definitely time management.

00:09:53Making sure that every element is done in time.

00:09:56If not, I don't know what to tell you. Good luck, Chuck.

00:10:00Oh, Jesus!

00:10:02Bakers, you got two hours left!

00:10:04I see some elves over here!

00:10:07All the short ones.

00:10:08I am on Team Elf Squad.

00:10:11I love working on a team.

00:10:13Because then we can shoot ideas off of each other, share flavors, things like that.

00:10:19That shoe looks great!

00:10:20Well, thank you.

00:10:21Not a lump in sight.

00:10:23No coal over here.

00:10:24No, ma'am!

00:10:25I'm Jean Andrew, and I own my own home bakery in Logan, Utah.

00:10:29I have four adult kids.

00:10:31I have three Shih Tzus, and I'm a new chicken mom.

00:10:35My husband built an amazing castle for my chickens.

00:10:39We get about 10 to 12 eggs a day.

00:10:43Today I am making some hot chocolate cream puffs.

00:10:46I'm going to fill each cream puff with a mixture of white chocolate and then also milk chocolate ganaches together.

00:10:54I'm going to top them with some meringue, and then I'm going to toast it.

00:10:59We live right by the mountains in Utah, and my kids loved to go sledding.

00:11:05So we were out in the snow quite a bit, so this is going to represent playing out in the

00:11:11snow and a lot of fun.

00:11:12Each cream puff will be just like a cozy, yummy cup of hot chocolate.

00:11:17Remember, there's an advantage on the line for the winning team.

00:11:20It would be amazing if we could go out to lunch with Jessie, but, you know, I don't know if

00:11:24that's a good advantage or not.

00:11:26Being on this team is really helpful.

00:11:31Is it possible to overmix meringue?

00:11:33Yes.

00:11:34Will you come and check it?

00:11:39Yeah.

00:11:39Yeah, I think it can still keep going.

00:11:42Keep going.

00:11:42My first impression of Finn is I just wanted to go and squeeze his cheeks and tell him that his

00:11:48mom loves him.

00:11:49Is that okay if I sound like a mom?

00:11:51Yeah.

00:11:52You are a mom.

00:11:52I am a mom.

00:11:54I'll come back in like two seconds and see.

00:11:57I'm on the elf squad.

00:11:58We were all making the joke that I'm the tallest of the elves, but...

00:12:03We're definitely checking in with each other a lot to make sure that, you know, all the ideas are going

00:12:06to get done as best as they can.

00:12:08We're all super excited to see what the advantage is and hopefully be the ones who claim it.

00:12:14Good day.

00:12:15Looks good.

00:12:16I just turned 23 and I'm freshly out of school.

00:12:20Graduated from Johnson & Wales.

00:12:22But in New York City, I work at Cafe Carmelini.

00:12:25It's an Italian upscale fine dining restaurant in Midtown.

00:12:29We get some pretty high-end clientele, some famous actors you might know.

00:12:34I'm making a peppermint mocha yule log.

00:12:37I make yule logs for the holidays all the time.

00:12:40It's one of my personal favorites.

00:12:41And when I was in school, they got me hooked on peppermint mochas.

00:12:44We had a coffee shop on campus.

00:12:46And so I would line up before my early labs and I would get, of course, the big one.

00:12:49So I had to go with it.

00:12:51When I think of the yule log, I think of just like classic wilderness decoration.

00:12:56So I'm going to do some bottling chocolate mushrooms and just a couple other little things to really tie it

00:13:01together.

00:13:05Time. One hour, 45 minutes, you guys.

00:13:07Thank you.

00:13:08Hey.

00:13:09Let's go, let's go, Team Reindeer.

00:13:11Thank you.

00:13:12Team Elf, it's like 22 minutes for you guys.

00:13:16Andy, you got any dad jokes for me right off the bat? I know you do.

00:13:19The reindeer crew is going to slay the competition.

00:13:23And sad as it may sound, I think I'll bust more dad jokes at work than I do at home.

00:13:30I'm a pastry chef at the Westin Anaheim Resort in Anaheim, California.

00:13:34It's a stressful environment to begin with.

00:13:36And there's a lot of pressure to execute expectations.

00:13:40But that doesn't mean you can't have fun.

00:13:42How are you, man?

00:13:43I'm good. How are you?

00:13:44Well, dad to dad.

00:13:45I was really excited to come get an opportunity to meet you.

00:13:47I'm blessed to have a great family.

00:13:49First off, you started off with a great wife.

00:13:51Great answer. Great answer.

00:13:52Great answer.

00:13:53Great answer, says Curtis.

00:13:54I have two wonderful kids.

00:13:55I have a 25-year-old daughter and a 20-year-old son.

00:13:58So you've got to make an employee profile dessert.

00:14:01Walk me through what this dessert is and what the flavors are.

00:14:04So today I am making Yule Log.

00:14:07It is based on a gingerbread cake with a citrus cream cheese filling

00:14:11and cranberry jam.

00:14:13Yule Log represents to me unity.

00:14:15Family get together.

00:14:17They share stories.

00:14:18And to me, that's what the holidays is all about.

00:14:20It's going to have a Swiss buttercream on the outside

00:14:22and some chocolate shards for decorations

00:14:24and some fondant decorations as well,

00:14:26like holly leaves and berries and stuff.

00:14:29I'm the dad, right?

00:14:30It's like, I'm not going to say anything,

00:14:31but inside me, I'm like, I'm burning.

00:14:33I want to win.

00:14:33Yeah.

00:14:35Also, this is going to help me fill out my employee profile

00:14:37because it really represents who I am.

00:14:39I'm that guy that likes just to connect with everyone,

00:14:41likes to work with everyone.

00:14:43And the fact that we're working in a team is fantastic

00:14:46because I think the best of us comes out in teamwork.

00:14:50Ooh, 90 minutes left on the clock now.

00:14:53Breathe, breathe, breathe, breathe.

00:14:56Not good.

00:14:57When my paddle shoe is done, I'm a little bit nervous.

00:15:01I think that I piped the paddle shoe too big.

00:15:04And I know that as they cool, they are going to flatten out.

00:15:10This is really not good.

00:15:13It is so important for me to hold my own in this challenge.

00:15:17I do not want to let my team down.

00:15:19So I didn't give myself any extra.

00:15:23I'm a little panicked.

00:15:31I'm panicking.

00:15:33Okay.

00:15:34My first patch of paddle shoe did not work.

00:15:36I think because I piped it too big.

00:15:39Because I am normally in mountainous areas cooking and the altitude is so different down at sea level,

00:15:46recipes can change and they can react differently.

00:15:50This is going to take extra time, but I really want to make a good first impression.

00:15:56I piped it too big and I think the altitude.

00:15:59Oh.

00:16:00I've got more in and I piped him a little bit smaller.

00:16:03It's all going to work out.

00:16:04Jeremy just cheers you on and stuff.

00:16:06So I mean that, those are just all qualities of a leader.

00:16:09He's a lot of extra and I love every bit of it.

00:16:13Where's a strong man with a good, you look strong.

00:16:17Whoa.

00:16:18Jerry Bear.

00:16:18Are you okay?

00:16:19Are you okay?

00:16:20I looked at Jesse.

00:16:21I got distracted and then thud.

00:16:25We are beauty and we are grace.

00:16:27I am Sandra Bullock.

00:16:27Don't mind me.

00:16:28I was as elegant as I've ever seen a bear fall down before.

00:16:31I'm an executive pastry chef at Osteria in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

00:16:35And I run Jerry Bear's Bakehouse on the side.

00:16:37Baking is probably the most complicated and toxic relationship I've ever been in.

00:16:41And I date men, so that's saying a lot.

00:16:44Baking is both comforting and challenging.

00:16:47I try to use it as an escape and then sometimes it's an addiction.

00:16:51Food?

00:16:52Well, yeah.

00:16:53It's my type.

00:16:54That's beautiful.

00:16:55She's a little bourbon-y.

00:16:57You want more bourbon?

00:16:58Well, nobody ever complained about bourbon.

00:17:01True.

00:17:02But I figured it's the first episode.

00:17:06You know, we don't need to start off sloshed.

00:17:08Yeah, for sure.

00:17:10Montana.

00:17:11You want to talk about someone who has personality, drive, and sparkle?

00:17:15That's your lady.

00:17:16I'm very willing to help you out when you need it.

00:17:19So, Jeremy, but I hear you like to be called something else.

00:17:22Yeah, it's Jer Bear.

00:17:23That's the nickname my mom gave me as a child.

00:17:25Oh, really?

00:17:25And then I grew to be this voluptuous hairy beast.

00:17:29So, Jer Bear you get.

00:17:30How does it feel being on this team over here today?

00:17:32Sure, sir.

00:17:32I am on Elf Squad.

00:17:34I mean, I'm on the winning team, so it feels great.

00:17:36Wow.

00:17:37Hey, everybody.

00:17:38Jer Bear has already declared that they are the winning team.

00:17:41I just want to point that out.

00:17:43Not at all, Jer Bear.

00:17:44Jer Bear!

00:17:45He's my biggest enemy in here, but I love him.

00:17:47You know what's her biggest enemy?

00:17:49Her haircut.

00:17:50Wow.

00:17:51Jer Bear is throwing shade.

00:17:53We're making an employee profile dessert.

00:17:55Yes.

00:17:55When you heard that, what came to mind?

00:17:57I'm a little nutty, so peanut butter we are.

00:18:00I am making a peanut butter chocolate snack tart with caramelized salty treats, a dark chocolate

00:18:06ganache with just a little bit of bourbon.

00:18:09You have to, you know, start the holiday season off light.

00:18:11I love getting Christmas cards and I love sending them.

00:18:13So I'm going to decorate my tart with a little postcard from Santa's workshop here.

00:18:19I love plastic Americana and what is more Americana than peanut butter?

00:18:23Peanut butter.

00:18:24I really wanted to be on the reindeer squad, you know, prancing my way along that stage.

00:18:28But I'm an elf, so here I will be with my little tube belt working away, making them tasty treats.

00:18:34And now we're going to go pop this in the fridge and I hope that it sets up in time.

00:18:39One hour left.

00:18:40Does anyone have cream cheese?

00:18:42Yeah, I got some.

00:18:44Great.

00:18:44I'm going to get it.

00:18:45You can't have it because you're on the elf team.

00:18:48Curtis.

00:18:50Thanks, Papi.

00:18:51My employee profile is going to say he's strong on flavor profile and he could be a team player

00:18:56when he wanted to be.

00:18:56I'm Curtis Lamar.

00:18:57I'm a dad first, chef second.

00:19:00I have a beautiful woman.

00:19:02Her name is Ajahn and we've been together for seven years and we have a five-year-old son

00:19:07named Lamar Blue and he is the joy of my life.

00:19:10I opened like 10 restaurants in Atlanta.

00:19:13First mission to start a restaurant in Georgia.

00:19:15Really?

00:19:15It's called Atlas inside the St. Regis.

00:19:16You've been all over the place.

00:19:17All over the place.

00:19:18And tons of success as well.

00:19:19Yes, sir.

00:19:20This should be a walk in the park for you.

00:19:21Most definitely.

00:19:22One of my very first creamaces I remember always wanted to be at the grown folks' table

00:19:26and they always had eggnog.

00:19:28Eggnog, eggnog, eggnog.

00:19:29So when I finally tried some, it burnt my soul.

00:19:34It wasn't the kids eggnog.

00:19:36It wasn't the kids eggnog.

00:19:37Got it.

00:19:38That's what I got today.

00:19:39I got a cinnamon spice cake with a cream cheese eggnog mousse.

00:19:43And I'm going to make an eggnog white chocolate snow for decorations.

00:19:46I'm going to make my dessert in the shape of a snowman.

00:19:48And my impression was a snow day.

00:19:50So what's better in the snow day than a snowman in the snowstorm?

00:19:53All right, man. Thanks, Curtis.

00:19:54Thank you, Jesse.

00:19:55The other bakers should be afraid to compete against me because I thrive in chaos.

00:19:59I love it.

00:20:00But I'm also the big jolly guy.

00:20:03I need green cheese.

00:20:05Huh?

00:20:05Green cheese.

00:20:06Uh, I might have some in my station.

00:20:08You find some more in there?

00:20:09No.

00:20:10Come on, baby.

00:20:11You have extra?

00:20:12For you? Of course.

00:20:14Thank you, sir.

00:20:15You're welcome, baby.

00:20:16Definitely a few sleepers out there.

00:20:18Jesse is one of them.

00:20:20She has, like, even more experience than me and Andy combined.

00:20:23She actually runs the pastry school, so you never know all she knows.

00:20:28I'm from Houston, Texas, and I'm a chef instructor at Sweet Nation Pastry Academy.

00:20:33I love to share my knowledge and teach as much as I can.

00:20:38I have two grandkids that I love, and they inspire me a lot.

00:20:42Being a grandmother is the best thing that ever happened to me.

00:20:45I'm making a pistachio standing cake with a chocolate cream cheese filling with pistachio crumble.

00:20:52I'm doing, on the outside, chocolate butter ganache.

00:20:55My grandkids, they love chocolate and pistachio.

00:20:59I think I make it fun to have a green cake for the holidays.

00:21:03And I'm gonna decorate it, uh, as a trunk with, uh, some snow technique.

00:21:09Pistachio crumble on the bottom, and decorate it with, uh, mushrooms.

00:21:14I have two grandkids, and I always have to have fun cakes on the table for them.

00:21:20I'm nervous about the timing, so we'll try to make it fit through that.

00:21:25Mmm.

00:21:27Pop, pop, pop.

00:21:28I think it'll be good.

00:21:30A little coconut rum.

00:21:32Want some eggnog?

00:21:32Of course.

00:21:34Don't part me with a good time.

00:21:36Hey.

00:21:36As a Jew, I don't think I've ever seen this much Christmas.

00:21:40It's everywhere.

00:21:41I love it, though.

00:21:43I love Christmas.

00:21:44I'm doing a Fran Japan tart with cranberry gel and a spiced eggnog mousse.

00:21:50Cranberries, like, really big in my family.

00:21:52We always love the canned cranberry sauce.

00:21:54So that's a little homage to that.

00:21:56And then I'm gonna decorate it like a tree, but I'm gonna do Hanukkah decorations around it,

00:22:01because that's how we decorate our tree back home, so it's a Hanukkah bush.

00:22:09It was actually so annoying.

00:22:11I was making gelée, and I think it was on way too high, and it boiled over.

00:22:16Luckily, I was able to salvage a perfect amount, so we're okay.

00:22:20I had a little more components than I originally had thought about.

00:22:24I still have stuff in the oven, and my mousse isn't fully set yet,

00:22:27so I'm getting a little bit nervous.

00:22:28My meringue's not whipping as fast as normal.

00:22:31So, yeah, I'm just a little bit, like, heart racy.

00:22:34Gonna hopefully get through.

00:22:3630 minutes.

00:22:37And you guys, you know the Department of Joy,

00:22:40they want to get to know you better through this dessert.

00:22:44Better.

00:22:45My second batch of pâte choux.

00:22:47It's done.

00:22:48I think it worked.

00:22:49Fingers crossed.

00:22:51They look good.

00:22:56Do you guys want to taste some cake?

00:22:58Is there coconut in this?

00:22:58Yeah.

00:22:59Are you allergic?

00:23:00No.

00:23:01Is it okay?

00:23:01I love coconut.

00:23:02That's a big piece, but you can throw it away.

00:23:04That's okay.

00:23:05Don't feel.

00:23:05This is like the good dance.

00:23:07It's like this.

00:23:08Okay, good.

00:23:09That slaps.

00:23:10I'm Diana.

00:23:11I am the owner of the Rockabilly Baker in Sacramento, California.

00:23:15Outside of the kitchen, I am a singer for a Rockabilly band.

00:23:19So, it's a lot of fun.

00:23:21It's very social.

00:23:22So, I don't really have a problem with doing the teams the first couple rounds.

00:23:26I am peeling off the top of the cake.

00:23:29It helps my infused coconut rum get into the cake rather than sitting on the top.

00:23:33So, today, I'm going to make a coconut rum chiffon filled with a crayon raspberry gelie and a raspberry marscapone

00:23:41whip.

00:23:42And then I'm going to just sculpt a little reindeer head and antlers and a little scarf.

00:23:46I have a cabin in the snow and we have lots of wild deer just coming through our property.

00:23:52And it's going to give the judges a little piece of me in cake form.

00:23:58All right.

00:23:58We're going to go layer two.

00:24:0020 minutes left, bakers.

00:24:02I need a butt towel.

00:24:03Towel.

00:24:04Towel on my butt.

00:24:06How's it going?

00:24:11That's, like, reimbursing.

00:24:14My ritual for the holidays lately has been decorating gingerbread houses with my sister and her family.

00:24:19So, I really wanted to bring her into this.

00:24:22Today, I'm going to be making a gingerbread mousse cake.

00:24:24On the bottom is a gingerbread base.

00:24:27So, it's crunchy.

00:24:28There's going to be brown butter pears all enveloped in a gingerbread mousse.

00:24:32And then on top of that, I have some sponge cake with apple brandy whipped cream and then chocolate decor.

00:24:37I'm going to be decorating it just like a gingerbread house, like the ones I decorate with my sister.

00:24:42Haven't even decorated yet.

00:24:45Why did I do this to myself?

00:24:48I am not feeling great, honestly.

00:24:50I knew signing up for individual desserts that all had to look perfectly the same.

00:24:54I was like, I got this.

00:24:56I have no problem.

00:24:57And I just didn't leave myself enough time to decorate them properly.

00:25:03So, throwing together the mascarpone peppermint filling.

00:25:06It's just mostly mascarpone, a little bit of heavy cream to sort of loosen it up.

00:25:10And then some powdered sugar just to make it a little bit more spreadable so it doesn't tear the cake

00:25:13as I go to apply it on.

00:25:15Listen up, you got 15 minutes left. Get it done.

00:25:22It's a really fun part.

00:25:24The successful yule log for me is the tight roll, the clean sides.

00:25:30My cake is cracking as I'm rolling my yule log.

00:25:32It was definitely too warm when I put it on the plastic.

00:25:34The moisture definitely trapped and so it definitely made it too wet.

00:25:38I'm feeling really nervous.

00:25:40You know, I wanted to really show the judges off-rip that I have what it takes and this is

00:25:44not really showing that I have what it takes in this competition.

00:25:52As you can see, it's definitely separating.

00:25:55I've made this recipe like 500 times and it's like I've never made it before.

00:26:00Because I don't have a ton of time to redo anything, I'm just going to have to roll with what

00:26:04I have.

00:26:05It will be covered in chocolate anyways, but I think it's definitely going to be tricky to completely cover.

00:26:12All right, 10 minutes, bakers.

00:26:14We'll see if it costs me a lot of points on the judging stand.

00:26:24These are so not baked.

00:26:26Oh my God, you're in a snowman.

00:26:28Snowman.

00:26:29So cute.

00:26:30Thank you.

00:26:30Yeah.

00:26:31The snow is a nice little molecular gastronomy technique where you take a maltodextrin and you use that with a

00:26:37fat, which is the white chocolate, and you kind of mix it together and it literally melts in your mouth

00:26:41like snow.

00:26:42Make sure you bake up a good first impression.

00:26:45This is chocolate buttercream.

00:26:47So this is going to go on the outside of the yule log.

00:26:50I'm going to use chocolate for garnishes around the yule log.

00:26:53And it'll kind of represent what the tree does when the bark starts to crack open.

00:26:59Hey, reindeer crew, how we doing?

00:27:00Woo!

00:27:01Woo!

00:27:02Okay.

00:27:03So sugar cookies are my thing back home.

00:27:05That's what I sell a ton of.

00:27:07These are going to be Christmas lights that go on top of my blondie.

00:27:11It's going to bring some color to the plate, which is definitely needed because it's very brown.

00:27:17Woo!

00:27:19Three trunks.

00:27:20They're tiered, the edges, kind of like imperfections and stuff like that.

00:27:25So for the texture that I'm going to apply on my cake, I'm using waffle paper with water and then

00:27:32constarge on top and I'm going to squeeze the texture imprinting literally with the pushing effect.

00:27:38It's going to look like snow.

00:27:42I am just getting the meringue ready for my hot cocoa meringue puffs.

00:27:49Jean, how you doing?

00:27:50If we get done early, can we cuddle?

00:27:55Jesse is a hoot. Terrible jokes, but is a hoot.

00:27:58Yes, of course.

00:27:59So good to see you.

00:28:01It's like a nice mom hug.

00:28:03I'm just like a very jealous middle child, okay?

00:28:06We're going to start decorating, which is not my area of expertise.

00:28:11For this dessert, I'm going to be garnishing it with a icing postcard.

00:28:16It is icing sheets, which I've never worked with before.

00:28:19Specifically, I'm worried that my decor may be viewed as a little childish.

00:28:25But you know, the holidays are all about whimsy and that nostalgic feel.

00:28:29I'm sure someone will read me the felt for this, and that's okay.

00:28:33This is marzipan.

00:28:35I'm going to turn them into little Christmas reindeer to go on top of my cakes.

00:28:39They look like cats.

00:28:40I'm going to call them Christmas cats.

00:28:42Team reindeer, all the way.

00:28:44I really want to showcase my chocolate work, because that's who I am.

00:28:48I'm making, like, tangled wires.

00:28:50So I'm going to go darker color on, like, the little bulge, and then I'll wrap some of the green

00:28:54around it as, like, the wires.

00:28:55Five minutes left.

00:28:57Ooh, five minutes, reindeers.

00:28:59It's getting real.

00:29:01My decorating, I could have spruced it up a little bit more.

00:29:04I feel like it was a little plain, but it was also my tradition.

00:29:07So I feel like I put me on the plate.

00:29:09Four minutes left.

00:29:11Ah.

00:29:13They're underbaked.

00:29:14They're underbaked.

00:29:15I'm so nervous they're going to pin me for underbaked bran japan or tart dough, but they're going to love

00:29:21my Hanukkah bush concept.

00:29:22Maybe the underbaked bran japan won't be too big a deal.

00:29:27My petite gato literally had just enough time to set.

00:29:30Oh, my God, guys.

00:29:31I am so tired.

00:29:32It's okay.

00:29:33I don't even know what to tell you.

00:29:34Stop, you're doing great.

00:29:35You're doing great.

00:29:36I don't know if I'm going to get anything on the plate.

00:29:38Two minutes left.

00:29:40Breathe, breathe, breathe.

00:29:42So I ran out of time.

00:29:44It's a little dark for gingerbread.

00:29:48This piping looks like trash.

00:29:50I'm so sorry.

00:29:52I still have a lot of the techniques that I learned at school just fresh in my mind.

00:29:57So we'll see if I can pull some of it out and give me an edge up on the rest

00:30:01of the contestants.

00:30:02Gorgeous.

00:30:03So beautiful.

00:30:05Pressure makes diamonds.

00:30:06Pressure makes diamonds.

00:30:08Five, four, three, two, one.

00:30:12That's it.

00:30:13Oh!

00:30:14Woo-hoo!

00:30:16Time to meet your judges.

00:30:19I'm relieved it's done.

00:30:20I'm pretty hopeful.

00:30:22I feel like it went pretty well.

00:30:23All I see is where it could have been better.

00:30:27Oh!

00:30:28So, judges, happy holidays.

00:30:30And what do you think of Santa's workshop?

00:30:32It's awesome!

00:30:33This place is amazing.

00:30:39I would work in this office.

00:30:40Any day.

00:30:41Also, Molly, welcome to Holiday Baking Championship.

00:30:44Yay!

00:30:45We're so happy to have you.

00:30:46I am so happy to be here.

00:30:47Yay!

00:30:48I'm so excited.

00:30:49I'm so excited you're here.

00:30:50All right, so Santa requested some team building here to start us off.

00:30:54And actually, there's one team right now in the Elf Break Room listening in.

00:30:58I'm really excited to see what they think.

00:31:01Because I've looked up to Duff for so long.

00:31:03I'm, like, already trying to, like, prep for the main heat.

00:31:05I am feeling so nervous.

00:31:07I don't know how it's gonna go for me.

00:31:10So, having a team to back me up could be a really good strength.

00:31:14All right, judges, employee profile desserts to get to know our bakers.

00:31:18Team with the best dessert, they'll get an advantage for the main heat.

00:31:21It's time to find out what the reindeer crew's been up to.

00:31:24So, let's bring in Audrey.

00:31:25Oh, my God.

00:31:26I'm so scared.

00:31:30Hi.

00:31:30Hey.

00:31:31Oh, my gosh.

00:31:32I'm pan-grilling.

00:31:34Hi.

00:31:34Hi, Audrey.

00:31:36Hi.

00:31:36No, Audrey, you are not the only new hire here at the workshop.

00:31:39Molly Ye is a restaurateur, a cookbook author, and also she excels in holiday deliverables.

00:31:46Duff Goldman is a pastry chef.

00:31:48He's also the longest-running employee of the month here.

00:31:51Okay.

00:31:51Been watching it since the beginning, so.

00:31:53Happy holidays.

00:31:54And Cardia Brown, she is a very talented chef.

00:31:57She's also a best-selling author, and she brings joy everywhere she goes.

00:32:02Well, hello, Audrey.

00:32:03Hi.

00:32:03That's my corporate voice.

00:32:05Yeah.

00:32:05Very nice.

00:32:05Yeah.

00:32:06All right.

00:32:06So, Audrey, you had to create an employee profile dessert.

00:32:09Tell us about this.

00:32:10Pecan is our state net of Texas, and I'm from Texas, and it's just a big part of my life.

00:32:16It's a big part of any holiday.

00:32:17So, I have a pecan cinnamon blondie with pecan cream cheese frosting, and then it's topped with Christmas lights made

00:32:24out of sugar cookies.

00:32:26As the hiring manager, I could tell that you are fun, you have a very bright and bubbly personality with

00:32:35the lights, and it's just, it's so homey.

00:32:38Because it's a little airier, all the pecans really stand out.

00:32:42For as good as the blondie is, I think your sugar cookie is fantastic.

00:32:46I like them with a little color on them.

00:32:47I like them with a little crunch on the outside.

00:32:49Delicious.

00:32:50Thank you so much.

00:32:51Thanks, Audrey.

00:32:52Thanks, Audrey.

00:32:53We'll be giving you a call.

00:32:55Totally good.

00:32:56First challenge, getting in here, figuring out the kitchen.

00:32:59I think it was really smart.

00:33:01You love my sugar cookie, and that's not even the most important part, but, like, that means so much to

00:33:06me.

00:33:08Andy, come on down.

00:33:10Happy holidays.

00:33:11Happy holidays.

00:33:12Happy holidays.

00:33:13Employee profile desserts, and you went with?

00:33:16I went with the holiday eulog.

00:33:19What I love about the holidays is gatherings, and to me the eulog represents just that.

00:33:25You throw a log into the fireplace, what happens?

00:33:28People gather.

00:33:30This looks classic and classy.

00:33:33Thank you.

00:33:33You seem like a classy guy, and your holidays sound just lovely.

00:33:37I want to be a part of them.

00:33:39Let's not waste another second.

00:33:40Let's go.

00:33:41The eulog is with a gingerbread cake filled with a citrus cream cheese icing, and then it has a cranberry

00:33:48marmalade.

00:33:53Andi, this is incredible.

00:33:58The cream cheese filling is so good.

00:34:01It's like a velvety, no-bake cheesecake.

00:34:04The cranberry compliments the tartness in the cream cheese filling.

00:34:07No notes.

00:34:08Thank you.

00:34:09Thank you.

00:34:09And this is my reindeer crucis.

00:34:11Thank you.

00:34:12You're welcome.

00:34:13Thank you!

00:34:14Yay!

00:34:16Yay!

00:34:17Yay!

00:34:18Hayley, good to see you.

00:34:20I'm sorry.

00:34:20I have to say this first.

00:34:21Molly, my dad loves you.

00:34:24What's your dad's name?

00:34:25Josh.

00:34:26What's up, Josh?

00:34:27What's up, Josh?

00:34:28He's gonna scream.

00:34:30I love it.

00:34:31All right.

00:34:32Well, Hayley, tell us what you made.

00:34:33I made a frangipan tart with a patsucre tart shell, and then I decorated it like a Christmas tree, but

00:34:40with blue ornaments, because I'm Jewish, so whenever we put up a Christmas tree, we want to make it a

00:34:45Hanukkah bush.

00:34:46Hanukkah bush.

00:34:48It's the best.

00:34:49I love it.

00:34:49When I saw this, I knew immediately what it was.

00:34:52Frangipan.

00:34:53I did cranberry gel on top of the frangipan tart, and then a white chocolate eggnog mousse on top.

00:35:01I'm getting all of the, like, eggnog essence.

00:35:05It's delicious.

00:35:06I love it.

00:35:07This crust needs a little more time in the oven.

00:35:11It needs a little more color.

00:35:12Yeah.

00:35:13I think it needs a little more caramelization.

00:35:15No, I agree.

00:35:16Tells a great story.

00:35:17Gotta bake that longer.

00:35:19Okay.

00:35:19All right, Diana, we needed an employee profile dessert.

00:35:23I'm always, always on the hunt for a white Christmas.

00:35:26The snow and the deer just invoke the holidays for me, so that's what I've presented on the cake.

00:35:32It definitely matches your personality.

00:35:34Ah.

00:35:34I could tell so much about you.

00:35:36I love the coconut to represent the snow, and it just feels like the holidays.

00:35:40I made a coconut chiffon cake, filled it with a cranberry gelée and a cran raspberry mascarpone whip.

00:35:48Your flavors here are perfect.

00:35:51You have given me a delicious cranberry dessert.

00:35:54I'm loving every second of it.

00:35:56Oh, thank you.

00:35:56I think it's really, really good.

00:35:57All right, Diana.

00:35:58Good job.

00:35:59Bye, guys.

00:36:01Curtis, welcome.

00:36:02What I made for you guys today is a spice cake with an eggnog cheesecake mousse and a white chocolate

00:36:09eggnog snow.

00:36:11White chocolate eggnog snow?

00:36:12Yes.

00:36:13Multrudextrin white chocolate eggnog.

00:36:15Wicks it together, melts in your mouth.

00:36:17Yeah.

00:36:17Very good.

00:36:19Growing up from Ohio, so having a snow day, snow party, or going outside, snowball fights.

00:36:25Snow.

00:36:26Now, I knew it was a snowman, but the medium you chose for this cake, it's a little too airy.

00:36:33There's too much space in there, so you weren't able to get the definition that you were looking for.

00:36:38I'm sorry, Curtis.

00:36:39I'm sorry.

00:36:46This really sucks.

00:36:47I think I messed this up.

00:36:59What's in the snow?

00:37:00What addiction.

00:37:02Too much chemical.

00:37:03Oh.

00:37:05So, it was great up until I tried the snow.

00:37:08This is how you use it.

00:37:09Okay.

00:37:09I think your ratios are off.

00:37:11Okay.

00:37:11Curtis, your cake is delicious.

00:37:13It is tender.

00:37:14It's light.

00:37:15It's really beautiful.

00:37:17You know, get the wiggles out, okay, and do this right again.

00:37:20Yes, sir.

00:37:20Curtis, thank you, sir.

00:37:21Thank you.

00:37:22Thank you.

00:37:25First, bake, and, of course, there's going to be critiques.

00:37:28I still think we're feeling strong, and I think we're going to finish strong.

00:37:31Yeah.

00:37:32It did good.

00:37:33Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:37:34We're getting the wiggles out.

00:37:35It's okay.

00:37:38Christina.

00:37:39Every year, right after Thanksgiving, my family and I build the Christmas tree together,

00:37:42and my sisters and I will go get chai tea from our favorite coffee shop.

00:37:46So today we have a chai cheesecake with a speculo spice crust and then a maple whipped cream on top.

00:37:54First thing that I see is a huge red garland around the outside.

00:37:58So I think just, you know, adjusting those ratios, having a little bit less of that red border,

00:38:02and then just making the tree really pop as the star of the show.

00:38:06It's all right.

00:38:07Oh, yeah.

00:38:08Yeah.

00:38:11Oh, my God, I'm getting goosebumps.

00:38:13I love the maple.

00:38:14I love the chai.

00:38:16Indicative of the holidays.

00:38:17Your crust is perfect.

00:38:19You've got it dried out and crispy all the way through while still being buttery and yummy and wonderful.

00:38:25Am I alive right now?

00:38:26Like, somebody pinched me.

00:38:27Somebody pinched me.

00:38:28Like...

00:38:28This is it.

00:38:29Don't make me cry on TV.

00:38:31Cry.

00:38:35I'm gonna make you cry, because seriously, I think this is one of the best, if not the best, cheesecake

00:38:39I've ever had in my life.

00:38:40Thank you so much.

00:38:41That means selfish coming from you.

00:38:44Christina, you and your team can head out.

00:38:45Thank you.

00:38:48When you hear somebody, like, so important say something so wonderful about something you made...

00:38:52This makes me so excited to taste more of what she bakes.

00:38:56It's like, it really touched me, it really hit me, especially for first bake, and I just...

00:38:59I couldn't.

00:39:00I couldn't hold it in.

00:39:01Reindeer crew!

00:39:02Woo!

00:39:04I'm really not worried going into the main heat right now.

00:39:07All right, so judges, that was the reindeer crew, but now get ready for the elf squad.

00:39:12Elf squad?

00:39:16How did it go?

00:39:17Great.

00:39:19Oh, did she cry?

00:39:21Oh.

00:39:22Oh, my God, have fun, guys.

00:39:24Thank you.

00:39:24Well, they're very energetic.

00:39:26They're really confident.

00:39:26They were so energetic, guys.

00:39:28Oh, it's okay.

00:39:29They have a lot of energy, but we have a lot of...

00:39:31We have, like...

00:39:32Wisdom?

00:39:32The right focus.

00:39:33Vibe.

00:39:34Let's bring in Isabel.

00:39:36Hello.

00:39:37Hi, Isabel.

00:39:38I'm very nervous right now.

00:39:39It's okay.

00:39:40I want to hug you.

00:39:41So you can...

00:39:41It's okay.

00:39:42Yeah, come on.

00:39:42You got some gin.

00:39:45Let it out.

00:39:46Let it out.

00:39:47Okay.

00:39:47You're good.

00:39:48You're good.

00:39:48Okay, I'm good.

00:39:49It's been exercised out of me.

00:39:51There you go.

00:39:52Cardiac has a great hug.

00:39:53Okay, Isabel, you had to make an employee profile dessert.

00:39:56I made a gingerbread mousse cake.

00:39:59For the holidays, I spend it now with my sister.

00:40:02And one of our rituals is decorating gingerbread houses.

00:40:06For me, when I get those gingerbread houses from, like, the grocery store, it comes with

00:40:10all the gummies and all the cool colors and all that stuff.

00:40:12I want to see that here.

00:40:13Give us more personality in this.

00:40:15Totally.

00:40:16Inside is brown butter pears, a gingerbread mousse, a crunchy gingerbread base, and then on top,

00:40:22you have some brown sugar cake and apple brandy whipped cream.

00:40:27Are we all just holding our breath?

00:40:30Yes.

00:40:30Oh, my gosh.

00:40:33Your mousse is so light.

00:40:35It has a ton of flavor.

00:40:37You have this impossibly thin gingerbread on the bottom that somehow, under the liquid of all these pears,

00:40:45and this amazingly light mousse, is still crispy.

00:40:47This is delicious.

00:40:49Isabel, we'll keep an eye on you.

00:40:50Thank you so much.

00:40:51Aw, that's awesome.

00:40:54Jean, how does it feel to be here right now?

00:40:57I'm over the moon.

00:40:59My cheeks are gonna, like, explode.

00:41:04I decided to make a cream puff that embodies hot chocolate.

00:41:11Jean, it sparkles just like you.

00:41:14Thank you.

00:41:15Ooh.

00:41:17Against everything I thought I was gonna get, you have brought me hot chocolate.

00:41:21Marshmallow on top, that really good, kind of rich, but still sweet, milky chocolate in the middle.

00:41:26It's delicious.

00:41:27Wow.

00:41:28Thank you.

00:41:29Hello, Finn.

00:41:30I brought for you guys a peppermint mocha, Bush Noel.

00:41:34I am so impressed with those mushrooms.

00:41:36They look like I'm wandering through the forest.

00:41:40For the cake itself, I just did a chocolate sponge cake, and then I rolled it with peppermint, buttercream.

00:41:47The whole thing is glazed in a coffee chocolate ganache.

00:41:52Your cake itself, it's a little bit dry.

00:41:55You know, you might want to hit that with just a little bit of syrup or something like that.

00:41:58Yeah.

00:41:58You have it here.

00:41:59I can tell you you have the skills.

00:42:00Just gotta dial it in.

00:42:02Thank you so much, guys.

00:42:03The judges definitely pointed out all the things that I thought that they were gonna point out.

00:42:08They definitely noticed where I faltered.

00:42:11All right, Montana, tell us about your employee profile dessert.

00:42:14Christmas time, always have hot chocolate.

00:42:16You know, you go, you're heating up your fourth cup because it's spiked.

00:42:20You're grabbing it out of the microwave, and it's hot, so you drop it.

00:42:23So today for you, I made a fallen hot chocolate petite gateau.

00:42:27And then on top, we have our broken handle, which is our cinnamon sable.

00:42:30Oh.

00:42:32I get it now that you've explained it, but I would have not known what this was.

00:42:38Okay.

00:42:38So we have a white chocolate Irish cream mousse chocolate cake layered with caramel,

00:42:45and then a toasted Italian meringue.

00:42:47Irish cream is the pastry chef's dirty little secret, right?

00:42:51You're just like, ah, what does this need?

00:42:52Irish cream.

00:42:53It's so good.

00:42:54I mean, if anything, I think I could have used, like, a little bit more Irish cream.

00:42:58You know, I'm ready.

00:43:00I'm ready.

00:43:00It's an office party.

00:43:01I'm ready.

00:43:03That's what we like.

00:43:04All right, great stuff.

00:43:05Thank you, guys.

00:43:05Thanks, Montana.

00:43:06Thank you.

00:43:08Jesse.

00:43:09In my family, we're Mexicans, and we love cake.

00:43:13Mm-hmm.

00:43:14So what I create, it was a cake roll.

00:43:18And what I did for the decoration, it was water paper to make it look like the texture of the

00:43:24wood.

00:43:26You are gorgeous, and so is that cake.

00:43:30Thank you.

00:43:31Wow.

00:43:33Oh, yeah.

00:43:34Oh, look how moist it is.

00:43:36It's a pistachio cake with chocolate cream cheese and pistachio crunch.

00:43:41The cake, like, there's no resistance.

00:43:44It's so tender and light and soft.

00:43:47It's like you put it in your mouth, and you're just like, huh, and everything's fine.

00:43:51Everything is okay, because I'm with Grandma Jessie.

00:43:53Thank you.

00:43:54Pleasure.

00:43:54Thank you, Jessie.

00:43:55Thank you.

00:43:56Cheers, Bear.

00:43:57Welcome.

00:43:57My grandma for Thanksgiving puts out this huge spread of snacks, because football is life

00:44:01in the Intelli household.

00:44:03So today for you, I made a graham cracker and saltine peanut butter chocolate tart with potato chip pretzel and

00:44:12corn cereal crunchies.

00:44:14Oh.

00:44:15With a lovely postcard from Philly.

00:44:17Go, birds.

00:44:18Fly, eagles, fly.

00:44:19It's a former New York giant.

00:44:21It's a good thing I'm not a judge.

00:44:23Let's be friends.

00:44:26I like that you covered your whole dessert in this postcard thing.

00:44:31You know why?

00:44:32Because I think you have a lot to show us.

00:44:35I want to peel that cover off of you.

00:44:36I want to see all the nuttiness.

00:44:38Oh.

00:44:39It's gorgeous.

00:44:40Damn, that looks good.

00:44:41You're fair.

00:44:42Oh, I'm getting nuttiness.

00:44:45Mmm.

00:44:48I could eat this every single day of my life, and I don't want to wait for it to be

00:44:51the holidays.

00:44:52Oh, thank you.

00:44:53I appreciate that.

00:44:54There is something very Philly about all these flavors in there.

00:44:58Pretzels and potato chips and saltines.

00:45:00What kind of represent?

00:45:01This is so good.

00:45:02Nice start, Jared Bear.

00:45:04Woo!

00:45:05Oh.

00:45:07This little nut job.

00:45:08Overall, our critiques were fairly positive.

00:45:10We're fairly good about this.

00:45:12Woo!

00:45:14Woo!

00:45:15It will be featured in the off newsletter once we win.

00:45:18Woo!

00:45:21Bakers, Santa is so pleased to see that you can all clearly pull your weight here at this workshop.

00:45:27One team will win this challenge based on the entire team's performance.

00:45:32But there were a couple of desserts that were absolute standouts.

00:45:36from the Elf Squad, the judges were really impressed with Jessie's pistachio chocolate cake.

00:45:43Woo!

00:45:45And over on the reindeer crew, Christina's cheesecake was an overwhelming hit.

00:45:50Yay!

00:45:51Yay!

00:45:51And ultimately, the team that the judges felt performed best overall in this challenge is...

00:45:57The Elf Squad!

00:45:59Woo!

00:46:01Good job, Jessie.

00:46:03Fresh off the press in Santa's Scoop, Elf Squad takes the first win.

00:46:09Woo!

00:46:09That's right, Santa.

00:46:12Now, let's talk about your main heat.

00:46:14If you look over at Santa's office, he loves stained glass windows.

00:46:19He's planning to break ground next year on an expansion, and he really wants to include

00:46:24a big stained glass installation.

00:46:28Okay.

00:46:28And that's where you come in.

00:46:32Santa wants stained glass design options ready in three hours.

00:46:36Wow.

00:46:37And because this is Santa's workshop, those designs need to be delivered on stained glass cakes.

00:46:44Ooh.

00:46:45Oh.

00:46:46And now, Elf Squad, about that advantage you earned from winning the preheat.

00:46:50Yes.

00:46:51Your team gets this neat stained glass making kit exclusively for your use.

00:46:57Oh, wow.

00:46:58We're loved.

00:46:59We've got a lot of goodies here, too.

00:47:01We've got colored isomalt tiles.

00:47:04So usually isomalt, when you have just powdered isomalt, it's kind of like sugar.

00:47:08You have to cook it to a certain temperature for it to set well.

00:47:11This one has already gone through that process, so we just have to melt and pour.

00:47:14Black coating chocolate and royal icing mix to help create the lines, cookie cutters to pour your sugar glass shapes,

00:47:22and you've also got gold or silver leaf.

00:47:26Nice.

00:47:27Thank you.

00:47:28There is one more thing.

00:47:30We're offering a new employee incentive prize that involves cash and some amazing gifts to the best overall bake in

00:47:38this challenge.

00:47:39Oh, my God.

00:47:40That's huge.

00:47:42Oh, my God.

00:47:42Okay.

00:47:42And the winner of this main heat is going to claim that prize.

00:47:46Yes.

00:47:46That's what I'm talking about.

00:47:47It's going to be mine.

00:47:48Okay.

00:47:49So in our first main heat, the winning team, based on combined performance, will be safe.

00:47:55Sadly, one baker on the losing team will be leaving Santa's workshop.

00:48:00All right.

00:48:00Three hours to create stained glass cakes to keep your position here, and your baking time starts now.

00:48:09Oh, my God.

00:48:12All right, guys.

00:48:13Flavors.

00:48:14What are the flavors?

00:48:15I'm doing lemon.

00:48:16Lemon?

00:48:16Okay.

00:48:17I'm so proud of my team.

00:48:19I'm doing red velvet.

00:48:20Banana caramel.

00:48:21Okay.

00:48:21We needed that win, because we were all so scared.

00:48:24Now, what about decor?

00:48:25I definitely want to do either Christmas lights or bells.

00:48:28I want to do something funny with, like, a carrot nose romance type of situation.

00:48:31Oh, that's cute.

00:48:32Oh, that's cute.

00:48:32Our top baker was Jessie.

00:48:33I'm doing champagne cake.

00:48:35Lovely.

00:48:36She makes the best cakes ever.

00:48:38So I'm really excited about us possibly winning this main heat.

00:48:42We have the winner now.

00:48:43We got this.

00:48:44Let's watch.

00:48:45Woo!

00:48:47With, like, windows.

00:48:48Our team didn't win the preheat, so extra, extra pressure.

00:48:52Just remember, the judges like interesting flavors, combinations, and stuff.

00:48:57Yeah.

00:48:57And if we don't come up, then definitely one of us will be going home.

00:49:00We taste our fillings.

00:49:01Taste our frosting.

00:49:02Share, share, share.

00:49:03I think we don't need an advantage.

00:49:04We just have the skills, so we're gonna take it.

00:49:07We're gonna kill this.

00:49:08Yeah.

00:49:09Ready?

00:49:09Woo!

00:49:11Woo!

00:49:12Woo!

00:49:13Woo!

00:49:14Woo!

00:49:16So a stained glass cake, it has to resemble stained glass.

00:49:20Now, you can use ice malt.

00:49:21You can use piping gel.

00:49:25You can use fondant.

00:49:26It doesn't matter as long as it's a whole bunch of different shapes and colors.

00:49:29And the lining in between it is black.

00:49:31Oh, my gosh.

00:49:33Shaking.

00:49:34Hey, Christina.

00:49:35Yeah.

00:49:35Somebody had a really, really good preheat.

00:49:38Molly is saying that my cheesecake was the best cheesecake she's ever had.

00:49:41Yeah, she did.

00:49:42What a flex.

00:49:43Hopefully you can keep this momentum up.

00:49:44I'm taking off.

00:49:45You've gotta make a stained glass cake, though.

00:49:47I'm doing like a black forest cake, so I wanna kinda go woodsy.

00:49:50I'm gonna wrap it in like a chocolate part.

00:49:52On top of my cake, I'm gonna put a stained glass window, shaped as a deer.

00:49:56And I'm gonna fill it with white chocolate.

00:49:58And I think I'm gonna add some snowflakes and some trees around it for a nice amount of color.

00:50:03I am making a chocolate cake with an almond simple syrup soaked.

00:50:07And then I'm gonna do a white chocolate mascarpone cream in the center.

00:50:11And then I'm gonna do a port cherry filling.

00:50:14So tell me about life at home.

00:50:15Is there a lucky man in your life?

00:50:17My husband, Joey, we have been together for 12 years.

00:50:20So we met in high school.

00:50:22Wow.

00:50:22That's where you're both living now.

00:50:23Right now I'm still in Connecticut and he is living in Boston.

00:50:26Oh.

00:50:27So he got a really good job offer last year that I was like, go take it.

00:50:30We're making it work.

00:50:31Good.

00:50:32It sucks.

00:50:32It sucks a lot.

00:50:33I really miss him.

00:50:34I think winning this $25,000 is gonna make the move to Boston for me a lot easier.

00:50:39I think it's a really good gateway to like start a business for myself and really get on my feet

00:50:44out there.

00:50:44You're out to an amazing start.

00:50:46Thank you so much, Jessie.

00:50:47Ryan Deer crew, everybody okay?

00:50:49Yeah!

00:50:50Woo!

00:50:50I'm feeling great, Curtis.

00:50:52Let's go!

00:50:53Judges told me just to bring it all together with a flavor profile.

00:50:57I hope the judges noticed that I actually listened.

00:50:59I'm making a espresso chocolate devil's food cake.

00:51:02I won a couple of awards with my cake.

00:51:05The peanut butter cream cheese mousse and a coffee espresso buttercream.

00:51:09To decorate, we'll do like a Wonder Wonderland scene with a snowman, a gingerbread, and a Christmas tree.

00:51:14I pipe my stained glass design using royal icing and fill in the colors of stained glass with piping gel.

00:51:21Let's go, reindeers!

00:51:22Let's go!

00:51:25All right.

00:51:26We're here for redemption.

00:51:28I think we're gonna beat the Elf Squad just with our good looks and fabulous personalities and hopefully some really

00:51:35stellar baking.

00:51:36For my stained glass decoration, I'm thinking like midnight skies in the woods and angels.

00:51:43So I've got an oatmeal spice chiffon cake.

00:51:46So it's spiced with a little cinnamon and I sissed up some oatmeal to kind of make an oat flour

00:51:50so it's real like hearty oatmeal cookie.

00:51:54Going in the oven.

00:51:56Baking absolutely brings me total joy.

00:52:00Mmm.

00:52:01A crunchy.

00:52:02It works.

00:52:03And then I'm gonna fill it with a little caramel pecan crunch.

00:52:07And then also cinnamon cream cheese.

00:52:09Woo-hoo!

00:52:10Uh, does anybody on the Elf side have dark rum?

00:52:13I do.

00:52:16Yeah.

00:52:18Don't say the Elves are bad people.

00:52:20Aw, you're the best.

00:52:21Thank you.

00:52:27I'm definitely tripping.

00:52:29I am making a lemon olive oil cake with a Earl Grey buttercream.

00:52:35I love lemon cake.

00:52:36My grandma made lemon cake all the time growing up.

00:52:38A family secret she told me right before she passed was that she actually made our beautiful lemon cake from

00:52:45a box.

00:52:47It's truly made with love.

00:52:50And then Earl Grey, it just goes so great with it, so why not?

00:52:53My plan for the stained glass is to actually do a stained glass window that my grandma had at her

00:52:59church.

00:53:00Which is gonna be a lot of geometric, ice-small shapes, and then I know I want my 3D Christmas

00:53:06tree on top.

00:53:11Thank goodness that we got the advantage.

00:53:16We have different colored ice mulch and royal icing mix that's ready to go, and cookie cutters that the other

00:53:23team doesn't get to use.

00:53:24That's the advantage.

00:53:26That's what we need.

00:53:29Ooh, smells good.

00:53:31I am making a red velvet cake.

00:53:33It's a family heirloom recipe.

00:53:35So, red velvet was my wedding cake.

00:53:38I would love to add a crunch value to this.

00:53:42So, I am caramelizing pecans, and on top I'm gonna be doing a stained glass window that looks like a

00:53:47wreath with bows and red berries.

00:53:53I am making, uh, it's called ermine frosting.

00:53:58It's a really old-fashioned recipe.

00:54:00You make this thick, almost like a roux, which, you know, a pudding, and then you add that to whipped

00:54:08butter and sugar.

00:54:09It's the only thing that goes good with red velvet.

00:54:12Hi.

00:54:12Hi, Jean.

00:54:14Hi, Jessie.

00:54:15Tell me about your family growing up.

00:54:17Any brothers and sisters?

00:54:19I have ten brothers and sisters.

00:54:22I have seven sisters and three brothers.

00:54:25Growing up, you had to be pretty independent.

00:54:28I learned that I have just a wicked sweet tooth.

00:54:32Yeah.

00:54:32So, nobody would go and get stuff for me, so I'd have to go and make it myself.

00:54:36Like, eight, nine, ten.

00:54:38I'd look through the recipes, and I would make it.

00:54:40You taught yourself how to bake at that age?

00:54:43Yes.

00:54:43That is unbelievable.

00:54:45All right, Jean.

00:54:46I'll let you get back to it.

00:54:50Going in.

00:54:52It is elf squad versus reindeer crew.

00:54:57No offense to elves, but they're going home.

00:54:59Cakes are totally my thing, and I think it's time to show them.

00:55:03I'm Haley Lemberger.

00:55:05As a pastry chef at a luxury hotel, I work on a little bit of everything.

00:55:10I'm very into my artistic expression, especially with my desserts.

00:55:15I've never done a stained glass cake before, but I'm very confident in myself.

00:55:19Hi, Haley.

00:55:20What flavors are you doing with this cake?

00:55:22I'm doing cookie butter cake, a recipe that I made myself, and spiced cream cheese buttercream

00:55:27with orange flavors.

00:55:29How are you creating recipes at such a young age?

00:55:31My amazing chef that I work for back home, she lets me do my own recipe development.

00:55:36How's it going to look?

00:55:37I'm going to cover it with fondant, and for my stained glass decoration, I plan on piping

00:55:42with royal icing to make the outline.

00:55:44I'm going to paint a menorah on one side, a candy cane, and then an ornament.

00:55:49I feel like, Kayla, you're our Mary Mensch.

00:55:52Thank you.

00:55:53Can we call you that?

00:55:53Yeah, of course.

00:55:54I love to be a Mary Mensch.

00:55:55She's a Mary Mensch.

00:55:55You are.

00:55:56You're doing an amazing job.

00:55:57Thank you so much.

00:55:58So I'm scaling out my dry ingredients.

00:56:02Ugh.

00:56:04Yeah, I mixed those up.

00:56:06That was supposed to be baking powder, not baking soda.

00:56:12I need to get these cakes in the oven.

00:56:14I'm seeing other people get their stuff in the oven.

00:56:16Perfect.

00:56:16I'm wasting time making silly mistakes.

00:56:19Ugh.

00:56:19I'm frustrated.

00:56:21I'm annoyed.

00:56:22I don't have that much time.

00:56:30I gotta start over and rescale the dries.

00:56:33Baking powder, not soda.

00:56:35They do different things.

00:56:36This happens to me all the time.

00:56:38I'm constantly mixing up baking powder and baking soda.

00:56:44Ninety minutes to go.

00:56:46All right.

00:56:48Cakes are going in the oven.

00:56:50Heck yeah, girl.

00:56:51Yeah, they are.

00:56:52Stained glass cakes to keep your spot in this workshop.

00:56:56Gorgeous.

00:56:57It is elf squad versus reindeer crew.

00:57:00Who's going to come out on top?

00:57:02I'm feeling really good despite my little drys mishap, but I'm back on track.

00:57:08Hey Andy, can you taste my cream cheese buttercream?

00:57:10Yeah.

00:57:11It's cream cheese buttercream with orange extract.

00:57:13What kind of spices?

00:57:14Cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and ginger.

00:57:17You said orange?

00:57:18Yeah.

00:57:18Maybe a little bit more.

00:57:19More of that?

00:57:20Yeah.

00:57:20Okay.

00:57:21I've become the tasting aficionado for my team.

00:57:24I hope the judges, they like what they taste because my taste palette is on the line here.

00:57:30My cake is going to be a red velvet cake with a peppermint Bavarian mousse inside.

00:57:35I'm just going to spread out some chocolate so that I'm going to break it up and use that for

00:57:39the filling.

00:57:40I'm trying to get the cake out of the way, the fill ready to go, so I'll have plenty of

00:57:44time to decorate.

00:57:45The stained glass is going to be a modeling chocolate, Christmas tree, some candy canes, snowflakes, and some holly leaves.

00:57:53And then some black buttercream.

00:57:55Do the little intricate lines that go in between.

00:58:01Add my chocolate to it.

00:58:04Kind of reminds me of peppermint ice cream.

00:58:09I like to have my little dance breaks.

00:58:12I think Audrey has such a bubbly personality, and I think that translates to her desserts.

00:58:19They smell orangey, so what I'm going for, we're good.

00:58:23I'm making an orange spice cake with cranberry filling and an orange swiss meringue buttercream.

00:58:28My mom is my best friend.

00:58:30This cake is all dedicated to her.

00:58:31Orange cranberry is her favorite holiday flavor.

00:58:34So I'm going to make a penguin, because me and my mom's favorite animal is a penguin.

00:58:38I'm going to attempt to make a stained glass of a gelet, which is like a thin little jelly layer.

00:58:42To make my gelet, I'm going to take coconut puree and agar-agar and sugar and combine them all until

00:58:49they're going to simmer.

00:58:50So this is going to go right on top of my cake.

00:58:53This gelet will beat all of the pieces of the penguin.

00:58:56All right.

00:58:56One hour left now.

00:58:58Let's go, reindeers!

00:58:59Let's go, reindeer!

00:59:01Woo!

00:59:01Elf Squad, they've got a sign.

00:59:03What do you guys do?

00:59:05It's our elf ears!

00:59:06Come on!

00:59:07All right.

00:59:08So we have the reindeer crew.

00:59:10And we've got the elf squad.

00:59:13I'm Isabelle.

00:59:14Currently, I am a pastry chef consultant, where basically you have to give your value to a client.

00:59:22If someone does ask me for something really crazy, I do have the experience to be like, hey, I can

00:59:27do that actually.

00:59:29Today's challenge is a stained glass cake.

00:59:31Stained glass, I've never made that.

00:59:33But because of winning as a team, we were given exclusive rights to use some like tools and tricks and

00:59:38things like that.

00:59:38Anything that can help me get an edge on decorating, I'm going to use it.

00:59:42I'm making a chocolate stout cake with maple pecans and maple buttercream.

00:59:48So I'm going to cover it in fondant.

00:59:49I'll make some black royal icing.

00:59:51I'll do those nice dark lines.

00:59:52On each of the panels, I'm going to be doing some kind of Christmas design.

00:59:56And then for the Christmas lights, I'm using Isomol.

00:59:59Montana!

01:00:00Airplane!

01:00:03What is it?

01:00:04Mabel buttercream.

01:00:05That's good.

01:00:06That's good.

01:00:06We were the team to beat.

01:00:08And we still are.

01:00:09I am making a banana cake with a caramel and hazelnut French buttercream.

01:00:15Finished off with a salted Swiss meringue buttercream.

01:00:18And it'll be adorned with fondant stained glass ornaments.

01:00:21The key to a stained glass look is the black lines in between the glass pieces.

01:00:27Not everyone knows this, but in high school, I did three-dimensional sculpture.

01:00:32And as part of that, I was able to actually make stained glass pieces.

01:00:36So I'm hoping that that gives me a little bit of an advantage in this challenge.

01:00:41Thank you, Mr. Gibson, for allowing me to skip algebra to be in the art wing.

01:00:45It really paid off.

01:00:47The Elf Squad.

01:00:51Finn is like an adorable baby, but he's really funny at the same time.

01:00:57And I feel like he has some serious skill behind him.

01:00:59I think a lot of people underestimate him because he's so young.

01:01:02Jesse.

01:01:03It's good to finally meet you.

01:01:04Can I get a little bit?

01:01:05I'll do my non-blood tan.

01:01:07Dude, of course you can.

01:01:08Are you kidding me?

01:01:08You have an incredible job.

01:01:10This restaurant, top 50 in the United States.

01:01:13Yeah.

01:01:13That's so cool and exciting.

01:01:15Yeah.

01:01:15So what flavor is your cake?

01:01:17What's this thing going to look like?

01:01:18It's a very simple, spiced carrot cake with maple-salted walnuts and then an Italian

01:01:24buttercream cream cheese frosting.

01:01:26Nice.

01:01:26And then I'm going to do a little bit of like a snow play on a snowman.

01:01:29Mittens and his carrot nose.

01:01:31Let you know what's going to be on the inside of the cake.

01:01:33I think you can go a really long way, brother.

01:01:34Yeah.

01:01:35Thank you so much.

01:01:35All right, man.

01:01:35Let's take your pen.

01:01:37One of the biggest people who's responsible for the pastry cook that I am today would be

01:01:43Tiago from Salt & Newton.

01:01:45Even when I was at school, I was definitely showing people up sometimes with the stuff that

01:01:50I knew from working for him.

01:01:52Cake Master, can you try my cream cheese frosting?

01:01:54Would you like to try my goat cheese frosting?

01:01:56Yeah, we'll do a little trick.

01:01:57Yeah, yeah.

01:02:02Oh, it's so creamy.

01:02:03Like it?

01:02:05More lemon.

01:02:06More lemon?

01:02:07Lemon juice.

01:02:08Okay.

01:02:09Thank you.

01:02:11My cakes, they're out of the oven and they look beautiful.

01:02:14I'm making a vanilla sponge.

01:02:16It's going to be soaking champagne with a goat cheese filling and apricot.

01:02:20So it's going to be wow.

01:02:22Goat cheese and champagne, they go very well.

01:02:25And a little bit of apricot, it make it sweet.

01:02:28It's a very fancy flavor.

01:02:31The top of the cake I'm going to draw a Christmas tree and then different colors using piping gel.

01:02:37I'm also making a sablette cookie for my ornament decoration with a little drawing of my grandkids and my husband.

01:02:45I decided to use clear because I'm going to do the piping gel on the back.

01:02:49Okay, here we go.

01:02:54Most of my team is also starting to assemble our cakes.

01:02:57That's called teamwork.

01:02:59Okay.

01:03:01And there we go.

01:03:05The advantage is super helpful.

01:03:07Everything in this kit, especially the isomalt, is going to save us so much time in this challenge.

01:03:12The reindeer crew have to start from scratch, so I'm feeling pretty confident.

01:03:18I have never made a stained glass window cake.

01:03:20I don't really, like, use a lot of sugar just because one time I used isomalt and it, like, gave

01:03:25me a really bad burn.

01:03:26And so I've got a little PTSD in there.

01:03:28Andy, how are you doing on your decor?

01:03:30It's coming.

01:03:31It's coming along.

01:03:32I got some candy canes.

01:03:34I have some snowflakes.

01:03:35How's yours?

01:03:36I am wrapping my cake in chocolate to kind of resemble, like, a tree bark because black forest cake, like,

01:03:42it's in the name.

01:03:43Forest.

01:03:44And then we're putting some chocolate on top, too.

01:03:47Okay.

01:03:48I've got, like, my topper kind of halfway there.

01:03:51You got this.

01:03:54Ooh, a menorah.

01:03:56Yes.

01:03:57I had already at that point kind of decided I wanted to paint my cake, so I didn't want the

01:04:01isomalt.

01:04:02It will take too long to color it.

01:04:05I love it.

01:04:06Thank you.

01:04:07Thank you.

01:04:08Jingle bells, jingle all the way.

01:04:14Oh, what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh.

01:04:21Yay!

01:04:23I'm glad you have a song for your way home.

01:04:26Oh.

01:04:28Hideous.

01:04:28Ugh.

01:04:29That's not good.

01:04:30It's not even red.

01:04:31I don't know.

01:04:31I wanted to bring red to the party because I think, you know, Christmas, red, holidays, red.

01:04:36I gotta get some color on here.

01:04:37I'm sorry, guys.

01:04:39I'm bringing our team down for sure.

01:04:40Are you good, Diane?

01:04:43I don't know what I'm doing.

01:04:45This is just not good.

01:04:49It looks like a devil.

01:04:50It's supposed to be an angel, and I think it's like, you know, maybe the angel of death.

01:04:55Maybe.

01:04:56I'm going home.

01:04:56I know it.

01:04:58Frickety crack.

01:05:07Diana!

01:05:08No.

01:05:09No?

01:05:09No.

01:05:10This isn't it?

01:05:10It's just, it's a devil angel.

01:05:12Like, it's the angel of darkness.

01:05:14It's just a hot, hot mess, Jessie.

01:05:16I just thought it was, I thought it was a cardinal.

01:05:18If you put a beak on it, make it like a Christmas cardinal.

01:05:20Okay, Jessie, where were you?

01:05:21Three hours ago, had you told me bird theme, I would have owned that.

01:05:25I'm going to put a bird beak on it.

01:05:26Listen, put the beak on there, call it a cardinal.

01:05:27I'm doing it.

01:05:28Yeah, all right.

01:05:29I'm going to make it happen.

01:05:32Fifteen minutes left now.

01:05:34It is elf squad versus reindeer crew.

01:05:37Reindeer crew.

01:05:39The winning team is going to be safe from elimination.

01:05:42Unfortunately, one baker from the losing team is going to be headed out the door.

01:05:45I'll pipe my stained glass design using royal icing and fill in the colors of stained glass with piping gel.

01:05:51I'm going to melt some different colored isomalt candies that we got as our advantage.

01:05:55Finn, how are you doing on the isomalt?

01:05:57I'm feeling good.

01:05:58Is that a nose?

01:06:00Yeah.

01:06:01That's adorable.

01:06:03That's pretty funny.

01:06:05I want to include some kind of bell motif because I is a bell.

01:06:09Also, my Korean name is bell, but in Korean.

01:06:12So my Korean name is Pangul.

01:06:14So no one really uses it, but like, I just thought that was fun.

01:06:18Gosh, that looks like a soccer ball.

01:06:20Nope, can't do a soccer ball.

01:06:23I'm just going to go ahead and decorate the top of this red velvet cake into a wreath.

01:06:30I'm just going to keep putting more gold to make this more expensive.

01:06:35There's gold leaf in our advantage basket, and I plan on using all of it.

01:06:39I think I used the entire package of gold.

01:06:43How are you doing, Jessie?

01:06:44I'm doing great.

01:06:45Jessie is this quiet powerhouse.

01:06:49I'm working on my design.

01:06:51It is my two grandkids, my husband and myself, and Feliz Navidad in Spanish, which is Merry Christmas.

01:06:59Six minutes, guys.

01:07:01Am I going to finish on time?

01:07:03I can't have just ten pieces of stained glass on there and call it a window that my grandma had

01:07:08at her church.

01:07:09So, I'm like, I'm about to graffiti this bad boy.

01:07:12Girl, I'm spraying it.

01:07:13So, in order to make this more Christmassy, I need to have icicles.

01:07:18Snowstorm.

01:07:19No two feet are the same, even in humans, so why do they have to be the same in penguins?

01:07:24I'm going to try to add lines on top.

01:07:32It doesn't look good.

01:07:34The line's really thick.

01:07:35How are we doing over here?

01:07:37It's just not looking how I wanted it to look, and so I just don't want to go home.

01:07:41Can I tell you, when I was walking over, the first thing I thought was, that's a beautiful cake?

01:07:45Really?

01:07:45Yeah.

01:07:46Thank you.

01:07:47You probably are really hard on yourself.

01:07:48Yes.

01:07:49You're okay.

01:07:50You got this.

01:07:51I'll be okay.

01:07:51You will.

01:07:52I'm okay.

01:07:53Trying to prove to myself and other people that I need to be here and I belong here is just

01:07:59really hard.

01:08:01I'm okay.

01:08:03One short minute to go.

01:08:06Now I'm panicking.

01:08:08I still have a lot of glass jars to fill.

01:08:11Feeling festive today.

01:08:15Let's freaking go, guys.

01:08:18Three, two, one.

01:08:21That's it.

01:08:22Which team prevailed?

01:08:24Done.

01:08:27Oh.

01:08:28My stained glass didn't turn out quite as good as I was hoping.

01:08:33Okay.

01:08:34Well, step away, I guess.

01:08:38All right, judges.

01:08:40Santa requested stained glass cakes from our bakers.

01:08:43Nice.

01:08:44Let's welcome the elf squad.

01:08:46Welcome back, Isabelle.

01:08:48All right, so tell us about your stained glass cake.

01:08:50I kind of dropped the ball last challenge, so I didn't get to decorate all the way.

01:08:53So I was like, I want it to say holidays.

01:08:56So I wanted to definitely have some shiny and reflective elements for today.

01:09:00I'm super impressed by the sugar glass that you used on top.

01:09:04I know exactly what they are.

01:09:05The edges are so clean and the way that you outlined them.

01:09:08Okay, let's chop it up.

01:09:10The cake is a chocolate salt cake.

01:09:13Ooh.

01:09:14With maple pecans and maple buttercream.

01:09:17And I should remind you guys that because Isabelle's elf squad won the pre-heat challenge,

01:09:23they got a big advantage for this main heat.

01:09:25They got a whole bunch of tools.

01:09:27Did you use any of them?

01:09:28Yes, we had a pre-cooked isomalt.

01:09:31So all we had to do is melt it down and then pour it.

01:09:33Nice.

01:09:34This is tender.

01:09:35It's light.

01:09:36The salty nuts are really, really good.

01:09:38The maple and the stout work really well together.

01:09:41Yes.

01:09:42Thank you so much.

01:09:42Thanks, Isabelle.

01:09:47Hello.

01:09:49Good to see you.

01:09:50So my idea was to try to keep it kind of true to stained glass, like basic shapes.

01:09:54And then the solder is what kind of holds everything together, which is that black line in between.

01:09:58I think you got really close to making your stained glass effective.

01:10:02I don't think it really worked right here.

01:10:04For your ornaments that are on the side, they're kind of sticking up above.

01:10:08They didn't stick on there just right.

01:10:10That's fair.

01:10:10Today I made for you a banana caramel and hazelnut cake with a fouettine chocolate base.

01:10:19Delicious.

01:10:20Thank you.

01:10:21It's a beautiful texture on that cake.

01:10:23There's a lot going on and it comes together really nicely.

01:10:26Nice work, Jerry Bear.

01:10:27Thank you.

01:10:28Thank you.

01:10:30I had no stretch of the imagination by a cake decorator.

01:10:32This experience is going to challenge me to improve upon those skill sets.

01:10:35And I'm hoping that I discover some, like, hidden holiday decor talent.

01:10:42Hi, Jessie.

01:10:43So what I did here, it's an ornament.

01:10:47And on the side, I just did a little bit of decoration and a stained glass Christmas tree on top.

01:10:55Your top layer with all of that, the piping gel, it's beautiful.

01:10:59Take a look at your stained glass.

01:11:02Yeah, it fell.

01:11:03It's melted sugar.

01:11:05Doesn't really work.

01:11:06Can't wait to try whenever you're ready, Jessie.

01:11:08The flavor of my cake, it's that champagne and apricot filling with goat cheese.

01:11:15I'm not really getting champagne.

01:11:17I'm getting a lot of goat cheese, though.

01:11:18And I would have loved more deeply toasted almonds.

01:11:21Thank you.

01:11:22Have a great day.

01:11:25It was a lot of goat.

01:11:27Goaty.

01:11:28Goaty.

01:11:29It was goaty.

01:11:29Goaty.

01:11:34Goaty.

01:11:35Finn, welcome back.

01:11:36Our little friendly snowman here has some mittens and his carrot nose to let you know what's going to be

01:11:41on the inside of the cake as well.

01:11:43I like the way that you have those striations in the carrot in your physical sugar there.

01:11:48Not easy to do.

01:11:49It's got to be just the right temperature, and you nailed it.

01:11:52I made a carrot cake, which is one of our Thanksgiving staples.

01:11:56And I did a cream cheese Italian buttercream crossover for the frosting.

01:12:01What is wrong with your standard cream cheese frosting?

01:12:05I'm just, you know.

01:12:07You're bougie.

01:12:08A little bougie.

01:12:10I have to say this is better.

01:12:11This is great.

01:12:13I want to eat this cake many more times.

01:12:15You look like Matt Damon.

01:12:18Thank you for both of those.

01:12:20How do you like them apples?

01:12:22Get out of here.

01:12:25Hi, Montana.

01:12:26Tell us about this cake.

01:12:27We have our stained glass diamonds representing the snowflake crystals.

01:12:32And then icicles, of course, in our Christmas tree.

01:12:35I feel like your cake is a tiny bit sloppy.

01:12:39Okay, fair.

01:12:41You know, some of the lines aren't meeting right where you want them to.

01:12:44It's great.

01:12:46It just needs to be cleaner.

01:12:47Absolutely.

01:12:48Look at that beautiful slice.

01:12:50For you today, I made a lemon olive oil cake with a Earl Grey Swiss buttercream.

01:12:57It's so tender.

01:12:58It is.

01:12:59It's velvety and luscious.

01:13:01I love the Earl Grey.

01:13:03This is a beautiful, beautiful cake.

01:13:05Thank you.

01:13:07Hey, Jean.

01:13:08We won our first challenge.

01:13:10Thank you.

01:13:11I got to use the gold.

01:13:16I love that you used that gold leaf that you won.

01:13:18The glass is not see-through, so it's not obvious at first that it's stained glass.

01:13:22There is a big drip, which I'm seeing.

01:13:25I'll just go like this.

01:13:27That's right.

01:13:28And no one will ever know.

01:13:30That's great.

01:13:31Today, I made you a red velvet cake.

01:13:35Wow.

01:13:36With an ermine buttercream.

01:13:39Your sponge is a little too chocolatey for me.

01:13:43Okay.

01:13:44The perfect red velvet cake in my eyes is, it's really not a chocolate cake.

01:13:49Did you use vinegar?

01:13:50Yes.

01:13:51I'm not getting a lot of vinegar.

01:13:52Did you use buttermilk?

01:13:53Yes.

01:13:54I'm not getting any of the tang.

01:13:56Here's the thing.

01:13:57I think the ermine is really cool.

01:13:58I think for this cake, you need cream cheese.

01:14:01You need that tang.

01:14:02Thanks, you guys.

01:14:03I am so nervous.

01:14:05I don't want to be done yet.

01:14:10Okay, let's welcome the reindeer crew.

01:14:13Diana.

01:14:14I'm dreading what's to come.

01:14:16I am so very worried about the decor.

01:14:18Tell us about your stained glass cake.

01:14:20So, I did a little painting.

01:14:22I just love being in the mountains.

01:14:25I have like a ton of bird houses up at the cabin, and we get so many different kinds of

01:14:29birds.

01:14:29There's not really stained glass on the sides, but the top of your cake, that bird definitely reads stained glass.

01:14:35Okay.

01:14:36I've made a oatmeal spice cake, and it is filled with a cinnamon cream cheese whip.

01:14:44I think the flavor is spot odd.

01:14:45I feel like it needs texture.

01:14:47Okay.

01:14:48More nuts.

01:14:48Just a little more interesting, a little more kind of exciting.

01:14:51Got it.

01:14:51All right, Diana.

01:14:52Thank you so much.

01:14:52All right.

01:14:53Thanks, guys.

01:14:55Let's welcome Andy.

01:14:58Andy, welcome back.

01:15:00Today, I present to you a stained glass cake.

01:15:03I use modeling chocolate to cut out Christmas holiday shapes.

01:15:07It's stained glass.

01:15:08Check.

01:15:09You have clean edges.

01:15:10Check.

01:15:11But I want to see just a little bit more personality or just, you know, what makes Andy, Andy, bring

01:15:17yourself to your desserts.

01:15:19There's more coming.

01:15:20I say we cut it up.

01:15:22It is a red velvet cake with a peppermint milk chocolate, a Bavarian mousse filling.

01:15:29It is covered in a Swiss meringue buttercream.

01:15:34It's the right amount of chocolate.

01:15:37Oh, good.

01:15:37It's the right amount of mint.

01:15:38This is a delicious cake.

01:15:40This mint filling is stealing the show.

01:15:43I could eat it like an ice cream cup with a spoon.

01:15:46I love it.

01:15:47I can't wait to show you more.

01:15:48Excellent.

01:15:48Thank you.

01:15:49Thank you.

01:15:52All right.

01:15:52Let's welcome Curtis.

01:15:54What did you do for the stained glass?

01:15:55A stained glass is pipe and gel.

01:15:57I see exactly where you were going with this.

01:15:59You just ran out of time.

01:16:00You got some lines that aren't finished on the side.

01:16:03There's some big chunks of the top that are still missing, too.

01:16:06Kurt.

01:16:07Curtis, whenever you're ready.

01:16:08All right.

01:16:10Today, I made for you guys a coffee devil's food cake with a peanut butter mousse and an espresso buttercream.

01:16:17Wow.

01:16:19That is stupid good.

01:16:21Oh, my gosh.

01:16:23That is the gold standard of a chocolate peanut butter cake.

01:16:27This is it.

01:16:28Thank you.

01:16:29Keep bringing this flavor.

01:16:31Thank you, man.

01:16:31Thanks so much, man.

01:16:32Thank you, Chris.

01:16:35All right, Christina.

01:16:36I made you a black forest cake with a beautiful reindeer with a gold frame in the window.

01:16:43Your reindeer on top is perfect.

01:16:46It's perfect.

01:16:47And I love that chocolate shell encasing the cake.

01:16:51But I'm not sure if I'm seeing stained glass.

01:16:53OK.

01:16:54So you're going to have a chocolate cake.

01:16:56It's going to have a cherry port filling in there.

01:16:59A white chocolate mascarpone cream.

01:17:01And then it's covered in a lovely chocolate bark.

01:17:11Nancy, that's for you.

01:17:13You would love this.

01:17:14There's booze.

01:17:15There's nothing acidic.

01:17:17This is so good.

01:17:19Thank you so much.

01:17:19It's so good.

01:17:20So your cake is moist and dark and deep and chocolatey.

01:17:24You're a flavor queen.

01:17:25Thank you so much.

01:17:27Haley, welcome back.

01:17:28I decided to go with menorah.

01:17:31I did fondant and then I piped the lines with royal icing and I painted it with piping gel.

01:17:38This is such a cool cake.

01:17:40The way that you hand drew the menorah and just the variation in the color.

01:17:45I am to that.

01:17:47Thank you so much.

01:17:48So it is a cookie butter cake with spiced orange cream cheese frosting.

01:17:56This cake is unreal.

01:17:59Thank you.

01:17:59It is so soft.

01:18:01Put your fork through it.

01:18:02Just slid right through.

01:18:03I don't taste the cookie butter.

01:18:06Okay.

01:18:06I want more.

01:18:07Thank you.

01:18:08Thank you, Haley.

01:18:09Bye.

01:18:10Audrey.

01:18:11I chose to do a gelay on top.

01:18:13So I made a penguin on top because that's my mom's favorite animal.

01:18:16My mom's a stained glass artist and I feel like you're the first one that got it to where it

01:18:21actually looks like stained glass.

01:18:22Nice job.

01:18:23Thank you.

01:18:23You ate this challenge.

01:18:25All of my worry, all of the tears, all of the stress was for nothing.

01:18:29So it's an orange spice cake, a cranberry filling, and some orange whispering buttercream.

01:18:35And then the gelay is a coconut gelay.

01:18:39I love the orange and the cranberry.

01:18:41It's delicious.

01:18:42Thank you.

01:18:43I do think your sponge is a little dry.

01:18:44Is it butter?

01:18:45Yeah, it's a butter cake.

01:18:47For me, when cakes have oil in them, they're moist.

01:18:50And when they have butter in them, they're dry.

01:18:51Good to know.

01:18:53I am so upset that they call my cake dry.

01:18:57It should not sound like that.

01:18:58Sounds like a drum set.

01:19:00Yes.

01:19:03You know, Molly's a percussion major from Juilliard.

01:19:07I can't play drums around that.

01:19:13Wow, Bakers.

01:19:15Both teams really had some high points, and let's say some areas have improved.

01:19:20Yeah, for sure.

01:19:20However, there is one team who outperformed the other by a nose.

01:19:26Oh.

01:19:27And I guess the question now is, was it a pointy elf nose or a wet reindeer nose?

01:19:33Elf, elf, elf.

01:19:34The winning team is...

01:19:43The reindeer crew.

01:19:53Congratulations reindeer crew.

01:19:55You guys are all safe from elimination.

01:19:59Oh, my gosh.

01:20:01Oh, and one of you, out of everyone, won the whole challenge.

01:20:08What?

01:20:09Who's it gonna be?

01:20:10And that baker is...

01:20:17Andy.

01:20:18Andy!

01:20:19Oh, my God.

01:20:20Oh, my God!

01:20:22Andy!

01:20:23Good job, Andy.

01:20:23So, Andy, I promised a new employee incentive fries.

01:20:27Wow.

01:20:28Okay.

01:20:28Congratulations, Andy.

01:20:29You've won $1,000, and a suite of baking essentials, courtesy of Ghirardelli.

01:20:35Oh, my God!

01:20:37Thank you!

01:20:38Wow.

01:20:39That's awesome.

01:20:40Okay.

01:20:41Of course, that means that the elf squad lost this round, and somebody is going to be up

01:20:45for elimination.

01:20:46A few of you on the elf squad did some really good work.

01:20:50Isabel.

01:20:51Yes.

01:20:52You did good.

01:20:53Hey!

01:20:54Finn.

01:20:56Yeah.

01:20:57Montana.

01:20:58Hi!

01:20:59Hi!

01:21:01And...

01:21:04Jer-Bear.

01:21:06Oh!

01:21:09Jer-Bear.

01:21:10Of course, that leaves Jean and Jessie.

01:21:13You were the bottom two performers on your team, so please step forward.

01:21:18Come on up.

01:21:20Jean, we struggled to get the stained glass in your wreath design, and your decor was dripping.

01:21:26I know.

01:21:27And there was controversy about whether you made a red velvet cake at all.

01:21:34Okay.

01:21:35Jessie, we gotta face the facts.

01:21:37The decor on the front of your cake melted.

01:21:40We really didn't get champagne, and for some of us, the goat cheese was overpowering.

01:21:46We all hate this part.

01:21:47Like, doing this for years, this is the worst part of the job.

01:21:51Unfortunately, the baker leaving us is.

01:22:04Jean.

01:22:05It's okay.

01:22:06It's okay.

01:22:07It's okay.

01:22:08Jean, I'm so sorry.

01:22:09We really are gonna miss your smile and just your joy.

01:22:12Thank you so much for being here.

01:22:14Thank you guys so much.

01:22:15Lovely meeting.

01:22:16Yes, absolutely.

01:22:17It was lovelier meeting you.

01:22:19Thank you.

01:22:20Yay!

01:22:21You guys, it's good.

01:22:22You know what?

01:22:23I am really okay.

01:22:26This competition truly has just been such an amazing honor to just be chosen and be here.

01:22:33It's okay.

01:22:34It's okay.

01:22:34I've really had a good time.

01:22:37Thank you so much.

01:22:38Bye, Jean.

01:22:40Bye, Jean.

01:22:42You spend time with your teammates so much and you're bonding and it's hard to see anybody

01:22:47go.

01:22:48Okay, bakers.

01:22:50You made it through.

01:22:51Woo!

01:22:54This season on Holiday Baking Championship, Santa's Workshop is on fire.

01:23:00Twirl, twirl, twirl.

01:23:02Yes!

01:23:04As our bakers face the most high-stakes competition ever.

01:23:08Whoa.

01:23:09I really feel like I could try.

01:23:11It's so good.

01:23:13Along the way, they will face delicious challenges.

01:23:16You're making all the other bakers nervous.

01:23:18Slow down, man.

01:23:20As things get intense, you are about to face the most critical main heat we've ever had

01:23:26this early in this competition.

01:23:28What?

01:23:29That's crazy.

01:23:30And oh so merry.

01:23:32A village-wide snowball fight.

01:23:35Tis the season.

01:23:36With new advantages.

01:23:37Woo!

01:23:38High risk, high reward.

01:23:40And heartfelt breakthroughs.

01:23:42Yes.

01:23:42This is how you do it.

01:23:44Everyone is trying to prove themselves.

01:23:46It's awesome.

01:23:47I mean like you took this challenge and you did it 110%.

01:23:50I love it.

01:23:51It's a cartoon.

01:23:51Well I mean I am in front of baking royalty.

01:23:54Which baker will earn the promotion of a lifetime?

01:23:57The title of holiday-

Holiday Baking Championship – Season 13 Episode 1 (2026)

Catégorie

Transcription

Recommandations