Halloween Baking Championship recap: Wickedly sweet witches

By Cristine Struble | Oct 3, 2017

From twisted finger to gnarly toes, this week’s Halloween Baking Championship recap bakes wickedly sweet witches. But one baker falls to the wicked witch.

Witches are classic Halloween characters. Flying on their broomsticks or casting evil spells, witches may not be a sweet Halloween treat. But, the bakers must make the wicked witch tasty and good in this week’s Halloween Baking Championship recap. While some of these witches turned good, two witches were a Halloween nightmare.

Halloween Baking Championship, photo from Food Network

After the first episode of Halloween Baking Championship, the bakers are starting to get their groove. Oozy cakes and stuffed cookies proved to be more difficult that the bakers thought. But, this week’s Halloween Baking Championship recap isn’t a walk in the park either. With witches as their theme, the bakers must be ready for some wicked twists and turns.

The pre-heat challenge was a creepy and icky one. Each baker must create a plate of witches fingers and toes with a dipping sauce. While normally no one would want to nibble on fingers and toes (unless you’re the witch in Hansel and Gretel), the Halloween spirit has everyone thinking a little creepy. These witches’ fingers and toes cookies were creepy and delicious (or at least most of them).

Halloween Baking Championship, photo from Food Network

Like many competition shows, one week is sweet success and the next week is utter disaster. The pre-heat showed that this baking competition is anyone’s game. Jonathan, who was almost eliminated last week, had some of the snarliest fingers and toes. These cookies looked like real witches fingers. While they looked great on a plate, they looked a little weird to eat. That bright green was a little disturbing, but it was the challenge.

Halloween Baking Championship, photo from Food Network

Still, the winner was Jessica. Her spice sable cookie was delicious. Even more delicious was her dipping sauce. The combination may have been an edible mani-pedi, but everyone would have loved to nibble on these body parts.

Unfortunately, Cliff failed with this challenge. While everyone loves a good chocolate chip cookie, this type of cookie doesn’t make for good fingers and toes. The cookie spreads too much during baking, which means the cookie isn’t long, fat and even stumpy. These cookies weren’t witchy, they looked like big foot. Even though tasty, the cookies didn’t meet the challenge expectations.

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Jessica, as the winner, got a huge advantage in the main heat. Her prize was a basket of decorating items for the main heat. She is the only baker who can use fondant, green chocolate and witch cookie cutters for the next witchy challenge. But, will that basket make a difference in this Halloween Baking Championship recap?

For the main challenge, the bakers had to create witch desserts. The dessert had to be witchy in flavor and appearance. While a cake shaped like a witch would be easy (and obvious), the bakers needed to be a little more wicked in their approach. Since Jessica is the only baker with the advantage basket, these desserts needed a little more imagination.

Halloween Baking Championship, photo from Food Network

Of course, each challenge has to have a twist or two. Mid-challenge, the bakers were told that they had to create an edible broomstick for their witch. While this accessory didn’t seem like too much of a stretch, some bakers faltered a little. Cliff, what that a broom stick or something else?

A few bakers succeeded in thinking outside of the witch’s cauldron. Instead of the traditional witch shape, these desserts blended elevated flavors with thoughtful design. The most successful dessert was Tyler’s matcha semi-fredo.

This elevated dessert screamed witchy delight without being too literal. The green color from the matcha was a smart choice. The black sesame witch’s hat with pink peppercorn added the spice to the delicate dessert. The dessert cast a spell on the judges and won.

Halloween Baking Championship, photo from Food Network

Unfortunately, two bakers failed to create a fiendish witch dessert in this Halloween Baking Championship recap. Cliff’s dessert was amateur. While his brownie was rather tasty, the brownie was more of a torte that a brownie.

More importantly, the dessert looked like something my kids’ could have created. It shouldn’t matter that he couldn’t use fondant or other baking supplies. Cliff needed to think outside of the witch’s hat. Dumping glitter all-over a big brownie isn’t worthy of the Halloween Baking Championship.

Halloween Baking Championship, photo from Food Network

Also, Ray struggled this week. After being on the top last week, this week’s brownie stack was drier that a witch’s heart. Everyone knows that a dry brownie is a horrible brownie. Brownies shouldn’t be a shingle. Who wants to eat that?

Ray’s dessert, besides being dry, wasn’t creative. The stack was hard to eat and lacked imagination. Again, my kids could have done better. If you’re competing for the title of Halloween Baking Championship, where’s your “A” game? Ray better step it up.

Next: Best Baker in America, cakes episode

Unfortunately, Cliff was sent home. The older competitor could conjure up a potion to save his witch brownie disaster.

What will the next haunting episode of Halloween Baking Championship bring? Check back next week for our weekly Halloween Baking Championship recap.