Halloween Baking Championship S4E2 recap: Spooky fall flavors get punny

Ready to laugh or cringe in this Halloween Baking Championship S4E2 recap? Which was scarier, the desserts, the scarecrows or all those food puns?

This week’s Halloween Baking Championship S4E2 recap might have been a little too verbally scary for the average Food Network fan. Did you see the bakers cringing from all those corny jokes? Maybe all those play on words caused the bakers’ desserts to fall flat? Time to put the food puns aside and dig into this week’s recap.

Heading into this week’s episode, the bakers seemed on their game. Last week showed a lot of creativity in the kitchen. While those challenges might have suited the bakers well, each contestant is only as strong as his last bake. Could this episode have a huge shake-up in the kitchen?

The pre-heat started with yam desserts with a scary movie cliché theme. The movie theme wasn’t scary, but the yam jokes were. Did you try to count all the yam-tastic comments? If this episode was a drinking game, everyone would be on the floor in the first 15 minutes.

When the bakers were tasked with a yam dessert (not a pie), the desserts were actually quite creative. Incorporating yams into a dessert wasn’t as difficult as it seemed. Yam in a carrot cake, yams in a cheesecake and even yams in a macaroon were flavorful and innovative.

Host John Henson announces the pre-heat challenge as the contestants listen, as seen on Food Network’s Halloween Baking Championship, Season 4. photo provided by Food Network

As a home baker, these ideas sparked some ideas for holiday baking. Although sweet potato pie is always a wonderful choice, the venerable yam can be used in other ways. The underlying flavor can mesh well with sweet dishes. This pre-heat challenge could inspire home bakers to be a little more creative this holiday baking season.

While a few decorations fell short, overall the bakers captured a part of the horrific side of Halloween. A few desserts were scary because they were just poor choices (doesn’t everyone know what a hockey mask looks like?). These bakers need to remember that the dessert’s appearance is a major part of the judging. If the dessert doesn’t adhere to the theme, they can, and will, go home.

Truthfully, there was really only one dessert that nailed the flavor and decoration in the pre-heat. Jamal pumpkin slasher cake was visually stunning. How he created that cake in 90 minutes is baffling. Also, his flavors were on point. The two types of icing with a perfectly balanced cake was a flavor success. He easily won the advantage in the main heat.

The judges examine contestant Jamal Lake’s dish from the pre-heat challenge, as seen on Food Network’s Halloween Baking Championship, Season 4. photo provided by Food Network

For the main heat, the bakers had to create a bundt-kin patch. The old-school bundt cake makes an appearance on this week’s episode. Instead of grandma’s gigantic bundt cake, the bakers had to create mini-bundt cakes, which were incorporated into a pumpkin patch scene.

Of course, there is always a twist with these challenges. Also, the bakers had to incorporate a scarecrow into the patch scene. Unfortunately, the scarecrow seemed to scare off more than the pesky birds.

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Guilty Eats

As the winner of the pre-heat, Jamal got to choose his bundt cake flavor. He choose vanilla. Some fellow contestants thought that this choice was boring. Truthfully, vanilla can be a hard flavor. A cake that is delightfully vanilla takes a deft hand. Could this decision lead Jamal to a unfruitful bundt-kin patch?

This particular challenge was somewhat perplexing for me. Few bakers really make bundt cakes anymore, especially mini-bundt cakes. While these little baked treats could be more flavorful than a cupcake, they don’t have the visual appeal like other small desserts. Also, the pound cake texture needs to be on point. It can’t been too heavy yet it can’t be just a plain cake.

Another aspect that disappointed me was the bakers’ lack of preparation. Granted, a baker can’t predict the themes or desserts in these Food Network shows, but they should know how to bake a bundt cake. When a home baker admits that he has never baked a bundt cake, fans know that a baking disaster is just waiting to come out of the oven.

Again, the bakers seem to be nailing the flavor component of these challenges. Overall, all the little cakes themselves were good. Although the ginger flavored bundt cake lacked a big ginger punch (doesn’t every ginger dessert lack ginger in the Food Network shows), overall the judges were pleased with flavors.

The real problems with this challenge stemmed from the decorations. Only one baker had a scarecrow that worked in the pumpkin patch scene. Lyndsy had a scarecrow (not the best, but superior to everyone else’s scarecrow). Overall, her scene was the most complete. It was a little freaky, but it was creative.

For the second week in a row, Lyndsy won the challenge. Comparatively, she met all aspects of the challenge. Truthfully, Lyndsy seems like the biggest threat in the kitchen. Although she might be a little unorthodox, she understands both components of these challenges. Could Lyndsy be the baker to beat?

Since the majority of the scarecrows were disappointing, the main heat was a little blah. The biggest surprise came with Jamal being up for elimination. After such an impressive pre-heat, his main heat submission was sad. Granted, he had a technical issue with his scarecrow, but the finished product was just sad.

The other baker up for elimination was Andrew. Although he redeemed himself in the pre-heat, the main heat bake was just as disappointing as his bakes during week one. Andrew’s scarecrow looked like a child’s stick figure. Even if you wanted to call it abstract art, it was a big stretch.

The judges pose for a photo, as seen on Food Network’s Halloween Baking Championship, Season 4. photo provided by Food Network

Also, Andrew had issues with his bundt cakes. Again, it floors me that he hadn’t made a bundt cake before this competition. Getting the cakes stuck in the mold isn’t going to work on a Food Network cooking competition, even for a home baker.

The baker sent home was Andrew. I think that he has a lot of creativity, but he needed more experience to take on this competition. Maybe he will return to another Food Network show in the future.

Of course, any Halloween Baking Championship recap isn’t complete without talking about the judges’ costumes. This week’s costumes were Robin Hood, a ghostly Mozart and a garden fairy. Zac as the ghostly Mozart was so creepy, yet totally fun. His costume was the best on the panel.

Truthfully, I keep waiting for some big, outlandish costume from Carla Hall. Previously, she has been the judge who pushes the costume limits. Maybe her big, impressive outfits will be coming later in the season.

What did you think of the challenges on this Halloween Baking Championship recap? Were all the yam puns too much for your taste? Do you like bundt cakes or do they just make you think of grandma?

Share your thoughts about this week’s episode below or tag us on social media with #FoodSided. Don’t forget to check back next week for another recap.