Halloween Baking Championship recap: Devil in the flavors?

Halloween Baking Championship got a little devilish with these fiery desserts.

As Halloween Baking Championship nears the finale, the Food Network bakers are facing some difficult challenges. Although everyone knew to expect the unexpected in this Haunted House season, this episode’s devilish desserts were quite challenging. While it might be said that the devil is in the details, these twisted flavors would have made anyone’s temper rise.

Pushing flavor boundaries is a popular topic on Food Network shows. While the home baker tends to stay within her comfort zone, these bakers need to accept the bigger, bolder challenges.

Although fall flavors are usually the common choices, this week’s flavors were quite extreme. With the theme of devilish desserts, these Halloween desserts are beyond spooky. Would anyone really choose to use sauerkraut in a dessert?

The mandatory flavors included sauerkraut, canned tomato soup, spinach, parmesan cheese and tamarind. In addition, the two twists were that each dessert had to have fresno chilis and include a fire element (not flambe, just a reference to a flame).

The key to all of these ingredients was to find ways to complement those flavors. Granted, tamarind might have been the easiest of the flavors, each one had some way to manipulate it to a sweet application. The truth is that the bakers needed to show their creativity.

While most home bakers would look at this flavor list and cry, the Halloween Baking Championship bakers took the challenge in stride.

The bigger twist was the fresno chilis. Not all desserts can have a spicy element. In addition, no one wants to eat a big piece of chili in a bite. The bakers needed to be thoughtful about their use of the chilis.

As for the decorative element, it seems that this aspect wasn’t a huge consideration. While some bakers found creative flame elements, other bakers’ decorations should have gone up in flames.

Overall, the devilish desserts were quite successful. From Renee’s tart with spinach gelee to Sinai’s plated dessert, the flavors seemed to really work. It was shocking for everyone involved.

It is interesting that only Sinai did a plated dessert. Throughout this season, the majority of bakers have shied away from plated desserts. It would be nice to see more of those desserts.

Michelle had the best-looking dessert for the theme. The devil and flame were clear. But, the flavor was not grate – that parmesan cheese flavor was a little too overpowering.

Earning the big win this week was Aaron. Given that he had sauerkraut, he had probably the hardest ingredient. He used the sauerkraut in a very smart way. By candying the ingredient, it created almost a coconut texture.

His devilish macaron proved that there can be a balance between sweet and savory. Additionally, his decorations were on point. Aaron proved that when his skills are put to the fire, he can stand up to the flames.

Unfortunately, the three bottom bakers struggled with both the ingredients and the plating. Michelle’s tart was way too cheesy. Still, her decoration was quite impressive.

Michael found a way to make the tomato soup work in the chocolate mousse, but his presentation was lacking. No one knew if he had flames or flowers on the plate. Even if the judges had closed their eyes in terror, the dessert was still a miss.

Lastly Brian, the last home baker standing, had several issues. His pie crust shrunk and his fresno chili pieces were way too big. While he did make smart use of the tamarind, he did have one major flaw. His bottom pie crust was almost raw.

Given that Brian had too many mistakes, he was eliminated from Halloween Baking Championship. When the devil is in the details, his dessert missed too many marks.

Would you eat any of these Halloween Baking Championship desserts? Should all these dessert flavor combinations just go up in flames?