Halloween Baking Championship S7E2 recap: Two more severed from the competition

While the lake drowned the hopes of two bakers, Halloween Baking Championship Season 7 episode 2 dosed the dreams of more bakers. Although multiple hands in the kitchen could make quick work, the reality is that sometimes too many bakers spoil the result.

As Food Network promised, Halloween Baking Championship Season 7 is pushing the baking boundaries. Instead of the cute, warm and fuzzy Halloween experience, these treats lean more towards the pg-13 and bigger storyline. While you want to take a bite, there is a slight cringe as you go in for that first taste.

In another twist that Food Network fans did not see coming, two returning bakers stepped into the kitchen. Renee and Jocelyn were popular bakers in their previous seasons. Their return is good for fans, but could dash the dreams of the new bakers.

For this episode, the bakers are working in teams. Given that it is early in the season, a team challenge can be both good and bad. Although the bakers aren’t quite at the point of stepping on each other’s toes, no one wants their fate left in the hands of others.

In the first challenge, the bakers had to make a filled cookie. This challenge is not quite as simple as it seems. Ensuring that the filling isn’t absorbed into the cookie is key.

Unfortunately, the cookies crumbled in a not so pleasant way for the bakers. While flavor worked in some cookies, the filling was a mystery. A disappearing element is not a welcome magic trick this early in the competition.

Overall, the cookies were good, but only one pair earned top billing. Renee and Jocelyn, the returning bakers, earned the win.

For their advantage, they were able to change the pairs. This decision impacted the next challenge. Sometimes a little gamesmanship is more difficult than a tricky ingredient.

In the next challenge, the teams had to create two cake halves, which were placed together. One half was a happy mom and the second was one with a spookier side. The key was not just having an impressive visual but matching the flavors in the cake as well.

While this split cake was a fun challenge, it was unclear how the Halloween Baking Championship Season 7 episode 2 worked into the previous challenge descriptions. In the first episode, the second challenge was supposed to focus on decoration. This episode seemed to focus more on the balance of both flavor and appearance.

Overall, the majority of cakes were impressive. Some were a little more cohesive than others. Even though Guillermo and Wes were brought together by Jocelyn and Renee, their cake was quite impressive. The spice notes came through and the decoration worked. It wasn’t perfection, but it was enough to get them into the top four.

The other top duo was Sherelle and Megan. Sherelle had the top cake of the night. The professional bakers better watch out for this home cook. If she keeps her confidence high, she could go far in the competition.

Unfortunately, the four bottom bakers had a sudden death face off. The challenge was severed hand pies and each pie had to use a cured meat.

The bottom four bakers were Anirudh, Ashley, Adina and Nicole. Anirudh’s cake didn’t have enough cardamom flavor and the design was too subtle. Ashley and Nicole didn’t have enough ginger flavor in their cake.

Again, given that the second challenge is supposed to focus on decoration, it is curious that the bottom bakers failed on flavor. Maybe the rules are changing. Then again, like every good horror movie, the twists and turns keep the plot interesting.

For the sudden death bake-off, the bakers had to impress with a simple hand pie. Given that pie is notoriously a difficult task for a baking competition, the bakers needed to be smart. No soggy bottoms with these pies.

Looking at the four pies, the bakers who were smart with their choices move onto the next round. Ashley found the right balance in the flavor. Given the limited time, she didn’t incorporate too many flavors. Sometimes it is best to be smart, not overly ambitious.

Unfortunately, Anirudh stumbled both in flavor and execution. Some of his fingers were not filled and the flavor read more like a pineapple pizza than pie. Also, some of his pie filling oozed out.

Nicole had too many flavors in her filling and it caused an unpleasant taste. Even though Carla Hall likes tart, the filling was too pungent.

The two bakers leaving the competition were Anirudh and Nicole. The competition is back to eight bakers remaining and the first team competition is complete. But, more scary elements could be unearthed in the next episode. Which baker will emerge unscathed?