Halloween Baking Championship Season 7 finalists: Faults and cracks under pressure

With just one episode remaining, the Halloween Baking Championship Season 7 finalists have been revealed. Although many bakers have succumbed to Camp Devil’s Food Lake, four bakers are still in the hunt to solve the baking mystery. Did a favorite get cut from the competition right before the finish line?

This season of Halloween Baking Championship has been quite different from previous seasons. While it might not be quite as creepy as Halloween Wars, this season has been more frightful than delightful. The cuteness factor has been replaced with the creepy.

Although the imagery has been quite bold, the flavors have not crept into the spooky realm. While the bakers have executed well, the flavor combinations haven’t been outside of the box. Even more interesting is that the treats haven’t always focused on fall flavors. That idea would have received criticism on other Food Network baking championship programs.

Did the Thriller Challenge reveal a clue about the Halloween Baking Championship Season 7 finalists?

For the Thriller Challenge, the bakers had to create patterned roll cakes that incorporated chocolate, either in the cake or in the filling. This challenge could have been more frightening that the outcome showed. None of the rolled cakes cracked, which might be a first for this Food Network program.

Looking at the patterns, it was interesting that some of the designs were not necessarily patterns. While Megan’s hand was quite impressive, it was a design, not a pattern. Still, her visual was quite different.

Guillermo had a great design but a lackluster pattern. Ashley’s pattern was muddled. Even though the Thriller Challenge is about the flavor, the bakers could have pushed the envelope more, especially with the finale on the line.

The two top bakers for the Thriller Challenge were Renee and Adina. Renee made a smart choice with her flavor. The idea with the pumpkin spice latte with the pumpkin design was a great overall package.

But, Adina pushed the envelope with flavors. The combination of chocolate and passionfruit was a huge hit. And, her design was smart.

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Adina won the Thriller Challenge and earned an advantage for the Killer Challenge. But, sometimes the advantage is not always a good thing. Standing out in the crowd could lead to being the first one to receive harsher criticism.

Did the Halloween Baking Championship Season 7 finalists find a crack in the competition?

For the Killer Challenge, the bakers had to create fault line cakes that featured a particular liquor flavor. As the challenge was described, the cake was supposed to convey the inner evil of the killer. While this idea is creepy, it could go in a variety of directions. More importantly, it seemed likely that strong decorators had an advantage in this challenge.

As Adina’s advantage, she was able to pick her liquor flavor. Choosing whiskey, she used that flavor to weave her theme and decoration around it. That concept was smart, but one thing was lacking, the liquor flavor.

Although many recipes burn off the liquor, that choice removed the slight “bite” that can flavor a liquor forward dessert. With liquor forward desserts, the feedback often focuses on too much or too little. In this case, the cake had too little whiskey flavor.

In contrast, the decoration was really smart. The broken cocktail glass with fingerprints was strong. After seeing that visual, some people might have wanted a drink to help calm the nerves a little.

Renee continues to impress during this Halloween Baking Championship season. Overall, her red velvet cake with coffee liqueur was smart. It was a lovely combination. Although there might have been a little too much soak, it was a good flavor choice.

Her decorations were equally impressive. The killer lake scene incorporated many techniques. With a jagged fault line, it had movement and intrigue. Even though it was slightly less scary, it was impressive.

Megan had some great decorations, but it didn’t really tell the story of Camp Devil’s Food Lake. While the pirate was impressive, it didn’t quite make sense with the story.

In addition, the judges wanted another layer of flavor in her cake. It was a solid coconut cake, but it needed something more to break up the sweetness. A little lime would have made all the other flavors pop.

Ashley seemed to have struggled with this challenge. She was the only baker to use two different sized cakes to create the fault line. Unfortunately that created a lot of negative space.

Also, her almond flavor seemed to be overpowered by the stone fruit. While that combination can work, it didn’t have the right balance. Given that she had a few mis-steps in the round, her fate might have been sealed.

Lastly, Guillermo was ready to take a big bite out of the competition and earn his post as one of the Halloween Baking Championship Season 7 finalists. As his fault cake spun around, it revealed a scary monster mouth that was ready to devour that dessert lover. It was best to take care when carving into this cake.

As the last male baker standing, it seemed clear that Guillermo earned his spot in the finale. This cake that wanted to taste back definitely impressed.

One interesting aspect is that the flavor was limoncello and lemon forward. These flavors are not typically fall or Halloween flavors. Even though the cake could have used a touch more basil, it was clear that Guillermo was the winning baker.

Unfortunately, Adina and Ashley were the bottom two bakers. It was clear which baker was coming up short of becoming a Halloween Baking Championship Season 7 finalist. Ashley was elimination.

With the Halloween Baking Championship Season 7 finalists set for next week, predictions for the winner and the killer flying all around. Do you think that you’ve solved the clues and have an answer for both unsolved mysteries?