Holiday Baking Championship Season 10 episode 5: Wrapping up holiday designs

While the bakers might have had the cakes flipped in the recent episode, Holiday Baking Championship Season 10 episode 5 stepped back into more traditional desserts. From intricate mosaic patterns to wrapping paper inspired barrel cakes, these offerings had everyone snapping a photo to remember the moment.

In the Holiday Baking Championship Season 10 episode 5 Pre-Heat, the bakers were broken into teams to tackle mini tart mosaic pattern displays. Based on classic holiday images, like a Santa Hat, poinsettia, and snowman, the challenge was not an easy one. Not only did the visual need to convey the image, but the mini tarts needed to be well executed.

One aspect that was not necessarily expressed, but was important, was how the two tart flavors worked together. Even though the dessert truly needed to be a looker and a taster, the duality did not shine in every presentation.

Justine and Josh missed the mark. While the flavor was good, the visual had technical issues. Ashley and Greg had an adorable visual, but the coconut flavor was lacking, and the cheesecake ratio was off.

The top team was clear. Kevin and Javier with their Snowman display was the most impressive visual. In addition, the two tart flavors complemented each other well. The chocolate with caramelized banana played well with the vanilla tart. It was clear that they would win.

As a team, they earned an advantage for the Pre-Heat win. That benefit would be revealed during the Main Heat twist.

In the Holiday Baking Championship Season 10 episode 5, the bakers were tasked to create a wrapping paper inspired cake. Each baker received a particular holiday inspired flavor. They could choose any decoration style as long as it resembled wrapping paper.

While this challenge seemed relatively simple, it was not. Each baker took a different approach to the wrapping paper decoration aspect. In some ways, this challenge seemed to allow some baker to rise to the top and others began to crack.

For the mid-challenge twist on Holiday Baking Championship Season 10 episode 5, the bakers had to create a cookie tag for the cake. Although the twist might not sound overly difficult, it was time consuming and did slightly rattle the bakers. It was a challenge both in flavor and décor. A cookie that did not go with the cake is a miss. A tag too big for the cake is also a miss. The cookie was not a throwaway item.

As winners of the Pre-Heat, Kevin and Javier did not have to make the cookie. They were able to focus on their cake and decoration.

While the judges only announce two top bakers, a few more were worthy of prime placement under the tree. Kevin and Justine proved to have great cakes. Justine might have had a slight flavor mis-step, and Kevin’s lines might have been crooked, but they did well.

The two top bakers were Javier and Thoa. With her hot cocoa cake, the judges felt Thoa’s dessert tasted just like the beverage. Although the marshmallows might have been used more wisely, the flavor was good. Also, her décor was lovely.

Javier knocked it out of the park with his cake flavor. The blood orange and ancho ganache were a nod to his culture, but it was a risk. After listening to the judges’ feedback to step out of his comfort zone, he did. Even if his décor might have needed a little more refinement, his cake’s flavor earned him the win.

Unfortunately, the two bottom cakes had big mis-steps. Even though some people might be having a Barbie decorated tree for the holidays, the judge’s felt that Ashley’s pink inspired design looked more like cherries than holly. In addition, the coconut flavor was totally missing from her cake.

The other bottom baker was Greg. Everything about his wrapping paper cake was wrong. From his wrinkled paper look to the gummy texture of the cake, it was a miss. No one wants to unwrap a dense cake for the holiday season.

Unfortunately, Greg’s wrapping paper cake was the White Elephant of the challenge, and he was eliminated.

Is Javier starting to pull away from the competition or can Ashley make an epic comeback. Be sure to watch new Holiday Baking Championship episodes on Food Network Monday nights at 8 p.m. ET or stream the next day on MAX.