Holiday Baking Championship Season 10 episode 6: Holiday messages gone awry

After the bakers wrapped up flavorful barrel cakes, Holiday Baking Championship Season 10 episode 6 layers on the holiday spirit. From latkes inspired treats to holiday bars, this Food Network episode had the bakers unwrapping all their skills to move onto the next round.

For those who celebrate Hannukah, latkes are a classic food that is part of the celebration. The perfectly crispy, fried potatoes are paired with either sour cream or applesauce. The dish was the inspiration for the pre-heat challenge.

In the Holiday Baking Championship Season 10 episode 6 Pre-Heat, the bakers had to create a latke inspired dessert. While the bakers could choose any dessert, it needed to have a potato ingredient, a fried component, and either applesauce or sour cream.

For the most part, the desserts were well done. From Javier’s churro inspired dish to Justine’s dessert that was full of sweet potato flavor, the bakers showcased their creativity.

But, there were a few mis-steps along the way. Sharrod turned a doughnut into a fried biscuit puck. Ashley offered another cake, which had the judges urging her to think beyond cake for her next offering.

The top Pre-Heat dessert came from Josh. The judges raved over the cream puff, sour cream filling, and latke. It was a touch outrageous, colorful, and was worthy of the win.

For the Holiday Baking Championship Season 10 episode 6 Main Heat, the bakers had to create holiday layer cookie/bar with a letter board decoration. In addition, the mid-challenge twist was chosen by Josh. Each dessert had to incorporate eggnog made from scratch. He could have picked mulled wine, but the eggnog went better with his dessert flavors.

Before breaking into the top and bottom desserts, the board décor showcased some of the bakers’ personalities. Some appear to be witty, even a little snarky. Others might need to find a way to think a little more outside of the box.

Overall, the holiday layered bars were good, but not necessarily amazing. There were issues with muddled flavors, lack of texture, and missing eggnog flavors. In some ways, this dessert challenge was a test of execution. Making a layered dessert might seem simple, but it is far from child’s play.

The top desserts from the Main Heat were rather obvious. Javier, again, won the Main heat. It seems that his win focused on his ability to have multiple textures in his dessert. The crunch was satisfying.

In addition, his eggnog flavor was front and center. Combined with the peanut butter and chocolate, the flavor had Nancy Fuller swooning and Carla Hall saying “dude.”

The majority of other bakers were middle of the road. Some items were nice, but not quite over the top. But, two bakers had big mistakes in the Main Heat.

Ashley’s pumpkin eggnog dessert had a lot of personality, but it was almost sour. That tang overtook all the other flavors and made it an unappealing dessert.

Josh went from top of the group to the bottom in the Main Heat. He completely forgot the sugar in his eggnog. Unfortunately, a savory dessert was not the challenge. In his dessert did not read like a sign and his pecan maple bar was too thick.

Unfortunately, Josh’s Pre-Heat win could not save him from elimination. There will too many mistakes and his time in the Food Network competition came to an end.

With the semi-finals set for the next episode, the pressure is rising in the Food Network kitchen. Who will earn a spot in the finale? Be sure to watch the next episode on Food Network Monday night at 8 p.m. ET or stream on MAX.