With five bakers vying for the Holiday Baking Championship Season 11 winner title, only one will earn the Food Network glory. Three challenges determined which baker would earn the title. Who unwrapped the perfect holiday gift?
The Pre-Heat offered a great reward for the winner. The baker who impressed the judges would earn an immediate berth into the final bake. That advantage was greater then the $1,000 up for grabs in the earlier challenges.
For the first challenge of the Holiday Baking Championship finale, the bakers had to create a dessert that looked and tasted like candies used to decorate a gingerbread house. Items like gumdrops, candy canes, and gummy candies were some of the choices.
Overall, the desserts were good, especially given the complexity of the challenge. Between the flavors and the decoration, there was little room for error.
For the most part, the flavors were on point. From Natasha’s orange ribbon candy to Jer’s lemon gumdrop, the judges could taste the referenced candy. The difference appeared in the execution of the visuals.
Steven was not going to win this challenge. His paris brest had both visual errors and the flavor was off. Jer’s lemon drop needed a little more balance. Rafi had some technical issues, but his flavors were good.
Rising to the top yet again was Rolf. The professor but on another class in execution. His blueberry and passion fruit entremets looked the blueberry hard candy. It might have needed a touch more acidity, but it was the top choice for the Pre-Heat. Rolf earned instant passage into the final challenge.
The other four bakers had to bake again to earn a spot in the last challenge. To remain in contention for the Holiday Baking Championship Season 11 winner title, the four remaining bakers had to create an eggnog flavored dessert. Unfortunately, this challenge proved to be difficult for the bakers.
Every dessert seemed to lack eggnog flavor. Even though the desserts were tasty, they did not meet the challenge. The judges were choosing between which dessert they would least want to eat again, not necessarily the dessert which was the best.
In some ways, Steven had the best eggnog dessert. Between the layers and the textures, this dessert received the most praise. It was clear that he would be moving into the next round.
Rafi’s dessert was good, and it seemed that he would move into the final round as well. His dessert was visually stunning. Although the flavors were a little muted, it was good.
It came down to Natasha versus Jer. Jer’s dessert was very coconut forward. While it was a nice dessert, there was very little eggnog. Natasha’s dessert was a lot of sweet. The large portion was a little messy, but it tasted good. The eggnog was a little underwhelming.
In the end, Jer’s coconut dessert did not bring the holiday cheer. Without enough eggnog flavor, she missed participating in the last challenge.
The last challenge of the Holiday Baking Championship season would determine which baker would earn the $25,000. Given that the title is not cumulative, it is a winner take all scenario.
The four remaining bakers had to create a gingerbread house made of cake. The cake could not be gingerbread flavor. Additionally, the cake had to represent a particular architectural style. The four styles were castle, cottage, mid-century modern, and Tudor.
Rafi had the best representation of the architecture style with his Tudor house. The décor was very precise and well-appreciated by the judges. Additionally, his cake was good. The judges felt that the chocolate layer needed to be a little thinner because it became the dominate flavor.
Natasha had the castle style and offered the biggest wow moment with her burn away reveal. While it was good, there were some decorative elements that were unfinished. Overall, the judges loved her devil’s chocolate cake. The peanut butter buttercream was silky, but the crunchy layer was not well-received.
Rolf got the one style that he did not want, the mid-century modern house. He had a nice visual overall, but the design lacked the precision needed for this architectural style. In contrast, the cake flavor was sublime. The judges swooned over the hazelnut, raspberry, and chocolate cake.
Steven had the cozy cottage and he captured the spirit off the challenge. The judges said that he had the best representation of a gingerbread house. His old fashioned chocolate cake was a big hit, too. It had a great texture and the flavors were memorable.
The Holiday Baking Championship Season 11 winner was Steven. In a twist that no one expected the home baker from Canada walked away with the title.
Want to catch up on all the Food Network desserts from the season? All the Holiday Baking Championship episodes can be streamed on MAX.