Halloween Baking Championship Season 10 episode 1 recap: Bubbly bakes burst

As 10 bakers vie for Food Network’s, Halloween Baking Championship Season 10 title, the premiere episode had some bubbly bakes simmering in Henson Laboratories. While baked goods might calm those restless spirits, the first couple of rounds proved that these bakers are ready to impress.

For this new season, a significant twist impacts the competition immediately. While Baking Championship fans appreciate that the “pre-heat” comes with an advantage, Halloween Baking Championship ups the ante. To begin, Thriller challenge winners will receive immunity in the Killer round. While this benefit will not last the entire season, it is a game changer.

The first challenge asked the bakers to create a dessert that was either baked in or topped with edible broken glass. While each baker was randomly assigned a beaker, test tube, or other lab glass, the approaches to this challenge were as varied as the vessels.

The biggest item that separated top and bottom bakers was the notion of flavoring the edible glass. Even though most bakers used isomalt for that décor, a little dash of citrus or fruit flavoring (as long as it seamlessly tied into the dessert’s flavors) gave them favor with the judges.

Overall, the Thriller Challenge set a high bar for the season. With 10 bakers, it is hard to appreciate all the intricacies and nuances in these desserts. Still, the highlights were quite clear.

Aaron, who was a finalist on Holiday Baking Championship, earned high praise. Not only did he use real sugar to make his glass décor, he had a well composed dessert. The flourless chocolate cake was rich and the orange flavors complemented it.

Another top baker was Thierry. Although his dessert was less gory than others, the judges appreciated that he served the dessert within the flask. As the judges shattered the vessel, it was quite satisfying. Overall, the food was well-balanced and had a cohesive flavor profile.

Earning the win and immunity was Aaron. Even though he was safe from elimination, he did not vanish into the lab for the next round. That advantage allowed him to push the envelope in the next challenge.

Unfortunately, the Thriller Challenge had some bakers struggling. Whether it was overly complicated plating design or ill conceived flavor combinations, there were some desserts that needed more experimentation in the lab. The divide between top and bottom was more apparent than in previous seasons.

For the Killer Challenge, Halloween Baking Championship Season 10 asked the bakers to create bubbling desserts. While there was no required flavor or ingredient, each dessert had to include some type of bubble. It could be boba, a chocolate bubble, or anything that resembles a “poppable” sphere.

Additionally, the dessert needed to include a dry ice element. Again, this item does not influence the flavor, but it is an impressive visual. Given the judges’ first feedback, these desserts need to lean towards gory, gross, and other icky (in a good way). The bakers need to channel HHN versus a not so scary experience.

Overall, the Killer desserts were well done. The bakers who used their time wisely, thought about the complete flavor profile, and delivered the creepy earned the top spots.

Some desserts captured the visual, but not the flavor. For example, Hollie nailed the creepy bubbly bubble tea humanoid, but missed the mark with the tea flavor. It needed a bigger punch in the taste. The same was with some other bakers.

Still, the top bakers were clear. Thierry listened to the judges’ critiques in the Thriller and brought the gore. His chocolate cauldron nailed the Halloween story. His flavors captured the essence of a soft chocolate coconut bar. The dry ice smoke was perfectly placed and the bubbles made sense. Overall, it was a huge win.

Even though Aaron had immunity, his dessert was impressive. From the proper placement of the dry ice to the décor, it was clearly in the top. Given the change in format, it was vital to see him go big instead of just phoning it in.

The other top dessert was from Joel. The visual was amazing in its sinister, bubbly moment. It has technique and creativity.

Zac Young described the flavor as tropical delight toxic meltdown. It was the best of refined pastry chef and Halloween inspired creativity. It integrated his background with the story.

Winning the first Killer Challenge was Joel. He captured what makes Halloween Baking Championship so compelling to watch.

One disturbing dessert was JL’s cake. While the idea of a toxic barrel could have been good, his “bubbles” looked like another “b” word. Those bubbles did not resemble a rat. But, his flavors were good. Again, it is was a disconnect between the visual and the flavor.

Samantha’s dessert was a disaster. From the moment it was presented, everyone knew that it was a fail. While bakers can have issues in the kitchen, they need to plate something. In this case, Samantha presented food, but it was barely edible.

Overall, her dessert lacked flavor, cohesion, or really any positive feedback. There was not enough substantive dessert.  It looked more like a lab experiment gone wrong, which was not the point of the challenge.

The other bottom dessert came from Carly.  At first blush, the tart looked good, but childish. Unfortunately, as soon as she tried to cut it, the disaster story appeared. The crust would not come out of the pan. Basically, she plated a gooey mess for the judges.

But, her curd was lovely. The pomegranate flavor worked. It might have looked like something out of the lab, but it tasted ok. She tried something that she had never done before and maybe should have waited to experiment for another time.

Unfortunately, Samantha was the first baker eliminated in Halloween Baking Championship Season 10. There were too many mistakes in her dessert to save her.

What can Food Network viewers expect from the upcoming Halloween Baking Championship Season 10 challenges? Be sure to watch new episodes every Monday night on Food Network or stream the next day on MAX.