Halloween Baking Championship Season 1

Complete season breakdown

Every episode and bake

The first season uses two Halloween-themed heats in each of four episodes, moving from small treats and costume desserts to doughnuts, pumpkin bakes, haunted creatures, and a final haunted-house cake. This guide records the complete challenge sequence and includes one original home-kitchen adaptation inspired by the graveyard pumpkin brief.

1. Episode 1 · Trick-or-treat candy and costumes

   Trick or Treats

   Oct 5, 2015

   The opening contest turns trick-or-treat staples into decorated cupcakes before asking the bakers to interpret familiar Halloween costumes as desserts.

   • Preliminary heat

     Candy-filled creepy cupcakes

     Make 12 Halloween cupcakes using a blindly selected trick-or-treat candy, with both the candy and a creepy presentation built into the finished bake.

   • Main heat

     Classic costume dessert

     Create a dessert that clearly represents an assigned classic Halloween costume.

   Episode source 1Episode source 2Episode source 3

2. Episode 2 · Mashups

   Monster Mashups

   Oct 12, 2015

   Every brief combines elements: first, prepared grocery items are remixed into individual treats, and then a spooky subject and a flavor must become one coherent dessert.

   • Preliminary heat

     Grocery-item mashup treats

     Combine two prepared grocery-store baking items, such as refrigerated cookie dough or frozen pie crust, into 12 transformed treats.

   • Main heat

     Spooky theme-and-flavor dessert

     Build one dessert around both a selected flavor and a separate spooky theme, making the two assignments read as a single idea.

   Episode source 1Episode source 2Episode source 3

3. Episode 3 · Haunted farm and graveyard

   Field of Screams

   Oct 19, 2015

   Autumn farm imagery drives both rounds, beginning with menacing doughnuts and ending with pumpkin desserts presented as graveyard scenes.

   • Preliminary heat

     Creepy doughnuts

     Make doughnuts with a frightening design inspired by autumn hayrides and farms.

   • Main heat

     Graveyard pumpkin dessert

     Create a pumpkin-based dessert and stage it with a clearly readable graveyard theme.

   Make our home version →Episode source 1Episode source 2Episode source 3

4. Episode 4 · Haunted house finale

   Haunted House Party

   Oct 26, 2015

   The finale first tests sculpted haunted-house creatures, then gives the remaining bakers a long-form architectural cake challenge to decide the champion.

   • Preliminary heat

     Haunted-house creature dessert

     Make a dessert that looks like an assigned creature associated with a haunted house, such as a mummy, zombie, vampire, or skeleton.

   • Main heat

     Haunted-house cake

     Construct a complete haunted-house cake with enough flavor, structure, and Halloween detail for the championship finale.

   Episode source 1Episode source 2Episode source 3

Inspired by the briefs

Bake it at home

These are original Baking Show Guide adaptations for a home kitchen. They are inspired by the challenge briefs, not the contestants' recipes or an official recipe from the show.

Inspired by Episode 3

Pumpkin Graveyard Bread Puddings

Individual pumpkin bread puddings with cocoa-cookie soil and simple chocolate headstones, designed as an approachable response to the episode's graveyard pumpkin challenge.

Time

1 hr 2 min

Makes

6 individual puddings

Level

Easy

▶View ingredients and method

Ingredients

• 300 g day-old brioche or soft white bread, cut into 2 cm cubes
• 240 g pumpkin puree
• 300 ml whole milk
• 120 ml double cream
• 100 g light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
• 60 g dark chocolate
• 6 rectangular plain biscuits
• 80 g chocolate sandwich cookies, finely crushed

Method

1. Heat the oven to 180 C, or 160 C fan. Grease six 250 ml ramekins and set them on a baking sheet.
2. Whisk the pumpkin, milk, cream, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, and salt until smooth.
3. Fold in the bread cubes and leave them to absorb the custard for 10 minutes, pressing the bread down once midway through.
4. Divide the soaked bread and remaining custard among the ramekins. Bake for 28 to 32 minutes, until puffed at the edges and just set in the centers.
5. Melt the dark chocolate gently. Dip the front of each rectangular biscuit in chocolate, then use a little extra chocolate to write a short headstone mark. Leave to set.
6. Cool the puddings for 10 minutes. Cover each top with crushed sandwich cookies and press in one chocolate headstone before serving warm.

This is an original Baking Show Guide home adaptation, not an official show recipe or a contestant recipe.

Use pure pumpkin puree rather than sweetened pumpkin pie filling so the custard does not become overly sweet.

The puddings can be baked a day ahead; reheat them before adding the cookie soil and headstones.

Open the full recipe →

Episode guide sources

Challenge details verified 2026-07-14. multivu.com, foodnetwork.com, en.wikipedia.org.

Season result

The winner stays hidden until you choose to reveal it.

See every Halloween Baking Championshipwinner, season by season →

Full cast

Everyone recorded for Season 1, listed alphabetically without result spoilers.

Season fact sources

en.wikipedia.org, en.wikipedia.org.