Holiday Baking Championship Season 10

Complete season breakdown

Every episode and bake

Season 10 combines fall coffee flavors, Thanksgiving centerpieces, whimsical cakes, holiday art, and three-stage semifinal and finale episodes. This guide records all eighteen aired challenge briefs across eight episodes and includes one original home-kitchen adaptation inspired by the coffee-drink cinnamon rolls.

1. Episode 1 · Coffee drinks and Thanksgiving rolls

   Season's Best

   Nov 6, 2023

   Seasonal coffee drinks flavor the opening cinnamon rolls before the bakers turn the yule-log format into fall-themed Thanksgiving Swiss rolls.

   • Preliminary

     Coffee-drink cinnamon rolls

     In two hours, make cinnamon rolls flavored after an assigned seasonal coffee drink.

   • Main

     Thanksgiving Swiss roll

     Create a fall-flavored Swiss roll styled as a Thanksgiving counterpart to a yule log, then make homemade toffee and incorporate it when the twist is announced.

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

2. Episode 2 · Turkey and Thanksgiving tables

   Can't Wait for Turkey Day

   Nov 13, 2023

   Edible turkey domes test modeling and clean assembly, while miniature cakes turn complete Thanksgiving table settings into centerpieces.

   • Preliminary

     Turkey dome dessert

     Create a domed dessert that reads as a turkey, including edible feathers and a modeled head.

   • Main

     Mini Thanksgiving table cake

     Build a miniature centerpiece cake that looks like a set Thanksgiving table, using the selected cake format and adding sage when the twist is announced.

   Episode source 1Episode source 2

3. Episode 3 · Football snacks and pie

   Hallmarks of Thanksgiving

   Nov 20, 2023

   A football-watch-party favorite becomes a seven-layer dessert before blind, head-to-head pie matchups put bakers with the same flavor in direct competition.

   • Preliminary

     Seven-layer holiday dessert

     Create a composed holiday dessert with seven distinct layers, drawing its structure from a seven-layer game-day dip.

   • Main

     Head-to-head half pie

     Bake a half pie against an opponent using the same assigned flavor for blind judging, then incorporate cheese when the twist is announced.

   Episode source 1Episode source 2

4. Episode 4 · Mont Blanc and gravity-defying cakes

   Holiday Whimsy

   Nov 27, 2023

   The bakers first take a colorful, playful approach to Mont Blanc, then make decorated upside-down cakes engineered to hang over clear supports.

   • Preliminary

     Whimsical Mont Blanc dessert

     Reimagine Mont Blanc with playful colors, flavors, and decoration while retaining a recognizable chestnut-centered concept.

   • Main

     Suspended upside-down cake

     Decorate a single-tier cake, flip it upside down, and suspend it from a clear support so the inverted design remains intentional; make marshmallow from scratch for the twist.

   Episode source 1Episode source 2

5. Episode 5 · Mosaics and wrapping paper

   Holiday Beauty

   Dec 4, 2023

   Small tarts become a collaborative holiday mosaic, followed by tall double-barrel cakes decorated to resemble rolls of festive wrapping paper.

   • Preliminary

     Mini-tart holiday mosaic

     Working in pairs, make an assortment of miniature tarts and arrange them into one coherent image inspired by a holiday museum design.

   • Main

     Double-barrel wrapping paper cake

     Stack and finish a tall double-barrel cake to look like a roll of merry wrapping paper, then add a cookie gift tag unless exempted by the preliminary advantage.

   Episode source 1Episode source 2

6. Episode 6 · Hanukkah and holiday messages

   Holiday Imagination

   Dec 4, 2023

   Dessert takes on the fried potato structure of latkes before bar desserts become edible letterboards carrying holiday puns.

   • Preliminary

     Latke-inspired dessert

     Make a fried dessert that includes potato and features either apple or sour cream, using the essential elements of a latke as inspiration.

   • Main

     Letterboard holiday bars

     Create a bar dessert decorated as a letterboard with a readable holiday saying, then incorporate eggnog when the flavor twist is assigned.

   Episode source 1Episode source 2

7. Episode 7 · Kwanzaa, ornaments, and Christmas trees

   Reasons for the Season

   Dec 11, 2023

   The semifinal covers three traditions through assigned plantain desserts, team-built edible ornaments, and savory-or-sweet blitz-puff Christmas tree pull-aparts.

   • Preliminary

     Kwanzaa plantain dessert

     Feature plantain in an assigned dessert form, including Napoleon, upside-down cake, whoopie pie, brownie sundae, crumble, or tarte Tatin.

   • Team

     Large-scale edible holiday ornaments

     Working in teams, construct an oversized display of edible ornaments with unified decoration and stable presentation.

   • Main

     Blitz-puff Christmas tree pull-apart

     Make a Christmas-tree-shaped pull-apart from homemade blitz puff pastry and accompany it with a sauce added during the twist.

   Episode source 1Episode source 2

8. Episode 8 · Christmas Eve gifts

   Holiday Gifts Galore

   Dec 18, 2023

   Five bakers begin the finale with macaron wreaths, the bottom two face a stocking-eclair elimination bake, and the final four build cakes around moving holiday trains.

   • Preliminary

     Macaron holiday wreath

     Upgrade the traditional plate of cookies for Santa by arranging filled macarons as a polished holiday wreath.

   • Elimination

     Stocking-stuffed eclairs

     The two lowest-ranked bakers make stocking-themed eclairs featuring two selected flavors from sweet potato, cranberry, and bourbon.

   • Main

     Holiday train-stop cake

     Build a large themed cake around a holiday village train stop and engineer an actual model train to run through the display.

   Episode source 1Episode source 2

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 1

Maple Mocha Cinnamon Rolls

Soft coffee-scented rolls with a cocoa-cinnamon filling and a thin maple espresso glaze.

Time

1 hr

Makes

Nine rolls

Level

Moderate

▶View ingredients and method

Ingredients

• 180 ml whole milk
• 2 teaspoons instant espresso powder, divided
• 7 g instant yeast
• 45 g granulated sugar
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 55 g unsalted butter, melted and divided
• 360 g strong bread flour
• 3/4 teaspoon fine salt
• 90 g light brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
• 100 g powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 1 to 2 tablespoons whole milk

Method

1. Warm 180 ml milk until just lukewarm and dissolve 1 teaspoon espresso powder in it. Mix in the yeast, granulated sugar, egg, and 35 g melted butter.
2. Add the flour and salt. Knead for 8 to 10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic. Cover and let rise for 60 to 90 minutes, until doubled.
3. Grease a 23 cm square pan. Mix the brown sugar, cinnamon, cocoa, and remaining espresso powder in a small bowl.
4. Roll the dough into a 30 x 38 cm rectangle. Brush with the remaining 20 g melted butter and scatter the filling evenly over the surface.
5. Roll up from a long side into a firm log. Cut into nine equal pieces, arrange them in the pan, cover, and proof for 35 to 45 minutes until puffy.
6. Heat the oven to 190 C, or 170 C fan. Bake the rolls for 23 to 27 minutes, until browned and cooked through at the center. Cool for 10 minutes.
7. Whisk the powdered sugar with the maple syrup and enough milk to make a pourable glaze. Spoon it over the warm rolls and serve.

This is an original Baking Show Guide home adaptation inspired by the episode brief, not a contestant recipe or an official Food Network recipe.

The milk should feel warm rather than hot; excessive heat can damage the yeast.

For an overnight option, refrigerate the shaped rolls after placing them in the pan, then let them stand at room temperature until puffy before baking.

Open the full recipe →

Episode guide sources

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

Season result

The winner stays hidden until you choose to reveal it.

See every Holiday Baking Championshipwinner, season by season →

Full cast

Everyone recorded for Season 10, listed alphabetically without result spoilers.

Season fact sources

en.wikipedia.org, communityimpact.com.