Holiday Baking Championship Season 11

Complete season breakdown

Every episode and bake

Season 11 frames every episode as a holiday party, moving through open-house treats, Thanksgiving and Friendsgiving, Victorian cakes, cookies, office sweets, pajamas, and a gingerbread-house finale. This guide records all eighteen aired challenge briefs across eight episodes and includes one original home-kitchen adaptation inspired by the cookie-cake challenge.

1. Episode 1 · Open-house treats

   Holiday Open House

   Nov 4, 2024

   The first party turns a savory cheese-ball idea into dessert, then scales the flavors and textures of holiday chocolate bark into inventive host-gift sweets.

   • Preliminary

     Holiday cheese-ball dessert

     In two hours, make a sweet cheese-ball-inspired dessert using an assigned cheese with either nuts or dried fruit.

   • Main

     Large-scale holiday bark dessert

     Create a substantial, inventive dessert inspired by the selected flavors and textures of holiday chocolate bark.

   Episode source 1Episode source 2

2. Episode 2 · Thanksgiving family table

   Thanksgiving Family Feast

   Nov 11, 2024

   Bakers make exuberant cupcakes worthy of the Thanksgiving kids' table before topping full pies with sculptural three-dimensional holiday scenes.

   • Preliminary

     Over-the-top Thanksgiving cupcakes

     In two hours, create extravagant Thanksgiving cupcakes designed for a kids' table and judged with two Kids Baking Championship alumni.

   • Main

     Thanksgiving pie with 3-D decoration

     In two and a half hours, bake a Thanksgiving pie and finish it with a stable, edible three-dimensional decorative element.

   Episode source 1Episode source 2

3. Episode 3 · Flavor pairings and fall rivalry

   Friendsgiving

   Nov 18, 2024

   Assigned seasonal flavor partners lead into a team contest that puts apple and pumpkin versions of the same five dessert formats head to head.

   • Preliminary

     Flavor-friends dessert

     In two hours, make a dessert that gives equal purpose to an assigned pair of complementary seasonal flavors.

   • Main

     Apple-versus-pumpkin team desserts

     As Team Apple or Team Pumpkin, make assigned tiramisu, Napoleon, cheesecake, pavlova, and Swiss roll desserts for matched head-to-head tastings.

   Episode source 1Episode source 2

4. Episode 4 · Victorian Christmas

   Old-Fashioned Christmas Party

   Nov 18, 2024

   Victorian inspiration begins with liquor-soaked fruitcake blend in modern desserts and continues through richly colored Lambeth cakes covered in intricate over-piping.

   • Preliminary

     Fruitcake-blend dessert

     In two hours, build a dessert around a blend of dried fruit marinated with spices and liquor.

   • Main

     Lambeth cake

     In two and a half hours, make an ornate Lambeth-style cake with extensive over-piping, a strong assigned color scheme, and an old-fashioned ingredient added during the twist.

   Episode source 1Episode source 2

5. Episode 5 · Holiday cookies

   Cookie Exchange Party

   Nov 25, 2024

   A blind-tasted cookie exchange rewards flavor without relying on decorated sugar cookies or gingerbread, then four-layer cakes alternate two kinds of oversized cookie.

   • Preliminary

     Flavor-forward seasonal cookies

     In 90 minutes, make a distinctive seasonal cookie for blind tasting without using decorated sugar cookies or gingerbread.

   • Main

     Four-layer holiday cookie cake

     In two hours, stack at least four large cookie layers using two different cookie types, then incorporate an assigned drink-inspired flavor twist.

   Make our home version →Episode source 1Episode source 2

6. Episode 6 · Office party sweets

   Office Christmas Party

   Dec 2, 2024

   Teams combine caramel and chocolate into intentionally gooey desserts, followed by individual boozy trifles carrying assigned spirits and personal desk-accessory decorations.

   • Preliminary

     Caramel and chocolate team dessert

     Working in teams for 90 minutes, create an oozy holiday dessert featuring both caramel and chocolate and decorate it with caramel-chocolate candies.

   • Main

     Boozy holiday trifle

     In two hours, build a trifle around an assigned liqueur or spirit and add a desk-accessory decoration that expresses the baker's personality.

   Episode source 1Episode source 2

7. Episode 7 · Pajamas, trees, and gift exchange

   Holiday Pajama Party

   Dec 9, 2024

   The semifinal moves through footie-pajama macarons, paired cream-puff garlands, and elaborate assigned cakes selected through a white-elephant exchange.

   • Preliminary

     Footie-pajama macarons

     In two hours, make large-scale filled macarons shaped and decorated as recognizable footie pajamas.

   • Tree

     Cream-puff holiday garland

     Working in pairs, assemble filled cream puffs into a cohesive garland-shaped display suitable for decorating a holiday tree.

   • Main

     White-elephant celebration cake

     In two and a half hours, make an assigned Charlotte royale, entremets cake, or dacquoise cake with the flavor selected through a gift exchange, then add a holiday cuddle-toy decoration.

   Episode source 1Episode source 2

8. Episode 8 · Candy, eggnog, and gingerbread houses

   Gingerbread House Party

   Dec 16, 2024

   The finale disguises desserts as familiar candies, uses flavored eggnog in an elimination heat, and ends with gingerbread-house cakes based on four architectural styles.

   • Preliminary

     Faux candy dessert

     In two hours, create a full dessert that looks and tastes like a selected traditional holiday candy rather than merely using candy as decoration.

   • Elimination

     Flavored eggnog dessert

     The four bakers not protected by the preliminary win have 90 minutes to create a dessert centered on a selected variety of flavored eggnog.

   • Main

     Architectural gingerbread-house cake

     In five hours, construct a cake designed as an assigned Tudor house, cozy cottage, castle, or modern house, using gingerbread-house architecture as the visual focus.

   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 5

Orange Ginger Cookie Cake

Four tender cookie layers alternating orange shortbread and molasses gingerbread, filled with tangy cream-cheese frosting.

Time

1 hr 25 min

Makes

One 18 cm cake, serving 10

Level

Moderate

▶View ingredients and method

Ingredients

• 260 g all-purpose flour, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt, divided
• 170 g unsalted butter, softened and divided
• 125 g granulated sugar
• 80 g light brown sugar
• 1 large egg, divided
• 1 tablespoon finely grated orange zest
• 2 tablespoons molasses
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 225 g full-fat cream cheese, softened
• 85 g unsalted butter, softened
• 240 g powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon orange juice

Method

1. Heat the oven to 175 C, or 160 C fan. Line two baking sheets and trace four 18 cm circles on the paper, leaving space between them.
2. For the orange dough, mix 130 g flour with the baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Beat 85 g butter with the granulated sugar, then beat in half the egg and the orange zest. Mix in the dry ingredients.
3. For the ginger dough, mix the remaining flour with the baking soda, remaining salt, ginger, and cinnamon. Beat the remaining 85 g butter with the brown sugar, then add the remaining egg and molasses. Mix in the dry ingredients.
4. Press each dough into two traced circles, keeping the layers even and stopping just inside the lines. Chill the trays for 20 minutes.
5. Bake for 9 to 12 minutes, rotating the trays once, until the edges are set and the centers no longer look wet. Cool completely on the trays.
6. Beat the cream cheese and 85 g butter until smooth. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla, and orange juice, then beat until thick and spreadable.
7. Stack the cookies, alternating orange and ginger layers with an even layer of frosting between each. Pipe or spread the remaining frosting on top and chill for 45 minutes before slicing.

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

Weigh or divide the egg after beating it so each dough receives an equal share.

The cookie layers soften after assembly, so the cake slices most cleanly after at least 45 minutes of chilling.

Open the full recipe →

Episode guide sources

Challenge details verified 2026-07-14. foodnetwork.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 11, listed alphabetically without result spoilers.

Season fact sources

en.wikipedia.org, foodsided.com.