Holiday Baking Championship Season 7

Complete season breakdown

Every episode and bake

Season 7 covers eight episodes and seventeen baked challenges, including a three-stage finale. Its briefs range from quick-bread wreaths, Thanksgiving pies, and Advent-calendar surprises to upside-down cakes, Charlotte royale, macaron towers, and time-period cakes. One original cranberry-orange quick bread adapts the opening challenge for home bakers.

1. Episode 1 · Holiday fashion

   Holiday Style

   Nov 2, 2020

   Assigned flavor pairs shape decorated quick-bread wreaths before the bakers turn winter hats into cakes with embroidered-looking names.

   • Preliminary

     Flavored quick-bread wreath

     In two hours, bake and decorate a wreath-shaped quick bread using an assigned combination such as maple pecan, spiced pear, orange cranberry, ginger citrus, apple cinnamon, or chocolate orange.

   • Main

     Winter hat cake

     Create a cake in two hours that resembles an assigned winter hat, then add the baker's name in a legible embroidered style.

   Make our home version →Episode source 1Episode source 2

2. Episode 2 · Nuts, seeds, and holiday makeovers

   Holiday Goodie Games

   Nov 9, 2020

   Each baker highlights an assigned nut or seed without making pie, then gives a non-holiday dessert a seasonal identity through festive and tropical additions.

   • Preliminary

     Nut- or seed-centered holiday dessert

     Make a holiday dessert in two hours that showcases an assigned nut or seed; pie is not allowed.

   • Main

     Holiday makeover of a non-holiday dessert

     Turn an assigned dessert such as key lime pie, icebox cake, fruit tart, lemon meringue pie, or ice cream cake into a holiday bake with dried fruit, spice, or spirits, then add strawberry, pineapple, or mango.

   Episode source 1Episode source 2

3. Episode 3 · Holiday pies

   Take Holiday Pies by Surprise

   Nov 16, 2020

   Mini pies gain cookie toppings and assigned fillings, followed by larger pies that combine a specified fall flavor pair with a particular crust format and eggnog.

   • Preliminary

     Mini pies with holiday-cookie toppings

     Bake miniature pies in two hours with an assigned filling and a holiday-cookie topping.

   • Main

     Assigned fall-flavor holiday pie

     In two hours, make an assigned cream, lattice, slab, double-crust, or custard pie with a specified fall flavor pair, then incorporate eggnog unless exempted by the preliminary advantage.

   Episode source 1Episode source 2

4. Episode 4 · Thanksgiving and Friendsgiving

   Hosting the Holidays

   Nov 23, 2020

   Breakfast foods are reimagined as Thanksgiving desserts, then teams draw ingredients from savory Friendsgiving dishes and turn them into sweets with champagne.

   • Preliminary

     Breakfast-inspired Thanksgiving dessert

     In 90 minutes, transform an assigned breakfast item such as French toast, toaster pastries, scones, or crepes into a Thanksgiving dessert.

   • Main

     Friendsgiving potluck-inspired dessert

     Working in teams but judged individually, use a key ingredient from glazed carrots, balsamic Brussels sprouts, creamed corn, or sage-and-sausage stuffing in a dessert, then incorporate champagne.

   Episode source 1Episode source 2

5. Episode 5 · Surprises and layered flavors

   It's What's on the Inside That Counts

   Nov 30, 2020

   Advent-calendar desserts conceal surprises inside assigned chocolates, while segmented cheesecakes must communicate three flavors through distinct decorations and baking methods.

   • Preliminary

     Chocolate Advent-calendar surprise dessert

     Create an Advent-calendar dessert in 90 minutes using assigned blonde, white, milk, or dark chocolate and conceal a surprise inside.

   • Main

     Three-flavor cheesecake

     Make one cheesecake with three distinct flavor sections in two hours, bake at least two sections, and use three different decorations to identify the flavors.

   Episode source 1Episode source 2

6. Episode 6 · Hanukkah and upside-down cakes

   Topsy-Turvy Holidays

   Dec 7, 2020

   Teams reinterpret jelly doughnuts through fried dough and jelly components before individual fruit cakes are baked upside down and decorated for assigned holidays.

   • Preliminary

     Jelly-doughnut-inspired dessert

     Working in pairs, make a Hanukkah jelly-doughnut-inspired dessert in 90 minutes that includes both fried dough and jelly.

   • Main

     Holiday upside-down cake

     In two hours, bake an upside-down cake with an assigned fruit and holiday decoration, then incorporate fresh rosemary.

   Episode source 1Episode source 2

7. Episode 7 · Classic layered desserts

   A Classic Christmas

   Dec 14, 2020

   Holiday trifles establish three contrasting layers before assigned flavors shape Charlotte royale centerpieces fit for Santa Claus.

   • Preliminary

     Three-layer holiday trifle

     Make a holiday trifle in 90 minutes with an assigned flavor and three distinct components: cream or custard, jam or jelly, and cookie or cake.

   • Main

     Santa-worthy Charlotte royale

     Create a Charlotte royale in two hours using an assigned flavor such as raspberry, ginger, praline, chocolate, or pumpkin, then add a baked holly-leaf decoration.

   Episode source 1Episode source 2

8. Episode 8 · Christmas past, present, and future

   Christmas Windows in Time

   Dec 21, 2020

   Macarons form graduated holiday towers, two bakers face a rapid cookie transformation, and the final cakes express Christmas past, present, or future through period-specific icing.

   • Preliminary

     Tiered holiday macaron tower

     In three hours, build a decorated macaron tower from graduated tiers, with the strongest bakers advancing directly and the bottom two entering a face-off.

   • Face-off

     Transformed classic-cookie dessert

     In one hour, turn either peanut butter cookies or chocolate chip cookies into a new dessert for the final place in the main heat.

   • Final

     Christmas time-period cake

     Create a five-hour cake evoking Christmas past, present, or future and use the assigned era's icing style: marzipan, buttercream, or mirror glaze.

   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

Cranberry Orange Quick Bread Wreath

A tender cranberry-orange quick bread baked in a ring and finished with citrus glaze and pistachios.

Time

1 hr 13 min

Makes

One 25 cm ring, serving 12

Level

Easy

▶View ingredients and method

Ingredients

• 285 g all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon fine salt
• 150 g granulated sugar
• Finely grated zest of 2 oranges
• 2 large eggs
• 120 ml neutral oil
• 180 ml buttermilk
• 80 ml fresh orange juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 180 g fresh or frozen cranberries, coarsely chopped
• 100 g powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice, for glaze
• 30 g shelled pistachios, chopped

Method

1. Heat the oven to 175 C, or 160 C fan. Grease and flour a 25 cm ring or Bundt pan, taking care to coat every groove.
2. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
3. Rub the granulated sugar and orange zest together in a large bowl until fragrant. Whisk in the eggs, oil, buttermilk, 80 ml orange juice, and vanilla.
4. Fold in the dry ingredients just until a few flour streaks remain, then fold in the cranberries.
5. Spoon the batter evenly into the pan. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until a tester inserted near the center comes out clean.
6. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn the bread onto a rack and cool completely.
7. Whisk the powdered sugar with the remaining orange juice. Drizzle the glaze around the ring and scatter the pistachios over it before the glaze sets.

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

Frozen cranberries can go into the batter without thawing.

A standard Bundt pan creates the wreath shape without requiring a specialty mold.

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 7, listed alphabetically without result spoilers.

Season fact sources

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