Spring Baking Championship Season 3

Complete season breakdown

Every episode and bake

Season three stretches to seven episodes and uses Easter, vacations, the Kentucky Derby, Mother's Day, spring rain, and Memorial Day as its settings. This guide records all fourteen aired challenge briefs, including team heats and mid-round additions, and offers one original home-kitchen adaptation inspired by the mint julep dessert challenge.

1. Episode 1 · Easter eggs and bunnies

   Easter Treats

   Mar 12, 2017

   Decorative dessert eggs must sit in edible nests before the bakers move to sculpted bunny cakes and an added litter of matching bunny cupcakes.

   • Preliminary

     Dessert egg in an edible nest

     Make a decorative egg-shaped dessert and an edible nest to hold it in 90 minutes.

   • Main

     Bunny cake with baby bunny cupcakes

     Create a bunny-shaped cake in three hours, then add twelve baby bunny cupcakes when the twist is announced; chocolate cake was reserved for the preliminary winner.

   Episode source 1Episode source 2Episode source 3

2. Episode 2 · Tropical fruit and travel

   Sweet Vacations

   Mar 12, 2017

   Teams share an assigned tropical fruit in the opening heat, then the bakers work individually on vacation-themed doughnuts and matching doughnut holes.

   • Preliminary

     Team tropical-fruit dessert

     Working in pairs, make a tropical dessert in 90 minutes using assigned banana, mango, key lime, or pineapple.

   • Main

     Vacation doughnuts and doughnut holes

     Make twelve doughnuts in two hours inspired by an assigned vacation destination, then add six decorated doughnut holes that continue the same theme.

   Episode source 1Episode source 2Episode source 3

3. Episode 3 · Kentucky Derby

   Derby Desserts

   Mar 19, 2017

   The Kentucky Derby theme begins with mint julep flavors, then turns three cookie varieties into a wearable spring garland with rose added for the Run for the Roses.

   • Preliminary

     Mint julep-inspired dessert

     Create a dessert in one hour inspired by the mint julep.

   • Main

     Three-cookie spring garland

     Make a decorative garland containing three different kinds of cookies in up to 90 minutes, then incorporate a rose element when the twist is announced.

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

4. Episode 4 · Lighter classics

   Springtime Remodeling

   Mar 26, 2017

   Dense brownies receive a spring makeover before classic French Napoleons are rebuilt with seasonal character and assigned flavored liqueurs.

   • Preliminary

     Spring-remodeled brownie

     Give a brownie a lighter, springtime makeover in one hour.

   • Main

     Springtime Napoleon

     Reimagine a classic French Napoleon as a spring dessert in 90 minutes, incorporating assigned cherry, raspberry, almond, orange, lemon, or elderflower liqueur when the twist is announced.

   Episode source 1Episode source 2Episode source 3

5. Episode 5 · Mother's Day tarts and classics

   Momcentric

   Apr 2, 2017

   Colorful fruit tarts come with personal poems before five old-fashioned desserts are modernized and tied together by a maraschino-cherry twist.

   • Preliminary

     Mother's Day fruit tart

     Make a colorful fruit tart in one hour and write and recite a short poem dedicated to one's mother.

   • Main

     Modernized old-fashioned dessert

     Update an assigned peach cobbler, bread pudding, chocolate cream pie, pineapple upside-down cake, or lemon meringue dessert in 90 minutes, then include maraschino cherries.

   Episode source 1Episode source 2Episode source 3

6. Episode 6 · Garden creatures and spring rain

   Rainy Day Sweets

   Apr 9, 2017

   Whoopie pies become assigned garden creatures, while colorful drip cakes turn spring rainfall into decoration and finish with a three-dimensional edible rainbow.

   • Preliminary

     Garden-creature whoopie pies

     Make twelve whoopie pies in one hour decorated as assigned butterflies, bumblebees, caterpillars, or ladybugs.

   • Main

     Spring-rain drip cake

     Create a colorful drip cake in 90 minutes as an homage to spring rain, then top it with a three-dimensional edible rainbow.

   Episode source 1Episode source 2Episode source 3

7. Episode 7 · Memorial Day picnic and flags

   Memorial Day Delights

   Apr 9, 2017

   The finale balances sweet and savory items in a patriotic picnic before the last three bakers commit five hours to red, white, and blue American flag desserts.

   • Preliminary

     Three-item Memorial Day picnic

     Prepare two sweet items and one savory item for a Memorial Day picnic in two hours.

   • Main

     American flag dessert

     Create a large American flag-themed dessert in five hours; only the preliminary winner had access to special star molds and cutters.

   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

Mint Lime Bourbon Bars

Buttery lime bars with a restrained bourbon custard and fresh mint sugar inspired by mint julep flavors.

Time

1 hr 7 min

Makes

16 bars

Level

Medium

▶View ingredients and method

Ingredients

• 170 g unsalted butter, softened
• 65 g powdered sugar
• 220 g all-purpose flour, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• 4 large eggs
• 250 g granulated sugar, divided
• 120 ml fresh lime juice
• Finely grated zest of 2 limes
• 2 tablespoons bourbon
• 12 fresh mint leaves

Method

1. Heat the oven to 175 C, or 160 C fan. Line a 20 cm square pan with baking paper, leaving an overhang.
2. Beat the butter and powdered sugar until smooth. Mix in 180 g flour and the salt, then press the dough evenly into the pan.
3. Bake the crust for 18 to 20 minutes, until lightly golden at the edges.
4. Whisk the eggs with 225 g granulated sugar. Whisk in the remaining 40 g flour, lime juice, zest, and bourbon until smooth.
5. Pour the filling onto the hot crust and bake for 20 to 24 minutes, until the center is just set. Cool completely, then chill for one hour.
6. Rub the mint leaves into the remaining 25 g sugar until fragrant and green-flecked. Lift out the slab, cut into sixteen bars, and sprinkle lightly with mint sugar just before serving.

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 bourbon is baked into the filling; use one tablespoon water instead for an alcohol-free version.

Add the mint sugar at serving time so it stays aromatic and does not draw moisture from the bars.

Open the full recipe →

Episode guide sources

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

Season result

The winner stays hidden until you choose to reveal it.

See every Spring Baking Championshipwinner, season by season →

Full cast

Everyone recorded for Season 3, listed alphabetically without result spoilers.

Season fact sources

en.wikipedia.org, en.wikipedia.org, actionnewsjax.com.