List of Halloween Baking Championship episodes

Preliminary Heat: The contestants were asked to make skeleton-inspired sweets that illustrated a story about their skeleton's "dark secret".

Winner: Karl won; his advantage in the Main Heat was first choice of monster type.

Main Heat: The contestants had 2 hours to create a dessert shaped like the monster under the bed. Twist: They had to make pillowy marshmallow cream from scratch and incorporate it into the dessert.

Winner: Jessica

Preliminary Heat: Contestants created desserts based on a randomly selected bottle of spirits (such as orange liqueur) and the spirit guide on its label (such as an angel or mythical creature).

Winner: Julie won; her advantage was first choice of "dead" dessert in the Main Heat.

Main Heat: The contestants each picked a "dead" old dessert. Their challenge was to revive and modernize their dessert and decorate it in a Day of the Dead style, in 2 hours. Twist: Contestants had to create 3D edible flowers and incorporate them into their dessert.

Winner: Pete

Preliminary Heat: In a promotion for the animated film The Addams Family, the bakers were paired in teams to create one cohesive dessert featuring jackfruit that was scary on the outside but sweet on the inside, like the members of the Addams family themselves. The partners were: Julie & Jocelyn, Jessica & Pete and Sheldon & Karl.

Winner: Karl & Sheldon won the advantage to choose characters last in the Main Heat. They had the option to trade characters with those who did not win.

Main Heat: Each contestant chose a door, revealing an Addams Family character. The selected characters were: Julie: Pugsly, Jocelyn: Grandma, Jessica: Gomez, Pete: Morticia, Karl: Uncle Fester, Sheldon: Wednesday. The bakers were asked to create a "dead velvet" cake that looked like their character, with a coloring randomly picked from options in an urn. Twist: The bakers had to incorporate either a snake, eyeball, or spider snack into the dessert.

Winner: Julie

Preliminary Heat: Contestants had 90 minutes to create a mummy-themed creepy crepe cake, and incorporate a preservative ingredient.

Winner: Pete won. He had first choice of ingredient in the Main Heat and picked cream cheese.

Main Heat: The contestants were asked to make their very best pumpkin pie and decorate it with a face that had a scary half and a sweet half. Additionally they were given a classic fall ingredient such as raisins, dulce de leche, cream cheese, cranberries, or pomegranates. Baking time was 2 hours. Twist: The bakers had to include pumpkin seeds, received raw.

Winner: Karl

Preliminary Heat: Each contestant dug up a grave to get an underground ingredient: sweet potato, carrot, beets, or fennel. They had 90 minutes to make graverobbing-themed desserts.

Winner: Julie won; she got first choice of flavor in the Main Heat. She picked maple.

Main Heat: The bakers had 2 hours to make a tomb-shaped marble cake that was marbled inside and out and included a required flavor: maple, ginger, cinnamon, or cardamom. Twist: The bakers chose obituary cards and had to customize their cake to the person described. Peter: Plumber, Karl: Archeologist, Jessica: Mortician, Julie: Chemist who blew himself up in a lab.

Winner: Pete

Preliminary Heat: The bakers had 3 hours to make a "ghostembouche", a ghostly croquembouche.

Winner: Peter won. In the Main Heat, he could choose his "bleeding" body part, as well as choose for the other two contestants.

Main Heat: The final three contestants had 5 hours to create a zombie cake. The cake was required to have a bleeding effect that happened during judging: a bleeding heart, a hemorrhaging brain, or eyes that seep blood. Pete picked the brain and gave Karl the heart and Jessica the eyes.

Winner of $25,000: Karl

Main Heat: In the grand foyer of the haunted house, host Carla Hall asked the 10 competitors to bake haunted house cakes that revealed their deepest fears.

Treat: The competitors had to incorporate balsamic vinegar to their cakes.

Trick: The competitors had to add a working door to their haunted house.

Mini-game: There were 10 fake daggers hidden throughout the kitchen. Whoever found the most daggers by the end of the bake won a special prize. Brian won the reward: a Time Dagger which gives 5 extra minutes for any bake.

Main Heat Winner: Renee

Main Heat: On the haunted house's front porch, the 9 competitors were asked to make Halloween candy croquembouche illusions. The task was to create the illusion of Halloween candies spilling onto a croquembouche tower. Additionally, they were each given a bag with the candy they needed to use and their theme.

Treat: The contestants had to use canned pumpkin somewhere in the croquembouche.

Trick: Add a 3D edible fence or railing to surround the croquembouche.

Winner: Aaron

Main Heat: In the spooky cellar, bakers were assigned in teams of two. Each team member was responsible for creating three different vampire-themed baked goods to form a cohesive vampire buffet in three hours. Team W: Renee and Aaron, Team X: Tamara and Michael, Team Y: Holly and Brian, Team Z: Michelle and Sinai

Treat: Each baker had to incorporate (naturally sweet) black garlic in one of their desserts.

Trick: Each team had to bake an edible coffin in which to display some of their desserts.

Winner: Sinai and Michelle

Main Heat: In the creepy nursery, bakers were challenged to make a 3D demon doll cake in three hours.

Treat: Contestants had to run and grab a jar of baby food from Carla, that then had to be incorporated into the cake so the judges could actually taste it.

Trick: Contestants had to make an accessory: baby shoes, blanket, bib, brush, bow, bowtie, or silver spoon.

Winner: Renee

Main Heat: In the Devil's Den, contestants had to make desserts decorated like the devil himself. Each baker had to use one of the devil's favorite ingredients: sauerkraut, beets, tamarind, spinach, Parmesan cheese, or canned tomato soup.

Treat: The bakers had to incorporate Fresno chiles somewhere in the dessert.

Trick: The bakers had to include a fire element in the dessert.

Winner: Aaron

Main Heat: In the haunted ballroom, the competitors were asked to bake a costume cake based on an outfit which they assembled from a variety of costume pieces.

Treat: The bakers had to incorporate rum into their cake.

Trick: The bakers had to add an edible jewelry decoration.

Winner: Renee

Pre-Heat: In the mad doctor's surgery room, the four remaining bakers were asked to create a realistic severed limb cake. Aaron and Renee had the best cakes, leaving Sinai and Michelle to compete in a Sudden Death elimination challenge.

Sudden Death Challenge: Sinai (with Renee as sous chef) and Michelle (with Aaron as sous chef) had make a goblin-themed dessert. Sinai was not allowed to use wheat flour, while Michelle was not allowed to use eggs. Sinai won the challenge, and Michelle was eliminated.

Main Heat: In the séance room, the bakers were asked to make floating cakes, each themed around a different ghost who had met a grisly demise.

Treat: The bakers had to crack open and use whole coconuts.

Trick: The bakers had to add an edible In Memoriam card to their cake.

The Thriller: John introduced his hotel's bellhop service, giving competitors suitcases containing body parts. The bakers were asked to make a pie topped with a human face to match the body part they found.

Winner: Maricsa won the advantage of first and exclusive choice of bloodstain pattern in the next challenge.

The Killer: Inspired by the hotel's former maid and her encounter with a bloody bathroom, the bakers had to make a sponge cake with at least four layers and decorated with an assigned bloodstain pattern.

Winner: Lauren

The Thriller: In a promotion for the film Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, John asked the bakers to make a "croquem-boot," a croquembouche shaped like a boot. Each baker was assigned a type of flavored cream to use in their filling.

Winner: Blayre won and got first pick of chocolate in the Killer challenge. Marcus was the lowest ranked and was sent to a sudden death bake-off.

The Killer: Inspired by the hotel's former pastry chef, John asked the bakers to make a "Death by Chocolate" sachertorte themed around a cause of death. Each baker had to use a particular variety of chocolate.

Winner: Lauren won the challenge. Jill was the lowest ranked and was sent to a sudden death bake-off.

Sudden Death Challenge: Marcus and Jill were asked to make cupcakes themed around the judges' costumes and their "last wish" desserts that they would want with a last meal. Marcus chose Stephanie (mint chocolate chip sundae and Pizza Rat costume); Jill chose Carla (lemon meringue pie and fortune teller costume).

The Thriller: In a challenge themed around the hotel's former gardeners and their creepy hedge maze, the bakers were randomly paired in teams and given four hours to create a 3D hedge maze cake. In a twist, the bakers had to add fresh herbs into the cake.

Winner: Jill and Kristi won the Thriller challenge and were safe from elimination.

The Killer: The bakers were asked to create a dessert representing a prize in the center of the maze. This was an individual challenge which occurred concurrently with the team challenge.

The Thriller: Inspired by the hotel's room service, John asked the bakers to make a dessert that resembled rotten food. The bakers had to feature a fermented ingredient: yogurt, kefir, pickled strawberries, balsamic vinegar, miso, soy sauce, kombucha, or sauerkraut.

Winner: Maricsa won and gained ten extra minutes in the Killer challenge.

The Killer: Inspired by the hotel's former caretaker (who liked to smash holes in doors), the bakers were asked to make smashable desserts with an outer shell and a surprise inside.

Winner: Alexey

The Thriller: Inspired by a suspicious fire in the hotel, the competitors were asked to make a flaming dish using the flavors of classic flambé desserts.

Winner: Zac won the challenge. His advantage was first pick of the twist ingredient in the next challenge.

The Killer: Inspired by a mad doctor who once resided in the hotel, the bakers were tasked with baking a cake that looked like an open wound. In a twist, the bakers had to add cured meat to their dessert.

Winner: Blayre

The Thriller: Inspired by portraits with moving eyes, the bakers were asked to make eyeball upside-down cakes. Pineapple was not allowed.

Winner: Alexey won, gaining the advantage to choose the teams in the next challenge.

The Killer: The bakers had to make cakes themed around the ghostly twin girls who haunt Room 222. Paired in teams of two, each baker's cake had to be visually identical to their teammate's, but with different flavors. In a twist, teams had to incorporate classic flavor combo ingredients.

Winner: Blayre and Kristi

The Thriller: Inspired by the hotel's former barkeeper, the bakers had to make a boozy eclair with the flavors of a "scary" cocktail: dark and stormy, skeleton key, last word, widow's kiss, or zombie.

Winner: Lauren won, earning first choice of the twist ingredients in the next challenge.

The Killer: The bakers were tasked with making a trio of mirror glazed entremets, a layered dessert of jellies, mousse, and cake. The entremets had to depict the baker's worst nightmare. In a twist, bakers had to incorporate old Halloween candies into their dessert.

Winner: Jill

The Thriller: Inspired by a deadly wedding, the bakers were asked to create two grazing board items, one sweet and the other savory. The items had to be themed around the head and heart, and each competitor was given a type of cheese as a featured ingredient. Although this was initially presented as an elimination challenge, the judges decided not to send anyone home because all the competitors performed well. No advantage was awarded.

The Killer: In the final challenge, the bakers were given five hours to make a black wedding cake for a dead bride and groom. They were randomly assigned a theme: gothic, antique, masquerade ball, or roaring twenties.

The Thriller: John had the Halloween bakers make "tarot-misu", a tiramisu with a story inspired by a randomly assigned tarot card theme and an Italian flavor.

Winner: Ryan McCord (His advantage in the next challenge was to pick a carnival snack that no one else could use.)

The Killer: The contestants were tasked to make evil clown cakes. The twist was to incorporate circus snack food into their cakes.

Winner: Ryan McCord

The Thriller: Inspired by the tale of John's cousin Jesse who got slashed while working at the donut stand, the bakers had to make bloody donuts.

Winner: James Cox (His advantage was picking a cake flavor no one else could use… He chose ube.)

The Killer: The contestants were tasked to make carousel cakes, with one side showing the joy of the carnival and the other side showing the horror. The twist was to make a carousel cookie topper. NOTE: In an unfortunate turn of events, Chad Conklin left the competition due to illness; however an elimination still took place.

Winner: James Cox

The Thriller: To honor the circus's fire eater, John has the bakers create flambéed pavlova desserts with selected types of red fruit.

Winner: Hollie Fraser won the advantage of being exempt from the twist in the next challenge.

The Killer: The contestants are asked to make alien brain charlotte royale cakes with selected green ingredients and an oozing slime effect. The twist was to add freeze-dried green vegetables.

Winner: Hollie Fraser

The Thriller: John tasked the bakers to create desserts inspired by Bloody Mary, with her normal appearance on a large cookie and the reflection of her monstrous form in a dessert bar tray bake.

Winner: Hollie Fraser. Her advantage was first pick of teammate in the next challenge.

The Killer: The contestants were paired into teams of two to create "Frankenstein" cakes by fusing together two body parts (arm/hand, foot/leg, nose, ear, and tongue). The mid-round twist was to incorporate an unusual mashup into their cakes (peanut butter and basil, coconut and tomato, lime and rosemary, or thyme and grape jelly).

Winners: James Cox and Ryan McCord

The Thriller: Bakers had to make a trifle depicting a person who was buried alive. They had to include an ingredient that grows underground, choosing from ginger, turmeric, beets, carrots, sweet potatoes, and fennel.

Winner: Hollie Fraser won, gaining first pick of dried fruit in the main challenge.

The Killer: The competitors made pies with shrunken heads on top and including dried fruits as ingredients. They chose from golden raisins, dried peaches, dried apricots, dried figs, dried dates, and currants. The twist required the bakers to make flavored gelatin eyeballs to top their pies.

Winners: Ryan McCord

The Thriller: The bakers had to make a blondie enclosed in a chocolate skull shell. To serve, they poured a warm ganache to melt the skull and reveal the blondie underneath. They had to include a Sno Cone syrup. The options were cherry, blue raspberry, grape, pina colada, and lemon lime.

Winner: Stacy won, gaining an extra 10 minutes in the main challenge.

The Killer: Inspired by a sword swallower, the bakers made a dessert inside another dessert and topped with an edible sword. The twist involved adding an ingredient that would soothe a sore throat. The choices included honey, ginger, chamomile, lemon, and peppermint.

Winners: Hollie and James

The Thriller: The bakers were asked to create a torta della nonna with a citrus flavor and decorated with a monster tattoo design.

Winner: Hollie won, gaining exclusive use of a type of chocolate in the next challenge.

The Killer: The bakers had to create a smashable dessert in a chocolate sphere, filled with a sauce and a baked element. The sphere was presented to the judges by being smashed onto their table from a height. The twist required the addition of walnuts, almonds, pumpkin seeds, or roasted chickpeas.

Winners: Hollie

The Thriller: The bakers made black flourless flower desserts including a required black ingredient. The options were seaweed, black sesame seeds, and black pepper. James chose seaweed (to the surprise of no one), Ryan picked black sesame seeds, and Hollie chose black pepper.

Winner: Hollie won, gaining the advantage to assign each baker's theme in the final challenge.

The Killer: The bakers had to make a cakescape showing a new attraction at the carnival. They had to pick from a funhouse, a two-headed dragon, and a hall of lost souls. Hollie chose the funhouse and picked the dragon for James and the hall of lost souls for Ryan.