Holiday Baking Championship Season 12 Episode 1: What happened during the Main Heat Challenge?

Holiday Baking Championship Season 12 premiered on November 3, 2025. The first episode of the show, titled Welcome to the Holiday Village, featured show host Jesse Palmer welcoming the participants.

After the participants were divided into two teams: Team Naughty and Team Nice, they went through the Main Heat Challenge. According to their teams' names, they were assigned unique desserts.

Judges tasted each of them and shared their opinions. Ashleigh's dessert won her the challenge. To know more about the Main Heat Challenge, read further.

Food Network describes the first Holiday Baking Championship Season 12 episode as:

"The 12 bakers are divided into the Nice Team and the Naughty Team, and Jesse Palmer challenges each team to create an edible holiday village. Judges Duff Goldman, Nancy Fuller, and Kardea Brown decide which baker from the losing team will be eliminated."

Holiday Baking Championship Season 12 Episode 1: Participants are divided into two teams ahead of the Main Heat Challenge

The latest season of Holiday Baking Championship started with 12 bakers competing against each other to win $25,000 prize. Additionally, they would also get a chance to be featured in Food Network Magazine.

The show host, Jesse Palmer, welcomed everyone and announced:

"This holiday season, step into the most magical Christmas village. But this year, we're doing things differently. We've split the town into a Naughty Team vs. a Nice Team. And they're all after a holiday glory. Treat by amazing treats. It's a wild ride of personalities."

Participants were divided into two teams: Team Naughty and Team Nice. Each team had six participants, who then got into the Main Heat Challenge. For Team Nice, they were tasked with preparing warm and toasty desserts. On the other hand, Team Naughty was supposed to prepare frosty and chill desserts.

After the teams prepared their desserts and completed the challenge, judges tasted their treats. Team Nice was up first. Their teammate, Jean Carlos, went up to the judges with his spiced apple caramel cake. They loved it. Judges, including Nancy Fuller, Kardea Brown, and Duff Goldman, appreciated the cake.

Alyx prepared a bananas foster bread pudding while Chase made a mulled spiced pear tart. However, Chase's dessert didn't go well during the judges' tasting.

Holiday Baking Championship's Erin made chai Paris-Brest. Judges mentioned that it was too spicy and did not have enough sweetness. Violet prepared a smoky spiced smore. It turned out to be overcooked. Judges applauded Camrey's honey sweet potato pie. They talked about the flavor and taste.

For Team Naughty, Nico's chestnut sable was the first one. Judges found it to be overly sweet. The next was the triple citrus tart made by Ashleigh. With the perfect balance of curd and tart, judges loved the flavor.

Blueberry jalapeno mouse cake from Charles was the next. Judges loved the jalapeno taste and texture. But the white chocolate mousse didn't turn out to be as expected. Tarek's mimosa mini pavlova was gummy, according to judges.

The next one from Team Naughty was Daniel. He prepared a berry and mint tequila cream pie. The judges noted the lack of tequila taste and flavor. Gia's coconut chocolate mint cake was dry and had dense frosting.

Later, when it was time for the judges to pick the best dish, they chose Team Nice's Jean Carlos and Team Naughty's Ashleigh's dishes. However, as for the winner of the challenge, Ashleigh took home the win.

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To know more, fans can stream Holiday Baking Championship Season 12 Episode 1 on Food Network.

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