Halloween Baking Championship season 8 premieres on Food Network

Halloween Baking Championship was back and better than ever for its eighth season. It was spooky, full of gore, and everything looked delicious. You can’t say that about any other baking show.

Twelve bakers entered the creepy Hotel Henson and at the end of the episode, one was sent to the 13th floor to never be heard from again. The host is John Henson and the judges include Carla Hall, Zac Young, and Stephanie Boswell. But before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s talk about the first challenge.

The bakers each had to pick up a suitcase. Inside was a body part that they would have to use as inspiration for the pie they were tasked with making. And while these pies did not look good enough to eat, based on the judges’ responses, most of them were delicious and well-executed. The pies just happened to look like the faces of dead people.

Of the 12 bakers, two came out on top: Kristi Descher and Maricsa Trejo. Kristi made a horrifying-looking brown butter apple and rum-soaked cranberry pie and Maricsa made a blueberry danish pie that looked gory and amazing! And it must have been amazing because she won the first round.

Halloween Baking Championship is back for season 8 and scarier than ever

On to the Killer challenge! This time, the bakers had to make a four-layer sponge cake with a specific kind of blood spatter on it. They also had to include an edible knife that had to be stabbed in the middle of the cake. This is the kind of content Food Network needs to be playing all year round.

These cakes looked like murder scenes in the best way possible. But some turned out better than others. The two top bakers this round were Lauren Rogers and Lola Forbes. Lauren made an impeccable vanilla sponge with cherry filling and white chocolate buttercream while Lola made a delicious pomegranate sponge with pomegranate curd and a pomegranate shortbread knife.

At the end of the day, Lauren came out on top!

But unfortunately, someone had to lose and in this first episode, it was AJ DeDiego. His cake was a bit of a mess. It was bright pink and the blood spatter was hard to see and it just didn’t look great. The flavors were good, but that didn’t save him. The judges sent him to the 13th floor.

Next week, the bakers have to make Croque en bouche and then the two bakers who are least successful will have to bake against each other in a sudden death round!

What did you think of the season 8 premiere of the Halloween Baking Championship? Let us know in the comments below!