The BEST episodes of Spring Baking Championship

#1 - Hidden Beauty

Season 4 - Episode 8 - Aired 4/30/2018

There's hidden beauty inside many things, even ugly ingredients. In this pre-heat, the remaining three bakers have to use so-called ugly ingredients to make beautiful desserts. In the main heat, the focus is on geodes, which look like rocks on the outside but have beautiful mineral formations inside. The bakers are tasked with creating vibrant and colorful geode cakes using handmade rock candy to win the title of Spring Baking Champion and the $50,000 prize.

#2 - A Mother's Love

Season 9 - Episode 9 - Aired 5/1/2023

Host Jesse Palmer springs into the season with a Mother's Day celebration! For the bakers to show Mom how much she means to them, they create bouquets of tulips and rosé-infused desserts, two things any mom would love on their special day, before judges Duff Goldman, Kardea Brown and Nancy Fuller decide who moves on to the finale!

#3 - The Things We Bake for Love

Season 9 - Episode 7 - Aired 4/17/2023

There's no better way to show you're in love than with delicious desserts baked from the heart. Host Jesse Palmer has the bakers pull out all the stops to create breakfast-in-bed muffin towers and decadent chocolate pies in hopes of wooing judges Duff Goldman, Kardea Brown and Nancy Fuller.

#4 - Retro Love

Season 9 - Episode 6 - Aired 4/10/2023

The Spring Baking kitchen looks soooo groovy with its retro makeover! Host Jesse Palmer celebrates the '50s and '60s as he challenges the bakers to make soda shop cupcakes and extra shaggy cakes that are dedicated to those groovy judges, Duff Goldman, Kardea Brown and Nancy Fuller.

#5 - Love in the Great Outdoors

Season 9 - Episode 5 - Aired 4/3/2023

Host Jesse Palmer instructs the bakers to look to the stars and create celestial mousse cakes. Then, the bakers pair up in a team challenge to make romantic croquembouche arbors and floral macarons that are fit for judges Duff Goldman, Kardea Brown and Nancy Fuller's spring garden party.

#6 - Ill-Fated Romances

Season 9 - Episode 3 - Aired 3/20/2023

The ten remaining bakers face the darker side of love with challenges dedicated to ill-fated romances. Host Jesse Palmer requests they create flaky Spring Fling Napoleons and pair up in their first team challenge to create break-up cakes that help judges Duff Goldman, Kardea Brown and Nancy Fuller get over the one that got away.

#7 - Spring Has Sprung: Celebrate the First Day of Spring

Season 10 - Episode 2 - Aired 3/11/2024

Jesse Palmer is ready to kick off the spring equinox by challenging the bakers with one of the trendiest ingredients around -- ube! The competitors continue the equinox party by surprising judges Duff Goldman, Kardea Brown and Nancy Fuller with flower-covered dome cakes that feature floral flavors.

#8 - Secret Garden

Season 11 - Episode 8 - Aired 4/28/2025

In celebration of the awe-inspiring transformation from caterpillar to butterfly, host Jesse Palmer asks the six remaining bakers to team up to make butterfly-shaped napoleons, each designed to capture the vibrant colors of their assigned butterfly. Then, the teams create cakes that bring the beauty and serenity of a garden to life for judges Duff Goldman, Kardea Brown and Nancy Fuller.

#9 - Crowning the Spring Baking Champion

Season 11 - Episode 11 - Aired 5/19/2025

Two bakers find out their fate as one baker advances to the last round. Then, host Jesse Palmer challenges the final three bakers to create sky-high Marie Antoinette spring hairdo cakes with floral flavors and at least three layers decorated with an elaborate floral headdress theme. Judges Duff Goldman, Kardea Brown and Nancy Fuller decide who will be crowned Spring Baking Champion and walk away with $25,000!

#10 - Fool for Love

Season 9 - Episode 4 - Aired 3/27/2023

It's April Fool's Day in the kitchen! Host Jesse Palmer tasks the remaining bakers with creating "fool for love" tarts and embracing the holiday of pranks by serving judges Duff Goldman, Kardea Brown and Nancy Fuller cakes that look like pies.

#11 - Love Around the World

Season 9 - Episode 8 - Aired 4/24/2023

Spring Baking goes global as host Jesse Palmer tasks the bakers with celebrating their love for the flavors of the world. They create blind date mashup desserts and get really cheesy with cheesecakes that feature exotic and international flavors for judges Duff Goldman, Kardea Brown and Nancy Fuller.

#12 - The Road to the Finale

Season 11 - Episode 10 - Aired 5/12/2025

Host Jesse Palmer challenges the final four bakers to make a Parisian café favorite, a strawberry fraisier cake, that makes a bold statement in flavor and design. The top two bakers automatically move on to the final bake, and the bottom two have a bake-off, making one item that could "fix everything" and has a significant personal story. The fate of the bakers is in the hands of judges Duff Goldman, Kardea Brown and Nancy Fuller, as they decide who will move on to the finale.

#13 - Spring Break: Tropical Fun in the Sun

Season 10 - Episode 1 - Aired 3/4/2024

Host Jesse Palmer welcomes 12 bakers to the kitchen, and he gets the celebration started with desserts inspired by a tropical spring break. After grabbing an ingredient and flower that's familiar to spring breakers, the competitors have two hours to incorporate them into a baked dessert. Then, the bakers take judges Duff Goldman, Kardea Brown and Nancy Fuller on a spring break adventure with cakes that showcase one of their favorite spring experiences.

#14 - Welcome to the Little Shop of Spring Magic

Season 11 - Episode 1 - Aired 3/10/2025

Host Jesse Palmer welcomes 13 bakers to a whimsical kitchen filled with magical possibilities, where creativity knows no bounds. With just two hours on the clock, the competitors must craft a flower-themed dessert that reflects their unique personalities. From delicate petals to vibrant blooms, each baker uses flavor, texture and design to create a dessert that's as personal as it is beautiful. Then, inspired by the magic of bees making honey, the bakers make showstopping honey pies for judges Duff Goldman, Kardea Brown and Nancy Fuller using an assigned honey, infusing both the flavor and presentation with a touch of magic. Each pie must feature intricate bee-inspired decorations, from honeycomb candy to spun sugar and brittle, all showcasing the versatility of honey in both taste and décor.

#15 - Memorial Day Delights

Season 3 - Episode 7 - Aired 4/9/2017

#16 - The Magical World of Minecraft

Season 11 - Episode 2 - Aired 3/17/2025

Jesse Palmer challenges the 12 remaining bakers to make Minecraft-inspired square fruit entremets, each using an assigned fruit to create perfectly geometric, visually striking desserts. Then, the competitors team up to bring the blocky, adventurous world of "A Minecraft Movie" to life by designing landscape cakes, with one baker representing the Overworld and the other the Netherworld with unique flavors. To tie it all together for judges Duff Goldman, Kardea Brown and Nancy Fuller, the teams must connect their worlds with an edible portal that bridges the two realms in both design and taste.

#17 - Mother's Day Party

Season 5 - Episode 8 - Aired 5/6/2019

Remaining bakers celebrate Mother's Day; competitors make baked items inspired by mai tais, mojitos or mimosas; they then use flavors inspired by Mom's favorite coffee drinks to create cakes featuring their Mother's Day gifts; the winner is chosen.

#18 - Seasons Change

Season 4 - Episode 7 - Aired 4/23/2018

Which fruit comes into season in the spring but is often overlooked in baking? The avocado! In the pre-heat, the four bakers must pair avocado with chocolate, lime, orange or ginger in a dessert. In the main heat, the bakers "springify" a winter dessert like pumpkin pie, pecan pie, bread pudding or peppermint bark.

#19 - Spring Forward & Spring Backward

Season 11 - Episode 5 - Aired 4/7/2025

Host Jesse Palmer drinks from a mystical Fountain of Youth and magically transforms into his 10-year-old self before giving the nine remaining bakers their first challenge. They have 90 minutes to travel back in time and create an elevated version of their favorite childhood dessert, reimagined with a fresh, spring twist. Then, the competitors design cakes inspired by a clock of their choice for judges Duff Goldman, Kardea Brown and Nancy Fuller. The cakes will reflect spring's beauty and include a time that holds personal significance for each baker.

#20 - April Showers

Season 10 - Episode 7 - Aired 4/8/2024

When April showers come, it's time to head indoors for host Jesse Palmer's spring tea party, where the bakers make beautifully decorate petit fours. Then, the competitors join judges Duff Goldman, Kardea Brown and Nancy Fuller around the maypole as they create May Day shortcake wreaths.

#21 - Spring Passion

Season 9 - Episode 2 - Aired 3/13/2023

Things get heated when host Jesse Palmer challenges the bakers to spice up bento box cakes using ingredients that are also aphrodisiacs. To avoid elimination, they use passionfruit and chiles to perfectly balance passion and heat for judges Duff Goldman, Kardea Brown and Nancy Fuller.

#22 - Spring Gardens: Birds and Bugs

Season 7 - Episode 10 - Aired 4/26/2021

The final three had 5 hours to bake a two-tier spring garden cake, including two garden bugs, plus a surprise design element inside one of the tiers.

#23 - The Spring Cookie Classic

Season 7 - Episode 7 - Aired 4/5/2021

Inspired by the famous Georgia Peach Ice Cream Sandwich, host Ali Khan challenges the bakers to invent their own spring delight featuring cookies, ice cream and fruit. Then they're assigned classic and beloved cookies to turn into a fabulous and tasty spring dessert for judges Kardea Brown, Nancy Fuller and Duff Goldman.

#24 - Spring Babies

Season 7 - Episode 5 - Aired 3/22/2021

It's a spring baby bonanza for the bakers when host Ali Khan challenges them to make desserts that look like gorgeous baby gifts and have spring flavor pairings like lemon and thyme, rhubarb and ginger, and kumquat and mint. After the gifts are baked, it's time for the party! The bakers must create baby shower dessert towers to impress judges Kardea Brown, Nancy Fuller and Duff Goldman.

#25 - Spring Senioritis - Class Of 2020

Season 6 - Episode 9 - Aired 5/4/2020

The pressure mounts in the Spring Baking Championship finale as the three remaining bakers celebrate graduation day by making an honor roll dessert and a diploma dessert with a dipping sauce. Then the competitors create prom-night cakes themed to the '50s, '60s or '80s. One baker wins the title of Spring Baking Champion and the $25,000 prize.