The Ultimate Baking Championship

Host Jesse Palmer tasks 16 top pastry chefs with crafting an elevated plated dessert in their signature style inspired by their assigned flavor and texture profile. Judges Duff Goldman and Sherry Yard decide who makes it to the next round.

Host Jesse Palmer asks the 10 remaining chefs to reinvent a classic dessert with a modern twist. Then, to impress judges Duff Goldman and Amaury Guichon, the bakers must craft a geometric layered mousse cake inspired by an assigned conceptual theme.

Jesse Palmer challenges the nine chefs to face off in a showdown that tests their mastery of pastry cream. Each chef must present their own interpretation of Boston cream pie, coconut cream pie, or Italian rum cake to judges Duff Goldman and Shinmin Li.

Jesse Palmer divides the eight chefs into teams to craft laminated dough pastries worthy of display in a world-class patisserie case. Each baker creates one sweet and one savory pastry for their team, hoping to impress judges Duff Goldman and Bryan Ford.

Jesse Palmer challenges the seven remaining chefs to find inspiration in grab-and-go gas station snacks. Then, the bakers create their own interpretation of a classic dessert, like an opera cake or a Sachertorte, for judges Duff Goldman and Zac Young.

Jesse Palmer tasks the bakers with creating a visually stunning chocolate sculptural piece along with a complementary baked element. Chocolatier Amaury Guichon joins Duff Goldman to judge the chefs' technical precision and creative storytelling.

Jesse Palmer challenges the chefs to craft a large-format dessert with a decorative sugar element that embodies their assigned element -- earth, air, fire, water, or space. Duff Goldman and Jacques Torres judge the striking sugar showpieces.

Jesse Palmer asks the remaining four chefs to create arctic-themed cakes with a frozen layer. The top two chefs move on to the finale, and the bottom two chefs battle in a sudden-death round, hoping to impress judges Duff Goldman and Molly Yeh.