Spooky treats and hauntingly good eats are on the menu when the fifth season of our favourite Halloween baking competition unrolls this month. Here’s everything you need to know about the eight new bakers—including two Canadians!—who are betting their batter on the $25,000 prize.
Julie Montgomery
The owner of Julie Emm Cakes in Mississauga, Ont. is also an instructor at George Brown College and has been featured on Canadian daytime talk shows. While she’s whipped up all kinds of cakes, from floral wedding creations to fun hamburger-themed creations, we can’t wait to see what horrific offerings she comes up with on the show.
Brittany Lombardi
This New York pastry cook, who works at the Bronx’s New York Marriott Marquis, is ready to whip out her mixing spoons. She’s creamed plenty of creatively tiered cakes and perfected a variety of pastries so far in her career, so Halloween concoctions should be a cakewalk… right?
Jessica Brockway
Bigger isn’t always better, as the owner of this small-batch bakery proves. Aside from running BB Nest Bakery in Lynnwood, WA, this competitor is all about pairing fancy sweets with delicious wines and working out her creativity through sugar. Her competitors would do best not to underestimate her, because she sounds killer.
Sheldon Taylor-Timothy
This home baker from Brampton, Ont. may not have a storefront in which to display his goods, but trust us when we say they’re… well, good. His themed cakes are out of this world, and encompass everything from video games and sports to showers and weddings. We’ve also heard he does a mean fondant skull, which is bound to come in handy on this show.
Karl Fong
Tombstone eclairs, spooky monster cakes and stitched-up sugar cookies are all a part of this Hercules, CA baker’s repertoire, which makes him one to watch. Of course as the owner of Cakes By Karl he’s not just known for his scary masterpieces, but Halloween certainly seems to be one of his passions.
Jocelyn Jung
It seems as though this San Diego Cake Co. owner’s creativity knows no bounds. From her excellent use of gummy worms in creep-tacular concoctions to her flair for fine fondant work, this shy baker’s mad skills speak for themselves.
Jess Eddy
Would you eat Sea Salt Caramel and Pumpkin Panna Cotta Cups with Stabilized Whip Ghosts? How about Body Part Cupcakes made with marzipan? Those are just two of this Hartland, WI native’s Halloween-themed creations that celebrate the spooky holiday. And as the owner of Jess E’s Cakes & Donuts, we know she’s got plenty more creative desserts coming down that haunted pike.