Duff Goldman welcomes talented bakers from across America for an unconventional baking and design competition where flavor is only the tip of the icing. In the first challenge, the four bakers must create Halloween-themed cakes that incorporate a surprise selection of candies and treats. Judges Waylynn Lucas and Pichet Ong send one baker home, and then the three remaining competitors have five days in their own home bakeries to design, bake and construct an elaborate Halloween-themed showpiece cake that transforms from good to evil through moving, shattering or even melting in front of the judges' eyes. The bakers return to the studio to assemble and present their cakes, and the judges consider flavor and execution before crowning the winner of the Halloween Cake-Off.