Put on your sunscreen! Host Jesse Palmer is ready to take a dip in the lake and uses his favorite summer floatie as inspiration for the first Preheat featuring floatie doughnuts in summer flavors! Then for the Main Heat, Jesse enjoys the water as he challenges the bakers to make gelatin water feature cakes, and judges Carla Hall, Duff Goldman and Damaris Phillips see which competitors sink or swim.
It's heating up in the kitchen, and Jesse Palmer wants to cool off with refreshing ice cream sandwiches with a bright summer inlay design! Then, Jesse brings all the childhood nostalgia when he drives an ice cream truck into the kitchen and asks the bakers to turn a classic confection into a high-end ice cream truck dessert before judges Carla Hall, Duff Goldman and Damaris Phillips bid one competitor a chilly farewell.
Host Jesse Palmer is all about the outdoors as the bakers take a trip to the Summer Baking Campground to make radical s'more desserts using wild chocolate flavors. Then, Jesse enjoys a bike tour while thinking about the one dessert that is inspired by bike riding -- the Paris-Brest! The bakers must use fresh-pressed juice in their summery Paris-Brest, or judges Carla Hall, Duff Goldman and Damaris Phillips will send them riding off into the sunset.
One of the best things about summer is the fruit stands that pop up when the weather gets warm, so host Jesse Palmer challenges the bakers to make a cobbler, crumble or clafoutis using the bounty of the fruit stand. Then, the bakers must make watermelon desserts that taste AND look like a watermelon before judges Carla Hall, Duff Goldman and Damaris Phillips send another competitor home.
Host Jesse Palmer is ready to feel the sand beneath his toes and smell the ocean because today is beach day! He tasks the bakers with capturing that coastal vibe by serving up beach drink trifles! Then when the sun starts to get too hot, the bakers try to avoid a scorching elimination by serving judges Carla Hall, Duff Goldman and Damaris Phillips refreshing summer cream pies.
With Father's Day around the corner, host Jesse Palmer is on the hunt to find great gifts for Dad! He challenges the bakers to get fired up with grill pan desserts for Dad, complete with grill marks! June is also Pride Month for the LGBTQ+ communities, so the bakers celebrate with bold rainbow desserts that will make judges Carla Hall, Duff Goldman and Damaris Phillips proud.
It's the semi-finals, and Jesse Palmer is celebrating the Warner Bros. Pictures' movie event of the summer, Barbie! Inspired by Barbie's signature color, he asks the bakers to make pink desserts using ingredients like pink grapefruit and pink pineapple. Then, the bakers take their cues from the Barbie Dreamhouse, one of Mattel's top toys of all time, by making toy cakes that look like they belong in the Dreamhouse Kitchen! Judges Carla Hall, Duff Goldman and Damaris Phillips decide which competitor is everything and which one is leaving the Dreamhouse for good.
The competition has been hot all summer long, but the finale is SIZZLING! Jesse Palmer takes the final three bakers on a wild roller coaster ride as he challenges them to make three different amusement park treats! Then, fireworks explode as the remaining competitors roll out sparkler-studded 4th of July parade float cakes! The baker who leaves judges Carla Hall, Duff Goldman and Damaris Phillip oohing and aahing walks away with the Summer Baking Championship title and $25,000!
Pack your swimsuits! Host Jesse Palmer just got off an airplane and is seeing his beautiful beach rental for the first time -- and he's a little hungry. He asks ten amazing bakers to whip up faux ice cream bars in summer flavors. Then while Jesse is chilling at sunset, he gets inspired by a crisp, refreshing drink for some summer cocktail tarts. Judges Carla Hall, Duff Goldman and Damaris Phillips really get into the summer "spirits" before they decide which baker sails off into the sunset.
Host Jesse Palmer is aboard a summer cruise, and he's in awe of the elevated water ride on the ship. Inspired by the ride's inner tubes, he tasks the bakers with creating giant, colorful inner tube cakes. Then, Jesse docks for a day trip on an island where snorkeling is popular, so the bakers make snorkeling lagoon cheesecakes with underwater objects that judges Carla Hall, Duff Goldman and Damaris Phillips can see through a layer of gelatin.
Every summer, millions of families travel to a lake to relax, and host Jesse Palmer is right there with them fueling up at the breakfast buffet! To start the day off right, the bakers craft sweet and savory breakfast treats inspired by an assigned breakfast item. Then, Jesse has been picking berries by the lake, and the bakers must turn them into mile-high summer pies for judges Carla Hall, Duff Goldman and Damaris Phillips in hopes their sweet slices will save them from elimination.
Summer movies are the best, and host Jesse Palmer uses Disney and Pixar's Inside Out 2 as inspiration for the bakers to design core summer travel memory desserts inspired by the core memories that help make people who they are. After bringing their emotions to life, the bakers create emotion cakes so that judges Carla Hall, Duff Goldman and Damaris Phillips can experience ALL the feelings before deciding whose cake doesn't bring joy.
On a road trip to a special campground, host Jesse Palmer needs to make a pit stop for the perfect road snack -- a chocolate bar -- which inspires the bakers to craft road trip portable desserts. As Jesse settles into his over-the-top "glampsite," he challenges bakers to create glam summer cobbler desserts before glamorous judges Carla Hall, Duff Goldman and Damaris Phillips decide who takes a hike.
Host Jesse Palmer is cruising through the American Southwest in a convertible enjoying the desert vistas and local cuisine when he gets the idea for dessert tacos. He tasks the bakers with crafting sweet tacos that are perfect bites of handheld deliciousness. Then, he takes the bakers on a trip to Sedona, where they make tres leches cakes celebrating local attractions like energy vortexes, desert sunsets and hot air ballooning. Feeling the desert vibes, judges Carla Hall, Duff Goldman and Damaris Phillips bring the dry heat when they decide which baker must make journey home.
For the semi-finals, host Jesse Palmer celebrates Discovery's Shark Week by challenging the bakers to make shark bite cookie bars in the shape of beach-inspired items like surfboards, flip flops or sunglasses. Then, the bakers bravely protect their sweets from the majestic Great White by making shark cage desserts, but their bakes can't protect them from the probing critiques of judges Carla Hall, Duff Goldman and Damaris Phillips as they vie to make it into the finale.
After traveling all over, host Jesse Palmer lands in the Big Apple for some finale fireworks! Everything is decked out in red, white and blue for his 4th of July backyard barbecue, so the bakers must create red, white and "woo-hoo" desserts using summer favorites like strawberries, blueberries and white peaches. Then, judges Carla Hall, Duff Goldman and Damaris Phillips get blown away by 4th of July exploding fireworks cakes as they decide which baker will be crowned Summer Baking Champion and awarded $25,000!