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00:01Get ready for a spine-chilling showdown like no other.
00:07It's the only competition where the world's most talented cake and sugar artists...
00:11When in doubt, let's throw blood on it.
00:13I'm enjoying this more than I should be.
00:15Join forces with elite pumpkin carvers.
00:18She's the pumpkin queen.
00:20Couldn't have picked a round one.
00:21Nope.
00:21To create hair-raising, devilishly delicious Halloween masterpieces.
00:26It's delicious. It's creative.
00:28This dessert will haunt me for the rest of my life.
00:31This year, the competition's fiercer than ever.
00:34This is the one you gotta win.
00:36As first-time competitors fight to prove their worth...
00:39I cannot let my team down.
00:41Winning this would just set me apart from all of those other cake artists.
00:45While some familiar faces fight for redemption.
00:48Last year, I got real close.
00:50This year, we're gonna do it.
00:52Tonight...
00:53We have a lot to prove.
00:55I feel like we might be the underdogs.
00:57Three new teams battle it out in our last qualifying round.
01:01I'm back with a burning passion.
01:03I spent the last few years of my life training just for this moment.
01:06And I'm not about to let it go to waste.
01:08To get one step closer to the title of Halloween Wars champions and $25,000.
01:15I have been sent home before on the first week, and I am not doing that again.
01:18This is just a nightmare.
01:20I'm not gonna give up.
01:21Halloween Wars starts right now.
01:24Halloween Wars.
01:25Halloween Wars.
01:26Halloween Wars.
01:27Halloween Wars.
01:28Halloween Wars.
01:29Halloween Wars.
01:30Halloween Wars.
01:31Problem keepers.
01:32Terrifying trio.
01:33And wicked sculptors.
01:35If you want to escape today's battle alive and move one step closer to $25,000, you need
01:42to win over our judges, award-winning cake artist, Shin Minley, and chef and author, Arti Sequeira.
01:49Hi, everybody.
01:50In this first challenge, we want you to take a stab at a Halloween-style true crime.
01:57You'll each find a case file back at your stations.
02:01It contains assignments for your detective character, your victim, and a spooky location.
02:09Use your imagination to connect the dots and create a one-of-a-kind creature crime scene.
02:16Yeah.
02:17Each display must have at least two fully realized distinct characters.
02:23For your tasting element, you're each getting the same assigned ingredients.
02:28Coffee and donuts.
02:29Yes.
02:30Yes.
02:31So excited.
02:32So it's up to you to make sure yours stands out.
02:36And a crack investigative team needs as much help as they can get.
02:40So you're each getting one baking assistant.
02:43In true crime, the first 48 hours are all that matters.
02:47Here, you get seven.
02:51And that time starts now.
02:53Ooh.
02:55Let's take a look at our file.
02:56Okay.
02:57So ghost is the victim.
02:58So the Frankenstein must be the detective then.
03:00Yeah.
03:01Okay.
03:02In the graveyard.
03:03Oh, that'll be so fun.
03:04Cool.
03:05All right.
03:06So we got zombie detective alien victim at the mall.
03:10I like the mall.
03:11The mall's kind of cool.
03:12I don't like the mall.
03:13You know, the perfume department, that always weirded me out as a kid, just with the scents
03:17and everything.
03:18The scents?
03:19That's doable.
03:20We are the Crumb Creepers.
03:22My name is Anthony Pater.
03:23I am 22 years old, and I'm an animator, and I love carving pumpkins.
03:27Vanna is our wicked cake artist, but also served in the military.
03:31And Jen is our lovely sugar artist.
03:34She works in tech, but she's a self-taught artist.
03:37She is precise.
03:38She is calculated.
03:40And she's ready to kill.
03:41Maybe it's corrosive.
03:42Maybe the alien is trying to...
03:44And it, like, burns her flesh.
03:46Our display is going to be a zombie detective trying to figure out why people have been dying
03:51at the local mall.
03:52And he learns from a dead alien victim that it's the perfume that's killing people.
03:59Okay, so we got a witch, and we have the clown.
04:01Oh, and a birthday party.
04:02And where else would you have a birthday party?
04:04Okay.
04:05Um, at a park?
04:06Yeah.
04:07Yeah.
04:08Okay.
04:09Our team is the Wicked Sculptors.
04:11I'm Emery Leanne Miller.
04:12I'm a sugar artist.
04:14This is my third time coming back for Halloween Wars.
04:17Our cake artist is Serena, and our pumpkin carver is Rebecca.
04:21She's a woodworker.
04:22She's a tattoo artist.
04:23She can do just about anything.
04:25Yep.
04:26And the witch.
04:27The witch.
04:28All right, witch.
04:29What's she doing?
04:30I see, like, film noir witch with, like, the purple trench coat.
04:33For our display, we want to have a clown at a birthday party that has fallen victim
04:39to another rival clown.
04:41And the witch is looking around at all the different clues that point to the perpetrator in
04:46the back.
04:47Yeah.
04:48Okay, she's crouched over.
04:49Okay, perfect.
04:50So how is the ghost killed?
04:53It's like, um, like a ghosticide or something?
04:57Our detective is Frankenstein.
04:59The victim is the ghost.
05:01And the location is a graveyard.
05:03Maybe there's, like, a groundskeeper on the graveyard.
05:05Oh, that would make sense.
05:06It is, like, no hauntings allowed.
05:09Our team is the terrifying trio.
05:12My name is Kylie Holt, and I am the cake artist.
05:15My nickname is Smiley Kylie because I'm always smiling.
05:18Kelly Shivery is our sugar artist, and she has been a paralegal for 30 years.
05:23But she also runs her own custom cake business.
05:26Michael Valoroso is a helicopter mechanic from Canada, and he is our pumpkin carver.
05:32I think I could probably do a ghost out of sugar.
05:35You think so?
05:36We decide to have the groundskeeper a hunchback.
05:39He's got his Ghost Be Gone spray, and he sees a ghost, and he sprays it.
05:43And Detective Frank N. Stein witnesses the whole thing, and we'll have fog everywhere.
05:49Okay.
05:50We should grab our materials.
05:51All right, yeah.
05:52Let's go.
05:53Get your pumpkin.
05:54Let's go.
05:55Let's go.
05:56Let's go.
05:57Oh.
05:58Pumpkin, pumpkin.
05:59Talk to me, baby.
06:00If it's heavier than it looks like it should be, it's a good one.
06:03It's light.
06:04Oh, yeah.
06:05That's one.
06:06Perfect.
06:07Take this one.
06:08All right, judges.
06:10We are meeting three new teams today.
06:13We've got high expectations, and I am so excited for this challenge because I am a true crime junkie.
06:20I think this is cool because, you know, when it comes to Halloween, we think about being scared and monsters and being surprised.
06:27Yeah.
06:28But there's also a sense of mystery to Halloween, and I don't think that that's an aspect of this holiday that we think about enough.
06:34So the first thing I'm going to do is I'm going to prep this butternut squash for carving.
06:39I'm working on my zombie head.
06:41Two and a half years ago was my first time on the show, and I wasn't ready.
06:45I definitely think I had a lot to learn technically, artistically.
06:49I was on season 12 of Halloween Wars, and we got eliminated three rounds in.
06:53I'm back with a burning passion.
06:54I want to kill it.
06:55I want to prove that I'm an even better sculptor.
06:57I trained for this very specific moment.
06:59I sharpened my skills.
07:00I took classes.
07:01I traveled places.
07:03I spent the last few years of my life just for this moment, and I'm not about to let it go to waste.
07:09Our cake artist, Vanna gets to work on the tile floor.
07:12It's a bit of ivory modeling chocolate mixed with some brown, and it looks like a mall setting.
07:17I am excited to do Halloween Wars because I do like art that's more on the dark side, the blood, the guts and stuff.
07:24So it comes natural to me to make it.
07:26Vanna served in the military.
07:28She started baking for her daughter, and she made a business out of it.
07:32She is driven.
07:33She's motivated.
07:34She is a natural-born leader, and she never steps down from a challenge.
07:37So, Anthony, I'm hoping to do the air-casted bottles.
07:41All right.
07:42Sounds good.
07:43These bottles are like champagne color.
07:45It's so pretty.
07:46Mmm.
07:47Very French.
07:48Jen's got a big job ahead of her.
07:50She has to create all the perfume bottles on the shelves.
07:54Being here on Halloween Wars is awesome because my day job, I am a programmer.
08:00I don't get to use my art.
08:01So being able to do this and use my art is amazing.
08:05I went to school for art, and I don't use it.
08:07My mom's probably really upset about that.
08:10I probably make more money than I did as an artist.
08:13Jen works in tech full-time, and she even went to school to study graphic design so that she could combine her two passions, science and art.
08:22She's self-taught.
08:23She's passionate.
08:24Jen is here because she absolutely wants to prove that she can slay the competition.
08:29Okay.
08:30Let's try this.
08:31I'm starting my sugar work.
08:33Because our setting is a birthday party, I want to do a blown sugar balloon animal.
08:37I have done this before several times, so I am coming back as a very experienced person, but I've never won.
08:44I'm not taking this lightly at all because Halloween Wars, in my opinion, is the ultimate competition that you can do.
08:51Ever.
08:52And to be able to hold that champion title, that is insane.
08:57And I really, really want that title.
09:00I'm hoping third time's a charm.
09:02The balloon animal is done, you guys.
09:04Yay!
09:05It's so cute.
09:07I'm working on the witch's head.
09:11Our cake artist, Serena, is starting on the detective witch.
09:15I am a first generation Cambodian American.
09:19I was actually born in a refugee camp there, but I basically grew up in the United States.
09:24I am completely self-taught.
09:25I've always dabbled in the fine arts.
09:28I never really went far with it as you studied history and did pre-law because I always thought I'd be a lawyer.
09:33So I've always had a form of imposter syndrome.
09:37But I believe that, you know, this art is something you can refine and work on and actually get good at to even compete in this sort of arena.
09:48The actual bounce house is going to be constructed of this white pumpkin that needs to have the bouncing children playing.
09:57I'm an artist by trade.
09:59I'm a woodworker professionally and a tattoo artist.
10:03But I'm now pumpkin carve as well, which has been a lot of fun because it just fits right in with many of the other mediums that I use already on a regular basis.
10:12I use a lot of excessively sharp woodworking tools.
10:17They come in really handy when you're doing stuff like this because they slice through the pumpkins as though they were butter.
10:26I want this tree to have a lot of gnarly texture and be like super bumpy and old and rickety and just full of character.
10:35I start making a beautiful textured modeling chocolate tree popping out of that backdrop.
10:41I have never been on Halloween Wars.
10:43I've done lots of competitions before.
10:45I won best in show in the Cake Artists of Utah competition.
10:49I've also had my work printed in several magazines.
10:52But Halloween Wars has been a bucket list show ever since I started watching it.
10:57This is just something special.
10:59And winning this would just set me apart from all of those other cake artists.
11:03What I'm doing right now is activating the yeast for our yeast dough.
11:07Kelly starts on the tasting element.
11:09We've decided on a yeast doughnut because when you think of doughnut, yeast doughnut is what most people think of.
11:15Our tasting element will be a raised yeast doughnut with an espresso coffee pastry cream and a raspberry dipping sauce.
11:24Proofing is when you have the dough, you have to let it rise in a warm place until it doubles in size.
11:30We know that this is a little risky choosing this yeast-raised doughnut.
11:34But we have to stand out against the competition and make ours the best doughnut out there.
11:40Go big or go home.
11:42Wow, you're really moving there, Michael.
11:44Yeah.
11:45He's cruising.
11:46Trying to...
11:47We actually decide to push the envelope and do three fully realized characters.
11:52I'm going to do Frankenstein out of cake.
11:55Kelly is going to do the ghost out of isomalt.
11:57And Michael jumps right into carving the hunchback's head.
12:00I'm using this dough that I fabricated out of a bolt from a transmission of helicopter.
12:06By the way, I'm a full time helicopter mechanic and pumpkin carving is my hobby.
12:11I saw TV shows like Halloween Wars and then tried to teach myself.
12:16And for me, Halloween Wars is the Olympic for pumpkin carvers and cake artists.
12:21Kelly and Michael have never done a competition like this.
12:24So we're kind of newbies together and I feel like we might be the underdogs.
12:28So that means we have a lot to prove.
12:31I am a little nervous because here with Terrifying Trio, each one of them is taking a character.
12:35There will be a pumpkin character, a sugar character and a cake character.
12:40It feels like everybody go to your corner and do your work and then we'll meet up at the end.
12:43And in our experience, that doesn't usually work out well.
12:47Right.
12:48Unless you're very communicative.
12:49What was that, Artie?
12:50What was that?
12:51I'm in my corner.
12:52I'm in my corner.
12:54Oh, I love it.
12:55Six hours.
12:56You have six hours left.
12:57Oh.
12:58Six hours.
12:59Six hours.
13:00Dang.
13:03Anthony?
13:04Yeah.
13:05I will take it.
13:06Leg and arm is done.
13:07While I'm carving, Vanna is working on the zombie body.
13:09It's fantastic to hear.
13:10I'm still on the head.
13:12After this, I can move on to a foot if you'd like.
13:14So that way we can just get that over with.
13:15Focus on the head.
13:16We'll figure it out.
13:17I was going to say, right now, I'm very early in locking.
13:18Oh, he looks so good.
13:19Is this looking okay for size?
13:20Um, well, you know we're 20 something inches tall.
13:24Yeah.
13:25And so, we might need to go bigger.
13:30A little bigger?
13:31Yeah.
13:32I don't know if I can add on.
13:33So...
13:34No, don't.
13:35What about the flesh?
13:36That'll make him look bigger.
13:37Yeah, I can't add on to the squash though.
13:39I was decently into the sculpt.
13:42And I'm thinking, what am I going to do now?
13:45Oh, I hate that we can't use them.
13:47We scaled everything, we realized this head, too small.
13:55And if it's too small, it won't be in proportion with the rest of the body.
13:59And I got to start over.
14:01I got to start all over.
14:03I'm so sorry, but you did that so fast.
14:05I know you can do it again.
14:06As the time moves forward and we're racing against the clock, we can't have this.
14:11I was so frustrated because I felt that my carving was off to a great start.
14:16Let me see what magic I can pull.
14:19What I'm doing now is I'm making sure that the eye sockets are properly receding to make a strong profile.
14:26I'm an animator by trade.
14:29And that comes with a lot of advantages.
14:31I have a great sense of movement.
14:33I have the ability to personify, to bring things to life that no one else can even visualize.
14:40Our zombie head.
14:42Vena, check this out.
14:43That is so good.
14:44Once I finish the head, I work on the feet of a zombie.
14:49I'm the youngest here.
14:51And it's so weird because I remember seeing some of my fellow competitors on TV when I was a kid.
14:57Being a young competitor, the advantage is I've got a fresh perspective on creativity, on artistry.
15:03I don't follow traditions, so to bring my own game is what sets me apart from everyone else.
15:10Toes are just another piece of butternut squash.
15:13Yeah, this is looking like a foot.
15:15We're gonna solve the crime in five hours.
15:17Five hours left.
15:18Let's go faster.
15:19Must go faster.
15:20Now I'm modeling Frankenstein's head out of rice cereal treat.
15:25For our display, Frankenstein is spying on the groundskeeper Hunchback from behind a gravestone.
15:31I'm actually not a born baker.
15:33Like a lot of bakers say, I was baking when I was a little girl in the kitchen.
15:38That was not me.
15:39I was a dancer all my life and I also actually wanted to be an astronaut.
15:45And so I went to college to become an astronaut and pursue that dream.
15:50But I was miserable.
15:51And so I came home to be a stay at home mom.
15:54That's when I started baking, mostly for my kids.
15:58And I just fell in love with art that you can actually eat.
16:01And it's really nice that I get to use that background in math and science from trying to become an astronaut in my cake design.
16:10I like the kneeling Frank though.
16:11He looks like he's about ready to propose to the future Mrs. Frankenstein.
16:15Will you marry me?
16:20How are you doing?
16:21I'm just working on final details for the expression because I want her to really be focused on the magnifying glass.
16:29I'm watching Serena work on this witch for now three hours and I'm not seeing much progress happen.
16:34So we need to let her know that it's time to stop with the fine details.
16:37Hey Serena.
16:38Yes.
16:39Is it possible for us to hold off on painting for a while just because we don't have the body made all the way?
16:46Serena was going to do the torso of both of our characters and I'm really getting worried that she's not going to be able to move on.
16:53Don't think about this as something that you need to be perfect on either.
16:56Yeah, I know.
16:57Like it looks amazing as is already.
16:59I'm a type personality perfectionist so it's really hard for me to step away from a piece and especially when details matter at the core of the piece itself.
17:08Still have a lot of work to do on the body but once this is set this will go by a lot faster.
17:13Watch out for flying pumpkin.
17:16Our clown head is pumpkin.
17:18I'm not a pumpkin carver by trade.
17:20I've only been at it about three years.
17:23But I do feel like I need to kind of prove myself and show that I can like run with the big dogs and make a name for myself in the pumpkin carving world.
17:32So that's kind of the goal by being here.
17:35So this is my first time airbrushing pumpkin.
17:37It's really important to be careful while you're doing this because once the color is down there's really no coming back from it.
17:47So we have a body that's done.
17:49That is absolutely what I want to hear.
17:51Vanna begins work on the zombie detective trying to solve the mystery at the local mall.
17:57I am making pants legs and I'm using modeling chocolate because it holds its form easier than fondant.
18:04I am tearing up the zombie's clothes because he's a zombie and everything about him is decaying.
18:11Vanna completes the zombie body and she's getting to work on the alien now.
18:15I would say my artistic style.
18:17My strength is in sculpting.
18:19I cannot draw.
18:20I never could draw.
18:21I was failing art class.
18:23Somehow I just kind of figured it out and I like color and shading because that helps to add depth and dimension.
18:29This team is in great shape.
18:33In fact, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say they are in the best shape of all the teams at this moment.
18:39Wow.
18:40That's not even out.
18:41That's like for sure.
18:42For sure, for sure.
18:43I'm so scared to say it because I don't want to jinx them.
18:45But I see two characters almost fully realized on their display and that is huge right now.
18:53Hurry up.
18:54You've only got four hours left.
18:56Four hours.
18:57Oh my gosh.
18:58Okay.
18:59Okay.
19:00Four hours.
19:01Come on.
19:02Come on.
19:03The pumpkin that I took to make the hunchback body.
19:07After finishing the hunchback's head, Michael jumps right to carving the hunchback.
19:11Michael has built an armature and he is putting large chunks of pumpkin on the structure.
19:17So right now I'm having problem on how I'm going to stick all this pumpkin on my structure.
19:24The pumpkin Michael used is just too thin and there are big gaps all over the body.
19:29We came up with a solution.
19:31I'm going to use modeling chocolate and glue it together on the pumpkin.
19:36And hopefully this will solve my entire problem right here.
19:42This is the first time I've been doing modeling chocolate.
19:45Michael, he's carved this beautiful pumpkin head.
19:49But he didn't realize that modeling chocolate doesn't stick to pumpkin.
19:53Pumpkin is about 75% water.
19:55You know, he's experimenting for the first time on this competition and I'm really scared for him.
19:59Heli, I'm going to redo this character.
20:01Okay.
20:02I agree.
20:03It looks really messy.
20:04Exactly.
20:05I'm just going to get one pumpkin and try it again.
20:07Okay.
20:08So now he scraps the pumpkin and starts from scratch.
20:13But at this point, I'm a little bit nervous about what's going to happen in the competition.
20:18Not going to give up.
20:20They've had a really terrifying time, honestly.
20:22They have.
20:23I feel really bad for them.
20:24Yeah.
20:25I think of all three teams, the terrifying trio is probably the most behind.
20:29Mm-hmm.
20:30It's not coming together?
20:33The pumpkin that I get, still 10.
20:36It's okay.
20:37I'll think of something else.
20:40This is not going to work.
20:42We do not have any more time to do things a third time.
20:46This is just a nightmare.
20:49Okay.
20:50Goodness.
20:51Right now, I'm still in trouble of making his entire body out of pumpkin.
20:59So now I have my last result, which is using rice cereal, aluminum foil, and modeling chocolate.
21:07I have to make it work.
21:09I am feeling a little bit disappointed that we had to scrap the pumpkin because I was really looking forward to having that pumpkin piece on our display.
21:20But we've created a story that has to have that hunchback in there.
21:25We just need to make sure we get a character done.
21:27I feel a little bit confident compared to the two that I just tried a while ago and use this one as our piece.
21:34Three hours on the clock.
21:35Three hours.
21:36Three hours.
21:37Already?
21:38I am making my pate-a-choo dough, which is basically the same process as a cruller.
21:45I'm really feeling the pressure to make our tasting element stand out from all the others because we all have coffee and donuts.
21:52Got to let that cook on the outside first.
21:54We are at a birthday party outdoors and we have a picnic table.
21:58So I'm thinking of making a hamburger.
22:01I'm making a curl brew burger.
22:04We have a pate-a-choo bun.
22:06Our patty is a sea salted caramel espresso ganache.
22:09And for the cheese, we have a fried wonton wrapper dipped in cinnamon sugar.
22:15So I am making one of my favorite recipes, which is a sea salted caramel chocolate ganache.
22:20I think chocolate and coffee is amazing together.
22:23Once I've brought my ganache together, I start adding coffee concentrate to really incorporate that flavor.
22:29Oh, I can smell the coffee.
22:31I also want to dip my pate-a-choo in a coffee glaze.
22:35Okay, let's assemble some boigos.
22:40This is my hamburger bun made out of pate-a-choo.
22:43I am filling it with a sea salted caramel espresso ganache.
22:47Emily's really going for it.
22:48And then she's going to use wonton wrappers that she deep fries to look like cheese that's on the inside of it.
22:54That's something we've never seen on Halloween Wars.
22:56That's going to be some serious crunch too.
22:58I need these burgers to come to life just a little bit more.
23:02So I want to add a little razzle dazzle, some sesame seeds right on top.
23:07And there we have it. Burgers.
23:09The tombstone needs to be fairly thick.
23:11Oh, yeah.
23:12Kelly is working on the giant tombstone that Frankenstein will be hiding behind.
23:17And our third character, the ghost.
23:20I don't do this full-time as a living.
23:23I've been a paralegal for almost 30 years.
23:25I love being a paralegal, but sugar is my passion.
23:29And I want to prove that I can hang with everybody else who is a professional.
23:34So I feel like I need to go above and beyond to show that.
23:40It's really important that I show them that I have some versatility in the different kinds of techniques I can use and the different kinds of pieces I can make.
23:51Look at that.
23:53I'm getting molded.
23:54That looks awesome.
23:55Kelly, you're doing great.
23:57Hey, Serena, how's your witch coming?
24:01Witch is good.
24:03I just need to add a few more details.
24:07Serena is working on the witch right now.
24:10We'll tell you, Serena gives good face.
24:12Like, the face on that witch is amazing.
24:15But that's all that's done right now.
24:17She really needs to start working on the other elements.
24:20She needs to finish the body on the witch, and she needs to create the other clown.
24:24We definitely need both the witch and the clown on our board, or else the story doesn't make any sense.
24:29And we could go home for that.
24:31Two hours left.
24:32What do you need help with, Serena?
24:34I am a little bit behind on her details on the head, so I can use some help on the torso.
24:40If you can help me just finish the bottom portion of the witch, it'd be awesome.
24:46I have been sent home before on the first week, and I am not doing that again.
24:49We're going to be a team.
24:51I can help you out.
24:52I can do some cake.
24:53Thank you so much.
24:54Of course.
24:55Thank goodness the team rallied together, and they were tag-teaming both characters.
24:59I'm not going to fault the witch for her taking so much time, because I love the chin, and I am a sucker for a good jawline.
25:05That witch has a fantastic jawline.
25:08So sorry, guys.
25:09Don't be sorry.
25:10No, you're fine.
25:11You're good.
25:12You're good.
25:13You're great.
25:14The witch body is almost done.
25:15Yay!
25:16And look, the clown, he's going to have a nice little potbelly.
25:19So he's going to be pretty easy to put together.
25:21We'll have two bodies to go with the faces.
25:24Emerly turned around and said, how can I help?
25:27That's really great.
25:28Emerly has been here several times before.
25:30She knows what teamwork involves.
25:32This is something, if they get through, obviously, Serena cannot repeat this.
25:37Because they got lucky this time, they may not be so lucky the next time.
25:41Because clown shoes are already kind of shaped like butternut squash anyways, to just kind of cut one at a diagonal,
25:47leaving the larger section of the butternut squash and, like, just shaving down the rest of it.
25:52And then took a little piece of pumpkin for the sole.
25:55And now I've got clown shoes on my guy.
25:58So coffee and donuts, you know, that's what we're doing.
26:00So I'm going to start on our donut batter.
26:02I'll do our filling later.
26:04Coffee and donuts is just a perfect combination.
26:07But how do we set ourselves apart?
26:10I'm making the crumb for our crumb cake right now, and it's a very messy job.
26:14For our tasting element, we have landed on a New York-style coffee crumb cake.
26:19We're going to have a coffee-infused dipping cream in there as well.
26:22Cake is in the oven.
26:24We're building chocolate boxes to put our tasting in, and they're going to be perfume boxes.
26:27So we're going to have stacks of those on the display as well.
26:30So you pour chocolate in and kind of make sure it's up the sides and then dip it out.
26:34And you just have to go and repeat a couple times until you get a nice coating on it.
26:39The really cool thing is that if the judges want more of the ganache that comes with it,
26:43they have to dip it in the pus of the melting alien.
26:47So Jen is making the dipping cream with coffee extract as well as espresso powder.
26:52Uh-uh. Too strong. It's a little too strong.
26:59See, I like it.
27:00It's, it's too, it's, it's so pungent.
27:07Um, I don't think I wouldn't risk it.
27:11To start all over?
27:12Mm-hmm.
27:13We need to come up with a solution ASAP because if we don't do anything about it right now,
27:23we're going home.
27:24I think I'd taste the coffee.
27:28It's not all the power, the whole dessert.
27:31She wants me to redo it.
27:34We don't agree on the flavor.
27:35She thinks it's too strong. I think it's okay.
27:37No, I don't think it tastes good.
27:39There's a bit of back and forth about how to proceed with the tasting elements.
27:44Do you think it's coffee strong enough?
27:46Actually, I toned it down with powdered sugar and, um, I don't taste it as much.
27:51So whatever you got to do, do it.
27:53And you're going to be great at it, Jen.
27:55We need to get more cream cheese.
27:57So that last one didn't taste like we wanted it.
28:00I hope that Vanna is right because Jen is going to start over completely.
28:05We may not need the extract.
28:07I don't know if that's it or it was just too much,
28:10but I would taste it every step of the way
28:12because you can put it in, but we can't take it out.
28:15I didn't.
28:19Oh, it's good. Okay, wait.
28:20I can't taste it.
28:21We're getting close.
28:22Okay.
28:23I feel like if we use actual brewed coffee, we could get it.
28:28So we put regular coffee in,
28:30and so that's going to give us our coffee flavor now instead of the extract,
28:34which was a little too strong.
28:35I love it.
28:36That's the one.
28:37We finally got that coffee flavor.
28:38We want it.
28:39Mm-hmm.
28:40That was a good idea.
28:41Our coffee filling is going in our perfume boxes and in our puss on the alien.
28:46You want more green or is that good enough for you?
28:48That works.
28:49Okay.
28:50Okay, thank you so much.
28:51This is puss.
28:53I am creating a blister using modeling chocolate that will be poppable.
28:59So right now I am layering our tasting element.
29:03So I first put in the toasted hazelnut and then I'm cutting up the little rectangles of the coffee cake.
29:10In one hour, we will find out who done it.
29:14Oh my God, we can't.
29:16Really?
29:17Seriously?
29:18Oh my gosh.
29:19One hour, one hour, one hour, one hour, guys.
29:20No, no, no, no, no.
29:21I'm putting Frankenstein on the board.
29:23Okay.
29:24Michael, I think we're ready for the hunchback.
29:25Hunchback?
29:26Okay.
29:27So I'm starting on the pastry cream now for the doughnuts filling.
29:32I'm going to pour this espresso into the pastry cream.
29:36Kelly is working on our tasting element.
29:38A raised yeast doughnut filled with an espresso pastry cream.
29:42And the tasting element is the cobblestone path through the graveyard.
29:46The proofing turned out great, so I'm ready to go.
29:49I want the doughnuts to be as fresh as possible.
29:52And it is considerable risk to make a yeast doughnut because of the time involved.
29:56Kelly, how can I help with the tasting element?
29:59Then we need to fill the doughnuts.
30:01Fill the doughnuts?
30:02Okay.
30:03Filling the doughnuts, I'm getting a little bit nervous.
30:05It's crucial to get them right the first time because we don't have time to restart.
30:09So I'm going to do a chocolate glaze in one bowl, a vanilla glaze in the other.
30:14And then I'm just going to marble.
30:16This marble is looking really cool.
30:18They look just like cobblestones.
30:20How are you feeling?
30:22I don't know.
30:23I'm like, I think we're going to go home.
30:25I don't know.
30:26No, no.
30:27Look at the rest of our piece.
30:28I know.
30:29As I'm covering the witch, the fondant is drying a lot faster than I had expected.
30:33I wish I hadn't spent so much time on the face.
30:35I'm going to work on the fondant if you don't mind.
30:37Okay, yeah.
30:38Because this is really rough.
30:39Yeah.
30:40We're going to make a fondant paste.
30:41We're going to fill in the cracks with that paste.
30:43Okay?
30:44Our fondant that we use for the body, unfortunately, is very wrinkly.
30:48It has elephant skin and that is not good.
30:51So we need to refine this piece a little bit more.
30:53So instead of peeling it off and trying again, what I'm doing instead is just making a fondant paste.
30:58So I'm taking leftover fondant, adding water to it until it's a nice paste consistency, and I am filling in the cracks with that.
31:06This is my third time on Halloween Wars, so I know a lot of what the judges are looking for.
31:11If we show the switch to the judges, then we're not going to make it to the next round.
31:16So I had to step in.
31:18You like that better?
31:19Yeah.
31:20Yeah.
31:21Okay.
31:22It's better than what it was.
31:23That's good.
31:24Ten minutes left.
31:25Wow.
31:26Kicking into high gear.
31:28Michael, ghost coming in.
31:29Okay.
31:30Kylie?
31:31What?
31:32Sorry, Sagan.
31:33Making the grass right now.
31:34Okay.
31:35I am coloring the grass to cover the graveyard ground out of shredded weed.
31:39Yeah, and we got to put the cobblestones too.
31:41Very stressed.
31:42Obviously, we were very ambitious.
31:45Too ambitious, but I think we're going to get everything on the board.
31:54Oh, yeah.
31:56Anthony, we got to speed that pain up.
31:58We're cooking.
32:00We're coming together.
32:02Here we go.
32:03Oh, look how cute.
32:04Oh, dude.
32:05Ten.
32:06Nine.
32:07Okay, where else do I need to clean up?
32:09Right here?
32:10Eight.
32:11Keep pushing.
32:12There we go.
32:13Seven.
32:14Six.
32:15Five.
32:16Four.
32:17Fabric in the hand.
32:18Three.
32:19You're shoving in.
32:20Two.
32:21Don't mess with it.
32:22One.
32:23Hands on display.
32:24Oh, my gosh.
32:25Oh, my gosh.
32:26Nice job.
32:27That's the most stress I've ever had in my entire life.
32:29From Creepers, describe your perfect true crime.
32:40Our dead detective Wargrave has been trying to crack the code as to why people have been mysteriously dying at the local mall.
32:48Upon investigation, he discovered that the local perfume department has its fragrances laced with a corrosive toxic acid.
32:56He's figured out the mystery, but unfortunately, it's too late for our alien from planet Zero.
33:03Wow.
33:04No hesitation.
33:05I'm going to need a minute.
33:07That was so good.
33:10So good.
33:11That was amazing.
33:12There are so many beautiful things to look at.
33:15You created, like, 150 perfume bottles back there made of sugar.
33:20They are all perfection.
33:21Jennifer, the clothing on the detective, Vanna, I really love how you created a very perfect finish, but then went in there and gave us the tears and the tatters.
33:33Now, I feel like if...
33:35Whoa!
33:36Had, like, a better finesse in the design, I think there's still a way to give us a more smooth appearance,
33:44so that it's more believable that half of it has been, like, corroded with acid.
33:48Pay attention to your color.
33:50The floor looks a little bit like the unfinished wood board.
33:53I have to talk about your carving, Anthony.
33:57The face on that zombie is incredible.
34:00His feet are incredible.
34:03While I think that the story is very clear here, you need some dark.
34:07You need some shadow.
34:08You know, I could really go for some coffee and donuts.
34:11Why don't you tell us about your tasting element?
34:13So, our tasting element is actually in the perfume boxes.
34:16Wow.
34:17We made you a coffee cake donut with some spice in it and then a cream cheese coffee filling.
34:24And also, a little bit more for you to pick out of the alien to squeeze on your treat.
34:29Ew!
34:31Ew!
34:32Ew!
34:33Oh!
34:34Ew!
34:35Ew!
34:36In the pusses, we eat the puss?
34:37Yeah.
34:42Wow.
34:43It is so cheeky and grody that you would take something so elegant and so refined and then gross us out to the max by putting puss all over it.
34:53It's funny.
34:54It's cheeky.
34:55I love it.
34:56Beautiful spices in here.
34:57What I'm missing is the coffee.
35:04This cake, I can definitely taste the spices.
35:06I can definitely taste the roasty nuts that are in here.
35:10If you snuck more of that coffee pus in here, we would definitely get the coffee more.
35:16Because right now, I just do not taste any coffee.
35:19Oh, my gosh.
35:21From Creepers, we don't want to contaminate the crime scene.
35:24Thank you very much.
35:25We're going to leave.
35:27Back up slowly, ladies.
35:29I wish my team came together just a little bit more and we could have found a compromise.
35:35We could have nailed that coffee flavor.
35:37Bring it on.
35:38Great.
35:40Terrifying trio, take us through this crime scene.
35:43We have our ghost here.
35:45Little did he know that our hunchback groundskeeper was ready with a can of Ghost Be Gone.
35:50Detective Frank Stein got a call to investigate a disturbance at the graveyard.
35:57I love this backdrop.
35:58I love the colors that you chose there.
36:00I also really love that you guys used this wheat cereal to create the grass.
36:05It looks so realistic.
36:07The butternut squash face and the hands.
36:11Great job sculpting that, Michael.
36:13But I think that you struggled with the body, didn't you?
36:16That's right.
36:17I can see it's a little bit rough.
36:19I love this color palette.
36:21I think it's mysterious, which is what we really want when it's a true crime.
36:26When it comes to telling the story, there are a couple things that I don't think are working.
36:29Here's the problem.
36:30You've got your two sort of secondary characters being way taller than your main character, the victim.
36:37The other thing I'll say is that in terms of the way that you guys work together, everybody went to their corners.
36:42One of the goals of Halloween Wars is that you guys are so simpatico and working so well together that we can't tell what's what.
36:49What'd you make for us today?
36:52The tasting element is our cobblestone path.
36:56We have a fried yeast donut filled with an espresso pastry cream and a marble glaze.
37:06I'm going to be up all night.
37:08The texture is completely spot on.
37:11Completely spot on.
37:12Because you fried it, it's got a really nice crisp around the edge.
37:16It is pillowy soft on the inside.
37:18Maybe if you can add just a touch of salt to this because it is quite sweet.
37:23Yeah, I mean, we asked for coffee and donuts and you gave us coffee and donuts.
37:26The fact that you took that risk of making yeast donuts in competition in seven hours.
37:31Hats off to you, darling.
37:33Terrifying trio.
37:34Great job.
37:36Good job, good.
37:37I loved your tasting element so much.
37:40Good job, guys.
37:41Good job, guys.
37:42Wicked sculptors, lay out your case.
37:43Well, a story as old as time, friends who become rivals.
37:48Jiggles up at the top finds out that Giggles has been stealing his act and he seeks revenge,
37:56leaving clues along the way after the dastardly deed.
37:59Nothing scares me more than a bounce house.
38:02I'm always afraid to be trapped in one.
38:04Rebecca, I've got to tell you that it is a rare moment when a shoe steals.
38:09The show.
38:10And for me, those shoes are everything.
38:14There is beautiful carving here.
38:16Design wise, it's so great how that leg is hanging off of the display.
38:20It's just a great little touch that really draws us in.
38:23So well done.
38:24This is a very dynamic piece.
38:28Serena, I want to talk to you specifically because I get you.
38:33As an artist, when you are competing in a competition like this with your teammates, you have to check in.
38:38You have to look up and you have to see if everything is fitting well.
38:41And if you had done that, I think you would have seen that the coloring on the witch needed some shading.
38:48So what are we eating?
38:49I made a pâte à choux, which is very similar to a cruller.
38:53So I have a sea salted caramel espresso ganache.
38:56And we also have wafer paper that looks like the cheese.
39:00And that has a little bit of cinnamon sugar on it.
39:03And then the top is a coffee glaze.
39:06I make cakes in the shape of other objects all the time.
39:09But this is getting to me.
39:11It is so cute.
39:12It really looks like a burger.
39:14I also love that you've added the wonton wrapper because it adds such a lovely crunch.
39:21I get the bitterness of the coffee.
39:23I get even the bitterness of that salted caramel, the chocolate.
39:27The only thing for me is that the pâte à choux itself is a little dried out.
39:31Right.
39:35It's so good.
39:36Oh my gosh.
39:37We asked you all to imagine the ultimate Halloween Wars homicide.
39:45One team killed.
39:47And the judges ended up murdering their coffee and donut treats.
39:52The winner of this challenge is...
39:58Wicked Sculptors.
40:00Terrifying Trio and Crumb Creepers.
40:11Both of your crime scenes made great headlines.
40:14But unfortunately, neither one was the perfect crime.
40:18Terrifying Trio.
40:20We love how you fought to finish despite some early obstacles.
40:24And you were able to deliver a very full display.
40:27But the story isn't clear at first glance.
40:30And your finishes are a bit rough.
40:32And Crumb Creepers.
40:34There are real spotlights of beauty on this display.
40:37But the color on the shelves and the floor made the overall display feel flat.
40:42And while beautiful, your coffee and donut treat was missing some caffeine.
40:48Unfortunately, the team going home today is...
40:55Crumb Creepers.
40:57It's awful to go home so early.
41:02But any experience to use my artistry is an opportunity to grow.
41:07To learn and to nurture my skills.
41:12Wicked Sculptors and Terrifying Trio.
41:14Congratulations.
41:15You both survived.
41:17We'll see you soon.
41:18This season on Halloween Wars.
41:21If we don't get the Kate character on, we're going home.
41:24This stuff is all craziness.
41:26With $25,000 at stake, the surviving teams will have to push the limits of cake.
41:31No!
41:32Sugar.
41:33I need to show them I can get some sugar done.
41:36And carved pumpkin.
41:37Pumpkin all day.
41:38Pumpkin all day, every day.
41:39All the way to the breaking point.
41:41Something this big sounded really good on paper.
41:44But at this point...
41:45Come on!
41:46I'm not so sure it was a good idea.
41:48Who will carve out a win?
41:49I cannot let my team down.
41:51And who will be haunted by defeat?
41:53Oh!
41:54Oh my God.
41:55Oh no.
41:56The wizard fell!
41:57I'm scared.
41:58No man.
42:00Oh!
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