Molly Takes Home the Crown and $50,000 Prize in Ultimate Baking Championship Season 1 Finale

The first season of Ultimate Baking Championship wrapped up on Food Network with an exciting finale that saw three talented bakers competing for the top prize.

Molly, Clement, and Florencia made it to the final round, each tasked with creating a themed dessert presentation that would impress the judges.

Clement's Las Vegas-inspired spread featured multiple small desserts including an ace card and dice, alongside a roulette cake that could actually spin for the judges to place bets on. While the judges appreciated his chocolate craftsmanship, they felt his presentation could have been more theatrical and dramatic. The details on his pieces didn't quite meet their exacting standards. His desserts consisted of a chocolate dacquoise cake with cherry syrup and chocolate diplomat, cherry cremeux and cherry gelee, a champagne mousse playing card with cherry gelee, and a milk chocolate mousse dice with chocolate sable.

Florencia embraced a carnival theme, crafting fake pretzels, candied apples, and a striped tent topped with cotton candy. She prepared an abundance of components before serving the judges her creations. Her carnival tent cake featured brownie and spicy pineapple mousse with a guava insert. The fake pretzels were constructed from milk chocolate flexible ganache with salt and pretzel bites, while the candied apple combined chocolate streusel, apple compote, and green apple mousse.

Molly selected a rock 'n roll after party as her theme, creating a VIP pass for the judges along with a blackout cake, old-fashioned cigars, and high-voltage bonbons. Her stout cake included malt cremeux, coffee mousse, and espresso milk crunch. The bonbons featured cookie crumb, raspberry gelee, and yuzu ganache encased in 70% tempered chocolate. The cigars were filled with orange cremeux, white and dark chocolate mousse, and cherry bourbon jam.

Molly ultimately surpassed Clement on the leaderboard after Florencia was eliminated, securing the title and the $50,000 grand prize.