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The Spring Baking Championship season 11 finale aired on May 19, 2025, on Food Network, bringing a visually striking and technically demanding challenge to the table. For their final task, the top three contestants — Priya Winsor, Lisa Clark, and Raveena Oberoi — were asked to create Marie Antoinette–style “Hair Cakes.”
These towering desserts were meant to resemble the elaborate hairstyles once worn by the former Queen of France, complete with floral flavours and intricate visual elements. The challenge was more than just about height or decoration — it required the bakers to balance creativity, engineering, and flavour, all within the confines of one cohesive bake.
Each contestant gave the task their best shot, producing detailed cakes with bold floral themes. But in my opinion, what truly made the finale stand out wasn’t just the design brief — it was how Priya Winsor managed to meet and exceed it.
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While all three finalists impressed the judges in different ways, Priya’s execution offered the most complete package. Her structure, flavour pairing, and chocolate detailing helped her rise above the rest — both literally and figuratively — and secure the Spring Baking Championship crown along with the $25,000 prize.
Priya Winsor’s cake was the most complete in terms of design and taste in Spring Baking Championship
All three finalists of Spring Baking Championship — Priya, Lisa, and Raveena — embraced the Marie Antoinette hair cake theme with elaborate decorations and bold structural choices. The challenge demanded attention to detail and the ability to work with delicate floral flavours while building towering, visually appealing cakes.
While each baker managed to capture the grandeur of the theme in their own way, the deciding factor came down to execution. According to the judges, Lisa’s cake had a promising design, but the pistachio flavour did not come through as expected.
Raveena’s dessert stood out for its intricate visuals, but the texture of her cake was too crumbly for a finale dish. In contrast, Priya’s creation struck a better balance across all elements. Her design featured an “avant-garde” chocolate structure, and though she received minor criticism for the ratio of cake to filling, her overall flavour profile was cohesive and well-executed.
In my opinion, it wasn’t just the visual artistry that gave Priya the edge — it was her ability to present a unified, polished dessert that satisfied both the visual brief and the taste test. Her finale cake proved that strong fundamentals, paired with creativity, are what win competitions like this.
Spring Baking Championship finale challenge raised the bar — and Priya rose to meet it
The decision to have the contestants bake Marie Antoinette–inspired Hair Cakes for the finale was one of the boldest and most creative challenges Spring Baking Championship has introduced in recent years. It wasn’t just about flair; it demanded structural stability, visual storytelling, and refined flavour execution — all in one dessert.
In my opinion, this was the perfect way to end a season that consistently asked bakers to push beyond basic techniques. The theme brought together history, creativity, and baking skill. On top of that, the bakers had to use floral flavours, which made the task even harder. It wasn’t enough for the cakes to just look fancy — they also had to taste good and be well-balanced.
What made Priya stand out was how she focused on every part of the challenge. She didn’t just build a tall or beautiful cake — she made sure it had strong flavours, a neat structure, and a clear theme. Her chocolate-based structure was visually distinct, and her flavour choices worked in harmony despite the slight imbalance in cake-to-filling ratio.
Priya approached the task with precision and artistry, and that’s ultimately what earned her the win. The finale didn’t just showcase who could build the biggest or boldest cake — it highlighted who could interpret a complex brief and deliver on all fronts. And in that sense, Priya’s win felt truly earned.
Catch the latest episodes of Spring Baking Championship availalble to stream on Food Network.
