Next Great Baker

With two new experts by his side, Buddy the Cake Boss judges ten pairs of bakers. Each team takes a bite of the Big Apple as they race to iconic city sites for inspiration in their inaugural cake challenge.

The teams head back to school for a challenge inspired by some very demanding clients -- kids! The bakers will have to pick their own teams, playground style, and need to use up to 100 pounds of candy in their cakes.

The bakers are paired with someone else's partner to make destination wedding cakes. Two famous players in the game of love help Buddy judge.

Competition sizzles when the bakers must make barbecue inspired cakes. And if making a 6-foot-long hot dog and a 4-foot-wide hamburger is not stressful enough, the teams will have to present their cakes to Buddy's family!

The teams are challenged to make cakes inspired by horror movies. If the gory cakes don't creep out the bakers, they will surely be spooked after meeting their guest judge -- one of the scariest villains in film history.

It's the toughest challenge of them all -- life-sized cakes! The teams have to make their cakes in the form of the Long Island Medium, Theresa Caputo, for her charity event.

Competition is turned on its head as the bakers create gravity defying cakes for the Rachael Ray show.

Cakes get the special treatment as the teams compete for a chance to be featured in People Magazine. Then the stakes are higher than ever when the bakers learn that every cake needs a moving element.

The teams bake their best cakes and desserts for the Cake Boss Cafe in Times Square. To make it more interesting, Buddy brings back a past eliminated group for redemption, and only the top three teams will move on.

It's down to the top three, but only two teams will move on to the Vegas showdown. Each team must create a culinary masterpiece revolving around each of the judges' specialties.