Who won the Pre-Heat round in Spring Baking Championship season 11 episode 5?

Spring Baking Championship season 11 returned with a new episode on April 7, 2025. It saw the bakers get challenged to recreate their favorite childhood desserts in the pre-heat round, but in an "elevated" version with their "grown-up baker sensibility." With immunity on the line, the bakers put their best foot forward, however, it was Corey's grasshopper pie that earned him the winner's title.

Corey, as the winner of the pre-heat round, earned the gift of immunity, which he could use to avoid elimination over the following three challenges.

"I'm feeling a little bit invincible, I am," the Spring Baking Championship star said in a confessional.

The judges, Duff Goldman, Nancy Fuller, and Kardea Brown, were all impressed by Corey's ungraded version of his childhood dessert. They complimented his presentation and were surprised by how good it tasted. Kardea even left her seat to high-five Corey and congratulate him for his feat.

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"Is this not absolutely delicious?" — Spring Baking Championship expert Nancy Fuller compliments Corey's grasshopper pie

The Spring Baking Championship contestants were given 90 minutes to "spring back" into their childhoods and create a memorable dessert with a modern take. While speaking to the cameras, Corey stated that his favorite childhood dessert was a grasshopper pie.

"My grandmother would make this grasshopper pie. My grandma would, like, grate a chocolate bar on top," he added.

He planned to elevate the dessert by doing a "freestanding grasshopper pie." While explaining the components of his cake, Corey explained it would have a chocolate cake base, topped with a green-dyed white chocolate mint cream. For decoration, he planned on doing "some chocolate work."

While speaking to the cameras, Corey confessed that winning the immunity would take pressure off him as he wanted to become the champion "really badly."

"I'm here to represent brown queer boys that have an interest in baking and pastry," he added.

When Corey took his grasshopper pie-inspired chocolate cake to the judges, Nancy Fuller said:

"A wonderful elevation of a childhood dessert."

Duff was equally complimentary and praised the dish's presentation, saying it was "composed" and showcased "movement" on the plate. He then encouraged the Spring Baking Championship star to continue presenting such dishes to them if he wanted to race till the finish line.

In the meantime, Kardea took a bite of Corey's cake and was pleasantly surprised by its taste. She gasped in appreciation, and so did Nancy with her hands in the air.

"Is this not absolutely delicious?" Nancy remarked.

Kardea stood up and cheered Corey, saying, "That's so good." She then added that the cake had "coolness" from the mint and was "good" overall. She failed to find a flaw in his dish, making Corey emotional.

However, Corey faced tough competition from Kari, whose tres leches cake with berries earned positive reviews from the judges. However, the Spring Baking Championship experts decided to grant the win to Corey, saying he made the challenge look like "child's play."

When host Jesse Palmer announced the winner, Kari took to a confessional and said:

"A little bit of a bummer for me, but I can do this."

Meanwhile, Jesse handed the magic basket of immunity to Corey, who stated he felt "invincible."

For the main heat challenge, Corey created a space-age clock dessert, made of vanilla sponge and a raspberry white chocolate truffle, presented with blue frosting.

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Spring Baking Championship releases new episodes every Monday at 8 pm ET exclusively on Food Network.