The batter has been poured, the cakes have been sculpted, and the second season of Buddy vs. Duff is in the (flour) bag. Over eight episodes the Carlo’s Bakery and Charm City Cakes owners have gone head-to-head in a flurry of challenges, proving they really are the crème de la butter-crème when it comes to larger-than-life cakes. Here are all of our favourite season two moments leading up to and including the Buddy vs Duff finale, when the judges named this year’s ultimate winner.
Duff Decorates the Inside of a Cake
Riding high on his first season win, Duff was ready to pull out all the stops in the first episode when the guys were asked to create a New York City cake that showed off their best interpretation skills. And while Buddy went big and recreated the Statue of Liberty, Duff dug into the details of St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Most of those details just happened to be inside of the cake itself, and the judges could only see those beautiful arches and stained glass through a camera. In the end, those details earned the baker the extra half-a-point he needed to take the first challenge win, but one thing was clear: this was going to be a close season full of next-level cakes.
Forklifts Are the New Stand Mixer
Proving that bigger is actually sometimes better, Buddy set the tone in the dinosaur sleepover challenge when the guys were asked to tackle realism and dinos. Not only did Buddy recreate a life-size creature with amazing eyeballs and textured skin (thanks to the help of some gumballs), but the crew needed a forklift just to lift the thing. It wasn’t the last time Buddy used the machine to help crate his creations around throughout the season, proving that next-level bakers need next-level tools.
Related: The Evolution of Buddy Valastro
Duff Pulls Off a Horse, Because of Course
When Buddy had the lead heading into episode three, Duff realized he needed to up his own game for the medieval feast challenge. So when the judges told them to hone in on special effects, he and his team built a gigantic horse that transformed into a unicorn and farted glitter. Not only are horses one of the hardest bakes to pull off to begin with, but this creation was so big that Duff and Co. couldn’t even get it out the door without disassembling it first.
Everyone Recreates Jordin Sparks
It has to be super trippy to see yourself in cake form, but Jordin Sparks was seeing double in the Waitress musical challenge when the guys were tasked with creating a tableau that best described the play. Buddy’s team opted for a cute caricature while Duff’s team did a life-size recreation, and while both offerings had Sparks tearing up it was Duff’s cake that pulled out the big W.
Duff Loses to the Clock
When the teams headed to the aquarium to pull off some swimming aquatic cakes, Duff got up in his head when he realized he may have overshot his cake—especially when he saw Buddy’s impressive three-tonne whale bake. So with dozens of details still not complete at the 48-hour mark, Duff kept working and wound up taking a two-point time penalty. As a result, Buddy earned five total extra points that week, propelling him to an easy win.
Related: The Evolution of Duff Goldman
The Air Conditioner Goes Bust
Duff was feeling the pressure heading into the mini golf challenge and admitted he was pretty thirsty for some redemption after the aquatic kerfuffle. So he went with an oceanside theme for his hole, which quickly went awry when the air conditioner at his shop went bust and his cakes started melting. Buddy, meanwhile, created a Carlo’s Bakery theme with dozens of cakes and an impressive storefront sign, easily beating Duff once again.
Team Duff Takes a Camera Detox
With two tough losses under his iced belt, Duff was in his feelings by the time the guys got around to the amusement park challenge and they were asked to incorporate movement into their cakes. Both teams went for carousels, but in a surprise move, Team Duff went dark. Turns out the baker just really needed to be able to focus on the fun of creating with his team, and so he turned the cameras around. As a result, for the first time all season, neither Buddy nor the judges could see what he was up to.
Buddy Makes the Most Interactive Cake Yet
Meanwhile over on Team Buddy, the baker decided to go all-in and make a carousel cake that the judges could also ride. Enter that famous forklift and a whole lot of stress, because if that thing wasn’t properly designed it could actually end up seriously hurting someone. They pulled it off in the end, but it wasn’t enough to top Duff’s top-secret cake, which shot out popcorn and won by a whopping three points.
Related: 10 Moments From Buddy vs. Duff Season One That Had Us on the Edge of Our Seast
Buddy Takes the Cake
Heading into the finale Buddy had an impressive six-point lead, but with two Star Wars-themed cakes on the line that had to incorporate all of the previous skills, the pressure was on. Buddy impressed with a recreation of the Millennium Falcon and a laser show that the audience was certainly there for, but in the end, Buddy’s X-wing tableau with an amazingly sculpted Yoda was the cake of the night. However, Duff’s win wasn’t enough to overcome a tough season full of surprise mishaps, and in the end, Buddy got the ultimate redemption when he was named season two winner.
So that’s one season win for Duff, and one season win for Buddy. It seems like a third-season tie-breaker is inevitable, no? Well there’s no news just quite yet, but one thing is clear: people definitely need more jaw-dropping cakes from this duo.
Watch Buddy vs. Duff Sunday and stream all your favourite Food Network Canada shows through STACKTV with Amazon Prime Video Channels, or with the new Global TV app, live and on-demand when you sign-in with your cable subscription.