Duff Goldman and Valerie Bertinelli throw a curve ball at the 12 kid bakers by asking them to make layered, tiered, stacked and beautifully decorated cookie cakes.

Valerie Bertinelli and Duff Goldman have a special challenge boxed up and ready to deliver to the 11 kid bakers; the kids have to get creative to turn pizza into a sweet treat by creating dessert pizzas.

Duff Goldman and Valerie Bertinelli celebrate her favorite flavor, lemon, by challenging the 10 kid bakers to create lemon bar BFF desserts that highlight lemon and some of its best flavor friends.

Valerie and Duff ask the eight kid bakers to work in teams to create two different types of doughnuts that come together in a unified doughnut design.

With their plush tails, pointy ears, brightly colored manes and, of course, magical horns, there’s a lot to love about unicorns. Duff Goldman and Valerie Bertinelli challenge the eight kid bakers to use their imaginations to create a unicorn cake that illustrates a specific emotion.

Valerie Bertinelli and Duff Goldman have fond memories of the lunches they took to school as kids, so they’re challenging the six kid bakers to look at lunch in a new way. From a PBJ sandwich to chicken nuggets to a turkey wrap, the bakers have to turn common lunchbox foods into lookalike dessert masterpieces.

Duff Goldman and Valerie Bertinelli bring the galaxy into the kitchen by asking the five kid bakers to make colorful and imaginative intergalactic desserts. And because astronauts in space eat freeze-dried foods, the bakers must also use freeze-dried ingredients in their out-of-this-world creations.

With spring and summer approaching, Valerie and Duff are reminded of hanging out at the beach; the remaining four bakers are challenged to create a cereal treat sand castle filled with two different baked goods.

Duff and Valerie challenge the three finalists to create a Food Network Magazine birthday cake worthy of the $25,000 prize and the title of Kids Baking Champion.