Holiday Baking Championship Winner Season 12

Monday night at 8pm ET on Food Network is the two-hour season twelve finale of Holiday Baking Championship where the winning baker will take home $25,000.  This season there are five remaining contestants in the final episode.  The five remaining contestants competing for the prize are: Nico Alkalay (Denver, CO), Tarek Husseini (St. Louis, MO), Charles Zimmerman(Charlottesville, VA), Chase Maus (Santa Fe, NM), and Ashleigh Wright (Frisco, TX).   One of the contestants will be eliminated during the first hour of the episode and the final four will compete during the second hour to be crowned the winner of Holiday Baking Championship.  Duff Goldman will once again be missing from the judges table as Zac Young, Nancy Fuller, and Kardea Brown will be the judges in the final episode.

The episode description for the final episode states, "It's the finale, and three challenges await the five remaining bakers! For the preheat, host Jesse Palmer asks the bakers to create "naughty" elf desserts in flavors like black licorice, sauerkraut, or red curry. Then, in an elimination challenge, the competitors make "nice" hot cocoa desserts. For the final bake, the bakers must make a large-scale, over-the-top naughty vs. nice cake with both themes clearly represented in the decorating. Guest judge Zac Young joins Nancy Fuller and Kardea Brown to decide which talented baker walks away with $25,000 and the title of Holiday Baking Champion!"

I will update this post with the winner of Holiday Baking Championship season 12 after the episode airs and feel free to discuss this season in the comments.

Continue reading to see who was eliminated during the first hour and to see who won season 12 of Holiday Baking Championship....

During the first hour, Nico Alkalay was eliminated and Ashleigh Wright won the advantage for the final challenge.

The judges decided that Charles made the best naughty vs. nice cake and Charles Zimmerman is the winner of Holiday Baking Championship season 12. He takes home the $25,000 prize, a feature in Food Network Magazine, and the title of Holiday Baking Champion.