Bake first. Bake hard. Have mercy! The hapless contestants dig deep to make colorful "Cobra Kai" soft pretzels and a Halloween dance fight cake.

Frosted creature faces and a cake conjured from the world of "The Witcher" beget wicked fails — just as the prophecy foretold.

Delightfully offbeat treats scream "Umbrella Academy," from a trio of Griddy's Doughnuts action figures to a towering Hazel and Cha-Cha cake.

The going gets gross — really gross — when the bakers tackle ooey, gooey carved pumpkins and an alien autopsy cake leaking edible slime.

Five fabulous "Nailed It!" fans visit the test kitchen for a challenge so extra, we had to make it a bonus episode.

'Tis the season to be scary when the bakers try their hands at holiday cookies before constructing an elaborate gingerbread house.

The amateur bakers attempt to imitate the masters with gingerbread self-portraits and a sculpted cake replica of Michelangelo's David.

Two high-fashion challenges put the bakers' hopeless skills to the test: fondant-covered doll cakes and an edible headdress heaped with fruit.

From self-frosting bubbling beakers to record-breaking rockets, these science-inspired sweets ask the impossible — and invite kids into the kitchen.

The contestants raise the bar with two half-baked "high society" challenges: late-night munchie-inspired pancakes and a gravity-defying tea cake.

Space-themed challenges throw the hapless bakers for a loop when they're asked to make cosmic cupcakes and a supersized solar system cake.

Under the watchful eyes of an iconic cake designer, contestants decorate complicated cake pops and a bespectacled, three-tiered wedding cake.

The cooks divide and conquer to fill sections of a savory snack stadium before building a cake that looks like a barbecue grill.

The contestants face their fears (with very sharp knives) when they carve an animal out of a watermelon and bend cake into the shape of a snake.

The bakers commit to re-creating wedding day desserts, including wedding band mini-cakes and a Vegas-themed masterpiece with moving parts.

Terror awaits the contestants as they take on two technically demanding desserts: chocolate eggs and a layered sphinx cake, both full of surprises.

The contestants turn back time -- and mangle time management -- with inside-out Neanderthal cupcakes and a tropical-flavored T. rex cake.

The pressure's on to make perfectly puffed éclairs and a layered bust of Napoleon Bonaparte for not one but two esteemed French chefs.

Stacked Greek god statue cupcakes and snake-headed Medusa makeover cakes take Herculean effort and skill — and these awkward results are epic.

Putting their own spin on travel, the bakers make terrible spiced-doughnut tourists and deflated hot-air balloon cakes. It's destination disaster.

Contestants loosen up a food scientist with a cupcake-cocktail pairing before serving him questionable slices of a bubbling volcano cake.

Dogged contestants are seeing double when they're asked to paint their portraits on a cookie before building an edible bust of Donald Trump.

Jam-filled animal pastries and a coffeecake shaped like a sloth push the contestants out of their comfort zones — and the results are wild.

Baking duos go off the deep end with desserts inspired by the wonders of the ocean, including marine animal mini cakes and enormous edible octopuses.

Two daunting desserts -- a chocolate-filled "hot tub" and an open-mouthed shark cake -- have the hapless home cooks struggling to stay afloat.