As Daniel made his way to the main outdoor stage for his first-round matchup, he caught a glimpse of a familiar person in a quasi-military uniform and was able to figure out instantly who his opponent would be. For this match, Lanterby would now be serving as the emcee, introducing the two contestants first. "In the red corner, the tough female sergeant of Noir – Sarge! And in the blue corner is the current tenth seat on the Totsuki Council of Ten – Daniel Horowitz!" She then introduced the three judges for the match, all of whom were WGO examiners – a older man in a business suit and a mustache named Tranchant, an elderly lady in a nun outfit named Maturite, and a younger woman in business-like attire named Essor.

As Lanterby was doing her introductions, Sarge scoffed at Daniel as she commented, "A mere student? You shouldn't be much of a challenge for me." Daniel shook his head and replied, "I may be a student, but that doesn't mean you should be taking me lightly. I have made it this far in the competition, after all." Sarge chuckled at the response and stated, "Look here, you little punk, Asahi has some very big plans and ambitions for the future, and I have to make sure that any obstacles in his way are squashed like bugs." Daniel looked at her quizzically and asked why she was so loyal to Asahi, to which Sarge replied, "None of your damn business!"

Lanterby then announced the theme for the upcoming battle – a cake that would be the highlight of any holiday party. As if to emphasize the theme, the judges sat at a table with Santa hats on their heads and a wintertime scene displayed right behind them. Daniel pumped his fist in the air as he exclaimed, "You're about to see just how good I am, Sarge! Desserts just happen to be my strongest suit!" Sarge just laughed and retorted, "It doesn't matter what you think you're good at! You are about to see that you have no business competing against Noir!" Daniel then got a serious look on his face as he narrowed his eyes at Sarge and stated, "We shall see about that."

As they began to make their cakes, Sarge's cooking methods seemed quite eccentric to say the least. First, she used her chainsaw/carving knife to mix egg whites into a perfectly smooth and fluffy merengue, which she mixed into the cake filling. Next, she took a giant bar of chocolate and smashed it with a giant mallet into tiny bite-sized pieces. Most astonishing of all was the fact that she took an oven full of puff pastry pieces, attached it to an old-fashioned detonator, and used it to explosive effect, causing the oven to produce the right amount of heat to cook the pastry pieces perfectly and emit a strong aroma throughout the competition area. As she assembled her cake, it became clear that the pieces of pastry were being stacked together to make a mille-feuille cake. Next, she took the chocolate pieces and tucked them in between the pastry layers, followed by the merengue, which had been combined with other ingredients to make the primary filling.

When it was finished, it looked like something a master pastry chef would come up with! It definitely looked the part of a holiday party highlight, but how would it taste? When the judges dug in, they were overwhelmed – the mille-feuille was perfectly baked, and was nice and fluffy, along with the cream, which was sweet and smooth, yet so light. Further, they were able to taste some powerful bursts of flavor from inside the cake that they couldn't quite place. Sarge explained that she had created the giant bar of chocolate and added ground almonds and mint leaves to it before freezing the mixture. When she broke up the bar, she only inserted the chocolate chips in the end, making sure that the flavors didn't muddle and providing a textural contrast that also provided an explosion of flavor in every bite – something perfect for the Master of the Armed Dish.

Sarge grinned evilly at all the praise her Cluster Bomb Cake received, certain that Daniel would have no chance at beating that. Daniel, however, didn't seem fazed, as he methodically worked on his own holiday cake creation. He began by making what seemed like an ordinary chocolate cake, giving it a rich and dark texture while adding coffee to enhance the chocolate flavor. At the same time, he was also making two types of frozen desserts – one a brownish-green color, and one a pinkish-red color. He then put these layers together in a giant metal bowl to make it into a dome shape. After putting it into the blast chiller to stabilize the shape without completely freezing it through, he covered the dome with a thin layer of melted dark chocolate and waited for it to temper and harden. Next, he placed a layer of gelatin coating on top of that before allowing it to set.

As the gelatin was setting, Daniel reached into his pocket, took out his Irish coin, and put it on the counter where he could see it. It was a move Sarge noticed, and raised an eyebrow at in confusion. He then took egg whites and used an electric mixer to beat them while mixing in sugar, cream of tartar, and vanilla to create a smooth meringue to make the outer layer, using a spatula to create a number of peaks on top of the domed dessert. After this he placed his coin back in his chef's coat pocket for safekeeping. While he was now finished assembling his dessert – a Baked Alaska – there was one last thing he had to do. As he presented it to the judges, he took some Sicilian blood orange liquor, poured a little bit of it gently over the top, and lit it on fire, providing a flambe display that wowed the judges and drew a set of "ooooh"s and "ahhh"s from the audience. After a minute, the flames had toasted the meringue to a nice golden brown across most of the surface before they went out and the dessert was ready to serve.

Inside the cake, the judges could see all of the layers involved. On the bottom was the chocolate cake, which wasn't as fluffy looking as the cake Sarge served, but did look quite rich and delicious. The next layer was the brown-green pistachio gelato, which looked very creamy, and was peppered with pieces of roasted pistachios throughout, which had been coated in dark chocolate, to provide a textural contrast. The main top layer was a blood orange sorbetto, smooth and refreshing, and providing an acidic and slightly tart contrast to the bottom two layers. The flavor base of the sorbetto was the juice of a dozen Sicilian blood oranges, a flavor that was enhanced with blood orange zest and liquor. They could also see the dark chocolate coating the three main layers, which was followed by a blood orange gelatin coating. All of this was covered by the meringue layer, which provided a toasty flavor after being flambeed. Taken together, the inner layers provided the green and red colors usually associated with Christmas, while the meringue evoked snowy mountain peaks.

Sarge didn't look very impressed, as she felt her cake was not only more elegant and showed more skill, but would also provide a stronger and more balanced flavor profile as well. As the judges dug in, they were both surprised and impressed with the flavor combinations the cake provided. The richness of the chocolate cake layer combined with the cool smoothness of both the gelato and the sorbetto, with the gelato also providing crunch and earthiness to go along with the strong tartness of the sorbetto, each of the flavor profiles balancing each other out, with the tempered chocolate layer providing another additional textural contrast, and the gelatin coating providing an extra layer of blood orange flavor to further balance the dish with the rich elements.

Daniel then explained that this cake was, in a sense, a display of what he had learned in his time at Totsuki. He had learned how to make the perfect Italian gelato and sorbetto from Takumi, while the techniques for making the Baked Alaska – the molding of the shape, the tempering of the chocolate (as well as using it to candy the pistachios), the use of the gelatin for creating a coating layer, all of the aesthetic aspects, and using the liquor to make it a Baked Alaska (i.e. lighting it on fire) – he had learned during his time as chef Momo's apprentice. The judges were impressed with all of the elements of the dessert, both individually and how they all harmonized with one another. However, the one element that both intrigued and confused them the most was the bottom cake layer. It was definitely denser than a normal cake, but it was still so moist and rich, and without being too heavy – not like a regular cake, but not really a brownie, either.

Daniel gave the judges a big smile as he explained that this element was both the most important and most personal part of the dessert – and what made it a truly special holiday cake. "The cake is a flourless chocolate cake, and the reason it's so special is because it happens to be a recipe passed down for generations from my mother's family," he said. The crowd began to murmur in confusion, wondering why he would use such a seemingly ordinary recipe in a competition like this. Daniel then explained further, "My mother makes this cake for the big Hannukah meal every year, and everyone in the family looks forward to that dinner, in big part because of that cake." He then pointed out, "You said that you wanted a cake that would be the highlight of any holiday party, and to me this cake epitomizes that. We look forward to having that cake every year – anticipate it for weeks. My mom only makes it during Hannukah, and to me, that cake represents what a good holiday gathering should be – full of love, family, and memories that last for years."

As he made his speech, the judges began to tear up, as they could feel the warmth Daniel was talking about. It was as though they could literally taste the comforts and love of family that had gone into the many cakes that had come before it. Sarge, however, couldn't believe that Daniel's cake could even hold up a candle to her creation and was screaming angrily at the judges that her cake should be the clear-cut winner. As the judges disagreed with her, Daniel offered up a piece of the Baked Alaska to taste for herself, which she took reluctantly. After taking a bite with all of the layers, Sarge began to realize the extent of Daniel's abilities, particularly his ability to create something that inspired and evoked memories. She, too, began to feel and taste not only the many flavors that were contained in the dessert, but also the warm memories that were infused into the cake portion. Soon, she collapsed on her knees, knowing she had been defeated, which was confirmed moments later as the judges declared Daniel the victor in the battle.

At this, Sarge looked up and gave a look to Daniel, one of grudging respect for the battle he had successfully fought against her. As she got up, she commented to him, "It appears that you possess a decent level of skill after all. Still, it won't be enough to beat Asahi, no matter what kind of skill…or luck you think you possess." Daniel gave a serious look in return and replied, "If I face him, I plan to bring everything I have in order to try to defeat him – he can count on that." As Sarge walked away and towards the backstage area, she was met by Asahi, who had her hand over her signature chainsaw/carving knife now that she had lost and was out of the tournament. She did so willingly, wishing for him to use it to fulfill his ambitions.

Meanwhile, a large cheer went up through the crowd, as one of Noir's top chefs had now been defeated. As Daniel was receiving congratulations on his victory from Soma and the other Totsuki chefs, he took a moment to thank Takumi in particular for teaching him how to make those frozen desserts. He smiled in appreciation and responded, "You learned very well. Definitely worthy of an Italian." While the group chuckled at the comment, Eishi received a text notice from the BLUE officials saying that his first-round matchup was to begin in a few minutes, providing him with the exact location. As they all made their way, unbeknownst to them, Asahi decided to take out Malcanta, as well as a few of the other Noir chefs who were awaiting their matches, but refused to help Asahi by handing over their favorite cooking tools. Needless to say, those chefs would be withdrawing from the remainder of the competition.

So, how did everyone like the holiday cake/dessert that I came up with for Daniel? I know it wasn't quite as unique as what Soma made in the canon (especially since Soma made a vegan friendly cake), but I think it could be held up as a holiday dessert that would be the highlight of the party, both visually and emotionally.