Brooke Waters, the Morgan Academy student who, for the last few weeks, has been appearing on Food Network’s “Kids Baking Championship” every Monday, was eliminated from the show this week, having survived five of the seven rounds of competition.

“Making it five out of the seven episodes felt amazing,” Waters said. “I just can’t describe the excitement I felt. I was very sad and disappointed that I wasn’t moving on to the semifinals, but this has been the best experience of my life.”

On this week’s episode, celebrity judges Valerie Bertinelli and Duff Goldman challenged the young baking competitors to make a poke cake, which is essentially a cake punched full of holes that are stuffed with filling, that looked like a hedgehog.

“I [had] never made a poke cake, so I wasn’t really sure how to do it,” Waters said. “I know now that the whole point is to have lots of holes, which I did, but to also make sure your holes get filled up. I had never seen a hedgehog, so making one was a challenge for me.”

Waters concocted a carrot poke cake with a spice pastry cream and frosting, as well as a hedgehog made from rice cereal treats and surrounded by a marzipan butterfly, ladybug and caterpillar.

“I felt really good about my performance until I went down for individual judging,” Waters said. “I liked the way my cake turned out. It was like I wanted it to be.”

In the end, her cake didn’t make the grade in the judges’ eyes – Waters said her pastry cream was too thick and didn’t fill the numerous holes in her poke cake; Bertinelli thought the flavor was lacking, despite the baker’s attempt to give the rice cereal treat a little more flavor with butter; the hedgehog needed more color variations.

Still, the judges agreed that the flavor was top notch.

“The most surprising part of this episode was how much they liked the flavor of my cake,” Waters said. “Hearing famous people compliment you like that was such a great feeling.”

In the end, Waters was eliminated and the competition will continue without her next week.

“My favorite part of the episode was when [Bertinelli] came and hugged me at the end,” Waters said. “It was so hard being eliminated but having her come hug me like she did and me seeing that she was actually crying also made going home a little bit easier.”

Despite the defeat, Waters has achieved a goal that only months before seemed little more than a dream – in an article on Waters’ baking prowess that appeared in Selma The Magazine last year, the young baker cited “Kids Baking Championship” as an inspiration for her culinary crafting and dreamed about appearing on the show – and has learned a plethora of priceless lessons in the process.

Waters said she applied for the competition with little hope of being accepted and though she would have like to take home the top prize, she has become a better baker and a more confident person.

“This whole entire process has been absolutely amazing,” Waters said. “I am proud of what I accomplished.  I am a better, more knowledgeable baker.  I made so many good friends that I am still in contact with almost daily.  We are hoping to get together for a little reunion soon.  We are so ready to just see each other again.  I am still baking and trying new things.  I am more confident and I am thankful for all the support of my family, friends and community.  It has been an unbelievable experience that I believe is not yet over.”