Duff Goldman hosts "Kids Baking Championship: Light Up the Holidays"

Over the years, "Kids Baking Championship" has given viewers plenty of reasons to think the future of baking (and eating) looks bright, and this holiday baking season it seems the sweet-natured, fan-favorite competition series is keen to help keep our spirits merry and bright, too.

"Kids Baking Championship: Light Up the Holidays" premieres Sunday, Nov. 21, on Food Network as part of its festive slate of holiday-themed programming that runs through the month and into December.

"Light Up the Holidays" may be just a one-hour special, but it's packed with action and will feature plenty of familiar faces -- in fact, the competing bakers are well-known fan favorites themselves.

The young competitors will be tasked with baking Holiday Candle Tsunami Cakes, and if you haven't heard of tsunami cakes, they're the trendy cakes that have most of the frosting suspended inside a clear sleeve so that the icing can dramatically ooze over the layers once the barrier is removed. There's no actual candle involved in this "Kids Baking Championship" challenge; instead, the bakers will have to create a poured sugar flame that does require some heat (and a reliable candy thermometer) to make.

A special guest judge will join "Kids Baking Championship" host and judge Duff Goldman, and as a former contestant, he/she/they will probably have a unique perspective on the competition. And, of course, the baker with the best Holiday Candle Tsunami Cake will win the one-hour "Kids Baking Championship: Light Up the Holidays" special on Nov. 21.

And as luck would have it, Goldman himself will be a competitor next week when Food Network rolls out another holiday-themed version of a regular series.

Premiering Sunday, Nov. 28, "Buddy vs. Duff: Holiday" pits Goldman against rival TV baker Buddy "Cake Boss" Valastro once again. Both chefs and their respective crews will compete to create magical cakes based on themes ranging from the classic "A Charlie Brown Christmas" special to Tchaikovsky's "The Nutcracker" ballet.

The winning cake is the one that best embodies an iconic holiday moment, but just hearing the bakers share their recollections of these classics may cause you to relive a few happy holiday memories of your own.