Alabama’s Ellvie Smith faced her first challenge on Monday’s episode of “Kids Baking Championship,” and found that cooking on reality TV was not an easy task.

Ellvie, 11, from Attalla, is one 12 young bakers chosen for Season 13 of the Food Network series. All of them are competing for a $25,000 prize, bragging rights and a feature in Food Network Magazine.

“I started making my own cakes since I was 6,” the girl said, introducing herself to the TV audience and judges Duff Goldman and Kardea Brown. “I’ve always preferred watching Food Network over cartoons. It just kind of escalated from there.”

On the hourlong program, the bakers were asked to create an animal-themed tart from scratch, adorning the treat with a texture reminiscent of the animal’s scales, feathers, fur or fins. In an twist, they were required to add an edible tail — and they had two-and-a-half hours to complete the entire dessert.

This season of “Kids Baking Championship” will focus on animal challenges, and Monday’s episode included guest appearances by a parrot named Chicken and a cockatoo named Teva. (All 10 episodes of Season 13 were filmed in advance.)

Ellvie chose to make a mango tart with vanilla shortbread crust, inspired by a betta fish. (“My mom has one at her office, and his name’s Carl,” she said.) She decided on a coconut cookie for the tail, and used rice paper to create textured fins.

The kitchen was not kind to her during the challenge, however, or perhaps nerves got in her way. She’s clearly a talented baker — see the yummy cupcakes, cream puffs, muffins and other goodies showcased on her Facebook and Instagram pages — but she burned the crust and curd of her tart on the episode.

“Oh, my God. I can’t believe I did that,” Ellvie said. “I don’t know what to do. It’s not looking good.”

Although she didn’t have time to prepare a new crust, Ellvie managed to whip up another mango curd for the tart, and was pleased with the result. She seemed satisfied with the edible scales and fish tail, too.

“Thank goodness,” Ellvie said. “That second curd looks pretty amazing. I need to work on my decoration. I’m gonna use this really cool technique where you put rice paper and water with a little bit of dye that’ll give it, like, this really wavy texture.”

When it came time to face the judges, however, Goldman and Brown gave the tart an overall thumb’s down. The two were gentle but firm, pointing to where Ellvie went astray.

“I definitely see where you were going with this,” Goldman said. “(It’s) really watery, looks very fluid. I’m not sure if I want to eat it. Also, your crust looks a skosh dark … we’ll see how it tastes. … To be a tart, you really gotta have some filling. I wish I had a little more curd.”

“I definitely get the mango, but everything is very, very thin, almost like a thin pizza,” Brown said. “The crust, I think if it was a little thicker and (cooked for) a little less time, it would have been delicious. A little burnt. It’s a little burnt.”

“I think your cookie’s great,” Goldman said. But he agreed that the tart needed more filling and the crust was scorched.

Several other contestants struggled with their tarts, as well, but Ellvie was placed in the bottom two and eliminated from the series. She began to cry when her name was called, and received a hug from Brown.

“Ellvie, it’s OK,” Brown said. “This is just the beginning for you. You have so much to offer.”

“I’m sad to go home,” the girl said as she made her exit. “I made some good friends that really support me. … I’m gonna keep baking. I’m gonna be back on TV soon.”

Ellvie echoed those sentiments and thanked her supporters in a Tuesday video post on Instagram.

“Thank you for believing in me and supporting me and following me through my journey with Food Network,” she said. “Just all the encouraging words and kind words you say just make me feel really happy. Tom Brady says, ‘Life is not about how we succeed. It’s when you fail and the losses makes us who we are.’ … The competitor in me wishes I’d have stayed longer, but the experience has made me want to push myself and learn more and do more.

“I’m super grateful that I was able to step foot into that amazing kitchen with 11 other talented bakers. But when we weren’t baking, we were outside the studio, and I’m super excited to share all the fun things we did together, and it was the best time. I’m really excited to cheer them on,” Ellvie said.

“Scripture states that everything works out for your good, so I’m excited to see what God has planned for me in my future. One of my favorite chefs of Birmingham told me, ‘The things you do mean something to people,’ and I truly believe that. And this is not the end for me. This is just the beginning.”

Contestants remaining on Season 13 of “Kids Baking Championship” are:

• Pierce Sario of Atlanta, Georgia
• Brooklyn Barrett of Orlando, Florida
• Micah Parsons of Stephenville, Texas
• Ella Hayek of Ann Arbor, Michigan
• Aria Karayil of Danville, California
• Piper Lowe of Kansas City, Kansas
• Carter Siporin of Perkasie, Pennsylvania
• Carly Van Pelt of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin
• Jack Whalen of West Richland, Washington
• Arielle Yang of Sandy, Utah
• Noah Azeez of Toronto, Canada