In this the first week - cake week - the judges want to see what the contestants are all about in the three challenges issued. The signature challenge is to make twenty-four cupcakes, twelve each of two different flavors. The contestants have two hours to complete the challenge. This challenge marks the first time the bakers will get a chance to get acquainted with their baking station. It also introduces the ten contestants to the viewing audience. For the technical challenge, the contestants are required to make in one hour forty-five minutes a cherry and pistachio Battenberg cake, a traditional British classic. Rochelle chose this recipe as the bakers cannot hide their mistakes due to the exposed sides of the cake. And for the showstopper challenge which they are provided four hours, the contestants are required to make a chocolate layer cake containing at least two layers and at least two different kinds of chocolate. The challenge for many of the bakers will be judging the ... Written by Huggo

It's bread week, bread of the yeast variety. For the signature challenge, the bakers are required to make foccacia in two and half hours. The primary qualities the judges will be looking for are a crisp bottom, signature dimples on a crunchy, salty top, and a fluffy center with signature air pockets. The pitfall that the bakers may fall into is transforming a foccacia into a thick crust pizza by using too many toppings. The technical challenge, staying in Canada, is for the bakers to make one dozen Montréal styled bagels, six poppy seed and six sesame seed, in two hours ten minutes. The Montréal variety differs from its New York counterpart primarily by being boiled in honey flavored water to give it a subtle sweet outer flavor which also assists in browning when baked. The bakers have to be careful about how much honey to use which will affect flavor and browning. And for the showstopper, they will be making a sweet filled bread centerpiece in four hours. The bakers have to ensure ... Written by Huggo

It's dessert week. Inherently, the judges are looking for spectacular looking bakes as desserts have to look inviting to be chosen from a dessert trolley. For the signature bake, the bakers are required to make an elegant looking sweet tart or pie with some sort of short crust pastry, where the fat, usually butter, is cut into the flour. With only two hours to complete the challenge, most bakers will blind bake their shells to prevent a soggy bottom. They must also be wary of making sure certain components have cooled completely before adding the next layer. For the technical challenge, the bakers are required to make one dozen fondant fancies in two hours. The judges will be looking for twelve identical looking fancies, with an emphasis on fancy for the decoration. The judges chose this recipe largely to test the bakers' precision. For the showstopper, the bakers have three hours to make a pavlova, which needs to have the balance between the light meringue with the crispy exterior ... Written by Huggo

The bakers should feel right at home as it's Canada week. For the signature challenge, the bakers will have two hours to make the classic Québécois savory pie, the tourtiere. They will need to have enough fat in the filling to make it rich to the taste and for it to hold together and not crumble. They will also have to make a substantial enough pastry to hold up to the heavy filling without falling apart. For the technical challenge, the judges are asking for sixteen maple leaf cookies from each baker to be made in one and three-quarter hours. The cookies must be consistent, the shortbread dough rolled out evenly, and have the right ratio of cookie to maple cream filling. The other challenge the bakers face is dealing with an ingredient most have never seen or heard of, namely maple butter, the amount used which could make or break their cream filling. And for the showstopper, the bakers must make six each of two different types of doughnuts in three hours. For yeast doughnuts, the ... Written by Huggo

The bakers are figuratively crossing the pond called the Atlantic as it's Best of Britain week. They have two hours for the signature challenge, which is to make a traditional English trifle. The judges are looking for the multiple well defined layers which they will want to see through the glass serving bowl, those layers which should include liquor soaked sponge, jam or jelly, custard, fruit, and cream. The technical difficulties include ensuring that custard has the right consistency which also means not overcooking it to make sweet scrambled eggs, and to ensure the sponge components are light enough to be able to soak in the liquor easily. The technical challenge, which the bakers have ninety minutes to complete, is to make twenty identical brandy snaps. The judges chose it as the challenge to test the bakers' ability to multi-task as they will only be able to bake three snaps at a time, and must take them out of the oven and roll them while they're still warm enough to be pliable... Written by Huggo

For the quarter finals, it's holiday week, with the competition neck and neck as each of the remaining five bakers have each been named star baker once. For the signature challenge which they have two and a half hours to complete, they will be making a bouche de Noël. The cake must be light enough to be able to roll which means not overbaked, the spiral should be tight and there should be an appropriate ratio of cake to filling. For the technical challenge, the bakers have one and three quarter hours to make thirty-two rugelach, sixteen chocolate and sixteen apricot. The cookie portion should be tender and flaky but baked through, and the filling should not be spilling out of the cookie. For the showstopper, the bakers have four and a half hours to create a gingerbread structure. The design may be paramount in this challenge, but they must still produce a tasty gingerbread cookie. Written by Huggo

For the semi-finals, the four remaining contestants will be tackling French patisserie. Whatever goals each remaining baker may have had at the beginning of the competition has changed to at least wanting to make it into next week's finals. For the signature challenge, the bakers will have two hours to make twelve milles feuilles each with at least three layers of puff pastry, six milles feuilles each of two different flavors. The limited time leads to the challenge of keeping the butter in the pastry cold enough so that it won't melt before baking, the cold butter the key to flaky puff pastry. For the technical challenge, the bakers will be making an opera cake in two hours and fifteen minutes. The cleanliness of the layer presentation will be key to success, which means good knife skills. The outer ganache layer has to firm enough before the addition of the final flourish, namely the word opera written on top also with that ganache. For the showstopper, the bakers will have four ... Written by Huggo

It's the finals and three bakers remain standing: Sabrina Degni, Vandana Jain and Linda Longson, who are vastly different in their baking approach. The judges are looking for the bakers to incorporate all that they have learned since being in the tent to the finale challenges. For the signature challenge, the bakers will have to make twelve each of two different varieties of mini-mousse cakes - which must, by its nature, contain a sponge/cake/cookie base component - in two and a half hours. The main issue is the amount of stabilizing agent, usually gelatin, used in the mousse: too little and the mousse won't set, too much and the mousse will be rubbery. For the technical challenge, the bakers will have two hours twenty minutes to make a pear charlotte. Many things can potentially go wrong as the charlotte has several different components which are combined to make one spectacular looking dessert. For the final bake, the showstopper, the judges believe it is a fitting end to ask the ... Written by Huggo

A group of amateur Canadian bakers are convened for a baking competition. There is a theme to each week's competition, generally in the vein of the type of goods the competitors are to bake (i.e. cakes, cookies, pastry, etc.). Each week, they are given a set amount of time to complete each of three challenges, their finished products which are evaluated by expert judges. The first weekly challenge is the signature bake, the competitors to bake something from their home recipes which are to signify who they are as bakers within the category. The second weekly challenge is the technical challenge, where each of the competitors are provided the same recipe, in large part of something they may have never heard of let alone baked before in their lives. This challenge is to see how knowledgeable the competitors are about general baking concepts. Their finished products are evaluated blind in that the judges have no idea who baked what. The third weekly challenge is the showstopper challenge... Written by Huggo