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8 Episodes 2024 - 2024
Episode 1
44 mins
The ten new home bakers are introduced to competition life in the tent with what is the tradition of the first week, cakes. They are given two hours to complete the signature, which is for each to make a love cake, the highlights of which are some sort of nut flour, and a wide variety of spices and aromatics. They are also given two hours to complete the technical, of which only someone from Winnipeg would have heard: a shmoo cake. The bakers have to be careful in the dichotomy of the angel food cake base against the addition of nuts (pecans), whipped cream, and caramel, the weight and fat contained in such ingredients which could easily deflate the air incorporated into the beating of the egg whites. And they are given double the time of fours hours to complete the showstopper, which is for each to make a split cake. It is characterized by the interior of the cake being even more decorated than the exterior. The bakers have to weigh the pros and cons of splitting the cake before or after decorating the exterior. After these three challenges, Ann and Alan make the announcements of the first star baker and the first competitor to leave the tent for the season.
Episode 2
44 mins
For the signature in this, Cookie Week, the bakers are given two hours for each to make ten identical stuffed cookies which gives them quite a wide breadth for their final product. In the technical for which they are given one and three quarter hours, they will each be making something which most would be familiar with as what was a supermarket staple in much of the latter part of the twentieth century and which filled many a child's lunchbox: a dozen layered wafer cookies, in this case elevated raspberry flavored. The primary challenge for most will be that the wafers themselves are not baked but rather made in a waffle iron, the cook time the question mark as the wafers will still be soft as they are removed from the iron and must be sliced when they're still soft before they crisp as they cool. Undercooking the wafers will result in a soft and not crispy end product. And they are given four hours for the showstopper, for which they are each to make a map cookie. They can interpret the meaning of map in any way they like, some taking it literally and some more figuratively. They also differ in their approach where some will make one large cookie which will then be decorated, while others make individual cookies which are then placed together to form that map.
Episode 3
44 mins
The bakers are swapping in their usual sugar for salt (and as one baker remarks a lot of garlic) as a primary ingredient in the show's first ever Savoury Week. In the two hour signature and three and half hour showstopper, they will each be preparing a pastry filled ethnic classic: a dozen samosas (with a side condiment) and a wellington, respectively. They are not limited to the traditional fillings, but both challenges have the same potential problem in excessive moisture in the filling potentially sogging out the pastry, which for the latter can possibly be prevented by a barrier between the primary filling and the pastry. The wellington also has the issue of often different cooking times for the filling and for the pastry themselves. In both challenges, the bakers are not restricted to the classic fillings but Bruno and Kyla are looking for the hallmarks of what they know a samosa and a wellington to be. And for the two and a half hour technical, they will each be making eight cream cheese garlic buns, best known as Korean street food. Beyond some bakers not knowing what they are, they all have the additional challenge of doing something they've probably never done, namely make their own cream cheese.
Episode 4
44 mins
Everyone in the tent is hyped up on caffeine in the show's first ever Coffee and Tea Week. They are going the coffee route for the signature in having two hours for each to make a tiramisu. While Bruno and Kyla are expecting that punch of coffee flavor, they are allowing the bakers greater breadth on other flavors incorporated than what may be in a traditional tiramisu. They are switching to tea for the two hour technical in Kyla asking them each to make a South African melktert, translated as milk tart. While this custard filled tart does not traditionally contain tea, the pared down recipe that Kyla provides them contains a custard layer flavored with a tea of South Africa, rooibos. And they don't even need to use either coffee or tea for the three and three-quarter hour showstopper as they are each preparing a Swedish fika, which is not a baked good but rather a custom of what North Americans would consider an elevated coffee break or tea party. Each baker must prepare a set of at least three items, a cake component, a biscuit or cookie component, and a bread roll component.
Episode 5
44 mins
The show is experiencing another first, namely the first ever Arts and Crafts Week, where the focus will be combining baking and crafting. They will have two and quarter hours for the signature, each to make a foccacia painting, foccacia their canvass, the toppings their paint. They have to be careful not to overload their palette which may weigh down what is supposed to be the airy and pillowy end product. They will have two and half hours for the technical, each to make an origami entremet. The origami element is the frame to mold the entremet, the folding and thus shape of the mold specified by Kyla in the recipe. And they will have four hours for the showstopper, each to make a cartoon cake. The primary characteristic of such is to place black outlines strategically to make the cake look two-dimensional.
Episode 6
44 mins
For the fourth week in a row in this, the quarter finals, the show is having a theme week never done, this week Nature. For the signature, they will have two and a quarter hours to make ten exactly the same macarons apiece, the nature aspect being that they must be in the shape of a "critter". Beyond the basic issues of making macarons, the potential pitfalls mostly relate to piping shapes other than circles to create their critters and the choice to decorate before or after baking. They have two hours for the technical where they will each make a Moraccan "snake", more specifically a m'hancha, an almond paste filled warka pastry confection that is coiled in a tight circle to resemble a coiled snake. And in four and quarter hours, each will make an edible shadow box to display baked goods depicting a nature scene of their choice.
Episode 7
44 mins
The bakers will be doing a lot of celebrating through their confections in this, Celebration Week. They will be celebrating Diwali for the signature in having two and quarter hours for each to make a Diwali sweets box, containing a dozen sweets. Such treats can be baked, fried or cooked on the stovetop, and they must make three varieties, most spreading the three over the three cooking methods. While the sweets should be South Asian in nature, they are free to put their own spin on what they produce. They head to Peru for the technical where each is asked to make a Turrón de Doña Pepa in two and half hours, it a stacked anise shortbread confection with a fruit flavored caramel. It is a sacred dessert tied to the festival of the Lord of Miracles. Beyond the cultural significance, the bakers will adorn it with something they've probably never made: homemade sprinkles. And they are heading to Malaysia for the showstopper where they will have four and quarter hours for each to make a kek lapis serawak, a celebratory cake characterized by the bright layers and intricate patterns, and the unusual, at least by western traditions, method of cooking the cake by broiling it. Following these three challenges, one baker will receive the bitter news of not passing this final hurdle into the finale.
Episode 8
44 mins
It's the season 8 finale, and the final three standing of the original ten bakers are Jen Childs, Elora Khanom, and Pamela Kramer, who are all eager for the victory but know that that victory will solely be judged on these final three challenges which can span the gamut of baked items. They know they will be facing additional challenges in it being a hot weekend which will affect items such as pastry and set creams like mousses. For the signature for which they have two and quarter hours, they are to make six identical tartlets apiece, each which must contain two distinct flavors. For the technical for which they have two and half hours, they have what they arguably consider the most challenging of the eight technicals, namely each to make a choux cake, which is a composed dessert of filled choux buns stacked between sugar cookies so as to resemble a cake. And for the first time on the show, they are each asked to make bread for the showstopper, namely a korovai, which they can make in any form they choose. In four and half hours, they will have to make three types of bread for that korovai, one which must be filled. At the end of the three challenges, Ann and Alan will make the announcement of Bruno and Kyla's decision of the season 8 winner, it in front of family and friends including the eliminated bakers.