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The seventh season of The Great Canadian Baking Show premiered on CBC Television on October 1, 2023. As with previous seasons, ten amateur bakers will compete over eight weeks of challenges, vying for the title. Ann Pornel and Alan Shane Lewis return for their fourth season as hosts. Bruno Feldeisen and Kyla Kennaley return for their seventh and fifth seasons respectively as judges.

Bakers

Results summary

Colour key:

  Baker was one of the judges' least favourite bakers that week, but was not eliminated.

  Baker was one of the judges' favourite bakers that week, but was not the Star Baker.

  Baker got through to the next round.

  Baker was eliminated.

  Baker was the Star Baker.

  Baker was a season runner-up.

  Baker was the season winner.

Episodes

  Baker eliminated

  Star Baker

  Winner

Episode 1: Cake Week

For their first signature challenge, the bakers were given two hours to create a roll cake with a distinct pattern baked into the sponge cake. In the technical challenge set by Kyla, the bakers had an hour and 45 minutes to bake a Boston cream pie. For the showstopper, the bakers had three and a half hours to make a top-forward cake - a decorated cake that stands on its side.

Episode 2: Bread Week

For the signature challenge, the bakers were given 1 hour and 45 minutes bake a loaf of cornbread, enhanced with unique flavours, and accompanied with a condiment made by the bakers. For the technical challenge set by Kyla, the bakers had to make a rosca de reyes, "Three Kings Bread", crowned with candied fruit and decorated with coloured cookie stripes, in 2 hours. For the showstopper, inspired by the Cheung Chau Bun Festival in Hong Kong, the bakers had four hours to bake a "Festival of Buns" consisting of a tower of 24 individual buns, with 12 buns each in two different flavours and with distinct appearances.

Episode 3: Cookie Week

For the signature challenge, the bakers were given 2 hours to bake a dozen embroidery cookies, carefully piped cookies decorated with royal icing to resemble embroidered patterns. For the technical challenge set by Bruno, the bakers had 1 hour and 30 minutes to bake 12 kaâk nakache, sculpted ring-shaped cookies from Algeria, flavoured with orange blossom water, cinnamon, and cloves, filled with spiced date paste, and decorated with a crimping pattern. For the showstopper, the bakers had three hours and 30 minutes to make a cookie layer cake, consisting of at least four layers, and alternating layers of any type of cookie and filling.

Episode 4: Harvest Week

For the first ever Harvest Week, the bakers were given 1 hour and 45 minutes to produce 8 pide, a yeast-based Turkish stuffed flatbread, with a vegetable-based filling, for their signature challenge. In the technical challenge set by Bruno, the bakers had to make a dozen thousand-layer taro mooncakes, a Chinese dessert commonly enjoyed during the Mid-Autumn Festival, in 2 hours and 15 minutes. The variation calls for a flaky spiral layered crust with two different doughs and a taro and salted duck egg yolk filling. For the showstopper, the bakers had three hours to make a fruit tile tart, decorating the tart with a precise and eyecatching geometric design made of fruit tiles set upon two layers of filling.

Episode 5: Old School Week

For the signature challenge, the bakers were tasked with making 10 toaster pastries in 2 hours. For the technical challenge set by Kyla, the bakers had two and a half hours to make a knafeh, a Middle East dessert with a Palestinian origin, made of strips of phyllo-like dough, a filling of roasted pistachios and akkawi cheese, and soaked in a rose water syrup. In the showstopper, the bakers had 4 hours to produce a two-tiered kitsch cake - highly decorated cakes with elaborately piped buttercream.

Episode 6: Spice Week

For the first-ever Spice Week, the bakers had 2 hours to bake ras malai cake slices, a modern adaptation of ras malai with an eggless sponge cake soaked in a spiced milk and incorporating chhena soaked in spiced malai, for their signature challenge. For the technical challenge, the bakers had to make 12 Jamaican patties in 2 hours. In the showstopper, the bakers had 4 hours to build a cookie architectural wonder, a structure constructed from two types of spice-forward cookies.

Episode 7: Patisserie Week

For the signature challenge, the bakers had 2 hours and 15 minutes to bake 10 religieuse. In the technical challenge set by Bruno, the bakers had to make a postre chajá, an Uruguayan cake with layers of peach syrup soaked sponge and chantilly cream, and decorated with crunchy meringue and poached peach slices, in 2 hours and 15 minutes. In the showstopper, the bakers had 4 hours to make an entremet display, consisting of 24 entremets in two different flavours.

Episode 8: Finale

For the signature challenge, the bakers had 2 hours to bake a torta diplomatica, or a diplomatic cake, an Italian dessert made of layers of puff pastry, ladyfingers, and creme diplomat. In the technical challenge, the bakers had to make a passion fruit mille-crêpe cake, with creme légère between layers, in 2 hours. As an additional challenge, the crepes were to be layered in an ombré fade pattern with the darkest layer at the bottom to lightest at the top, with a larger crepe to wrap around the entire cake and a tempered white chocolate collar. In the showstopper, the bakers had four and a half hours to create an anti-gravity cake, an illusion cake which appears to be suspended through concealed supports.

References

1. "The Great Canadian Baking Show returns to CBC this fall". CBC. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. September 13, 2023. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
2. "Meet the newest bakers to compete in the tent on Season 7 of CBC's The Great Canadian Baking Show". CBC Life. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. September 1, 2023. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
3. "CBC Gem". gem.cbc.ca. Retrieved 2023-10-02.
4. "CBC Gem". gem.cbc.ca. Retrieved 2023-10-08.
5. "Kaak Nakache". CBC Life. Retrieved 2023-10-15.
6. "CBC Gem". gem.cbc.ca. Retrieved 2023-10-15.
7. "Thousand Layer Taro Mooncakes". CBC Life. Retrieved 2023-10-22.
8. "CBC Gem". gem.cbc.ca. Retrieved 2023-10-23.
9. "Knafeh". CBC Life. Retrieved 2023-11-13.
10. "CBC Gem". gem.cbc.ca. Retrieved 2023-10-29.
11. "CBC Gem". gem.cbc.ca. Retrieved 2023-11-05.
12. "Postre Chajá". CBC Life. Retrieved 2023-11-13.
13. "CBC Gem". gem.cbc.ca. Retrieved 2023-11-12.
14. "Passion Fruit Mille Crêpes Cake". CBC Life. Retrieved 2023-11-18.
15. "CBC Gem". gem.cbc.ca. Retrieved 2023-11-19.

• The Great Canadian Baking Show
• 2023 Canadian television seasons