Baking shows on TV?

[Soliloquy]

Do you watch any of the baking shows on TV like Cupcake Wars, Sweet Genius, etc.? How about the Great American Baking Competition?

I don't generally like Food Network's competition shows, though I occasionally watch Cupcake Wars for the cupcake ideas. (Sometimes the flavor combinations are just revolting.) Sweet Genius is stupid. ("And for this cake your inspiration will be a dead hamster! And the ingredient you must use is asparagus!") And I happened to catch the pie episode of the Great American Baking Competition and thought it was much better than the Food Network competitions. I'd love to see a baking competition sometime with better, more informative commentary though; something that's also instructional.

 

[Andrea]

I like to watch Cake Boss sometimes only because I like to see the different ideas that there are on it other than that, I don't watch too many. I'm more of a natural baker so I watch shows that are not in my area of skill... Like cooking!

 

[Becky]

In the UK we have a program called The Great British Bake Off which has been running for a few years now. I think the Great American Baking Competition is based on it! Amateur bakers compete to win the competition - each round has three challenges; the signature challenge (each contestant does their own version of a particular dish, such as savoury biscuits), the technical challenge (they are given a classic recipe) and the showstopper challenge (similar to the signature challenge but more showy). The professional bakers guiding the contestants through are really good for explaining technical points, and after the competition they do 'masterclass' episodes where they go through how to do each of the technical challenges as well as other things.

I think this is the only baking series that I usually watch start to finish as there's lots to learn from it

 

[limcid]

I think most things on television just aren't what they could be. I find baking "shows" on Youtube to be far more watchable than something on television. You get to see real people simply sharing their knowledge. No dumb commercials (if you've got ad blocking installed), no sponsors, it's not canned, it's not rehearsed, the person doing it isn't trying to be a personality, they're simply a person sharing.

 

[ACSAPA]

Do you watch any of the baking shows on TV like Cupcake Wars, Sweet Genius, etc.? How about the Great American Baking Competition?

I don't generally like Food Network's competition shows, though I occasionally watch Cupcake Wars for the cupcake ideas. (Sometimes the flavor combinations are just revolting.) Sweet Genius is stupid. ("And for this cake your inspiration will be a dead hamster! And the ingredient you must use is asparagus!") And I happened to catch the pie episode of the Great American Baking Competition and thought it was much better than the Food Network competitions. I'd love to see a baking competition sometime with better, more informative commentary though; something that's also instructional.

I watch Sweet Genius to laugh at the campy, dramatic ridiculousness of it. Some of the challenges are so crazy and Chef Ben-Israel looks like a supervillain.
When I want to see useful information about baking, I watch baking tutorials on Youtube ,like limcid does.

 

[Marie]

In the UK we have a program called The Great British Bake Off which has been running for a few years now...

I have loved every single series of this! Mary Berry is my baking idol. I quite liked Britain's Best Bakery, too, but the Bake Off seemed somewhat less strict, and more entertaining to watch. Though I think Britain's Best Bakery was great for learning tips and tricks to help you achieve a perfect bake.

Anyone watched Choccywoccydoodah? I'm not sure if it's available in the US, but it's a chocolate company based in Brighton, UK, that do eccentric chocolate designs on cakes for celebrities and parties etc. Some of their creations are absolutely amazing!

 

[Becky]

I've not seen many episodes of Choccywoccydoodah, but the ones I have seen have been amazing! It's incredible what they can do with chocolate!

 

[Marie]

I agree, I love everything they do, even when the boss come along and makes them re-do something.. I sit there staring at the television trying to work out what was wrong with it in the first place.. looked great to me! They have such high standards that I don't think I'll ever match, as long as I live...
I like how they have their own special recipe for chocolate that can be moulded and shaped like clay, but they're keeping it a huge secret. I keep watching in the hope that one day, they'll share it with us! Or even make it on camera so I can see what ingredients they add to it, at least...​

 

[tiera patterson]

I am currently watching Hell's Kitchen that is like one of my favorite cooking shows along with Master Chef I just really like Chef Ramsey. I get a lot of recipe ideas from that show so that is one of the main reasons why I watch but I also like the drama and the yelling.

 

[Soliloquy]

I just finished watching all the episodes of Cake Boss on Netflix and have to say, some of Buddy's cakes are just hot messes. And on every show he declares "The more I add to this cake, the better it looks" which isn't always the case. Still, the cakes where he does old-fashioned piping, like the Marie Antoinette cake, are gorgeous.

Right now I'm three episodes into D.C. Cupcakes, and though their creations are relatively simple compared to Cake Boss, I'm finding it centers more on the baking aspect.

 

[Shellyann36]

I so enjoyed watching the American Baking Competition. I was very surprised when they announced Brian was the winner. The rest of the shows I can only catch online because I don't have cable or satellite.

 

[jose1986]

I enjoy Cupcake Wars! I like the challenges! You can really see the creativity of the contestants! It is, indeed, amazing how they can come up with 1000 cupcakes (for the final round) in just a small fraction of time!

 

[Dorothy]

I haven't ever watched any baking shows on tv, I have watched some cooking show though. I think I might check to see what baking shows they have in my area, it might be interesting to watch and learn new things or get some new ideas for baking.

 

[ACSAPA]

I am currently watching Hell's Kitchen that is like one of my favorite cooking shows along with Master Chef I just really like Chef Ramsey. I get a lot of recipe ideas from that show so that is one of the main reasons why I watch but I also like the drama and the yelling.

Did you watch this season? I'm kind of glad that Mary didn't win because her high pitched voice sounded annoying and fake. I hated the way she said "creamy" in her high pitched whiny voice.

 

[Cheerio]

"Sweet Genius is stupid. ("And for this cake your inspiration will be a dead hamster! And the ingredient you must use is asparagus!")" --- Soliloquy

That statement was hysterical and yet very true. I watched that a couple times and it was just so weird!

Good Eats with Alton Brown used to be my favorite. It wasn't so much about baking as it was about all types of cooking, I love all the shows he is on including Iron Chef America.

I've watched and enjoyed Cupcake Wars, but there is just something about that show that seems so wasteful. All that food being made and probably thrown away. Maybe they give it to the audience, I don't know. I hope someone gets it.

My favorite cooking show is Chopped. It's amazing what some of the chefs come up with especially during the dessert round. Talk about pressed for time, yet, some of them come up with the most delicious looking food.

 

[cefmac]

I really wanted to watch The Great British Bake Off, but I never got around to it. Ah well, I guess I'll have to wait until next series. I also saw a few episodes of Ace of Cakes a couple of years ago, and that was pretty impressive. I have no idea if it's still being shown on a Freeview channel over here in the UK though, I haven't seen it advertised in a while.

 

[alexiskilgannon]

I used to love the show "Cupcake Wars," until one of my town's local cupcake shops won. I knew for a fact their cupcakes just completely sucked and it felt like the only reason they won was due to the people they were. Rich blondies that dressed a little promiscuous.

 

[Shortbread92]

I have seen some of the shows that come on food network but I've never been interested in them. I'll watch if I'm bored but it's not a usual thing for me to do.