The journey of a home baker in Toronto

By: Anna Maria Moubayed

Earlier this month, the fifth season of The Great Canadian Baking Show wrapped up. This season, there were 10 contestants from Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Saskatchewan and British Columbia, and Vincent Chan was crowned the winner after eight weeks of baking.

As a long-time fan of the show, however, I put on an apron myself as the 11th baker participating from home and proudly representing Team CanCulture. My mother, Shakeh, our family-proclaimed baker, was my in-house judge. Throughout the course of the season, I chose to follow either the technical challenge, signature bake or showstopper from each episode and documented my journey below.

Episode 1 - Cake Week

Technical Challenge: Lamingtons

This week’s main theme, as the name suggests, is cake! I think baking a cake can evolve into the act of creating a spectacular piece of art, but in this episode, I liked that the judges chose to start with a simple pound cake that the contestants themselves had to elevate through creative taste and design.

Next, taking things up a notch, we had the season’s first technical challenge: lamingtons. A popular delicacy in Australia, lamingtons are cubes of sponge cake with a layer of jam in the middle, coated with melted chocolate and rolled in coconut. One of the contestants, Alina Fintineanu, “sarcastically” mentioned how she felt that viewers at home might be thinking, “I can do better” — so that challenged me to follow along.

The bakers were given two hours to complete the challenge of creating 20 identical lamingtons with given instructions. It took me about an hour and 20 minutes to create 10 pieces.

Shakeh’s verdict: They look symmetrical, are well-baked and taste good. Overall, a good bake. She wouldn’t send me home for this week.

You can find the recipe from the show here.

A lamington square with some fresh raspberries. Despite their simple look, these squares proved challenging to The Great Canadian Baking Show’s contestants. (Anna Maria Moubayed/CanCulture)

Episode 2 - Cookie Week

Technical Challenge: Pirouette Cookies

I, again, chose to do the technical challenge for two reasons: I have never made pirouette cookies before — but I love them! I always find the ones sold in stores too sweet, so I used a bit less sugar than the show’s recipe suggested.

I must say, this one was challenging. This delicate cookie requires patience and skill. Getting the correct thickness and then rolling without breaking the cookies was quite difficult.

The bakers were given two hours to make 20 cookies. It took me about an hour and a half to create 16. Only some survived.

Shakeh’s verdict: Not bad for a first try. They taste good, but they’re too short and not all evenly baked. I need more practice, she said. She would have probably sent me home. She did enjoy some with her coffee, though.

You can find the recipe from the show here.

Pirouettes along with a cup of coffee. These light and delicate cookies can be enjoyed with or without a filling. (Anna Maria Moubayed/CanCulture)

Episode 3 - Celebration Week

Signature Bake: Special Occasion Eclairs

For this week’s signature bake, the bakers had to create 12 special occasion eclairs with special occasion designs. This was my first time making eclairs, so while I didn’t decorate them, they turned out pretty great! I was planning on dipping them in white chocolate and decorating them as if they were “melted snowmen” to celebrate the first proper snow of the season in Toronto. However, I am not the biggest fan of white chocolate.

All in all, this was a fairly easy bake, though quite time-consuming. The contestants were given two hours to bake and decorate 12 eclairs. It took me a bit over two hours without decorating.

Shakeh’s verdict: They’re good. Not decorated, but good.

You can find the recipe from the show here.

Originating in France, the eclair is a delicate pastry, filled with a vanilla-flavoured cream and usually coated with chocolate. (Anna Maria Moubayed/CanCulture)

Episode 4 - Bread Week

Technical Challenge: Bolo Bao

This week was all about my favourite thing in the whole world: bread. I decided to do the technical challenge because I had never made bolo bao before. Bolo bao is “pineapple bread,” and despite its name, it does not contain pineapple. The name refers to the “pineapple pattern” it has on top.

The bakers had two hours and 30 minutes to create 12 pieces of pineapple bread. It took me two hours to make six.

Shakeh’s verdict: Presentation needs work, as well as timing. “You can’t put something in the oven and leave or go on your phone, you have to always watch it,” she said.

Overall, baking bread is not my strong suit. As you can see below, the pineapple pattern is not very visible on mine and I found it to be a bit overcooked. Eating it, though, is very much my strong suit. I really enjoyed this episode.

You can find the recipe from the show here.

Bolo bao steps up the game as week four, season five’s technical bake. The challenge is making them incredibly soft. (Anna Maria Moubayed/CanCulture)

Episode 5 - Pies and Tart Week

Signature Bake: Apple Tart

This week, I very much “signatured” my bake. The main theme of the episode was pies and tarts, both savoury and sweet. For the signature bake, the bakers created sweet pies that they hold near and dear. I had a lot of reading to do that week, so I created apple cinnamon tarts. I had made these before and they’re quite easy to whip up. It took me about 30 minutes to create eight pieces.

Shakeh’s verdict: Good and simple, but too simple for The Great Canadian Baking Show.

You can find the recipe I followed here.

Apple cinnamon tarts are cooling in front of the window. These tarts are both delicious and easy to make. (Anna Maria Moubayed/CanCulture)

Episode 6 - Caramel Week

Signature bake: Caramel Macarons

This week, the common ingredient was caramel. I don’t think the show has done a caramel week before in previous seasons, so that was refreshing. The bakers created florentines for their signature bake, caramel doughnuts with a caramel glaze and a praline pastry cream for their technical bake, and caramel layer cakes.

I personally am not a fan of caramel. Not to bake with, nor to eat. Since none of my family members seemed enthusiastic about the choices from the show (and since they’re the ones who eat the baked goods), I decided to make chocolate caramel macarons. The dark chocolate shells complemented the salted caramel filling quite well. Not only do macarons require some practice to master but they also need the right temperature and time to bake well and have a presentable shape, so I was happy that I was able to pull them off.

Shakeh’s verdict: They’re very good and they look great too! Just not what the show asked for.

You can find the recipe I followed here.

Chocolate caramel macarons are chilling in front of the window. The cool Canadian winter is a helpful baker’s tool. (Anna Maria Moubayed/CanCulture)

Episode 7 - Patisserie Week

Showstopper: Petit Fours

I love petit fours. In fact, I love them so much I wish they could make them bigger.

This week, the bakers had to create 36 petit fours total for their showstopper: three flavours, 12 of each, in four hours and 30 minutes. I made 12 of one flavour in two hours. My petit four has a dark chocolate brownie base, a chocolate mousse in the middle, topped with melted milk chocolate and some berries.

The most difficult part of petit fours is the presentation. Working on such a small “canvas” is quite challenging, let alone making every single piece of the set identical.

Shakeh’s verdict: She loved it and also seemed surprised. The tastes of the different chocolates balanced the sweetness out and the berries were a nice touch, she said.

You can find the chocolate mousse recipe I followed for the middle part here.

A bite-sized chocolate delight with some berries on top. Creating identical petit fours can be difficult to master. (Anna Maria Moubayed/CanCulture)

Week 8 - Finale

Showstopper: Baking Journey Cake

For the finale, I decided to make my favourite pastry: this Middle Eastern creation called tahini bread. I think I’ve liked this pastry since birth. It is a mix of tahini, cinnamon and sugar, all rolled into the dough, similar to a cinnamon roll. It is not a cake, nor is it a cookie or a tart. It is magical though, so I decided to make it as it reflects on my journey from childhood to now and how my love for it has not changed.

My mother makes tahini bread quite often, but I have never made it myself before. Creating the shape requires some skill. The rolls have to be closed so that the filling doesn’t leak, yet pinching the dough to close the gaps would stop it from baking fully.

I made 20 of these in a bit over an hour. In contrast, my mother usually makes them in about 30 minutes.

Shakeh’s verdict: They’re good, but the rolling needs some work. Overall, edible.

You can find the recipe I followed here.

A golden brown tahini bread. This sweet pastry uses tahini in dough to give it a velvety feel. (Anna Maria Moubayed/CanCulture)

In conclusion, I would like to say that continuous baking is exhausting! I hope the bakers on the show take a well-deserved rest from the kitchen and enjoy other people’s bakes for a change.

That said, I really enjoyed following along with The Great Canadian Baking Show season five. As a long-time fan, while I hope that someday I will be baking from the iconic tent, it was an honour to be the 11th baker and share my creations from the comfort of my home this time.