Canada’s Top Home Bakers Have Arrived

In England, they’re falling like flies

Throughout the fall, I’ll be reviewing episodes of the Great British Bake Off and The Great Canadian Baking Show on Mondays in Red Beans and Advice. Become a paid subscriber and follow along.

SPOILERS AHEAD, MES AMIES

(See, a bilingual warning because…)

Canada’s Top Home Bakers Are Back

I admit it: I gave out a little squee when I saw the wide shot of the Toronto skyline. This year’s bakers are clearly excited, too. Instead of the trepidation displayed by their British cousins, this year’s season starts off with smiles and whoops. “We are Season Eight!” one declares. (You can just imagine the death stare they would get from Paul Hollywood.)

A shoutout to the CBC Baking producers for giving contestants aprons with their names on them. Patricia Wells did this for all of us when we took her Paris cooking class. I thanked her and she confided that it was so she could remember who we were.

The first challenge: a Love Cake. It is attributed to Sri Lanka, although other cultures have something similar. Nuts and spices are ground together to result in a single layer aromatic cake, with fruit, flowers and other accents. It is akin to fruit cake, though not as dense.