# The Great Canadian Baking Show season 7

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

| Baker | Age | Profession | Hometown |
| Andrew Evers | 40 | Public Service Manager | Toronto, ON |
| Andy Bui | 30 | Mental health nurse practitioner | Montreal, QC |
| Camila García Hernández | 28 | Software developer | Toronto, ON |
| Candice Riley | 48 | Partner at a tech firm | Brampton, ON |
| Heather Allen | 40 | Literacy educator | Winnipeg, MB |
| Katherine "Kathy" Neiman | 57 | Retired professor | Leduc, AB |
| Loïc Fauteux-Goulet | 33 | High school teacher | Creston, BC |
| Niv Saberi | 31 | Full-time parent | Port Elgin, ON |
| Rainier Maksoud | 29 | Business analyst | Laval, QC |
| Sydney Hayden | 23 | Student | Halifax, NS |

## 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.
Elimination chart :
| Baker | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| Loïc | | | | | SB | | | WINNER |
| Candice | | | | | | | | Runner Up |
| Camila | | SB | | | | | SB | Runner Up |
| Andrew | | | | | | SB | OUT |
| Heather | SB | | | | | OUT |
| Kathy | | | SB | SB | OUT |
| Niv | | | | OUT |
| Rainier | | | OUT |
| Sydney | | OUT |
| Andy | OUT |

## 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.
| Baker | Signature (Patterned roll cake) | Technical (Boston cream pie) | Showstopper (Top-forward cake) |
| Andrew | A Taste of the Falls Roll Cake | 8th | Fish Bowl Cake |
| Andy | Fallen Greek Column Roll Cake | 10th | Did not compete |
| Camila | Bocadillo Con Queso Roll Cake | 6th | World Traveler Cake |
| Candice | Spring Roll Cake | 1st | Bizz-Buzz Cake |
| Heather | Ancient Scroll Roll Cake | 3rd | Prairie Skies Cake |
| Kathy | Swirls and Whirls Roll Cake | 4th | Choose a Hue Cake |
| Loïc | Treasure Map Roll Cake | 2nd | A Cake with a View |
| Niv | Rock 'n' Roll Cake | 5th | Koala's Paradise Cake |
| Rainier | Evil Eye Roll Cake | 9th | Ocean Waves Cake |
| Sydney | Poppy the Bunny Roll Cake | 7th | Dream Come True Cake |

### 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.
| Baker | Signature (Cornbread loaf) | Technical (Rosca de reyes) | Showstopper (Festival of Buns) |
| Andrew | Make Your Marc Cornbread | 9th | Anniversary Tower |
| Camila | Cornbread con Chili | 1st | Advent Tower |
| Candice | Chicken Dinner Cornbread | 6th | Tanzanian Picnic |
| Heather | Three Sisters Cornbread | 2nd | Bumble Buns & Bun-Shroom Tower |
| Kathy | Ode to Mexican Street Corn | 3rd | Flower Tower |
| Loïc | Drunk & Corny Cornbread | 5th | Tree of A-Bun-Dance |
| Niv | Persian Cornbread | 7th | Monkeying Around the Banana Tree |
| Rainier | Mediterranean Cornbread | 8th | Bridal Shower Tower |
| Sydney | Seaside Cornbread on the Cob | 4th | Surf & Turf Tower |

### 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.
| Baker | Signature (12 Embroidery cookies) | Technical (12 Kaâk nakache) | Showstopper (Cookie layer cake) |
| Andrew | Cookie Cocktail | 7th | Big Ol' Carrot |
| Camila | Cumbia Cookies | 4th | Berry Tasty Macaron Sandwich |
| Candice | Sugar, Spice, My Family is Nice Cookies | 5th | Back in Time for Trifle |
| Heather | Plums for Oma | 1st | Midnight Snack Cookie Cake |
| Kathy | Cuppa Tea Cookies | 3rd | Out of the Box Cookies n' Lox |
| Loïc | Ode to William Morris | 2nd | Macaron Charlotte |
| Niv | Cookie Tapestry | 8th | Orchard of Cookies |
| Rainier | Proud Peacock Cookies | 6th | Tall, Dark, & Mysterious Cookie Cake |

### 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.
| Baker | Signature (8 Pide) | Technical (12 Thousand-layer taro mooncakes) | Showstopper (Fruit tile tart) |
| Andrew | Party Favourite Pide | 5th | Fruit Explosion Tart |
| Camila | French Onion Pide | 2nd | Sunny Day Salpicón Tart |
| Candice | Asparagus-Obsessed Pide | 4th | Tropical Dream Tart |
| Heather | Home-Grown Harvest Pide | 1st | Northern Lights Fruit Tart |
| Kathy | Peppy Pepper Pide | 3rd | Crickets & Quilts Fruit Tart |
| Loïc | Wild Harvest Pide | 7th | Throwback Tile Tart |
| Niv | Kashke Bademjan Pide | 6th | Nuclear Trefoil Fruit Tart |

### 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.
| Baker | Signature (10 Toaster pastries) | Technical (Knafeh) | Showstopper (Kitsch cake) |
| Andrew | Chocolate Orange Stocking Stuffer | 6th | Nifty Shake Shoppe Kitsch Cake |
| Camila | Mango Chamoy Toaster Pastry | 4th | Break the Mold Kitsch Cake |
| Candice | Falling for Pumpkin Spice Latte Toaster Pastry | 3rd | Night at the Opera Kitsch Cake |
| Heather | Weihnachsmarkt Toaster Pastry | 5th | Forest of Love Kitsch Cake |
| Kathy | Bologna for Breakfast Pastry | 2nd | Groovy 70's Kitsch Cake |
| Loïc | Rad Mixtape Toaster Pastry | 1st | Kitchiest of Birds Cake |

### 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.
| Baker | Signature (Ras malai cake) | Technical (12 Jamaican patties) | Showstopper (Spice cookie architectural wonder) |
| Andrew | Raspberry Saffron Ras Malai Cake | 4th | Dutch Treat |
| Camila | Chocolate with Cheese Ras Malai Cake | 2nd | Balcony in Bogotá |
| Candice | Masala Chai Ras Malai Cake | 5th | Faces of Home |
| Heather | Crab Apple Ras Malai Cake | 3rd | Notions & Potions Shop |
| Loïc | Horchata Ras Malai Cake | 1st | Cookie Frigate |

### 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.
| Baker | Signature (10 Religieuse) | Technical (Postre chajá) | Showstopper (Entremet display) |
| Andrew | Doggone Religieuses | 4th | Beach Day Entremets |
| Camila | Ribbiting Religieuses | 3rd | Bird's Nest Entremets |
| Candice | Welsh Rabbit Religieuses | 1st | Wine 'n' Dine Entremets |
| Loïc | Fun Guy Fungi Religieuses | 2nd | Critter-ful Entremets |

### 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.
| Baker | Signature (Torta diplomatica) | Technical (Passion fruit mille-crêpes cake) | Showstopper (Anti-Gravity cake) |
| Camila | Coffee & Caramel Torta Diplomatica | 3rd | Life Story |
| Candice | Apple Pie Torta Diplomatica | 1st | Family Garden |
| Loïc | Backyard Torta Diplomatica | 2nd | Underwater Oasis |