The Great American Baking Show Season 6

Complete season breakdown

Every episode and bake

The first Roku season runs for six episodes and eighteen challenges, moving from cookies, cakes, and bread through pastry, a dessert-focused semifinal, and a final built around nostalgic and decorative bakes.

1. Episode 1 · Cookies

   Cookie Week

   May 5, 2023

   The season opens with layered cookie bars, raspberry-pistachio macarons, and a freestanding cookie centerpiece that introduces the bakers through edible construction.

   • Signature

     Twelve identical layered cookie bars

     Make twelve matching cookie bars with distinct layers and a clean, even finish.

   • Technical

     Twelve pistachio and raspberry macarons

     Produce twelve matching macarons with pistachio and raspberry flavors, smooth shells, defined feet, and a neat filling.

   • Showstopper

     Three-dimensional cookie centerpiece

     Build a stable three-dimensional centerpiece from cookies while using flavor and decoration to express a personal idea.

   Make our home version →Episode source 1Episode source 2

2. Episode 2 · Cakes

   Cake Week

   May 5, 2023

   Cake Week tests repeatable portions, patterned sponge work, and sculptural deception through sheet-cake slices, an inlay roll, and an optical-illusion cake.

   • Signature

     Decorated sheet cake cut into sixteen pieces

     Bake and decorate a sheet cake, then divide it into sixteen identical individual pieces.

   • Technical

     Decorated inlay roll cake

     Reproduce a rolled sponge with a decorative inlay pattern, an even spiral, and a tidy exterior.

   • Showstopper

     Sculpted optical-illusion cake

     Create a sculpted cake disguised as a recognizable non-cake object, making both the illusion and the internal cake convincing.

   Episode source 1Episode source 2

3. Episode 3 · Bread

   Bread Week

   May 5, 2023

   Bread Week progresses from a filled babka to tiny burger buns and sliders before asking for a childhood story told as a large bread sculpture.

   • Signature

     Sweet filled babka loaf

     Make a sweet enriched babka with a visible twist, a flavorful filling, and a fully baked center.

   • Technical

     Twelve mini burger buns for ten sliders

     Bake twelve matching miniature burger buns and use ten of them to assemble uniform sliders.

   • Showstopper

     Childhood-story bread sculpture

     Construct a three-dimensional bread sculpture based on a story from childhood, balancing flavor, structure, and legible design.

   Episode source 1Episode source 2

4. Episode 4 · Pastry

   Pastry Week

   May 5, 2023

   Pastry Week revisits handheld childhood snacks, tests fried stuffed churros, and ends with an elevated display of decorated tiered pies.

   • Signature

     Twelve identical handheld tarts

     Create twelve matching handheld tarts inspired by a favorite childhood snack, with sealed pastry and a controlled filling.

   • Technical

     Twelve identical stuffed churros

     Fry twelve evenly shaped churros and fill each one cleanly without losing the crisp exterior.

   • Showstopper

     Decorative tiered pies

     Stack and decorate multiple pies as a tiered centerpiece while keeping the pastry baked and the structure secure.

   Episode source 1Episode source 2

5. Episode 5 · Semi-final

   Semi-Finals

   May 5, 2023

   The semifinal shifts toward desserts with a many-layered crepe cake, a key-lime chiffon technical, and a decorated ice-cream cake under warm-tent pressure.

   • Signature

     Mille-crepe cake

     Stack thin crepes and filling into a level mille-crepe cake with clean layers and a balanced flavor.

   • Technical

     Key lime chiffon cake

     Reproduce a light key-lime chiffon cake with an even rise, tender crumb, and sharp citrus finish.

   • Showstopper

     Ice-cream cake

     Build and decorate an ice-cream cake with distinct flavors and textures while keeping it frozen enough for a clean presentation.

   Episode source 1Episode source 2

6. Episode 6 · Final

   Finals

   May 5, 2023

   The finalists elevate a nostalgic snack cake, assemble an elaborate afternoon tea, and finish by engineering a tall piece montee from multiple pastry elements.

   • Signature

     Elevated snack cake

     Reimagine a familiar packaged snack cake as a refined bake while preserving the recognizable idea.

   • Technical

     Elaborate afternoon tea

     Prepare the required assortment for an elaborate afternoon tea, coordinating several small bakes and finishes.

   • Showstopper

     Intricately designed piece montee

     Assemble an ornate freestanding piece montee that combines precise pastry work, structural stability, and a coherent final design.

   Episode source 1Episode source 2

Inspired by the briefs

Bake it at home

These are original Baking Show Guide adaptations for a home kitchen. They are inspired by the challenge briefs, not the contestants' recipes or an official recipe from the show.

Inspired by Episode 1

Raspberry Pistachio Cookie Bars

A home-friendly layered bar with a crisp pistachio shortbread base, bright raspberry filling, and a thin white-chocolate finish.

Time

59 min

Makes

16 bars

Level

Easy

▶View ingredients and method

Ingredients

• 170 g unsalted butter, softened
• 90 g granulated sugar
• 200 g plain flour
• 60 g finely ground pistachios
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• 180 g seedless raspberry preserves
• 100 g white chocolate, chopped
• 25 g roasted pistachios, chopped

Method

1. Heat the oven to 175 C, or 155 C fan. Line a 20 cm square pan with baking paper, leaving enough paper to lift out the bars.
2. Beat the butter and sugar until smooth. Mix in the flour, ground pistachios, and salt until soft clumps form.
3. Press two-thirds of the dough firmly into the pan. Bake for 15 minutes, until the surface looks dry and the edges are lightly golden.
4. Spread the raspberry preserves over the warm base, leaving a 5 mm border. Crumble the remaining dough evenly over the preserves.
5. Bake for 17 to 19 minutes more, until the crumbs are golden. Cool completely in the pan.
6. Melt the white chocolate gently, drizzle it over the slab, and scatter with chopped pistachios. Let the chocolate set before lifting out and cutting into sixteen bars.

This is an original Baking Show Guide home adaptation, not a contestant recipe or an official show recipe.

Chill the cooled slab for 20 minutes before slicing if especially sharp layers are wanted.

The bars keep airtight at room temperature for three days.

Open the full recipe →

Episode guide sources

Challenge details verified 2026-07-14. therokuchannel.roku.com, anchor.fm, tvmaze.com.

Season result

The winner stays hidden until you choose to reveal it.

See every Great American Baking Showwinner, season by season →

Full cast

Everyone recorded for Season 6, listed alphabetically without result spoilers.

Season fact sources

en.wikipedia.org.