The Great American Baking Show Season 7

Complete season breakdown

Every episode and bake

The second Roku season contains six episodes and eighteen challenges. Its route to the final covers cakes, cookies, bread, pastry, meringue and frozen desserts, then closes with tartlets, tropical slices, and a tiered dessert display.

1. Episode 1 · Cakes

   Cake Week

   May 24, 2024

   Cake Week begins with decorated loaf cakes, moves to miniature Battenbergs, and culminates in personalized birthday cakes built around each baker's dream celebration.

   • Signature

     Decorated loaf cake

     Elevate a loaf cake through flavor and decoration while retaining an even bake and a clean slice.

   • Technical

     Eight mini Battenberg cakes

     Make eight matching miniature Battenbergs with precise checkerboard sponge, a neat filling, and close-fitting marzipan.

   • Showstopper

     Dream birthday cake

     Create a celebratory sponge cake that represents the baker's dream birthday through ambitious flavor and decoration.

   Make our home version →Episode source 1Episode source 2

2. Episode 2 · Cookies

   Cookie Week

   May 24, 2024

   Cookie Week pairs chocolate-coated bars with Italian sandwich cookies before requiring a sturdy three-dimensional cookie box that can hold two dozen more cookies.

   • Signature

     Twelve chocolate-covered cookie bars

     Produce twelve individual cookie bars with matching dimensions and an even chocolate coating.

   • Technical

     Eight sandwiched Italian butter cookies

     Reproduce eight identical Italian butter-cookie sandwiches with crisp definition, tidy filling, and a uniform finish.

   • Showstopper

     Three-dimensional cookie box with twenty-four cookies

     Construct an edible cookie box strong enough to contain twenty-four identical cookies without sacrificing flavor or decoration.

   Episode source 1Episode source 2

3. Episode 3 · Bread

   Bread Week

   May 24, 2024

   Bread Week asks for sweet buns, hand-stretched Margherita pizzas, and an ornate tiered korovai shaped from enriched celebratory dough.

   • Signature

     Twelve identical sweet buns

     Bake twelve matching sweet buns with a consistent shape, light crumb, and clearly expressed flavor.

   • Technical

     Two hand-stretched Margherita pizzas

     Make two Margherita pizzas with hand-stretched dough, an airy rim, a fully baked base, and restrained classic toppings.

   • Showstopper

     Tiered korovai

     Build an ornate multi-tier korovai from sweet bread, using traditional decorative dough work while keeping the structure baked through.

   Episode source 1Episode source 2Episode source 3

4. Episode 4 · Pastry

   Pastry Week

   May 24, 2024

   The quarterfinal covers savory handheld pies, an American apple-pie technical served with custard, and a botanical centerpiece made from choux pastry.

   • Signature

     Twelve savory handheld pies

     Make twelve portable savory pies with crisp pastry, a well-seasoned filling, and reliable seals.

   • Technical

     American apple pie with custard

     Bake a classic apple pie, remove it cleanly from its tin, and serve it with a smooth pouring custard.

   • Showstopper

     Botanical pate a choux centerpiece

     Use filled choux pastry and intricate nature-inspired elements to create a freestanding botanical centerpiece.

   Episode source 1Episode source 2

5. Episode 5 · Semi-final

   Semifinals

   May 24, 2024

   A double-elimination semifinal combines a sweet meringue roulade, two styles of pretzel, and a multi-layered celebratory bombe dessert with a required baked element.

   • Signature

     Sweet meringue roulade

     Roll a baked meringue around a complementary filling without excessive cracking or collapse.

   • Technical

     Six sweet and six savory pretzels

     Make six cinnamon-sugar pretzels plus six sesame-and-salt pretzels, serving the savory batch with cheese dip.

   • Showstopper

     Celebratory bombe dessert

     Build a multi-layered bombe glacee with a striking interior pattern and at least one baked component.

   Episode source 1Episode source 2

6. Episode 6 · Final

   Final

   May 24, 2024

   The final tests eight identical fruit tartlets, precisely layered tropical slices, and an intricately designed dessert tower that tells each baker's story.

   • Signature

     Eight identical fruit tartlets

     Present eight matching tartlets with crisp pastry, a controlled filling, and fresh fruit as a central flavor and finish.

   • Technical

     Eight tropical layered slices

     Reproduce eight identical tropical slices with distinct, even layers and cleanly cut sides.

   • Showstopper

     Intricately designed dessert tower

     Create a tiered tower of coordinated desserts that communicates a personal story while demonstrating varied baking skills.

   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

Lemon Raspberry Loaf Cake

A tender lemon loaf rippled with raspberries and finished with a sharp lemon glaze and freeze-dried berry crumbs.

Time

1 hr 15 min

Makes

One 23 x 13 cm loaf, serving 10

Level

Easy

▶View ingredients and method

Ingredients

• 200 g plain flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• 170 g unsalted butter, softened
• 170 g granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs
• Finely grated zest of 2 lemons
• 60 ml whole milk
• 120 g raspberries
• 100 g powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon crushed freeze-dried raspberries

Method

1. Heat the oven to 175 C, or 155 C fan. Grease and line a 23 x 13 cm loaf pan.
2. Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl, beat the butter, sugar, and lemon zest until pale and fluffy.
3. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Fold in half the flour mixture, then the milk, followed by the remaining flour.
4. Spread one-third of the batter in the pan and scatter with half the raspberries. Repeat, then cover with the remaining batter.
5. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, until a tester comes out without wet batter. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then move to a rack.
6. Whisk the powdered sugar and lemon juice into a thick glaze. Spoon it over the cooled loaf and finish with freeze-dried raspberry crumbs.

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

Use frozen raspberries straight from the freezer and add five minutes to the bake if fresh berries are unavailable.

The glazed loaf keeps covered at room temperature for two days.

Open the full recipe →

Episode guide sources

Challenge details verified 2026-07-14. therokuchannel.roku.com, player.bbc.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 7, listed alphabetically without result spoilers.

Season fact sources

en.wikipedia.org.