Confectionery is the art of making confections, or sweet foods. Confections are items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates although exact definitions are difficult. In general, however, confections are divided into two broad and somewhat overlapping categories: bakers' confections and sugar confections.
Pavlova is a meringue-based dessert. Originating in either Australia or New Zealand in the early 20th century, it was named after the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova. Taking the form of a cake-like circular block of baked meringue, pavlova has a crisp crust and soft, light inside. The confection is usually topped with fruit and whipped cream. The name is commonly pronounced pav-LOH-və or pahv-LOH-və, and occasionally closer to the name of the dancer, as PAHV-lə-və.
Gingerbread refers to a broad category of baked goods, typically flavored with ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon and sweetened with honey, sugar, or molasses. Gingerbread foods vary, ranging from a moist loaf cake to forms nearly as crisp as a ginger snap.
Chocolate crackles are a popular children's confection in Australia and New Zealand, especially for birthday parties and at school fêtes. The earliest recipe found so far is from The Australian Women's Weekly in December 1937.
Cake decorating is the art of decorating a cake for special occasions such as birthdays, weddings, baby showers, national or religious holidays, or as a promotional item.
Justin Willman is an American magician, comedian, producer, and television personality. He is the creator and star of Magic for Humans on Netflix. The third season of Magic for Humans was released on May 15, 2020. He has made regular appearances on The Tonight Show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and Conan. His debut comedy/magic special Sleight of Mouth premiered on Comedy Central in 2015. He hosts the shows Cupcake Wars, Halloween Wars,King of Cones on the Food Network, Disney's Win, Lose or Draw on Disney Channel, along with Baking Impossible and The Magic Prank Show with Justin Willman on Netflix.
Ron Ben-Israel is an Israeli-American pastry chef. He is the executive chef and owner of Ron Ben-Israel Cakes in New York City. He is known for his wedding and special occasion cakes as well as for his detail in sugar paste flowers. From 2011 to 2013, he hosted the cooking competition TV show Sweet Genius. Ben-Israel has also been a judge on a variety of Food Network shows, including Cake Wars, Chopped, Guy's Grocery Games and Worst Cooks in America.
Cupcake Wars is an American reality competition series that premiered on December 27, 2009, on cable television network Food Network. The show, which is based on creating unique and professional-style cupcakes, was hosted by Justin Willman and later by Jonathan Bennett.
The Great British Bake Off is a British television baking competition, produced by Love Productions, in which a group of amateur bakers compete against each other in a series of rounds, attempting to impress two judges with their baking skills. One contestant is eliminated in each round, and the winner is selected from the three contestants who reach the final.
Adriano Zumbo is an Australian pâtissier and television presenter. He opened his first patisserie in 2007 before rising to prominence as a frequent guest on MasterChef Australia. Zumbo is the titular host of the Australian baking competition program Zumbo's Just Desserts and a judge on the Netflix web series Sugar Rush. As a popular figure he has garnered many nicknames in the media, including "Sweet Assassin", "Patissier of Pain," "the Dark Lord of the Pastry Kitchen" and "Lord Voldecake." He has also been called "Australia's answer to Willy Wonka."
Gesine Bullock-Prado is an American pastry chef, TV personality, author, attorney, and former film executive.
Holiday Baking Championship is an American cooking competition series produced by Triage Entertainment and aired on Food Network. It airs from early November through late December, covering the U.S Thanksgiving and Christmas season. The first episode premiered on November 9, 2014, and it has become a yearly competition with several spin-off shows, including Spring Baking Championship, Halloween Baking Championship, Kids Baking Championship, Wedding Cake Championship and Summer Baking Championship.
Cake Wars is an American reality competition series that was first broadcast on June 29, 2015, aired on Food Network. Jonathan Bennett hosted the competition, where four bakers face off to have their cakes featured in a special event, in addition to a $10,000 prize. Star pastry chefs Waylynn Lucas, Ron Ben-Israel and Richard Ruskell judge which cakes are worthy of headlining parties for pop culture media such as The Simpsons, The Sound of Music, DC Comics, and more. The first and fifth seasons of the show ran for eight episodes and later seasons of the show ran for thirteen episodes. There was also an annual Christmas-themed spin-off of the show called Cake Wars: Christmas, which made its debut the same year as Cake Wars.
A banana cake is a cake prepared using banana as a primary ingredient and typical cake ingredients. It can be prepared in various manners, including as a layer cake, as muffins and as cupcakes. Steamed banana cake is found in Chinese, Malaysian, Indonesian and Vietnamese cuisine. In the Philippines, the term "banana cake" refers to banana bread introduced during the American colonial period of the Philippines.
Spring Baking Championship is an American cooking reality competition television series that airs on Food Network. It was originally presented by chef Bobby Deen with fellow Food Network chefs Nancy Fuller, Duff Goldman and Lorraine Pascale serving as judges. All four chefs also appeared in the same roles on Holiday Baking Championship; and similar to that competition, the grand prize for the winner of this competition is also $50,000.
Nailed It! is an American reality television series that premiered on March 9, 2018. The series is exclusively available on Netflix. The series is a bake-off competition in the style of reality television, where three amateur bakers compete to replicate complicated cakes and confectionery in order to win a $10,000 cash prize and the "Nailed It" trophy.
¡Nailed it! México is a Mexican Netflix original series which premiered on February 8, 2019, as a spin-off of Nailed It!. The series is a reality bake-off competition, in the style of reality television. Three amateur bakers compete to replicate complicated cakes and confectionery in order to win a 200,000 pesos cash prize and a "¡Nailed It!" trophy. A second season was released on August 7, 2020. A third season was released on January 5, 2021.
Is It Cake? is an American game show–style cooking competition television series created by Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz, and hosted by Mikey Day. The series premiered on Netflix on March 18, 2022. Contestants create cakes that replicate common objects in an effort to trick celebrity judges. Winners of each episode receive $5,000 and a chance to win more money by identifying which display of cash is real and which is cake.
The Big Nailed It! Baking Challenge is an American reality television series that premiered on August 4, 2023. The series is a spin-off of the Netflix series Nailed It! Like its predecessor, Baking Challenge features amateur bakers competing against each other for a cash prize; however, the bakers receive instruction from professional bakers to improve their baking skills with each challenge.
