Confectionery is the art of making confections, which are food items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates. Exact definitions are difficult. In general, however, confectionery is divided into two broad and somewhat overlapping categories: bakers' confections and sugar confections. The occupation of confectioner encompasses the categories of cooking performed by both the French patissier and the confiseur.
Shortbread or shortie is a traditional Scottish biscuit usually made from one part white sugar, two parts butter, and three to four parts plain wheat flour. Shortbread does not contain any leavening, such as baking powder or baking soda. Shortbread is widely associated with Christmas and Hogmanay festivities in Scotland, and some Scottish brands are exported around the world.
Sprinkles are small pieces of confectionery used as an often colourful decoration or to add texture to desserts such as brownies, cupcakes, doughnuts or ice cream. The tiny candies are produced in a variety of colors and are generally used as a topping or a decorative element. The Dictionary of American Regional English defines them as "tiny balls or rod-shaped bits of candy used as a topping for ice-cream, cakes and other."
A cupcake (AmE), fairy cake (BrE), or bun (IrE) is a small cake designed to serve one person, which may be baked in a small thin paper or aluminum cup. As with larger cakes, frosting and other cake decorations such as fruit and candy may be applied.
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 on Netflix. Willman resides in Los Angeles with his wife Jillian Sipkins and son Jackson Willman and daughter Rosie Willman.
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.
Candace Nelson is an Indonesian-born American pastry chef and judge on the television series Cupcake Wars and Sugar Rush.
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.
The 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, and Wedding Cake 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.
Spring Baking Championship is an American cooking 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.
Halloween Baking Championship is an American cooking competition show that premiered on Food Network on October 5, 2015. Like its sister show, Holiday Baking Championship, it's a seasonal program that runs for a few weeks and aims to crown the best baker of spooky, creepy desserts.
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.
