Epic baking fails: The Great Canadian Baking Show contestants share their worst bakes

Everybody can have a bad day and our Season 7 bakers are no exception

CBC · Posted: Nov 10, 2023 9:13 AM EST | Last Updated: November 10, 2023

View from inside of the oven shows burnt pies. Baker holds her hands out in frustration. — Baker in shock over an oven full of scorched baked goods. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Some days you just can't win. Everything you do ends up a disaster. It happens to the nicest people, even The Great Canadian Baking Show bakers.

We asked them about their most epic baking fails. Here are a few:

Blue memories

Rainier Maksoud: I was making a birthday cake for my friend and I had just gotten this royal blue gel food colour from a brand I never used before. When making the cake, the colour wouldn't pick up properly so I had to use extra gel to really make it blue.

Rainier has a puzzled expression holding a sheet of paper. Host Alan looks on to his side. — Baker Rainier Maksoud puzzles over a recipe with host Alan Shane Lewis. (Geoff George)

We had a gathering of around 12 people and the next day, I got messages from every single guest asking if it was normal that their "bathroom experience" was very blue. Safe to say, I never used that brand again!

Have a fire safety plan

Andrew is looking intent as he gingerly flips over a cake pan. — Andew Evers flips over a cake pan on the set of The Great Canadian Baking Show. (Geoff George)

Andrew Evers: I was prepping for my audition for Season 7. The garnish I was practising was tuiles. I made the batter and put a spoonful in a hot pan, and all of a sudden there was a grease fire. There was an audible yell and my partner came upstairs and helped me put it out. No damage, luckily, but the backsplash and overhead cabinets were covered in a layer of soot.

Pound cake comedy

Heather Allen: The first time I made pound cake, the recipe called for 10 eggs. I made my batter, placed the pan in the oven, and went to play with my kids. You know those cartoons where the dough begins to billow out the door of the oven in an impossibly comic fashion?

Heather Allen leans forward holding a glove and talks to judge Kyla who has her back to the camera. — Heather Allen chats with The Great Canadian Baking Show judge Kyla Kennaley. (Geoff George)

Turns out, I had overwhipped the eggs and created a monster. It filled nearly all the oven, poured out the door, and finally went up in flames a little bit. It was one of those situations that are so bad, they come full circle and end up hilarious.

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Sourdough baseball

Candice Riley: During the pandemic, I started baking sourdough. As things started to open up again, I wasn't as home as often to do the turns. One day, I knew I had my son's baseball game in the evening so I packed up my dough, grabbed a couple of paper towels and some water and figured I could leave the dough in my trunk and do the turns in between innings.

Candice shrugs facing the camera and judge Kyla. — Candice Riley shrugs in front of The Great Canadian Baking Show judge Kyla Kennaley. (Geoff George)

I didn't account for the fact that it was a new recipe (much higher hydration) so it was a very wet and sticky dough. I had dough all over my hands, trunk and clothes. It still made a decent loaf but I'm sure I still have bits of dough hiding in my trunk.

Peanut butter disaster

Camila on set laughing with Ann from behind a work bench. — Camila García Hernández shares a laugh with The Great Canadian Baking Show host Ann Pornel. (Geoff George)

Camila García Hernández: I was making gluten-free peanut butter banana cookies for my aunt, who's allergic to gluten. We'd run out of butter, and I figured I could just replace that with more peanut butter right? They're both fat, what the heck? I ended up with a super greasy baking sheet covered in a mass of peanut butter banana goop and chocolate chips.

Burnt cookies

Kathy Neiman: I ALWAYS BURN THE LAST PAN OF COOKIES. I tend to forget to put a timer on. On the rare occasion (okay, almost always) when I am answering the door, letting the dogs in and out or running the vacuum around the house, I do abandon the pan until I smell something a little burnt.

Kathy carries a tray of eggs along with two baskets filled with vegtables on set. — Baker Kathy Neiman grabs supplies on the set of The Great Canadian Baking Show. (Geoff George)

I should just take the pan and before I put them in the oven go straight to the garbage and toss them. Would save power on the oven and the slightly burnt reminder lingering in my house for two days. Doesn't everyone do this? It is a baking law, no?