In 2018, to expand its slate of original programming, placing a specific focus on comfort food TV. Viewers absolutely ate it up and, ever since, there has been no shortage of baking content on the streaming service. The shows include a cake-making competition with a delicious sense of humor, a short lived sitcom for foodies and Muppet fans alike, and all the spinoffs your little candy heart desires. 

Some of the dessert-focused TV shows on this list will inspire you like Snack vs. Chef or School of Chocolate. Others may just make you hungry (looking at you Heavenly Bites Mexico.) There’s even a show that dares to ask what might be the most important question of our time:  

Below, in no particular order, the 15 best baking shows to watch on Netflix.

The Great British Baking Show

Save the drama for those other baking competitions. British import The Great British Baking Show (better known as in the UK) is a kindhearted old-fashioned contest that is all about bettering one’s self through baking. For those who haven’t had the pleasure of experiencing the Mount Everest of peak cozy TV: Twelve amateur cooks are invited to a tent in the English countryside to take part in weekly themed challenges focused on cakes, biscuits, or caramels, amongst other tasty things. Each season also includes its fair share of surprising challenges in the form of “Roaring 20s Week,” “Spice Week” or the regrettable “” (by far the biggest blunder in the history of the typically conscientious show). These home bakers aren’t competing for cash; instead, they’re looking for an understated compliment from on the texture of their sponge cake or a for their perfectly balanced flavors. The more GBBS you watch—Netflix is currently streaming the last seven seasons or “collections”—the more you realize just how priceless it is to be recognized for a job well done.

Great British Baking Show: Juniors

The kid-focused spin-off of The Great British Baking Show (known as Junior Bake Off across the pond) might be even more heartwarming than the original series. Sixteen of Britain’s most talented young bakers ages 9-12 are invited to the iconic GBBS tent to show off their skills. First, the kids take part in the Technical challenge where, like their adult counterparts, they must show they can make a specific cake, cookie, or bread of the judge’s choosing. The next round, the Showstopper challenge, lets them show off their creativity with stunning bakes that range from mythical bread creatures to biscuit piñatas. There is truly nothing more inspiring than watching these young home bakers pull off recipes that would stump those more than twice their age. Their tenacity may be the very gentle push you need to get back in the kitchen.

Is It Cake?

Who knew it would be so satisfying to watch Saturday Night Live’s Mikey Day cut into everyday items like a bowling ball or a bucket hat only to find out they’re actually cake? In 2022, the streamer debuted the hosted by Day, which forces celebrities, comedians, and cooks, most of whom are from popular Netflix movies and TV shows, to take a stab at the titular question. Thanks to the show’s talented hyper-realistic cake artists it’s a question that is still nearly impossible to answer three seasons in.

Baking Impossible

Baking Impossible might take the cake for the most inventive cooking show on Netflix. Nine teams of two “bakineers”—a portmanteau for “baker” and “engineer”—work together to create desserts that are both delicious and structurally sound. Challenges range from building a sailboat made entirely of cake to constructing a three-hole mini golf course with an edible obstacle. In order to take home the $100,000 prize, these ingenious confections must pass a series of stress tests to prove they are in fact functional. A piece of cake, right? No, of course not, which is what makes this show such a tasty sight to behold.

Chef’s Table Vol. 4: Pastry

The one and only dessert-centric season of the acclaimed food documentary series Chef’s Table puts the spotlight on some of the most celebrated culinary artists in the world. Among them: Milk Bar founder Christina Tosi, Caffè Sicilia owner and renowned gelato maker Corrado Assenza, the wildly inventive pastry chef Jordi Roca, and Will Goldfarb, an avant-garde baker who was named “World’s Best Pastry Chef” by in 2021. Across four beautifully shot episodes, the Netflix docuseries shows how each of these chefs became the best at what they do: bringing joy to the masses through their one-of-a-kind sweet treats.

Nadiya Bakes

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