Baking a cake and eating it too is the best way to ring in the new year. Add to that a dash of competition — running against the clock to bake a masterpiece and showing off culinary skills — and you’re set for a grand watch as the night of December 31 rolls towards the stroke of midnight. These six baking competitions on Netflix will sweeten your adrenaline rush and set you for a delicious 2023.

The Great British Baking Show

In this show, amateur bakers compete in a series of challenges over the course of 10 weeks. The contestants must whip up their best dishes in order to become the best baker of the UK. They have to bake dishes based on a delicious theme in every episode — one of them is named ‘Star Baker’ by the judges and another is sent home.

The ultimate winner of The Great British Baking Show is selected from the contestants who eventually make it to the final. The prize in this competition is not money but a cake stand. Food writer Mary Berry, celebrity chef Paul Hollywood and restaurateur Prue Leith are the current judges on the show, which is presented by Noel Fielding and Matt Lucas.

Is It Cake?

A boat, a leather purse, a hat or a plate of nachos… or is it a cake? Participants in the innovative baking show Is It Cake? are required to bake a cake which must resemble ordinary everyday objects in order to trick the judges. Winners of each episode receive USD 5,000.

Host Mikey Day of Saturday Night Live fame adds a touch of drama and flair to this exciting baking show. In the event of a tie, the judges eat the cake to see which tastes best. Then the winner has to choose between two bags of cash, and if they choose the bag that isn’t a cake, they win.

Junior Baking Show

Junior Baking Show started off as a spinoff to The Great British Baking Show with a slight difference — the contestants here are aged nine to 12 years. Comedian Harry Hill presents this baking competition, which is being judged by former The Great British Baking Show contestant Liam Charles and pastry chef Ravneet Gill in the current season.

The contestants may be young but their creativity knows no bounds, as is evident from the awe-inspiring cakes they conjure up in every episode. Every season comprises 15 episodes; the contestants have to take part in three challenges per episode, after which one contestant is eliminated in a similar manner like The Great British Baking Show.

School of Chocolate

Eight professional chefs, chocolatiers and culinary teachers study the art of chocolate under the guidance of famed chocolatier Amaury Guichon, who runs the Pastry Academy in Las Vegas, in this show. These chefs refine their knowledge and skills on how to use chocolate to create exquisite dishes and come up with new chocolate designs.

But School of Chocolate is more than just a masterclass on chocolate. The participants often have to compete with each other to come out in flying colours after challenges. Although no one is sent home, Guichon may sit one or more of the chefs out during a challenge if he so pleases.

Baking Impossible

Cooking is all about knowing the right mix of ingredients, the optimal amount of heat required and the proper dosage of flavours needed to produce the perfect dish. Baking Impossible takes this science behind cooking a few notches higher by pairing skilled bakers with engineers. The two-person teams called bakineers must come up with cakes resembling boats, cars, bridges or any other engineering set piece. These set pieces have to be fully functional and must also taste delicious, prompting a quirky mix of culinary and engineering skills. Hosted by comedian Justin Williams and judges from both the world of baking and engineering, the grand prize on this show is a whopping USD 100,000.

Bake Squad

Cake decorator Ashley Holt, pastry chefs Christophe Rull and Maya-Camille Broussard, and chocolatier Gonzo Jimenez are the judges for Bake Squad. In every episode the contestants are required to create cakes for a special occasion like a birthday party or wedding.

Presented by Christina Tosi, founder of the popular bakery chain Milk Bar, the show comprises eight episodes with no cash prizes or elimination. However, only one baker’s cake is selected at the end of every episode for the special occasion.