The Best TV Shows and Movies for Baking Fanatics

Cupcake Wars (2009–2018)​

Rating: Four Cookies​

Beginning more than a decade ago (so get ready to start streaming those 11 seasons), the Food Network show features four bakers vying for a $10,000 purse for creating the best cupcake. Hosted first by Justin Willman and later by Jonathan Bennett, every episode has a challenge. Just swim over to Season 1, Episode 3, for a celebration of Sea World that called for seaweed and sea salt in the mix.​

Watch it: Cupcake Wars, on Amazon Prime

The Great British Baking Show (2010 to present)​

Rating: Five Cookies

​So many viewers are addicted to this granddaddy of baking shows that it just finished its 12th season, with 6.9 million viewers in the U.K. watching the finale. It’s now heading for a 13th year, which will likely premiere in the fall of 2022 with expert judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith. Known as The Great British Bake Off in the U.K., this is half talent showcase, half healthy competition with a team of celebrity chefs testing the mettle of 12 contestants over 10 episodes. Seasons 5 to 12 are currently streaming on Netflix. ​

Watch it: The Great British Baking Show, on Netflix​​​​​​​​​​​​​

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Kids Baking Championship (2015 to present)​

Rating: Four Cookies​

One way to lure kids away from passive TV watching is empowering them to bake with the Food Network’s long-running reality competition show. From cream puff swans to ice cream sandwiches to learning how to separate eggs, this program, with cohosts Valerie Bertinelli, 61, and Ace of Cakes’ Duff Goldman, lets 10- to 13-year-old bakers feel the heat while competing for the title of Kids Baking Champion. And it could offer some sweet inspiration to all the chefs in the household.​

Watch it: Kids Baking Championship, on Amazon Prime

Martha Bakes (2011–2019)​

Rating: Four Cookies​

Originally airing on PBS, the homemaking queen’s 20-minute baking demonstrations provide an insider’s guide to such delicacies as pecan tart, tiramisu and old Vienna apple strudel. Expect lots of how-to advice — and the only competition here is between maven extraordinaire Martha and herself.​

Watch it: Martha Bakes, on YouTube

Nadiya Bakes (2020)

​Rating: Five Cookies​

When British-Bangladeshi Nadiya Hussain won the 2015 Great British Bake Off, in part due to her orgasmic raspberry-flavored mille-feuille, a TV star was born. Nadiya said in her victory speech: “I'm never gonna put boundaries on myself ever again. I’m never gonna say, 'I can't do it.’ I'm never gonna say, 'Maybe.’ I'm never gonna say, 'I don't think I can.’ I can and I will.” And she did, launching her own eponymous show and coming out about her history of anxiety attacks, telling Radio Times that baking allows her to “feel peace.” Join her in her “happy place.”

​Watch it: Nadiya Bakes, on Netflix​

Nailed It! (2018 to present)​

Rating: Five Cookies​

The fun, quirky Netflix reality show pits three amateur baking-challenged contestants against each other making complicated confections for a $10,000 prize. With six seasons in the pan, the show’s been nominated for three Primetime Emmys, and it marked a milestone when host Nicole Byer became the first Black woman to be nominated for Outstanding Host for a Reality or Competition Program.

Watch it: Nailed It, on Netflix​​​

Zumbo's Just Desserts (2016 to present)​

Rating: Four Cookies​

Following guest appearances on Master Chef Australia, Adriano Zumbo stepped into the center ring himself. In his eponymous reality series, the fearless Aussie patissier puts amateur bakers through their paces for a big payout: the winner gets $100,000. He’s also the host of the popular Sugar Rush, in which contestants race against the clock to win big bucks.​

Watch it: Zumbo’s Just Desserts, on Netflix​​​

And a pair of sweet baking movies!​​​

​​It’s Complicated (2009)​

Rating: Four Cookies​

Divorced bakery owner Meryl Streep, 72, has the most amazing home kitchen courtesy of Nancy Meyers, the interior decorator of rom-com directors. In her personal life, the successful cake maker’s having trouble choosing between these two pastries: the attractive Steve Martin, 76, and her ex, Alec Baldwin, 63. It’s a recipe for trouble, with a sweet ending. ​

Watch it: It’s Complicated, on Amazon Prime

Moonstruck (1987)​

Rating: 5 Cookies​

Long before Nicolas Cage, 58, starred as a swine-loving chef-turned-hermit in 2021’s Pig, he played a one-handed Brooklyn baker with a romantic soul opposite small-business bookkeeper Cher, 75. The audience of this classic rom-dram-com knew from the minute they set eyes on this odd couple: They went together like flour and sugar. ​

Watch it: Moonstruck, on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, HBO Max

Thelma M. Adams, the former film critic for Us Weekly and the New York Post, is a novelist who writes on film for AARP, The New York Times, The Hollywood Reporter and Variety.