Ultimate Cake Off is an American television series that currently airs on TLC

TLC (TV channel)

TLC is an American cable TV specialty channel which initially focused on educational content. Since 1991 TLC has been owned by Discovery Communications, the same company that operates the Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and The Science Channel, as well as other learning-themed networks...

. The show is based on professional cake artists that go "head-to-head" in constructing cakes over five feet tall with the assistance of a team of chefs, designers etc. for a money prize. Season one of the series, hosted by Michael Schulson, premiered on August 3, 2009. Season two, hosted by George Duran

George Duran

George Duran is an American chef and entertainer who is currently a spokesman in commercials for Hunt's tomatoes. He also became host of TLC's Ultimate Cake Off in its second season.-Biography:...

, premiered on February 1, 2010. Professional bakers Margaret Braun

Margaret Braun

Margaret Braun is a prominent New York City baker. She has funded architecture and art tours in Europe through bakery work, and this visual education is apparent in her innovative cakes. Braun's cakes have been lauded in a long list of American magazines, television programs, and in a 2001 book....

 and Leigh Grode join the hosts as judges.

Gameplay

Each competition involves three teams of bakers, in which they have 9 hours to make cakes for a particular client—all of them must meet minimums on height and food content. Each cake is judged for three criteria: client satisfaction, technical difficulty and aesthetic appeal. Each competition also has a taste test, in which four judges (Braun, Grode, the host and the client) taste a sample of the bakers' cakes; the winner of this round has the right to select the team that should sit out for thirty minutes. (Some episodes also feature a skills test, in which each baker decorates a small cake, also for the right to take a team out for thirty minutes). After time runs out, each team moves their cakes to the judging room, where the four judges deliberate on the qualities and faults of each cake. The cake with the most votes wins $10,000, plus display at the client's event.

Notable contestants

Dana Herbert, a baker from Bear, Delaware

Bear, Delaware

Bear is a census-designated place in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. The population was 17,593 at the 2000 census.Originally a small crossroads in a rural area south of Wilmington, the area supported small farms growing mainly corn and cattle...

, participated in a Season 1 competition for Legoland California

Legoland California

Legoland California is a theme park located in Carlsbad, California, focused on Lego bricks. It opened on March 20, 1999. It is the third Legoland park to open, and the first Legoland outside of Europe...

; he did not win. In 2011, he would become the first champion of TLC's Next Great Baker

Next Great Baker

Next Great Baker is an American television series that aired on TLC, hosted by Buddy Valastro, the star of his own reality series, Cake Boss. The show features contestants participating in challenges that test their baking and decorating skills...

, in which he would become an intern for Buddy Valastro at Carlo's Bake Shop

Carlo's Bake Shop

Carlo's Bake Shop, commonly known as Carlo's Bakery and also known as Carlo's City Hall Bake Shop, is a bakery located at 95 Washington Street in Hoboken, New Jersey, opposite the City Hall. It is currently run by Buddy Valastro Jr...

.

Series overview

Season		Episodes	Season Premiere	Season Finale
	1	8	August 3, 2009	October 19, 2009
	2	12	February 1, 2010	April 26, 2010

Season 1

Ep #	Total	Title	Airdate

Season 2

Ep #	Total	Title	Airdate

Special

Ep #	Title	Airdate