Cooking shows on Philippine TV are usually about cooking mostly savoury dishes and desserts made from a stove, an oven or a stove-top grill. But in recent years, a number of specialized cook shows that specifically create baked confectionaries have started to gain some following. From cupcakes, wedding cakes and custom cakes with unconventional shapes and designs, these shows have introduced a new fascination about the culinary science of baking. Here are four of the most popular current and past baking shows on TV

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ACE OF CAKES – Ace of cakes is an American reality TV show featuring the artists behind Charm City Cakes, a custom cake shop in Baltimore, Maryland. Charm City Cakes is owned by Chef Duff Goldman and is staffed by more than 10 cake artists including Adam Goldstein, Mary Smith, Ben Turner and Mark Muller to name a few.

 The show was written by Heather Mitchell, Miriam Leffert and Dustin Rubin. It ran from August 17, 2006 to February 10, 2011 with a total of 115 episodes on the Food Network.

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DC CUPCAKES – On the other hand, TLC channel produced a reality show that focuses on cupcakes made by sisters and business partners Sophie LaMontagne and Katherine Kallinis. The two sisters run Georgetown Cupcakes, a small cupcakery located in Washington D.C.

The show premiered on TLC on July 16, 2010 and is now on its way for a third season. Aside from the mouth-watering cupcakes the shop produces, the show also features the different aspects of running a cupcake shop such as dealing with clients, job orders and handling staff.

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CAKE BOSS – Another reality show produced by TLC that puts emphasis on baking is Cake Boss. Just like DC Cupcakes, Cake Boss features a cake business in the name of Carlo’s Bakery in New Jersey. This bakery is owned by Bartolo “Buddy” Valastro together with his family. The show premiered on April 19, 2009 and at present has aired 109 episodes in a span of 5 seasons.

The show is produced by Pamela Healey, Jim Berger and Art Edwards. The popularity of the show has lead to the creation of two spinoffs – the Next Great Baker and KitchenBoss.

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CUPCAKE WARS – Last but definitely not the least is Food Network’s Cupcake Wars. The show is a reality-based competition hosted by Justin Willman and first aired on June 13, 2010. The premise of the contest is for a set of contestants to create professional-looking cupcakes through several elimination rounds. The show is produced by Adam Cohen, Cara Trapper and Joanna Vernetti and is now on its 7^th season.

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There you have it guys. Four of the most well-known present and past baking shows that people have come to love. What’s your favourite among the four? Tell us by leaving a comment below. Also, don’t forget to add up TFL on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter and Google Plus or subscribe to TFL’s RSS feeds for more Filipino lifestyle stories.

The fourth season of FOX’s hit TV series Glee premiered last week. And this season offers the biggest change the show has ever seen in its 3-season history.  To start off, majority of the cast (specifically the graduating class), with the exception of Kurt (Chris Colfer) and Rachel (Lea Michelle) are nowhere in sight; so, no Santana, Finn, Puck, Quinn and Mercedes, or at least not in the first episode of the season.

As for the remaining cast, (which include Brittany, Blaine, Sam, Tina, Artie, Joe and Sugar) McKinley High has changed for the better since the New Directions won the National Show Choir Competition from last season. The Glee club is no longer the losers club but is now the “in” crowd that a lot of students wish to join. In fact, the New Directions is looking for new recruits.

So enter now the Glee club auditions. And in this section of the show, we see the first set of new characters in this season. First up is Jake Puckerman (played by Jacob Artist), who happens to be Noah “Puck” Puckerman’s half-brother who auditions for the New Directions but wasn’t at first accepted due to his anger management issues. Next is Marley Rose (played by Melissa Benoist), the lunch lady’s daughter who gets accepted right away into the club through her stellar performance of New York State of Mind. And lastly, although not completely new, is Wade “Unique” Adams who jumps over from Vocal Adrenaline to McKinley High in hopes of finding a school who would accept him for what he is.

There’s also a new antagonist in town to help Coach Sue Sylvester in terrorize the club – Kitty. And according to coach Sylvester, Kitty’s like a young Quinn Fabray who’s not pregnant, is not manic depressive or someone’s who hasn’t gone in and out of a wheelchair.

And on the other side of the fence is Rachel Berry. This season, Rachel starts his first classes at NYADA, a performing arts school in New York. And contrary to what she was expecting, her dream New Yorker life isn’t as pretty as how she painted it in her mind. And her teacher in Dance 101 – Cassandra July (played by Kate Hudson) is really making sure of that.

Another NYADA faculty member returning this season is Carmen Tibideaux (played by Whoopi Goldberg). And now, she welcomes Rachel to NYADA inside the round room where she performs the same song that Marley sang in Ohio – New York State of Mind in front of Carmen’s class including Rachel’s seemingly new love interest – Dean Geyer (played by Brody Weston).

So there, if you’re a fan of the show, it’s good to know that this is just the first episode of the season, and that there are plenty more episodes to come. So, I hope you’re all excited, because the next episode (entitled) Britney airs next week! Till next time! J