Favorite Books Competing as Showstopper Challenges
Photo by Daria Shevtsova from Pexels
It’s the holiday season and our ovens are getting an extra workout with all of the cookies, pies, and cakes we’re making. And if you missed the bread baking trend the first time around, now is a great time to get into it! We’re big fans of The Great British Baking Show over here, so we decided to combine three of our favorite things – gentle reality TV, baking, and reading – into one delicious blog post. Because, admit it. You’ve always wondered what would happen if your favorite books competed in a showstopper challenge.
William Shakespeare’s The Force Doth Awaken by Ian Doescher
When the 3D biscuit challenge comes around, there’s only one book that we want to see in the competition: William Shakespeare’s The Force Doth Awaken. We’re dreaming up the epic chase scene Escape from Jakku, with a biscuit sculpture of the Millennium Falcon at the center – partially in gingerbread, though we’re open to suggestions – with figures of BB-8, Rey, and Finn posed so they feel like they’re in motion. We’d love to see what one of the star bakers might do to recreate sand in this epic scene. One thing’s for certain: it’s going to be delicious.
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Amazon | Books A Million | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop
Geekerella by Ashley Poston
A couple of weeks into the competition, the judges are sure to pull out the shaped banquet pie showstopper challenge. And what better book to set the scene than Geekerella, a long-time Quirk Books favorite. We’re envisioning our banquet pie in the shape of The Magic Pumpkin, complete with wheels that rotate. (Though we will be holding our breath that they don’t fall off when Paul Hollywood gives them a spin.) The filling will be savory, of course, evoking the feeling of buying a favorite treat from this wonderful food truck.
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Amazon | Books A Million | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop
The Henna Wars by Adiba Jaigirdar
During bread week, The Henna Wars is set to win the decorative loaf display showstopper challenge. And we don’t mean to talk a big game – we know this is a humble and supportive competition show. But Nishat is a stand out artist. And sure, as one of the youngest competitors, she hasn’t had the same amount of time to dedicate to her craft as some of the other home bakers. But what she lacks in years she makes up for in intricate henna-inspired designs, both sculpted on and etched into her decorative loaf.
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Amazon | Books A Million | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop
This is All Your Fault by Aminah Mae Safi
One of the most finicky showstoppers is the 48 filo amuse-bouche challenge. The uniformity! The filo! Did we mention the uniformity! There’s no better book up for the challenge than This is All Your Fault. The entire book takes place in 24 hours (that’s two filo amuse-bouche for every hour) inside the soon-to-be-closed indie bookstore Wild Nights. We know that Rinn, Daniella, and Imogen – the incredible rotating protagonists of this novel – would jump at the chance to make 48 filo books for the challenge, using the air time to get the word out about Wild Nights. Someone has to save the store!
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Amazon | Books A Million | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop
Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender
If anyone can win the marzipan cake showstopper challenge, it’s Felix Ever After. The cover alone would be gorgeous in marzipan, but we had an even bigger idea. We would love to see one of Felix’s giant self-portraits – in all of its painted glory – fully realized in marzipan. And when the judges cut into it, they’ll be met with a chocolate cake so rich that Paul will just have to give one of his rare handshakes. That’s how moved he’ll be by the masterpiece.
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