The Great American Baking Show season 3 finale recap: Three bakers compete for the winner's title

The Great American Baking Show, the spin-off of the British counterpart, released season 3 with all episodes on April 11, 2025. It saw amateur homecooks challenge themselves to master baking skills and produce noteworthy dishes every round. After a series of challenging tasks, three contestants reached the finale, vying for the winner's title.

With no monetary compensation, the bakers, Kim, Adela, and Daniel, competed against each other for a shot at the Cake Stand and appreciation from judges Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood. The finale saw the contestants prepare various things from chocolate tarts to spring-themed landscape centerpieces.

Although each wished to impress the judges and leave the competition victorious, Kim Goldfeder Clarke outperformed the rest and took the winner's title of The Great American Baking Show.

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What happened in the finale of The Great American Baking Show season 3?

1) Signature round

In the first round of challenges, the finalists of The Great American Baking Show were asked to prepare a tart, made of a chocolate pastry dough and filling, with tempered chocolate decorations. With two and a half hours, Daniel prepared a salted caramel tart inspired by his winter wedding.

Adela created a mint, white chocolate tart decorated with a tree to honor her late friend. Kim, on the other hand, cooked a coffee tart, honoring her mother. For decoration, she used chocolate roses and feathers to represent her ancestors.

While tasting Kim's tart, Prue mentioned it was "very rich," while Paul pointed out that the base was "too thick." Daniel's crisp and short pastry impressed the judges, but they criticized the "chai" flavor pairing with the caramel. Adela's tart earned high praises from the panelists, presentation and flavor-wise. Paul ended up giving her a handshake.

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2) Technical challenge

For the technical round of The Great American Baking Show, the judges challenged the contestants to make six kanelbullar, Swedish cinnamon buns.

With two hours to bake the bread, the contestants tried to follow the recipe to the last detail. However, they struggled with replicating the shape and ensuring cinnamon was evenly distributed in the bread.

Since it was a blind-tasting round, Prue and Paul tasted the buns based solely on their appearance and taste without knowing who cooked which one. While reviewing Daniel's buns, they mentioned they needed more proving, and the shaping was "tucked in." However, the distribution of cinnamon and overall taste were appreciated.

Kim's buns, on the other hand, were criticized for a lack of cinnamon and their shape. Adela's buns also failed to impress the judges as they did not have enough cinnamon and were "inconsistent with the size and shape."

After some deliberation, Adela was ranked third, Kim second, and Daniel first.

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3) Showstopper challenge

For the last round of The Great American Baking Show finale, the contestants were challenged to create a spring landscape centerpiece that would feature a cake and two extra bakes, one of which had to be savory.

Finalist Kim presented the judges with a cinnamon carrot cake shaped "like a basket" with Rudy the Rabbit "popping out of it." She also cooked a focaccia bread with vegetables to stay on the theme of spring. Meanwhile, Adela prepared an Earl Grey cake with grapefruit curd and pandan lemon pastry cream. She decorated her cake to resemble a windmill, topping it with a spinach and feta pie.

Daniel created a toffee pudding cake, sausage breakfast pie, and almond shortbread cookies. While Paul and Prue appreciated the concepts, they worried the bakers had taken on ambitious centerpieces.

Dame Prue Leith Speaks At the Cambridge Union (Image via Getty)

Kim's bread and pie elements were praised by the judges. However, it was her carrot cake that Paul thought was "spot on." The panelists thought Adela's cake was called "soggy" and "dense." Although they liked the flavor, they were thrown off by the texture.

While reviewing Daniel's fairy tea garden landscape, Prue and Paul applauded his "imaginative" concept. However, they thought his breakfast pie was "overseasoned." While they liked the flavor of the cake, Paul mentioned that the cookies were "spectacular."

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4) Final verdict

While the finalists of The Great American Baking Show waited outside with the other contestants and their families, the judges deliberated who to crown the winner. Prue and Paul decided to give the victory to Kim, based on her performance in the Showstopper round and throughout the season.

"I did it! I can't believe I did it," Kim said.

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The Great American Baking Show is available to stream on Roku.