Sunday, February 6, 2011

'Cake Boss' recap: Buddy, sister Grace go all out for Rachael Ray

Rachael Ray on Cake Boss.jpgTLCRachael Ray has a special request for Buddy Valastro on tonight's episode of "Cake Boss."Season 4, Episode 1: "Circus, Celebrity Chef and Surprise!"

After the first season of the spin-off competition series "Next Great Baker," "Cake Boss" is back in full swing for the fourth season.

Tonight we join Buddy and his wife Lisa during an intimate moment with the OB/GYN as the two looked at ultrasound pictures of their fourth child.

Buddy is inspired to make a cake for Lisa in the shape of a stork holding a baby in a yellow blanket - the perfect dessert for an upcoming party where the Boss and his wife plan to announce the new addition to the rest of the familgia.

The cake must remain a surprise and, because little is sacred in Carlo's Bake Shop, Mauro is charged with helping Buddy keep it that way.

But the stork cake soon becomes an afterthought as the bakers get two high-profile assignments for the week: commissions from Rachael Ray and Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus.

Daytime television's newest darling comes to the bakery (via the back door, of course) to ask Buddy to make her a cake in honor of her fifth wedding anniversary to husband John Cusimano. The Boss decides to make a replica of the Castello di Velona, the castle-turned-hotel in the Tuscan countryside where the couple was wed.

Rice crispy treats, cannoli cream and the usual layer of textured fondant do the job for the castle, while modeling chocolate figures of Rachael and John complete the pretty picture.

In the meantime, it is quickly revealed that Buddy's sister Grace is a huge fan of Rachael Ray, showering her with platters of Italian cookies. Feeling generous - or perhaps pressured by TV cameras - he brings his sister along to come with him to deliver the cake to the set of the Rachael Ray Show in New York City.

In the midst of all the baking, the crew finds time to check out the the Lackawanna Center, an 8-story industrial building just next door to Hoboken in Jersey City and the future site of the Boss' new office suite and state-of-the-art baking facility.

Which brings us to the third cake of the week: a replica of the Circus ring in honor of the Ringling Bros.'s final performance of the season commissioned by Dean the Clown.

For the "Greatest Show on Earth," Buddy must make the "Greatest Cake on Earth" so he and his crew roll up their sleeves to recreate the animals, the clowns and the tightrope atop layers of red velvet and vanilla cake. They even manage to throw in some pyrotechnics with a hoop of fire and modeling chocolate people shooting out of canons.

Buddy and the bakers deliver the cake to the big top where Dean gives it a thumbs up, leaving him to finish his covert operations for the week in time for the family gathering at the Valastro's.

As Buddy and his decorator Ralph are putting the finishing touches on the stork cake, who should walk in but Lisa followed by Mauro who did a rather unconvincing job at informing her that Buddy had already left the bakery for the day. 

Seeming unfazed, Lisa asks Buddy a question about an order and walks out of the bakery.

Cut to the family enjoying a Sunday dinner of what appears to be Italian sausage and peppers and Buddy and Lisa tell the family their big news. Once the hugging and shrieking is out of the way, Mauro helps Buddy present Lisa with the surprise of his own and the Boss cuts into his stork cake.

The moral of today's episode, "Cake Boss" fans?

"It doesn't matter what changes we go through. It doesn't matter how the business grows," Buddy says. "At the end of the day, it's about this right here. It's about famiglia."

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