Cake Boss with Buddy Valastro returns for 4th season on TLC

Cake Boss on TLC has been taking viewers behind the scenes of Buddy Valastro's busy, family-run bakery, sharing the sweeter side of life for three season. Season four of Cake Boss with Buddy Valastro and familiy  premieres on January 31, 2011. Two welcome the new season on Cake Boss, TLC is  airing a marathon of the series on Monday afternoon and evening.

Buddy's busier than ever at the bakery and Cake Boss back for its fourth season starting Monday, January 31 at 9:00 pm. This season finds the crew at Carlo's Bakery tackling their biggest cakes yet - including a toilet bowl cake that actually flushes, a giant great white shark cake, and a visit from Rachael Ray, who works with Buddy to make a cake for her wedding anniversary. Buddy and wife Lisa are also expecting their fourth child, leaving Buddy worried about keeping up with ever-increasing demands at home and work.

CAKE BOSS is produced for TLC by High Noon Entertainment. Executive Producers for CAKE BOSS are Jim Berger, Art Edwards, Pamela Healey.

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Kitchen Boss with Buddy Valastro on TLC

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

TLCRachael 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."

Sponsored Giveaway: Buddy Valastro, The Learning Channel's Cake Boss, at The Orpheum on November 17, 2010

Buddy Valastro, The Cake Boss (Courtesy of TLC)

New Jersey’s Buddy Valastro, whom you may know as The Cake Boss, just became a New York Times best selling author. He’ll also be appearing live at The Orpheum next Wednesday, November 17th, on the Los Angeles stop of his “Bakin’ With The Boss” tour. It’s going to be a family-friendly evening of stories and cake demonstrations inside one of the most beautiful venues LA has to offer.

So how, exactly, do you get to spend an evening with the Boss of The Learning Channel? You can see about tickets here – and/or enter my giveaway for two tickets (value ~$100). Make sure you do BOTH things below to enter. If I pick your name and you haven’t done both to qualify your entry, I’ll have pick another one:

Leave a comment below (make sure you use an email that you check regularly so I can easily contact you) with your favorite cake flavor in the whole wide world and your Twitter account or Facebook URL (see #2).Either Tweet the below:

I just entered to win 2 tickets to The Cake Boss @LAOrpheum on 11/17 by @estarLA http://estar.la/e/93

or if you prefer Facebook, “like” my blog page on Facebook.

The contest ends Monday (11/15) afternoon at 4PM, when I’ll pick the winner at random. The winner wins two tickets to Bakin’ With The Boss next Wednesday!!

Good luck!!

Speaking With ... Buddy Valastro The 'Cake Boss'

You may not immediately know the name Buddy Valastro, but mention the ?Cake Boss? and recognition is almost instantaneous. The star of the hit TLC series that bears his famous moniker, Valastro has written his first book, Cake Boss: Stories and Recipes from Mia Famiglia, ($25.99, Free Press). The book is his official homage to his family, and especially his late father, who crafted the family bakery business in New Jersey decades ago and who instilled a work ethic in his son that Valastro says is something he will pass on to his own children. The book contains 38 recipes, but it?s the stories of Valastro?s immigrant Italian-American family that make the book much more than just another celebrity chef how-to.

Valastro is in town this weekend for a book signing at Borders in Chicago today and an interactive stage show at the Genesee Theatre in Waukegan tonight.

Question: You could have written a full-out cookbook, but your family?s story is the crux of this book.

Buddy Valastro: I wanted people to read my family?s story and be inspired by that. It?s dedicated to my dad because I came to realize what a great man he was. I owe everything to him. The seeds of the work ethic that he planted in me make me what I am today. He lived the American dream; I?m extending it. I?m a pretty lucky guy.

Q: Do you think the book paints a whole different portrait of the Cake Boss?

BV: I wanted to put out the right message of who I am. I?m a good family man. I preach that if you want things in life and you work hard, you will get them.

Q: How did you start your love affair with making cakes?

BV: At a very young age. I knew I was gifted with cake decorating. I just started seeing visions of bigger and grander cakes. I would concentrate on making things that weren?t supposed to be cakes.

Q: Is there a cake you can?t make?

BV: There?s no ?can?t.? Determination is the key. Last week, I had to make a cake in the shape of a toilet bowl ? that flushed. I had no idea how to make it, but I knew I wasn?t gonna stop until I did it. And we did it. And it flushed.

Q: What?s your all-time favorite cake?

BV: My father?s cream puff cake.

Q: What?s the most expensive cake you?ve made to date?

BV: The price was $40,000, but I can?t tell you who it was for. But look, you can come in and buy a $3 cupcake or a half-sheet cake and it?s made with the same love and dedication. It?s all about making the customer happy.

Q: What?s your signature recipe?

BV: I took my dad?s recipes and changed a lot of them to make them my own. But if I had to pick one of the many that I created from scratch, I?d have to say I?m proud of my vanilla cake recipe.

Stevens Scientists Honored; Plus, Buddy Makes a Deal They Couldn't Refuse

Hoboken's celebrity baker Buddy Valastro can keep his title after all. TLC, the cable TV network that airs "Cake Boss," the show featuring Valastro and his family bakery Carlo's, reached an agreement with the Seattle software firm that claimed the exclusive right to use the same name. The firm, Masters Software, had already been using "Cake Boss" for a business organization product it had been selling to bakeries since 2007, before the first episode of TLC's show aired on TV.

A federal judge had temporarily barred TLC from using the "Cake Boss" name, but the two sides have recently agreed to share it. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed, so there is no word on whether there was any exchange of financial compensation in either direction, or sweet tasty treats shipped to Seattle, for that matter.

About Town is a quick look at the not-quite-news but still-neat happenings that occur in Hoboken all the time. Seen something wacky, wild, cute, cuddly, funny or fun? Got an incidental observation or a minor celebration? Shoot it to alanskontra@hotmail.com. We want pictures too.

Four scientists with ties to Stevens Institute of Technology were recently honored by the New Jersey Inventors Hall of Fame.

Professor Vikki Hazelwood, Associate Program Director of Biomedical Engineering, was honored with the Advancement of Invention Award for introducing entrepreneur principles into the classroom.

Dr. Nicolas Girard, a 2002 Stevens graduate, won an Inventor of the Year Award for his work with wireless technology. He is the founder and CEO of Attila Technologies, which is based in Hoboken and specializes in communications.

Dr. Xiaoling Chen, a 2010 graduate, and Asli Ergun, a current Ph.D. candidate both won a Graduate Student Award.

'Cake Boss' recap: Buddy, Cousin Anthony fist pump for Snooki

TLCBuddy poses with Nicole Polizzi, or "Snooki," and her mother's cake.

Episode 20: "Snooki, Super Anthony and a Ship"

You know Carlo's Bakery is going somewhere when it is graced by the presence of Snooki of "The Jersey Shore."

She wanted a cake for her mom's birthday, but it needed pizzazz because as she said, her mom is very conservative. So Snooki requested to have a bit of herself in it somehow — selfless daughter indeed.

Cousin Anthony and younger cousin, Buddy, were starstruck by the new client, and tried impressing her. It was obvious that no one at the bakery watches "The Jersey Shore" as Snooki made references about her poof, GTL-ing, and fist pumping gorillas that no one could decipher upon first mention.

She seemed almost taken aback when she requested that her signature poof be somehow incorporated into her mom's cake, and Buddy just stared clueless.

A rectangular base followed by two little round tiers next to each other were used to resemble two different cakes in one. One side was Snooki's and the opposing was her mom's. Snooki's part of the cake was a cool blue, with a mini-she, done by Ralphie, who had no idea of the hair poof either, and was surrounded by shirtless, buffed up "guidos" on the brown-sugared beach.

Snooki's mom's side was neon green, with piping flowers and miniature flower pots, along with a sculpture of her as a gardener.

I believe this was the first time cherry filling with real cherries was used.

Do I recall Buddy at some point express discontent with everything "The Jersey Shore" represents for Italian-Americans? Yet here he was taking orders from the "guidette" and teaching Ralphie how to fist pump. He only mentioned how he didn't like the term "guido" but shrugged it off as part of the normal talk at the shore.

On to our second cake, which was really the first one introduced in the show. Clients at South Street Seaport in New York City asked for a different kind of ship cake in celebration of the 75th anniversary of the S.S. Normandie luxury liner. They didn't just want a replica of the ship. Instead, they wanted the cake to exhibit what was found inside the ship.

TLCJuan paints art deco tiles for the Seaport Museum Cake.

Buddy highlighted what he found to be memorable, and made a four-tiered white cake with twisted fondant to resemble roping to go around each tier.

One of the few items saved after the ship was destroyed in 1942 was the grand wheel. So Buddy decided to make a giant, brown wheel on top of the cake that actually spun. It was molded out of PVC pipes with the help of strongman Mauro. I do have to point out that Buddy failed to give credit to him, saying that he himself got it to work after failing at making a large wheel the first time.

The front part of the ship was also made, out of Rice Krispies treats and placed next to the cake. Badges, anchors, art decor from the dining tapestry, captain caps, and tiny French butlers decorated the vanilla and chocolate ganache cake.

The museum folks were pleasantly stunned by Buddy's keen sense of detail.

Back to Snooki's visit. By now, Anthony isn't shy to make a fool out of himelf, asking to hang out sometime. Snooki commented on how he was pale, a huge turnoff for the queen of baking under the sun. He decided to "upgrade" his look, getting a makeover by the girls at the bakery to suit Snooki's taste in juiced up men, or as she calls them "gorillas."

TLCDanny and Buddy work on the Seaport cake.

What did the makeover include? A black muscle tee, a terrible spray-on tan, and an Italian flag belt buckle that was reversed, resembling the Mexican flag. All that heavy cake lifting does provide results, though, as Anthony showed off his guns, and midriff to Snooki. And she approved by offering to stand near him and pose for pictures.

One of the first things Snooki noticed when presented with the cake was the molding of herself.

At the end, we hear her pale mom speak, saying how grateful she is of the cake especially after her daughter failed to see her at Mother's Day. Sounds like there's some personal drama there.

Cake Boss Buddy Valastro & Wife Lisa Expecting Fourth Child!

TLC’s Cake Boss star Buddy Valastro and wife Lisa are expecting their fourth child!  Read more on Buddy and Lisa’s baby news below.

The star of “Cake Boss” and his wife Lisa are excited to announce they are expecting a baby!

“Lisa and I are thrilled to be welcoming our fourth child into the world,” says Valastro, 33, who already dad to Sofia, 7, Buddy, 6, and Marco, 3.

“Our three children are looking forward to adding a new brother or sister.”

The pregnancy was part of the storyline for last night’s show on Cake Boss, which airs on Monday nights at 9 p.m.

Morning Rush: Hoboken proposes permanent 9/11 memorial, 'Cake Boss' Buddy Valastro expands to Jersey City

Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal"Cake Boss" star Buddy Valastro speaks at the welcome luncheon at Lackawanna Center in Jersey City Oct. 19.

The Lackawanna Center, an eight-story industrial building outside the Holland Tunnel, was transformed yesterday into the set of a future "Cake Boss" episode as politicos, bankers, developers and real estate agents gathered to welcome the famed baker to his new home in Jersey City. Check out the photo gallery here.

Nine years after the Sept. 11th attacks on the World Trade Center, Hoboken is unveiling conceptual drawings for a proposed 9/11 memorial. Mayor Dawn Zimmer expects it to be completed next year in time for the 10th anniversary.

For full stories, read today's Jersey Journal.

Cake Boss Buddy Valastro looking for Next Great Baker

Buddy Valastro, of Cake Boss on TLC, is searching for 'The Next Great Baker,' in a new series on TLC, according to a November 1, 2010 press release from TLC. Cake Boss: Next Great Baker is a new six week series premiering December 6, at 9:00 ET/8:00 C.

Cake Boss Buddy Valastro, along with family members, put 10 talented pastry chefs through the ringer to earn the title of "Next Great Baker." The prize includes $50,000 cash and a chance to work side-by-side with Buddy at Carlo's Bakery.

 Buddy pushes the contestants' baking and decorating skills to the limitevery week throughout the competition. The challenges are increasingly difficult,  testing  their business sense and cake artistry. Someone will be sent packing each week until the NEXT GREAT BAKER is the last one standing.

"This show is as much about learning how to run a successful business as it is about learning the tricks and techniques to be a great cake artist," explains Buddy Valastro. "My family and I put the contestants through the challenges we face every day and think the viewers will learn even more what it takes to be the best in the business."

The contestants vying for the sweet prize include:

•Brian Stevens from Austin, TX
•Corina Elgart from Huntington, NY
•Dana Herbert from Bear, DE
•Gregory Paul Soriano from Jersey City, NJ
•Jay Qualls from Nashville, TN
•Joe Glaser from Brooklyn, NY
•Johanna Lyons from Hanson, MA
•Kendra Jordan from Emporia, VA
•Megan Rountree from Keller, TX
•Pamela Ahn from Washington, DC

NEXT GREAT BAKER is produced for TLC by High Noon Entertainment. Executive producer is Art Edwards.

The Cake Boss the Valastro family in Italy

Cake Boss 3rd season pictures

'Cake Boss' star Buddy Valastro, wife expecting baby

Buddy Valastro, the star of Cake Boss and owner of Carlo’s Bakery in Hoboken, N.J., is expecting a fourth child with his wife, Lisa. People reports the baby will be born in February. “Lisa and I are thrilled to be welcoming our fourth child into the world,” the reality star told People. “Our three children are looking forward to adding a new brother and sister.” And fans of Cake Boss should look forward to seeing the drama of Lisa’s pregnancy: The baby will serve as a storyline during the next season of the TLC show.

Baby No. 4 on the Way for Cake Boss Buddy Valastro

There's another bun in the oven for TLC's Cake Boss star Buddy Valastro. He and wife Lisa are expecting baby no. 4 in February.

"Lisa and I are thrilled to be welcoming our fourth child into the world," Valastro, 33, who is dad to Sofia, 7, Buddy, 6, and Marco, 3, tells PEOPLE. "Our three children are looking forward to adding a new brother or sister."

The pregnancy will be a storyline on the latest season of Cake Boss, airing Mondays at 9 p.m.

And there will be no rest for the weary dad, and owner of Carlo's Bakery in Hoboken, N.J. He'll be promoting his new TLC competition series, The Next Great Baker, in December, and has a new book, Cake Boss: Stories and Recipes from Mia Famiglia hitting shelves in November.

'Cake Boss' Buddy Valastro's key ingredient: Family

As the star of Cake Boss, Buddy Valastro says, he has had some special opportunities to help others.

A local magazine in Hoboken, N.J. called hMAG arranged to have Valastro grant a wish for a 7-year-old girl who had terminal cancer and wanted to make a cake with him at his bakery.

"She was in a wheelchair and she barely had the strength to pick up the knife," Valastro says. She wanted to make a cake in the shape of heaven because she knew that was where she was going.

She smiled and enjoyed the mixing and baking with him, he says. After she left, Valastro cried.

"That really put life in perspective with me," he says. "I want people to know that life isn't so bad. If you think you have problems, others have worse problems."

When it comes to baking, especially during the holidays, everyone in the family, young and old, should be encouraged to help. But they have to understand: Baking is a science.So says cable TV phenom Buddy Valastro, 33. "If the recipe says measure it, measure it. If it says a cup, it means a cup. You have to read the steps and do the method. And while you're at it, have fun," he says.

The fourth-generation baker speaks from experience. He catapulted to fame as the star of TLC's Cake Boss, the popular cakemaking series now in its third season. It features the antics of his colorful Italian family with their New Jersey accents and saucy attitudes.

They work together at his bakery, Carlo's Bake Shop in Hoboken, N.J., whipping up elaborate wedding cakes, birthday cakes, cupcakes and pastries.

Their specialty: complex cakes that require some serious engineering. Last season, Valastro spearheaded the creation of a NASCAR cake — the same size as an actual car — and recently, he made a cake in the shape of a toilet bowl — and it flushed — for a plumbing company's 100th anniversary.

Today, Valastro is releasing his memoir, Cake Boss: Stories and Recipes From Mia Famiglia, filled with his family history and recipes.

And this month, he's visiting 17 cities doing live shows in which he offers cake-decorating tips and shares family stories (buddyontour.com). He also preaches his message that the American dream is still alive. "I want people leaving my show feeling inspired."

Baking has always been a family affair for Valastro. He gives credit for his success to his beloved father, who owned the bakery before him. Its name comes from the original owner, who sold it to his father.

His dad started bringing him to the bakery when he was 11. "I didn't go to culinary schools. I learned from the school of hard knocks," he says. Now he takes his own kids to the bakery: Sofia, 7, Buddy Jr., 6, and Marco, 3. "My kids love to cook and bake." He and wife Lisa expect their fourth in February.

Valastro encourages parents to teach their children culinary skills. Through cooking, kids learn about teamwork, leadership and work ethics, he says. "Nothing else brings family together like food."

He remembers learning how to make meatballs with his grandmother, who also taught him how to stuff a turkey.

As for his four sisters, mom, brothers-in-law and cousins who work with him on the show, he says: "We may scream and yell at each other, but at the end of the day, we would die for each other. We love each other and work hard."

Many families are like tiramisu, he says. "Tiramisu is many different layers making a complex dessert. A family has their layers and personalities, and if a family works together and gets the best out of each other, you have magic."

How does Buddy approach a cake design?

I get visions. I have epiphanies. And each cake, sometimes they take longer than others. I really have to think about something, and, you know, really not hear anything or not get disturbed for like 10 or 15 minutes sometimes. I mean sometimes it’ll take an hour and then, poof, something will pop in my head. And that’s kind of how it starts. You know I visually see it and in my mind I reconstruct it. I think of gravity. I think of feasibility and timeline and stuff like that if I can do it. You know, because I’ve pushed myself to the limits lots of times. So I know like how big a board could be before it ain’t gonna make it out the door. Or how big it is to get into the refrigerator. Or the elevator. So, you know I already have that knowledge and I apply that in the process of making the cake.

You know you have to apply different techniques and you have to figure out ways of making it bigger and really pushing it to the edge. Because sometimes your visions are different types of cakes where the bigger the better or, you know how am I gonna do this? Cause I can see it and I want to do it but, you know then there’s reality. What am I gonna knock a wall out so that I can drive this thing out the car? You know what I’m saying?

Time is always an issue. But with time, you know what it is? I don’t worry much about time. I know that if I have to I will push and stay all night until it’s done. I’m the type of person -- I’m wired different. I don’t give up. No matter, like I don’t fail. No matter what I have to do not to fail, I do it. I’ll redo a cake 10 times if I have to. I’ll work, you know four days straight. I won’t sleep. I won’t eat. I will do what I have to do to get the job done. I’m hardest on myself. I’m my worst critic.

Comments (45)

How does Buddy approach a cake design?

I get visions. I have epiphanies. And each cake, sometimes they take longer than others. I really have to think about something, and, you know, really not hear anything or not get disturbed for like 10 or 15 minutes sometimes. I mean sometimes it’ll take an hour and then, poof, something will pop in my head. And that’s kind of how it starts. You know I visually see it and in my mind I reconstruct it. I think of gravity. I think of feasibility and timeline and stuff like that if I can do it. You know, because I’ve pushed myself to the limits lots of times. So I know like how big a board could be before it ain’t gonna make it out the door. Or how big it is to get into the refrigerator. Or the elevator. So, you know I already have that knowledge and I apply that in the process of making the cake.

You know you have to apply different techniques and you have to figure out ways of making it bigger and really pushing it to the edge. Because sometimes your visions are different types of cakes where the bigger the better or, you know how am I gonna do this? Cause I can see it and I want to do it but, you know then there’s reality. What am I gonna knock a wall out so that I can drive this thing out the car? You know what I’m saying?

Time is always an issue. But with time, you know what it is? I don’t worry much about time. I know that if I have to I will push and stay all night until it’s done. I’m the type of person -- I’m wired different. I don’t give up. No matter, like I don’t fail. No matter what I have to do not to fail, I do it. I’ll redo a cake 10 times if I have to. I’ll work, you know four days straight. I won’t sleep. I won’t eat. I will do what I have to do to get the job done. I’m hardest on myself. I’m my worst critic.

Comments (37)