Cake Boss is Back!

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

After Cake Boss went off the air without warning in August, I got a little worried. But, it has bounced back with a new opening, in a mostly newer location, and with some new cakes. I fell a bit behind with all of the new things starting on network television lately, so here's the first four episodes of the stretch.

Cake Boss "Chandelier Cake & a Christening" (S04E24): They're finally getting into the new cake factor, and want to do a big cake to see how everything works and comes together. Anthony helps Buddy bake with the new ovens. [I agree with Lisa, the first cake does look a little burnt.] The guys work on a Chilhuly-esque chandelier cake to reflect a client's work. Dana is the top dog in sugar work, so he's a major part of this cake. [I like to see Dana doing stuff.] They do suffer from several broken sugar places when they put it together, and when Buddy lowers the chandelier at the event, the entire thing crashes to the floor and is ruined, causing Buddy to eat the cost. [I think this is the first time we see a cake get ruined at an event... how sad!] Oh, and there's also a cake for Carlo's christening... pretty standard Carlo's Bakery stuff. 

Cake Boss "Paleontology & Popping the Question" (S04E25): Buddy takes his son to the New Jersey State Museum, where he speaks with the curator about a dinosaur wedding cake (a secret from the groom) for her wedding reception. Ralph (who is 26, fun fact!) is heading up the cake (it's his first big one!) and it's going to be about six feet long with a big wood-and-metal structure. [There was a ton of detail work to do on the dinosaur - like all of those scales! It looked reallllly good.] Meanwhile, Buddy is continuing his work on his anniversary. Buddy and Lisa got married October 14, 2001, and because of 9/11, they didn't want to fly so their honeymoon got cut short. So, Buddy wants to not only re-marry Lisa, but also take a honeymoon for their tenth anniversary. So, Buddy asks the kids to help him make cupcakes - hundreds of them to spell out "Marry Us?" to be seen from the roof. A bunch of the guys help with laying out the cupcakes. Lisa has no idea what's coming, and Buddy makes her cry with sweet and kind words. Oh, and the bakery is having trouble with running out of everything and there's a communication issue with getting things over from the factory. Grace is thinking of quitting soon. 

Cake Boss "State Fair, Syracuse Bound & Special Anniversary" (S04E26): They're doing a cake focusing on the Ferris Wheel, the games, the prizes, the people, etc. for the Meadowlands State Fair. They want the Ferris Wheel to be able to move, and Mauro promises that they can do it, though he ends up calling Drew, the special effects guy, to help. This, of course, makes Buddy question how much Mauro did to make the cake spin, so he thinks that he failed and should have to ride the Ferris Wheel as part of the bet. [I would have let Mauro have the credit, personally. And, OMG the pigs racing on the cake were adorable!]

Photo: from Cake Boss' Facebook page

While the Fair cake is in process, Joey is heading up a cake for his son, Rob, who is starting at Syracuse. Joey's firefighting is really paying for the college, while the bakery pays for everything else in his family's live. The cake is the story of Rob's life, with all of his family members and hobbies on there. Of course, Mary gets pissed that there aren't photos of her and Madeleine on the cake, so Joey has Grace dig out some more pictures to put on the cake. They also put a caricature of Rob wrestling, and the Syracuse mascot, seen to the right. Meanwhile, Lisa keeps badgering Buddy for details on the vow renewal, but he won't even tell her if it'll be inside or outside. He tells her to get another wedding dress, tho! He also says it'll be just them and the kids, but Lisa thinks the entire family will get involved. [...and she's probably right.] 

Cake Boss "Transport Troubles & Two Brides" (S04E27): [Why didn't we have renderings this episode??] A Rolls Royce pulls up and the guy inside (Joe Perillo, who owns a car dealership in Chicago) wants to talk to Buddy. Buddy has never been in a Rolls, but he gets the chance when they take the meeting on-the-go. Chicago is getting a Rolls Royce dealership for the first time in 30 years, so Perillo wants a big Chicago skyline cake with the Rolls Royce hood ornament coming out of the cake. As the guys design the cake, the Sears Tower (I mean, the Willis Tower) appears, and Buddy wants it to be as tall as possible. Given the box truck's limits, that means just under 77 inches. Ralph works on Chicago items for the cake, like hot dogs, deep dish pizzas, etc. After the cake is finished and ready to travel, they find out that it won't clear the truck by a few inches. They remove the plywood and get it in, but they do realize that maybe a bigger truck would help. [I don't know much about the general size of box trucks, but I agree that a taller one would probably be handy to them in general.] The other major cake of the episode is for a lesbian couple who want to be married the minute that gay marriage becomes legal in New York. The cake has a bunch of lavender-colored flowers, like peonies, roses, etc. The episode does have some employee drama as well... Buddy asks Grace to head up the design team to re-do Carlo's.... get the plans, blueprints, colors, etc. [I guess that's a good project for her... keep her from butting in at the shop, haha.] Buddy enlists Anthony to help pull a prank on a new delivery guy and send him with a totaled cake instead of the beautiful one that was supposed to go... so when he delivers it, he doesn't know what to say to the recipient. The kid calls Buddy and tells him about the cake, and Anthony takes the phone... Buddy pretends to be totally pissed and the kid comes back with the cake. Then they pour water on him from the roof and welcome him to the bakery. [Carlo's initiation, I suppose. bleh.]