Cake Boss: Marissa's First Day & Mauro's Tattoo

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Now it makes sense why they started the season so early! I wasn't sure why there was an overlap between The Next Great Baker and Cake Boss, but now it's clear that they needed to do it that way in order for Marissa's joining the ranks at Carlo's Bakery to be seamless. This worked out well after all, and I hope that we see more of Marissa working with the Valastro clan than we saw with Dana. Speaking of working, the cake this episode was pretty cool, but I wish they would have spent more time showing us the sculpting involved and not just the base and the background. Plus, nothing really went wrong, and when's the last time THAT happened? On the flip side, it was really nice to see Mauro and Madeline spend some time together. Just as I said with Joey and Grace, it's easy to see how strong the love is between the couples on this show. Adorable. 

The Cake Boss "Touchdowns & Tattoos" (S05E02): Buddy is contracted to make a Heisman Trophy cake, but it needs to look so much like the real trophy that you wouldn't be able to tell the difference. [wow, that sounds difficult!] They design a stadium, and Marissa is there for her first day at the bakery. After receiving a Carlo's shirt, she ices some surfaces as she's asked. Buddy reveals that he thinks Marissa needs more help with decorating, so they put her on that. She's not as fast as the rest of the team, so there's a learning curve. Some of the guys (like Danny and Joey) give her some tips on working with Buddy. [helpful, in a way.] She has to ride with the cake in the back of the truck, just as everyone else does in their initiation. [next thing you know, they'll be pulling pranks on her! The final product turned out lovely, but I wish we could have seen the guys focusing on making the Heisman statue exactly like the real thing.]

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Mauro and Madeline celebrate twenty years of marriage, and Mauro wants to do something "different" to celebrate, since there's already been a big trip and a big cake this year. [nice flashed to Buddy & Grace's respective anniversary celebrations. Is Mary next?] So, they take a cab to the Wooster Street Social Club, which is a famous tattoo place. [and, conveniently, featured on another TLC show, New York Ink.] Mauro talks to Tim about getting a portrait of Madeline's face on his arm. [for those keeping score, Bilal used Ami when he went on All-American Muslim.] Tim takes a picture of her to do up a pattern on the computer. It's apparently bad luck to get a name tattooed, so Mauro gets "Madd 4 You" underneath the picture, since he always calls her "Madd." [they're so cute. I LOVE it.] The couple loves the finished product, and Madeline wonders what her family will think. [me, too! I wonder why they didn't show any of that this episode...]