Anyone watch "Cake Boss"?

[KCT]

The first few episodes I watched were fun. The guy is a very creative artist.

But some of the cakes are SO over the top. The episode I’m watching is the one where he makes a life size cake version of his wife for her b-day.

I’m usually left wondering 2 things:

1. How much do some of these cakes cost? (specifically the FAO Schwartz cake someone had made for their 5 yr old twins)
2. How much goes to waste?

Just curious…

 

[Lokabrenna]

The first few episodes I watched were fun. The guy is a very creative artist.

But some of the cakes are SO over the top. The episode I’m watching is the one where he makes a life size cake version of his wife for her b-day.

I’m usually left wondering 2 things:

1. How much do some of these cakes cost? (specifically the FAO Schwartz cake someone had made for their 5 yr old twins)
2. How much goes to waste?

Just curious…

I love this show! His cakes are amazing!

I checked his website once and it says consultations (which include cake samples) are $100. They don’t list prices, as I would think it would depend on the sort of cake, but I can imagine some of them are easily $1000 +

As for the waste, it depends. There’s one episode (WWE themed) where the wrestlers started tearing off hunks of cake and throwing it, and sometimes cakes fall and have to be redone, so there’s that. I would hope that as much of the cake is eaten as possible, but accidents happen.

 

[Melissa]

I watch that one and his other series “The Next Great Baker”. It’s good for some ideas, but I do think some of the challenges are just over the top and it does look like there’s a ton of waste.

I also enjoy watching “Cupcake Wars” even though the first round challenges are frequently too gross to use as ideas (who on earth would think that putting fried chicken, mashed potatoes & gravy in a cupcake would be a good idea!?)

I also picked up a cookbook by Buddy Valastro. It’s fascinating reading (full of tips as well as recipes along with some info about the reasons why you do some of the things you do).

 

[bluerose]

Buddy’s life story is very inspiring (especially his devotion to St. Anthony of Padua!)

I can tell you right now that $1000 is probably the base rate on his special order cakes… at least, that’s what it is over at Charm City Cakes (aka: Ace of Cakes) which recently introduced a “budget” line of cakes: a 3 layer 9 inch round cake for $250! CCC doesn’t do walk-in business (except for these “budget” cakes, but I would love to visit Buddy’s bakery just for the pastries!

 

[Catholic90]

Here are some prices of baked goods shown online.

Original Cannoli
Sold as 1/2 dozen, $18.00

Red Velvet Cake
7 inches, $29.95

Vanilla Buttercream Cupcake
Sold as 1/2 dozen, $10.50

Winter Fondant Layer
7 inches, $44.95

I like Buddy!

Did you see the show where his daughter is celebrating her 1st Communion? It was pretty cool. He explained on TV what Catholics believed 1st Communion was, showed them walking up to the church, and then afterwords, showed La Famiglia at the reception. What a party he threw for her! 250 people, rented a ballroom, had a DJ - it was like a wedding reception! His family is so large and so tight, so I suppose the numbers of people add up very quickly!

 

[KCT]

Did you see the show where his daughter is celebrating her 1st Communion? It was pretty cool. He explained on TV what Catholics believed 1st Communion was, showed them walking up to the church, and then afterwords, showed La Famiglia at the reception. What a party he threw for her! 250 people, rented a ballroom, had a DJ - it was like a wedding reception! His family is so large and so tight, so I suppose the numbers of people add up very quickly!

I did see that one! They throw lots of huge parties - his mom’s ‘retirement’, his wife’s b-day, daughters 1st Communion… wonder how much they would do if it were not for the show.

My favorite so far is when they were in Italy (I love Italy!!), and he made the cake that looked like a wine box. So creative! I thought ‘announcing’ her pregnancy on the show was way too schmaltzy, though.

 

[Mary_Gail_36]

I did see that one! They throw lots of huge parties - his mom’s ‘retirement’, his wife’s b-day, daughters 1st Communion… wonder how much they would do if it were not for the show.

My favorite so far is when they were in Italy (I love Italy!!), and he made the cake that looked like a wine box. So creative! I thought ‘announcing’ her pregnancy on the show was way too schmaltzy, though.

I think they’d still have the parties. East coast Italian Americans have bigger parties because we tend to have bigger extended families.

He’s probably doing well, so they splurge a bit for the parties.

 

[EasterJoy]

In New York, designer cakes can go from $500 (for 30 people) to as much as $25,000. Typical wedding cakes for 200 or so apparently go for $3,000-$4,000. That’s in New York, though, where a business can depend on the existence of clients who make millions annually.

Also, those of you who have seen Buddy’s price list, please notice the difference between what Buddy charges for frosted cakes and what Buddy charges for the same cake done in fondant. Fondant is expensive because fondant takes care, patience, and experience, fondant shows every mistake, and fondant does not suffer fools gladly.

If you can’t afford fondant done right, buy a frosted cake from a good baker! Never, ever order a wedding cake that will exceed the comfort zone of your cake artist! For a cautionary tale on the mistake of paying less for a less-skilled cake artist, check out Cake Wrecks:
cakewrecks.com/home/2010/5/5/the-princess-bridal-cakes.html
cakewrecks.com/home/2011/8/19/oops-they-did-it-again.html
cakewrecks.com/home/2009/7/10/love-is-in-the-air.html
cakewrecks.com/home/2011/3/22/bridal-terrors.html
cakewrecks.com/home/2009/10/21/bridebaker-communication-101.html

If you really want what Buddy does, you’d be wise to pony up and pay for somebody like Buddy to make your cake!

Oh, and don’t forget these!
cakewrecks.com/home/2010/5/3/its-wrecky-wedding-week.html