The "DC Cupcakes" Family Is Growing!

02/28/2013

There's a new baby in town!

In the upcoming DC Cupcakes special on March 12, the busy sisters are opening a new bakery on the West Coast, building a giant globe for the grand opening of a children's museum on the East Coast, and anxiously awaiting the arrival of Katherine's baby. This is Mommy's first grandchild, so while she's incredibly excited, she also wants to make sure Katherine is prepared. You won't believe how she schools Katherine in the art of motherhood! Let's just say this is the first time we've seen a robot in the bakery. (No, the temperamental fondant sheeter doesn't count.)

As Katherine struggles to do her bakery work with a baby bump slowing her down, Sophie is tasked with double-duty! What's more, she's also trying to surprise Katherine with the best baby shower ever. Katherine has a surprise of her own, though. She wants to bake gender-reveal cupcakes to announce the gender to all her friends and family. But how can she pull off a surprise like that without discovering the gender herself?

Warmest congratulations to Katherine! See all the fun when the special airs Tuesday, March 12 10|9c.

Photo courtesy DCL

The Final Three: Who Is The Next Great Baker?

02/12/2013

Last week, The Next Great Baker whittled the contestants down from 13 to a final three -- Gretel-Ann, Jen and Ashley. But you just knew it wasn't going to be that simple. The first challenge brings the women to Las Vegas, and has them tasked with making and selling at least 400 cookies, 100 pastries, 10 cakes, and 10 pies. That's certainly not a one-person job, so Buddy invites each contestant to choose a team to work with -- from Buddy's staff and family.

Oh, but that's not all.

The final three are also given a choice of past Next Great Baker contestants -- including Peter, Paul, Em, Garrett, Letty and Melissa -- but are at the mercy of their fellow competitors to assign team members. Ashley gets first pick and sends her nemesis Paul to Gretel-Ann. Gretel-Ann then puts Garrett on Jen's team.

Each team draws up a planned menu for the challenge. Jen attemps to win Buddy over with an Italian amaretto cream cake, whoopie pies, caramel apple pie and a bunch of cream puffs.

Gretel-Ann chooses a chocolate dulce delight cake, along with a wide variety of cookies, and lemon bars and eclairs. 

Ashley opts for something called a chess pie (we're intrigued!), raspberry tarts and profiteroles and spiced, oatmeal, chocolate and peanut butter cookies.

Because she's not above doing something incredibly sneaky to win, Gretel-Ann hides the baking sheets from the other teams and alters the temperatures on Jen and Ashley's ovens. That. Is. Cruel.

The strategy works, sort of. Ashley still manages to completely outsell Gretel-Ann. But Gretel-Ann does manage to beat Jen, who goes home in the Las Vegas version of a box truck, a gondola.

And now it's on to the final challenge. Ashley vs. Gretel-Ann. Buddy wants both contestants to go hard, or go home. He wants them to design a cake worthy of the glitz and glamor of Las Vegas, but with a piece of themselves in there, too.  Again, they're given a selection of past contestants to choose from. Ashley creates a cake with an Ashley-as-Elvis theme. Gretel-Ann goes for a slot-machine cake. Special guest, *NSYNC member Joey Fatone is tasked with helping judge.

And then, ooooh twist! All of the past contestants are asked to vote for which cake they like better. Paul asks Ashley if he thinks "a 25-year-old kid" is ready to be the next great baker, and that really pisses Ashley off.

“Is that a serious question? You’ve been a condescending person this entire time. So for you to say…I’m a 25-year-old kid is bullshit. Life experiences? You have no idea what the hell you’re talking about. You don’t know me. You think you’re better than everyone here. You’re an arrogant asshole. You have been this entire time. I don’t need to answer your damn question.”

Tell us how you really feel, Ashley.

Despite her outburst, the former contestants vote for Ashley, 7 to 4. But what do the real judges think?

Yup, you guessed it -- Ashley takes home the whole damn thing! What do you think? Who do you think should have won the whole thing? Share with us in the comments!

Bakeries Get Personal With Buddy

02/04/2013

Can't get enough Cake Boss? Buddy has a brand-new show coming soon to TLC.

Under the working title Bakery Go Time, the show will follow Buddy as he helps struggling family-run bakeries achieve the kind of success that Carlo's Bakery has found. After all, Buddy isn't just a master baker -- he's also a master businessman with savvy secrets to share. 

At each bakery he visits, Buddy will devote a week to helping the family evaluate their skills, products and company culture. The goal? Make each bakery a sweet success!

Know a bakery that needs Buddy? Find casting information here! 

Week Six: The "Next Great Baker" Power Rankings

01/15/2013

Carlo's Bakery and Buddy Valastro are steeped in Italian culture and tradition, so you just knew that there'd be a Next Great Baker challenge involving Italian food, right? The contestants were treated to an Italian fine dining experience at Carraba's restaurant, and met with Carraba's owner Damian Mendola to receive their latest challenge.

The contestants were split into two teams and were instructed to make a three-foot tall cake incorporating/replicating classic Italian dishes. In addition to making it through to the next round, the winner recieved a trip for two to Italy. Not to shabby, eh? The runners up were treated to a year's worth of food from Carraba's.

Team Chad, Ashley, Paul and Letty make a great cake, but it unfortunately falls just short of the required three foot height requirement. There's discord on the team over Letty's contributions. But over at team Chris, Jen and Gretel-Ann, Gretel-Ann is not amused by Jen's workmanship. Even so, their team pulls out the win -- basically on a technicality. And Jen is awarded the trip to Italy, which we can imagine totally burned Gretel-Ann. 

When it came time to decide who went into the box truck, the losing team voted Letty off the Next Great Baker island. She didn't exactly help, when she admitted that she could have done more.

So let's go to the Power Rankings!

And then there were six! Do you agree with Buddy's decision to send Letty home? Tell us in the comments!

--Julie Gerstein

Take a bite out of this: "Cake Boss Cafe"

01/08/2013

CakeBossCafe.com

Get ready, New York City!

Buddy Valastro of TLC's Cake Boss is making his way to the big city, full time! Opening January 2, the Cake Boss Cafe brings the best baked goods from Carlo's Bakery in Hoboken, NJ, to Midtown Manhattan!

Stop in for a bite when you're visiting town, because Buddy is sure to have a treat for you. The Cake Boss Cafe is perfectly located for a quick dessert before heading to a Broadway show.

Combining time-honored tradition with Buddy’s unique and innovative signature baking style, Cake Boss Cafe features a wide variety of tasty treats, including fresh cannoli, lobster tails, tiramisu, cookies, cupcakes and countless other scrumptious Cake Boss creations delivered fresh daily from Carlo’s Bakery.

Visit Cake Boss Cafe at 42nd St & 8th Ave. or go to CakeBossCafe.com to see what's on the menu.

UPDATE: Check out these photos from the Cake Boss Cafe's grand opening! Cake Boss Cafe has all the Buddy gear, sweets and treats you crave -- and the Boss himself made a special appearance on opening day!

Week 5: The "Next Great Baker" Power Rankings

Did you catch all the drama on Next Great Baker last night? First, the bakers lost another competitor -- this time Garrett took himself out of the competition after experiencing a debilitating anxiety attack. And then, the remaining contestants had to contend with three very picky brides. Up for grabs? A free trip to Jamaica for the MVP baker and the winning bride.

Letty and Jen won a canoli-making challenge, which granted them the chance to choose teams. Letty picked Peter and Ashley, while Jen chose Chad and Gretel Ann. Nobody wanted Paul (as usual), so he and Chris were teamed up. 

Say Yes To The Dress: Atlanta's Monte and Lori were the guest judges, casting their discerning eyes on the bride's cakes. Despite a bow falling off their cake in the final hour, Team Jen won the challenge, and Gretel-Ann was chosen as MVP (mostly because she nominated herself). Who went home? Well, sadly perky Peter's inability to work quickly put him in the box truck.

Next week: An Italian food-inspired challenge. And a blow up fight between Ashley and Paul. We can't wait!

--Julie Gerstein

Mixing With Tradition: Holiday Food Ideas

12/21/2012

Every family has their own special holiday traditions. One that has a long history is the Italian Feast of the Seven Fishes. This is a meal traditionally held on Christmas Eve within Italian families.  The meal consists of seven fish dishes – seven being the most repeated number in the Bible.

Here are some suggestions for taking the Italian Seven Fishes meal and transforming it into your own. 

1.    Shrimp Cocktail
Grab some fresh shrimp from the market or buy a frozen bag, shrimp cocktail is a great appetizer for any meal.  Boil or steam the shrimp. Combine cocktail sauce ingredients and serve chilled.   

Ingredients
1 lb cooked peeled and deveined shrimp
Cocktail Sauce:
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon horseradish
2 teaspoons lime juice
Lime wedges for garnish

 

2.   Bacon wrapped scallops

These can also be frozen or fresh – wrap an uncooked bacon strip around each uncooked scallops and broil on a non-stick cooking sheet.  Serve as an appetizer or entre.

3.   Calamari


Ingredients
Squid rings, cleaned and cooked
¾ cup flour
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup bread crumbs
Oil for frying

Marinate squid rings in salt and pepper, Dredge the marinated rings in flour, followed by eggs, and then bread crumbs.  Fry squid in a large skillet with a generous amount of olive oil. 

 

4. Lobster can get expensive and it is not always easy to get in late December, so why not order take out…sushi take out! A lobster roll at Christmas Eve dinner can really mix things up!

5.  Linguini with clam sauce.

6.  Crab Cakes: Get Former Miss D.C. Jen Corey’s recipe here

7.  Tex Mex Fish Tacos from TLC.com can be a fun family activity as well as a good way to mix up Christmas Eve dinner. There are many steps in making a mean fish taco—from grilling or frying the fish to preparing the salsa–everyone can have a role in making the dish. What’s a better way to spend family time than preparing a meal together?

Shake up your family’s Christmas Eve routine this year and try out this time-honored tradition!

 

--Alex Zuckerman

Week Three: The Next Great Baker Power Rankings

12/11/2012

For Week 3 of the Next Great Baker, the bake-testants were challenged to create a cake worthy of A Christmas Story. Peter Billingsley, who starred in the original film 30 years ago, asked the crew to create a cake for the cast of his upcoming musical adaptation of the film. And yes, the film's famous leg lamp was invoked. 

So who came out on top, and who had their tongue stuck to the metaphorical flag pole? See below!

Do you think Melissa deserved to go home last night? Tell us in the comments!

--Julie Gerstein

The Next Great Baker Power Rankings Are In

11/27/2012

The third season of The Next Great Baker debuted Monday night, and this season promises to be full of drama and decadant desserts. At stake: $100,000 and the chance to work alongside Baker host and Cake Boss Buddy Valastro. And you know the competition is stiff as a merengue. During Monday night's episode, the contestants were challenged to make a groom's cake for Mario Lopez, in preparation for his upcoming nuptials to fiance Courtney Mazza (share their big day on December 8 with Mario and Courtney's Wedding Fiesta.)

So who came out on top and who headed into obscurity in the big box-truck? Check out our Power Rankings below, which will chart the progress of each contestant every week.

Spoiler Alert: Emme was sent home after her teammates Jen, Chad and James deemed her the weakest link on their team.

Learn more about each baker by checking out their videos.

Who's your pick to win it all? Tell us in the comments!

--Julie Gerstein

7 Totally Terrific Thanksgiving Cupcake Recipes

11/20/2012

We're so excited that new seasons of Next Great Baker and Cake Boss are coming back next week, that we couldn't contain our sweet tooths. And because Thanksgiiving is the perfect excuse to eat your way into a sugar coma, we've gathered together 7 delicious and decadent cupcake treats that would make even Buddy's mouth water. 

Thanksgiving Gobbler Cupcakes

Nutter Butters are delicious peanut buttery cookies. But they serve a dual purpose -- as a perfect cupcake proxy for a Thanksgiving turkey. Using colorful fruit leathers and chocolate sprinkles, you can create fun kid-friendly 'cakes that everyone will enjoy.

Turkey Cupcakes

Tiny, delicious turkeys? Yes, please. These cupcake turkey, complete with stuffing and garnish, are sure to please meat eaters nad vegetarians alike. But beware, these cupcakes involve a lot of patience, and a way with caramel (that's what the "turkey skin" is made from), so you might want to try another recipe if you're short on either.

Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes

If you're a pumpkin-pie-on-Thanksgiving purist, you can change your game up a bit and create miniature pumpkin pie cupcakes. These err more on the pie side than the pumpkin side, but satisfy the desire to serve something adorably miniature and sweet.

Mashed Potato And Gravy Cupcakes

We confess, the idea of eating an entire huge pat of butter looks a bit nauseating, but never fear -- the butter pats are actually lemon Starbursts. (Phew). These are easy to make (you can use a standard yellow or white cupcake recipe) but sure to surprise.

 

Brown Butter Pumpkin Cupcakes With Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting

Few things better to capture the flavor of the season than a cupcake that mixes the flavors of pumpkin and caramel. Add the words "brown butter," and you've got a recipe for culinary happiness.

Marshmallow Magic Turkey Cupcakes

Love coconut and marshmallows? Us too. That's why we're flipping out over these T-Day-riffic mallow magic cupcakes. These are so easy you can even make 'em with the kiddies.

Thanksgiving Turkey Dinner Cupcakes

These cupcakes aren't so much cupcakes, as tiny little servings of Thanksgiving turkey dinner. The base is turkey meatloaf and cornbread stuffing, topped with mashed potatoes and cranberry stuffing. A dainty alternative to typical T-Day fare, and you'd only need to eat a good four or five to feel full.

Tell us: What's your favorite Thanksgiving dessert?

--Julie Gerstein