If you were salivating at the sight of beautifully decorated cakes while watching reality television show Cake Boss, you will be pleased to know that master baker Buddy Valastro is set to open a branch of the famous Carlo’s Bakery in the GCC within the next year. Valastro, the star of the show where he and his family create towering cakes at his New Jersey bakery, is in Abu Dhabi for a live show as part of the Abu Dhabi Summer Season festivities at the Emirates Palace. In a chat with tabloid!, Valastro gave cake-making tips, spoke of his future plans in the Middle East and the future of his hit reality show.
Q. How are you enjoying your time in Abu Dhabi so far?
A. It’s an honour and a privilege to be here. It’s such an amazing experience being here with my wife and kids. We went to Yas Waterworld and Ferrari World, and it was so much fun. We did every slide. What I loved about Yas Waterworld was it was so diverse. I have a three-year-old… and I have a seven-, a nine-, and a 12-year-old, and there was something for everybody, including myself.
Q. Having enjoyed your time, would you consider opening a Carlo’s Bakery here?
A. Absolutely! We’re talking about potentially doing bakeries in the whole Gulf region. We’ve done a couple of cakes out here, and we got great responses, so why not come here and do some of the over-the-top stuff that we do? We’re looking at the whole region, and potentially by a year from now, we’ll definitely be somewhere in the Middle East.
Q. What can people expect at the show on Saturday?
A. The show is a very family-friendly, interactive, intimate night with me. I go up on stage and tell the story of how I became the Cake Boss; it’s a very inspirational story. Then, I do some different cake decorating techniques. It’s kind of mind-blowing. My favourite part is when I call people from the audience to decorate cakes with me… I give away prizes and cupcakes.
Q. What advice can you give to people who love baking at home?
A. I tell people not to be afraid of using rolled fondant. I think the rolled fondant is actually the Houdini of cake decorating; it looks very hard and complex, but it’s actually quite easy to use. You just have to play with it a little bit and have the right tools.
Q. What’s your secret to a good cake?
A. My secret weapon is in the cake batter. When we make it, we actually add a little bit of pudding into the mixture, and it keeps it moist and delicious.
Q. So what do people have to watch out for when making a cake? Is it the baking or the decorating?
A. It’s both. Some of the cakes we do are sculptures and works of art. A lot of people ask me when they see [Cake Boss about our cakes], and I just want everybody to know our cakes not only look good, but they taste amazing. They’re moist, they’re delicious, and they’re made with love — just the way we’ve been doing them for over a hundred years.
Q. You’ve been baking since you were 11 years old. What has been the most challenging cake so far?
A. Definitely the Transformers cake. That was an amazing cake that we did. It took three days to make (10 people worked for three days straight). It probably weighed between 4,000 and 6,000 pounds. It was eight-foot-wide, 12-foot-tall, 16-foot-deep.
Q. What’s your favourite cake?
A. I like vanilla cake with French cream, fresh raspberries and a little chocolate ganache.
Q. When is the next season of Cake Boss?
A. We’re on season six, and I think we’re going to be filming season seven in September.
