Carlo's Bakery of "Cake Boss"

After watching countless episodes of "Cake Boss" on TLC with my kids, I finally had the opportunity to sample some of the famous bakery's treats, including a birthday cake, cannoli and cream puffs, at a girlfriend's birthday party. It is with a heavy heart that I must report that, with the exception of the cake itself, I was not impressed.

Lets start with the pastries. First, the cream puffs. As one of my girlfriends put it as she bit into one, "yeah, it's a cream puff". It was not bad, it just wasn't anything special. Ditto for the cannoli, which came as a surprise since I have heard Buddy say many times that they are known for their cannolis. On the plus side, the filling was a good, thick consistency, and the cannoli shell was filled to capacity. There is nothing worse than a skimpy cannoli, and there was nothing skimpy about these babies. However, they did unfortunately skimp on the chocolate chips. There was not a single morsel to be seen form the outside, and if I had to guess I would say that there were about three chocolate chips in the entire cannoli. I also was not impressed with the shell, which seemed a bit rubbery, but perhaps that is because I did not sample it freshly made, but rather, my friend had bought it the day prior to her party and stored it in her refridgerator, so we will give Buddy the benefit of the doubt on that one.

The best thing that I tasted from Carlo's Bakery (or anywhere, for that matter) was the cake. My girlfriend bought a 1/2 sheet cake for $96. It was a plain cake, no fondant or anything fancy, since that would have put the price at around $200, but it looked nice with fancy piping along the edges and beautiful, tasty roses scattered about. However, somehow the pink writing faded to white at the ends of the words, giving it a bit of a sloppy appearance. The icing was fine - the consistency was great - nice and thick - but the taste was nothing spectacular and in fact could have been a little bit sweeter for my taste.

But the cake itself, OMG! Although only half a sheet cake, the thing weighed about 80 pounds! The cake was super moist and delicious. It was a consistency that I have never before experienced, somewhere between the light, homemade box cakes and a heavier bakery pound cake. It was absolutely to die for, and completely restored my faith in Buddy! Yes, for flour and water $96 does seem a bit pricey, but I would have to say it was well worth the money and definitely worth the trip to Hoboken!

I was heartbroken that I was not offered to take home a leftover piece of cake (although at those prices I can't say I blame the hostess), and hope to make the hour and a half trek to Carlo's Bakery for that birthday cake in the near future (plus, I am still dying to try the giant cream-filled Lobster Claws that I saw in one episode)!

I did not visit the bakery myself this time, but it was reported to me that my friend and her kids who did go were unable to meet Buddy who was not in the bakery at the time that they visited, but they did meet most of the rest of the cast. I am told that the sister who is bitchy on the show was bitchy in real life (I'm not mentioning any names, but you all know who I mean), and the sisters and brothers in law who are nice on the show were extremely sweet and approachable - especially Mauro, who stopped to pose for pictures when they ran into him on the street!

Bottom Line: I would give Carlo's Bakery one thumbs up for the cake, and one thumbs down for the pastries. Sorry Buddy, but the kids and I still love ya. Oh, and one more, thing - my little ones think that you should stop yelling at Frankie, and stop saying "freakin" on the show - after all, it is a family channel!

~Expert Mom