BUDD Y: On this episode of "Cake Boss"...
Oh!
When you think of fireworks, you think of the Grucci family.
This is the biggest cake we've ever done.
We got to go, man. This cake is sweating.
MAURO: The fondant's getting soft.
The walls are starting to turn.
BUDD Y: I know, I know, I know.
I want to do a little test with the fireworks.
We never put fireworks in cakes before.
WOMAN: Oh, my God, run! Run!
[ Explosion ]
BUDD Y: This is Carlo's Bakery.
♪ Sugar ♪
Every week, thousands of cakes and pastries go out these doors.
♪ Oh, sugar, sugar ♪
This is the crew. Mia famiglia.
♪ Sugar ♪
We're gonna take this bakery to the top.
They call me Buddy. I'm the boss.
♪ Sugar ♪
♪ Oh, sugar, sugar ♪
Hello.
FELIX: Hey, Buddy. How are you?
-I'm Buddy. -Hi. I'm Donna Grucci.
-Pleasure to meet you. -Nice to meet you.
Me and Mauro get this phone call.
We got to go out to Long Island to meet with the Grucci family.
When you think of fireworks, you think of the Grucci family.
They've done some of the biggest firework shows in the world,
like the Statue of Liberty centennial,
Times Square New Year's Eve, Brooklyn Bridge centennial,
presidential inaugurations, and the Olympics.
They, like, set the bar, the standard,
of what fireworks should be.
So, guys, you need a cake. What's the occasion?
M y dad's birthday.
And our dad was our founder and our inspiration.
And we would love to have a cake made in his honor.
Wow.
That's funny, because just a couple weeks ago,
I made a cake for my dad, and it was his memorial.
We honor him because he was our founder.
And now, because of the fireworks,
the families, the fathers, I got to make this cake crazy.
This is it. This has got to be the big one.
FELIX: The Grucci family has always been noted
for some fireworks shows in New York Harbor,
the Statue of Liberty, the Brooklyn Bridge.
So we were kind of hoping
that those types of landmarks might be incorporated
as well as fireworks.
We can provide you with some pyrotechnics,
and you can incorporate it into the piece.
That would be great.
Maybe what we could do is have the Statue of Liberty,
and then maybe we could have your dad
sitting at the base of it,
looking like he's gonna light a firework, like, to show.
We're all on the same page, and they're like,
"Wait a second. We got a surprise for you. "
You want to see a little fireworks?
Hopefully it'll get the juices pumping.
You got some fireworks for us?
FELIX: Want to give them the fire cue?
Aim...fire!
Oh!
I love it!
Never been this close to fireworks.
I felt like I was a little kid. I had my own fireworks show.
How much better does it get than that
to inspire me to do the cake?
So, my idea is to do Hoboken, Manhattan,
and Brooklyn -- do the three landmasses.
Statue of Liberty in the harbor,
sitting between Hoboken and Manhattan.
Brooklyn Bridge connecting Manhattan and Brooklyn.
I'm thinking these skyscrapers
are gonna be like 4, 5 foot tall.
And every structure on this cake
is gonna have fireworks shooting out the top.
It's gonna be nuts.
All right. Let's go, team.
The first thing I started doing was delegating.
I got Frankie, Christine, and Violet
cutting and filling the pound cake for the buildings.
How's it holding up with whatever we said? All right?
It's good with the skewers. It's easier.
It's easier? One, two, three.
The structure part of every building is a pipe.
And we're gonna run wires through there.
Then the Gruccis will attach the fireworks to the top.
I got Sunshine to start making the fondant.
I got Toni sculpting a modeling chocolate figure
that's gonna be M r. Grucci.
I got Daniella going on the structure
for the Statue of Liberty.
DAN I ELLA: Good, perfect. Okay.
To make the Statue of Liberty,
what we did is we started with a PVC pipe.
That's our frame.
We put a little "T" to act as her arm with her torch,
and we were gonna set fireworks out her torch.
The statue's gonna be all cereal treats.
Then we're gonna put modeling chocolate
wrapped around it to make the statue look like the Statue.
So I'm working like a maniac at the bakery,
and I get a phone call from my wife.
Hi, sweetheart.
And she's like, " I just want to remind you that tomorrow,
for Buddy's school, it's Bring Your Dad to School Day. "
Yeah. No, I know. I'm excited about it.
I think we should make little cakes.
We should make little individual cakes,
and then each father and son can maybe decorate them together.
Family comes first. This is my son.
This is important to me.
I got to do a thing at my son's school.
So I want to do, like, maybe mini cakes for each kid
-to do with their dad. -M ini cakes?
Yeah, like a little cake that each kid
could maybe put some polka dots and a bow on with their dad.
-How many? -15? 17?
Do 17 in case. A couple extra.
-17? -BUDD Y: 17 little cakes.
No problem.
BUDD Y: I try to spend time with my kids any way I can.
I love when my kids come to see me
because Daddy's always working real hard,
and they really love coming here.
Reminds me of when I was a little boy
and I used to come and see my dad.
He was always so busy,
but he always had the time to spend a little time with me.
I want the same for my kids.
Wow. You're a good baker, son.
M m, I love you.
All right, I want to do a little test with the fireworks.
We never put fireworks in cakes before.
I want to see how it melts, how it reacts, and this and that.
So this is kind of like a test run.
So, I told Frankie to go into the city
and get a couple fountains.
Fountains are kind of like a sparkler type of thing.
What I'm gonna do is I'll stick this puppy inside here.
Let's take this sucker out back. Let's go.
All right, Mauro, bring the half rack!
The whole bakery wants to come out
and see this firework happen.
Everybody back. I got this feeling we got to stand back.
BUDD Y: Maybe he's got a good idea.
Maybe I'm gonna light it and run.
All right, go ahead.
BUDD Y: It's a dud! It's a dud!
[ Explosion ]
MAN: That's a little too strong!
[ Laughter ]
BUDD Y: What the hell did you buy?!
The guy barely spoke English!
BUDD Y: I don't know what the hell Frankie bought.
There's friggin' cake everywhere!
It's all over the building. It's in Danny's hair.
Oh, my God!
BUDD Y: The rack was, like, all bent and discombobulated.
I was like, "Are you kidding me?"
Frankie's cleaning this mess.
Frankie bought the wrong thing. He's cleaning it.
BUDD Y: Frankie, I can't believe you.
What I learned from this experience
is never send Frankie to go buy fireworks.
I got to leave the fireworks to the Gruccis,
and I got to leave the cake-making to the Valastros.
So that's what we got to do.
I remember when we used to get the fireworks,
'cause we used to have lots of fun.
I still remember that. The Roman candles.
Now the only thing you can buy are those little snapping things
that you throw at somebody's feet and they pop.
BUDD Y: Go get some.
Snaps are these little paper things that are --
I don't even know what they're filled with,
but when you throw it on the ground, they pop.
Go get some of those snaps.
Let's have a little fun with it.
All our buildings are done?
All right. Next.
We're gonna roll our fondant, okay?
And we're gonna use screens.
We go with a roller, and we color the windows
so that when you take the screen off,
only certain parts are colored.
Looks awesome, really not a hard technique,
but really shows up well on buildings.
The brick -- the same thing.
You lay the bricks out. You make the sheets.
You cut it and put the walls up.
Use the bricks as your guide.
Let's get the rectangle cutters,
and then we can put some windows on this one.
For the tar roofs on the buildings,
we take a piece of black fondant and cover that with poppy seeds.
It's a really quick technique
that makes the roof look like the real thing.
We're making the stadium
and using thousands of little candies
for the people in the stands.
We're making the flags and banners
out of modeling chocolate.
All right, give me all the buildings.
For Manhattan, my idea is to do the Empire State Building,
you got to do the Chrysler Building,
and I made generic buildings that just look like skyscrapers.
We're gonna do the Goldman Sachs building,
got to do Carlo's Bakery,
and we're gonna do a generic stadium.
So that's what's gonna be New Jersey.
Brooklyn's gonna have a little fireworks factory.
It's gonna have another generic building in the back,
and it's gonna have the Brooklyn Bridge.
That's nine buildings, a stadium, the bridge,
the Statue of Liberty -- I mean, this cake is huge!
Go ahead, pull.
Okay.
The Statue of Liberty's base on the bottom is gonna be cake.
Whoa.
The details on that friggin' thing was amazing.
It looked just like the Statue of Liberty.
Working on this fireworks cake --
really reminiscent of the good times,
and I want to have some fun with it.
So I'm like, "Frankie, go get me some snaps. "
[ Snaps popping ]
-MARY: What is it?! -[ Laughs ]
-What's wrong? -You scared your aunt!
You gave her a heart attack!
I love to bother Mary because she always bothers me.
[ Snaps popping ]
[ Laughs ]
Buddy, you're not a kid! I'm telling Mama!
[ Laughs ]
I'm doing my work, Mom,
and he's throwing, like, fireworks at my feet.
He's burning my feet.
-Who?! -Your stupid son.
Why would he drop fireworks?
Don't you shoot any fire--
-[ Snaps popping ] -[ Screaming ]
Get out of here!
No, no. No, no, no, no, no!
[ Laughing ]
MAMA: Get up there! Go back to work!
All right, Mary? He's done! He's done!
He's done!
Let's take out the big one that's in there.
We'll put it right over here.
BUDD Y: We got all three landmasses
basically finished last night.
So it's time to pull them out of the refrigerators,
get them on the board, and get them wired for fireworks.
Now, Walt, she's done, so let's get her in the hole.
Put the wire through.
So what we do is run wires through each of the buildings
and down through the base of the cake.
Then, when we get to the event,
the Grucci family will hook up all the fireworks to the wires
at the top of the buildings.
And then the other end of the wire
is gonna be rigged up to some sort of electrical detonator.
MAURO: This is already through.
I already stuck them through. That's done.
We got to go, man. This cake is sweating.
MAURO: The fondant's getting soft.
The walls are starting to turn.
I know, I know, I know.
This fireworks cake is like a Catch-22.
I mean, the only place big enough
where we can build the fireworks cake is the oven room,
but it's hot as hell in there.
It's an oven room.
Heat and cakes don't mix.
What happens is you take something
that's in the refrigerator
and you take it out into a room that's 80 degrees.
The condensation -- The fondant starts to sweat.
As it sweats, things could peel off.
Okay.
We got to watch with the fondant, all right?
We got to see if any buildings, if any walls got to be replaced.
The Empire State Building --
The fondant's starting to peel off it because it's sweating.
If this happens, this could be a real disaster.
Whoa, whoa. Whoa.
Unh-unh-unh.
All right, we'll get another wall for there, Maur.
Empire State. Yeah.
The fondant problem was starting to get solved
because the fondant was drying.
We had the fans going, and it was drying it up.
So I repaired all the walls
on the Empire State Building that were peeling off.
And I told the guys to bring in
the rest of the buildings right away.
MAURO: Ready? One, two, three.
Put it down and slide it right over.
-That's the last building? -All the wires are in.
Let's put the water on now, guys.
We got to go thick with it, Maur.
On all the landmasses, we're gonna do streets.
We're gonna do lights, stop signs, little cars, boats.
We're gonna do grass, everything -- You name it.
Okay, ready?
Putting him right in front of the statue.
To honor M r. Grucci, I thought, what better than him sitting
at the base of the Statue of Liberty,
and he's gonna be holding, like, a fuse,
and looking like he's gonna light it up and let it go.
All right, guys. Come on down and check it out.
You got to see. It's totally awesome.
God, it's so beautiful!
Wow.
WOMAN: Oh, look at Grucci! [ Laughs ]
DAN I ELLA: Oh, my God. It looks so good!
-You like it? -I love it.
BUDD Y: There's so much detail, from huge buildings detailed
to the Statue of Liberty to tiny little taxicabs.
We just took everything you could possibly do on a cake
and molded it into one.
Good job, team! This is -- Listen.
This was a team effort.
Everybody put in. Everybody threw down.
We did a good job. I'm proud of all of youse.
Let's do this! Let's go!
Ready?
-MAN: Wait, wait, wait! -BUDD Y: Go in the car!
Watch your arms. Go straight.
Danny, get your arms straight. Watch your hands.
Grab the sides a little bit. Easy, Frankie.
Go up front! No, no, no! Wait, wait, wait!
-Wait, wait, wait! -DANN Y: Go!
[ All grunting ]
BUDD Y: Get it on. Okay.
MAURO: Whoa, whoa, whoa! Whoa, whoa, whoa.
JOEY: You ain't got it. You ain't got it.
You ain't got it!
You're not listening to me!
MAURO: Just push a little.
You ain't got it! Frankie!
You're hardheaded, man. You don't have the room.
You're not listening to me.
You ain't got it! You don't have the room.
BUDD Y: Well, you don't have a choice.
You have to go above this.
You could go above this and fit it.
JOEY: Take the shelves out.
FRANKI E: They're welded.
JOEY: They're welded down? They're not screwed down?
Nah. Are they?
Screw's right there.
There's bolts right there.
Frankie, whatever box wrenches you got --
open-end wrenches -- bring it up.
BUDD Y: There's only one way to get this cake into the truck.
You got to take the shelf out.
JOEY: Mauro, I think you got two on this, on each one.
And I'm just so frustrated
'cause I know that the clock is ticking,
and we got to get this cake through the Lincoln Tunnel,
through the M idtown Tunnel, and out to Long Island.
Okay, at 5:00 at night New Jersey time,
that's, like, " M ission: I mpossible. "
I can't believe this.
JOEY: Yeah, I'm gonna hold it. Bud, you turn it.
You're almost there. Keep going.
BUDD Y: Okay.
I'm off.
-MAURO: Is he off? -MAN: He said he's off.
MAURO: Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
BUDD Y: Easy.
Go over. You got to go up.
Go up, go up, go up, go up.
MAN: [ Laughs ]
MAN #2: Can you pick up this side?
BUDD Y: When this shelf came out of the truck,
it was like the gates of heaven opening.
I mean, it was just like, "Aaah! Thank God!"
-Slide it in. -Now she's perfect.
FRANKI E: Easy, man.
BUDD Y: You guys alive back here?
MAURO: One, two, three. Let's go.
BUDD Y: You got a step coming, Joe.
Come around by me, Remy.
-Okay, go. -MAN: Watch the top.
-WOMAN: Up, up, up! -BUDD Y: Up in the front!
Okay, ready? I n. Okay.
[ All grunting ]
-Okay. -WOMAN: Oh, my God.
[ Cheers and applause ]
WOMAN #2: That is outrageous!
FELIX: Thank you so much.
BUDD Y: And the whole Grucci family's there, the whole staff,
and we put the cake down, and people start flipping out.
I'm not gonna ask you your secrets on how you did this,
but this is magnificent.
The Brooklyn Bridge, the Statue of Liberty.
And then we have your dad.
DONNA: Oh, that's great!
Look at Dad. I can't believe it.
Oh, geez. Unbelievable.
He would be so honored if he saw this.
BUDD Y: Now I know you guys are gonna supply
the finishing touches on this.
DONNA: Oh, we will. That we will.
-You mean eating it? -[ Laughs ]
MAN: Make one and two electric matches
so we can shoot those first.
BUDD Y: Are we ready to see some fireworks?
MAN: Yeah!
[ Cheers and applause ]
BUDD Y: And the fireworks go off, and it looked amazing.
DONNA: Now to the big stuff.
FELIX: You're our new pyrotechnician.
They were so happy, and at that moment, I was touched,
because I thought of my dad.
And we're just, like, two families
who do different businesses but live the same way.
It's all about family.
FELIX: I've never seen anything like this before.
This is an incredible work of art.
I appreciate that. It was our pleasure.
And the image of my dad just -- It touches my heart.
We did it with all our heart. We know how that feels.
I know you did. Thanks.
-[ Cheers and applause ] -BUDD Y: Thank you.
[ Gasps ] Hey, son!
[ Chuckles ]
So today's the big day -- Bring Your Dad to School Day.
Buddy's dad works at a bakery.
He was so kind to bring us some cakes to decorate.
You and your dads are going to decorate the cakes,
and then we're gonna have some goodies.
Okay? Have fun.
This is your cake to decorate?
It was a lot of fun.
There's just something special
about working creatively with your dad.
I remember when I used to make cakes with my daddy.
I look at my son,
and I could just see my father's reaction to him.
[ Chuckles ]
You know, wanting to pick him up, wanting to squeeze him.
You know, it was just a special moment.
I remember special times with my dad.
Words cannot explain what a good father he was.
I'm so grateful for all my family,
especially my children.
BUDD Y: He had a dream for his business, for his family,
to take this bakery to a whole new level.
Over the last year,
I really think we've taken a big step towards that goal.
[ Camera shutter clicks ]
Wow, what a shot.
All done. She looks great.
-So sweet. -ALL: Hey!
BUDD Y: Don't get me wrong. We're not perfect.
I can't do any more than I do! I can't!
If the ovens aren't full, we don't make any money!
I don't want to hear it now. I got enough things on my mind.
We get frustrated with each other.
Here's your sugar!
BUDD Y: And yeah, there's some yelling.
-I helped like 40 people... -Listen, okay?
... and made every single one of them very happy.
Enough! Mary!
But at the end of the day, we're family.
You know I love you.
We have a lot of fun.
Whoo-ha!
And there's a lot of love in this bakery.
This is what my father wanted.
This is how things were supposed to be.
Who was my daddy? What was his name?
Buddy.
And you know that's why you're named Buddy?
'Cause of your Grandpa Buddy?
This is where I want to be.
I want to be there with my son, making this cake,
reminiscing about my dad.
Couldn't have been a better day.
I love you.