Inside The Cake Boss Kitchen: Marriage, Mayhem & Mascarpone

12:43Lisa Valastro:there's not a better feeling that I would see a 6 or 10 year old boy or girl come up to you and you could tell that these kids are like freaking they're like so excited and then they give you a hug and you can feel their little heart racing and they want you to be Superman so how the hell am I gonna not be Superman or try to make that a memorable experience. It's so true. Like, I just couldn't. It's not who I am.

13:15Buddy Valastro:I honestly appreciate it, and it comes through in all the work that you've done, truly. And I would say that, too, like, across the board. Like, I would say in the bakeries that you guys have. I mean, I remember, too, going to pick up one of the cakes from one of my children's birthday parties. And, like, the line, this is not an exaggeration. The line was down the street, around the corner. and I would have to be like, get to the line to pick up the cakes. You know what I mean? Which is like, you know, all these people are trying to order stuff and then you're just like, I just need to like pick up this cake and I don't want to like cut the line.

13:48Buddy Valastro:I'm really sorry. But like you guys are paying attention to every single person who's coming in. You guys are being super gracious. They're taking pictures. They're doing all the stuff. And then you guys are like trying to pluck me out of the crowd until I come in the back to get the cake. And you're just so kind. And we'll be right back. This episode is brought to you by Nespresso. Introducing Virtuo Up, the latest in a long line of innovation from Nespresso. It's innovation you can touch, sense, and taste in every single cup. With a three-second start, easy open lever, and dedicated brew over ice button, it's even easier to enjoy your coffee your way.

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14:38Buddy Valastro:I need to go all the way back though. I want to go back to when you guys first met. And I want to know back to the beginning of, actually, I'm going to go back even further. Buddy, I want to ask you, actually, I'll ask you both. I want to know what food was in your childhood. Like, what's your first, like, food memory?

14:56Lisa Valastro:It definitely would be Sunday sauce or Sunday gravy. We would call the gravy in my house. My wife's called the sauce. But I remember waking up on a Sunday morning to the smell of my mother frying meatballs. And I would come downstairs and, you know, she would look at me. Your mom was a gem. Yeah, she was the best. And she would flatten one and then I would get a little snack. You know, that would be like my breakfast. And just, you know, that was probably the waking up to the smell of the garlic frying and just tomato sauce.

15:35Buddy Valastro:Was it big family Sundays?

15:37Lisa Valastro:Always big family Sundays. I feel like we have actually now probably the same or more.

15:43Buddy Valastro:Really? Yeah, we grew up very similar family dynamics. Did you grow up in the same place? No, just family dynamics, traditions. Everyone was always at my house on Sundays also. Was your mom making sauce as well? Sauce, not gravy. Not gravy. Sunday was sauce.

16:00Lisa Valastro:But the thing is, again, when I traveled so much and I worked, I would get home on a weekend. My sister would be like, oh, do you want to come to my house? No, everybody come here. Because I just was never home. So I was like, I just want to be home. So God bless my wife because she would just.

16:21Buddy Valastro:Till this day, our house is the hub. Really? Like every weekend. How many people do you have for dinner on Sunday now? In our immediate family, between my sister and brother and his sisters, we're boyfriends now, and as the kids got older, we're about 37. Do you bake? Like, what's the dessert scene on a Sunday? Sometimes she'll make tiramisu. Yeah, I'll make a tiramisu or a couple cookies this weekend. I baked, actually. Yeah, she did bake cookies. I made pinoli cookies, and I made a triple chocolate cookie. Oh, my gosh.

16:51Lisa Valastro:And the tiramisu. Probably because I was in the mood.

16:52Buddy Valastro:And tiramisu, yes.

16:54Lisa Valastro:You know what? It's funny, too. Like, she'll bake a box mix cake, and then I'll ice it. But, like, you know, if I could, it actually looks like the, you know what I'm trying to say, and I have fun. Yes. Because, again, like, the Betty Crocker, Duncan Hines icing isn't technically built for real cake decorating.

17:15Buddy Valastro:No, I know. I've tried.

17:16Lisa Valastro:It's a little softer and stuff like that, so you're going to have to do it.

17:19Buddy Valastro:But I do have to say, I love a box cake mix.

17:23Lisa Valastro:I do, too.

17:23Buddy Valastro:We do, too. we do too well also because your cookbook I have tried to make your your vanilla cake which is this is again not being paid to promote buddy's cakes however his vanilla cake is the best cake I've ever had my life he literally did you bring one vanilla cake am I gonna just need to eat this in the backstage today. But it's because you guys put pastry cream in the mix. And it is, so like the process of your cake is like, it's a process, it's special because of the process.

18:04Lisa Valastro:You know what's funny what people wouldn't believe? Like, we still do that process today. Oh my gosh. And we make that same cake with the same real ingredients. and it sold at Walmart.

18:18Buddy Valastro:Oh, my gosh.

18:19Lisa Valastro:Like, do you know what I'm trying to say? Just at scale. Yeah. Like, it's crazy. They figured it out. It's crazy. We might be making 20 ,000 cakes in a day today versus me making, you know, 200 back, you know, in Hoboken. Yeah. But it's the same recipes, the same techniques, same quality. Yeah. And I remember going to Walmart when, like, in the beginning, And I ain't going to lie. I was skeptical. I was like, oh, they're going to squeeze me and tell me to put shit in the cake. Yeah, yeah, yeah, of course. Or, like, look for the bottom line. And they said, we want, if you're not going to make the same cake you make in your bakery, we don't want it.

18:57Buddy Valastro:Well, because what's the point of spending them? You know what I mean? Put it on their brand.

19:01Lisa Valastro:Oh, interesting. Because we make things that are. Interesting. And I'll tell you one other thing. over the last two years, they have stricter things that could go inside the product than probably Whole Foods.

19:20Buddy Valastro:Wow. Wow.

19:21Lisa Valastro:You wouldn't believe it. That's fascinating. Yeah, but that's like right up my alley because, yeah, like what's in it? It's butter, it's sugar, it's this, it's that.

19:31Buddy Valastro:Well, if it's representing you across the country. For me, cake decorating makes me happy. You are very gifted. You really are. You've studied under some really good people.

19:44Lisa Valastro:I did. But, like, just the other day, like, I was trying to figure out a way to make another cake. And then just made, like, I don't know, 20 cakes with the Dubai chocolate. Oh, yes. Yeah.

19:57Buddy Valastro:You made a Dubai chocolate cake?

19:59Lisa Valastro:Yeah.

19:59Buddy Valastro:How'd it come out?

20:00Lisa Valastro:It came out good.

20:01Buddy Valastro:What did it, what did, break it down?

20:03Lisa Valastro:I mean, again, I was just, here, I can show you a picture. Yeah, show me a picture. Of what I created. But what was the. Well, it just made me so happy to, like, just do it, like, have fun with it.

20:13Buddy Valastro:I love that you're still creatively curious. Yeah. Oh, my gosh, that's amazing. Yeah, you need to send that to us so we can show it.

20:21Lisa Valastro:Oh, well, yeah, yeah. Yeah, but, I mean, just, like, different ways of, like, taking, so, like, here. Yeah, yeah, yeah. This is, like, taking certain ingredients and. . . Yes. And I still take inspiration from things, so. . .

20:35Buddy Valastro:How many cakes did you actually make? 20? Literally.

20:38Lisa Valastro:Yeah, I probably made like 20 or 30.

20:40Buddy Valastro:Oh my gosh.

20:41Lisa Valastro:There's a little video of all the different things. People always just like, all right, where do you get your inspiration from? So the other night I was laying in bed and I was looking at a new car. I was looking at a Cadillac. Oh. And no, it's a true story. And they have this thing that has lines in it. And they were talking about how the lines like catch your eye. So I was like, all right, I'm going to put that into cake decorating. And then I was like, I'm going to cut my brownies linear and do everything with lines. That's actually really cool. That's actually really cool.

21:12Buddy Valastro:Lisa's like, yeah, I just want to, I just need a car. Does everything have to be cake? Are we looking at everything? Is everything through the lens of cake? I can tell you, Buddy's mind never shuts down. Is that right? Ever, ever. Does it make you crazy? I'm so used to it. Okay, I got to, I have to know.

21:28Lisa Valastro:Well, I couldn't do it without her.

21:29Buddy Valastro:I know, and I have known this for a very long time. The thing that I feel like people don't give you enough credit for, Lisa, though, is that you are, like, actually a really good cook. I am. And you are a really good, like, just... Well, you don't get to look like this by not eating, you know. Like, who would win in a tiramisu competition?

21:49Lisa Valastro:Uh, you're going to fall around the baking.

21:51Buddy Valastro:We make actually very different tiramisu. All right, what? My tiramisu has no mascarpone cheese in it. What? I grew up eating this type. My mom taught me how to make it. Which is what? It's sweetened condensed milk. It's jello pudding, believe it or not. It's ladyfingers and coffee. Ladyfingers coffee, okay. And cocoa. Okay. And that's how your mom taught you. And then, buddy, what's your tiramisu?

22:15Lisa Valastro:Mascarpone, of course. No judgment. Yeah, mascarpone, eight yolks, sugar, heavy cream. My trick is we use three-quarters of the flavor from sweet marsala wine. Oh. And then 25. Which goes into the marscapone. It goes into the marscapone and gives it like this sweet twang.

22:39Buddy Valastro:Yes.

22:40Lisa Valastro:And then a little bit of Kahlua or coffee.

22:43Buddy Valastro:Right.

22:43Lisa Valastro:With 25%.

22:45Buddy Valastro:I got to be honest. I think I could go, I think Lisa's is a little bit more right now. Yeah. Yeah, well listen. We can have a stream with suit competition. Next time we'll do a blind taste test. Next time you need to come back and do a competition. All right, then I'm going to stay on this tip for a second. Who makes a better lasagna? Yeah. I would say, Lisa, I'll give you. Listen, he's a good cook, too. We're very different. So the way I describe the way I cook, I'm a very simple cook. I make, like, if I'm making a tomato sauce, the tomato's going to be the actual main ingredient. Right. When Buddy cooks, there's about 100, and it tastes good, but there's, like, 100 ingredients in there.

23:22Buddy Valastro:Is he a tornado in the kitchen? Oh, my God. It's bad. It's bad. Like, are you cleaning up after all this stuff, or is he cleaning up as he goes? No, he helps out a little bit. He does. But you just tear through the kitchen? I tear through the kitchen. I cook and clean, cook and clean. Like, I won't move on to my next project unless the first project is clean.

23:41Lisa Valastro:My cook and dirty cook and dirty.

23:43Buddy Valastro:I'm like, oh, God, what happened in here? Sometimes he's like, do you want me to make you dinner? I'm like, no, yes, but no. By the way, that's what it's like in my house. My husband loves when I cook, but he's like, I can't with the way this place is after you're done. Like, I can't do this. It's insane.

24:00Lisa Valastro:Well, the thing is, too, is I like baking at the factory or the bakery because you have different types of tools. Look, I ain't going to lie. Like, the home ingredient, like the vegetable oil I get is different than what you could buy in the store. Yeah. That is true. It is true.

24:18Buddy Valastro:Tell the cocoa story with the cocoa this Christmas.

24:21Lisa Valastro:Oh, this is so funny, right? So she's like, I got to get cocoa for Tidamisu.

24:27Buddy Valastro:So my daughter and I.

24:29Lisa Valastro:Just so you know, right, for the month of November, we went through 200 ,000 pounds of cocoa. At the bakery. At the factory. Okay. 200 ,000 pounds. That is insane. Okay. We got a 22, 24, like, top of the line, best that you can get. So I'm like, Lisa, how this.

24:45Buddy Valastro:So our daughter and I, for Christmas, we like to bake, like, 20 different types of cookies. Our own cookies. Okay. Tell me your top ten right now. Sorry. While you're on the side. There's triple chocolate. There's white chocolate morsels. There's peanut butter. There's oatmeal. There's...

25:02Lisa Valastro:The Love Knots.

25:03Buddy Valastro:Love Knots. There's ginger snaps. Biscotti. There's biscotti. Pignoli. Pignoli, yes. Pignoli. There's two almond cookies. There's a Pignoli cookie, and then there's a plain almond cookie with shredded almonds. That's just 10, and you make 20 cookies. Okay, that's insane. Keep going. So I usually just go to shop, right, and buy the ingredients. Right, yes.

25:22Lisa Valastro:So I said, you're going to make so many cookies. I'm like, all the ingredients are here. I'm like, so just take it. So we make a list. Tell my guy, all right, give me buckets of whatever we need. Bring it home. So she makes the tiramisu. She's eating. She's like, oh, my God. She's like, it tastes so much better. I'm like, yeah, because you're using shit cocoa on top that you get at the supermarket.

25:46Buddy Valastro:His cocoa was just so silky and chocolatey. I'm like, okay. That is hilariously funny. But even the chocolate cookies were even more chocolatey. They're richer. But also, like, yeah, why are you hoarding the good stuff? Why are you not bringing the good stuff home to your wife all the time?

26:04Lisa Valastro:She can use it. So about three years ago, Lisa, the kids got older. It was in college, whatever. She was like, I want to do something. I was either going to go back to what I went to school for.

26:17Buddy Valastro:Right. Which was? I was a surgical technologist. Wow. Yeah. I operated on patients in the operating room with doctors. Oh, my gosh. I was the assistant, basically. Got it. Loved it. I still do. I love the medical field. I'm actually the family doctor.

26:32Lisa Valastro:Oh, my gosh. That's right. And the office therapist.

26:34Buddy Valastro:Yes, and the office therapist, yes.

26:37Lisa Valastro:And so you were going to go there. So I said to her, I'm like, why don't you just come work with me? I'm like, I got, you know, I mean, listen, my world is, you know, bakeries, restaurants, factory, you know. I mean, I got, it's crazy.

26:54Buddy Valastro:And at the time, we were designing 1500 Broadway, our new bakery. Our new bakery. He's like, why don't you come help design. Yeah, you design it. Yeah.

27:03Lisa Valastro:You know, because honestly, that stuff, as creative as I am, I don't want to be bothered. I mean, it's a little bit of a headache.

27:09Buddy Valastro:Also, I'm sure in the city, too, the stuff that you guys are managing.

27:14Lisa Valastro:But she designed that store, and since she's been there, we actually, I think, get along better. I mean, we do. I feel like you guys are like the dream couple. I think she understands me more.

27:27Buddy Valastro:I do, but we're also like, I do my thing.

27:31Lisa Valastro:She can't work directly with me.

27:32Buddy Valastro:No. No, I can't.

27:34Lisa Valastro:I need people that... Take orders? I'm more calming.

27:39Buddy Valastro:Like, I'm the calming and the laid back. He's more like chaos.

27:44Lisa Valastro:I need crazy multitaskers, chaos. He needs chaos. I thrive in chaos.

27:49Buddy Valastro:Yes.

27:50Lisa Valastro:So, like, my assistant Nikki's here with me. She's a multitasker.

27:54Buddy Valastro:She's a dream.

27:54Lisa Valastro:So, like, all I got to do is she knows. You know, it's a... What do your kids think of this?

28:01Buddy Valastro:Are they, like, dying to get in on it, or are they like, I can't? You know, our kids don't know any different. they kind of grew up in it yeah so what you see is what you get with them um our daughter is working with us now she's another one i can't work directly with she's got dad's personality she's chaos um so she works on dad's team and she uh well look it's funny because if you break up

28:23Lisa Valastro:our kids like one by one they all have completely four different personalities is that right i i can't even compare two together that is and attributes yes i would say like sophia is probably the most creative or one of the best cake decorators yep but very motherly yeah very

28:41Buddy Valastro:motherly you know from my side and buddy is his mechanical mind he could take apart an engine and put it back together he needs to know why something is what what's the why behind it yeah well we want to make things better yeah he's a fixer he's a fixer yeah so it's like you know what mean him

29:00Lisa Valastro:will look at the lines and find inefficiencies. That came through in the show, I feel like. But personality-wise,

29:08Buddy Valastro:my personality. He's very non-controversial, laid-back. He had no problem. But he craves drama. That's what I'm getting from this conversation. Marco is my mindset. Let's just get it done no matter how it gets done. Who cares how it's going to get done? Just get it done. But his personality to the T.

29:32Lisa Valastro:Yeah. He's a salesman.

29:35Buddy Valastro:Yeah. I mean, you need that in your family. Yeah.

29:36Lisa Valastro:If I was going to send one of my kids with goodies to the magazine to get the gig. That'd be it. That'd be Marko.

29:43Buddy Valastro:And he won't leave until he gets it. Well, I feel like he's grown up. Your kids have grown up seeing you guys move and shake pretty insane. But also in your family, too. aunts, uncles, people who've surrounded them, family, friends who've really helped push them forward. Honestly, it's been such a joy to see you grow from all of those years ago. And you. I mean, delicious. We're really excited you're here.

30:10Lisa Valastro:I've got to give you props. I mean, you totally, at the time, you were... I'm like, Sarita's trying to rush me, but let him say...

30:18Buddy Valastro:I'm going to eat some, but also let him say the nice thing. Go ahead, don't interrupt him. Don't interrupt him, Sarita.

30:23Lisa Valastro:Let me say it, but at the time you were, I don't want to say low man at the totem pole. Yes, I was. I was an assistant.

30:29Buddy Valastro:I was hawking bakers on the street of Hoboken. Exactly.

30:34Lisa Valastro:And to think that you climbed all the way up.

30:36Buddy Valastro:Oh, you're very sweet. With Delish. Thank you. I have some fast questions. Yes. Okay. And then I'm going to ask you each separately. You each have to answer. Okay. All right. Food that, like, is, like, that Buddy makes that makes you weak, like, that still kills you this day. Dessert or food? Anything. Well, I'm a pasta girl. Which one? What's the pasta? Anything. Anything. Any pasta. Really? Mm-hmm. What's the food that Lisa makes you that, like, still makes you fall in love with her? Probably her eggplant parm. Ooh. That's a nice one. Yeah. Biggest food fight in the kitchen?

31:11Lisa Valastro:We did a competition, I would say, with the kids. We did, like, I don't want to say a home Iron Chef, but I won. But I don't want to say, you know. You don't want to say you won. I don't want to say that I won, but I did win.

31:24Buddy Valastro:Do you guys do competitions like that a lot?

31:26Lisa Valastro:We did when the kids were younger.

31:27Buddy Valastro:When the kids were younger, yeah, and they were home.

31:29Lisa Valastro:And I would take a kid or two, and she would take one or two, and then the other kid would be the judge.

31:34Buddy Valastro:Our kids are older now, so to have them all home together doesn't happen often.

31:38Lisa Valastro:And I was blind, too, just so you know. Wow. It wasn't like, I only picked that. So you won legit.

31:42Buddy Valastro:Legit. You didn't win because of your personality. Legit won, yeah, yeah. You won because of the food. Okay, I got it. Food that Buddy makes that you actually don't like? I don't like onions, believe it or not. Wow.

31:55Lisa Valastro:Yeah.

31:56Buddy Valastro:Food that Lisa makes that you don't love.

32:02Lisa Valastro:There's nothing really that she makes that I don't. Really? Yeah. Yeah. I mean, sometimes the chicken can be a little dry if you overcook the chicken and potatoes. I do.

32:13Buddy Valastro:I usually overcook my chicken and potatoes because I have a thing with chicken. It's a hard thing to get. Chicken don't need to cook for two hours. Yeah, chicken. I think, it's like Christmas vacation. Chicken, that's a question we get a lot at Delish, which is like, how do you not overcook? First food that Buddy ever made you when you were dating? I don't know if I remember that one. I know the first food I made you. Yeah, what's that? It was a lobster dinner. What? On Valentine's Day. On Valentine's Day. You bought a lobster and made it? and she had surgery a couple days prior and that's why we didn't go out for valentine's day so he came over were you like wrestling a live lobster in your house i don't do live lobsters i usually get them cleaned okay and i stuff them and i i bake them i'll kill i mean

33:05Lisa Valastro:i'll take care of them more than that i i like that's i think that's where i draw the line not

33:09Buddy Valastro:that i have a problem with i mean i love lobster i just like it's just don't want to see how you It's like a little intense. Yeah, I don't need to see how the sausage is made. What did you bring us? I need to know.

33:19Lisa Valastro:I got you chocolate covered strawberries. But why I had to bring them? Like, look at the size of those. This is something that.

33:27Buddy Valastro:Make sure you show me that. Why are American strawberries like this gigantic? Look at these.

33:33Lisa Valastro:So I want you to, like, we use.

33:37Buddy Valastro:Also, different chocolates. This one is dark chocolate. Dark milk chocolate. Are you dark or milk? I'm a dark chocolate. Are you dark or milk? I like milk. Are you dark or milk? I like them both, actually. Depends on my mood. Lisa, you're too sweet. You're just like so, you're so, but just a sweetheart. I like to pick a side. I'm going to say dark. I like dark, but I also like white. White's an unsung hero.

34:00Lisa Valastro:It is. I'm going to eat that. But these are all Belgian chocolate, like the best. This is something I've been doing at the bakery for years, lobster tails. Oh, my God.

34:08Buddy Valastro:Wait, no, no, no. We have to take a moment for these lobster tails. First of all, this is your lobster tails are my husband's absolute favorite dessert. You've got to bring them some more. Still handmade. Like, what I would love to show is, like, the cannolis. You made a cake for House Beautiful, and you brought cannolis, and Caitlin, our digital director. Oh, my God, it broke. I'm a digital director. Now I have to eat it. She said they were the best cannolis she ever had, and I was like, yes, they're the best. The video of you making these is an art.

34:41Lisa Valastro:It is an art. How did you learn how to make these? My dad. So I would do it with my dad.

34:46Buddy Valastro:Oh, possible.

34:47Lisa Valastro:And funny quick story.

34:49Buddy Valastro:Uh-huh.

34:49Lisa Valastro:So after my dad died, he was the one who really did it. And we were having trouble with him not being perfect.

34:58Buddy Valastro:Because he was getting older or because you were a machine?

35:02Lisa Valastro:Well, he did the final touches to it. Oh, oh, oh, oh. So after he died, I was sleeping. We were having problems. I went home and I had the first dream of my dad after he died. And in the dream, I was like, and it was really surreal. Because, like, me and my dad had a good relationship at work, but it was something that we get serious. So I was like, oh, dad, oh, my God, I can't believe you're here. You're at the bakery. and he's like, I'm not here to, he said, f*** around with you. He's like, I'm here to show you how to pull lobster tails one more time. Stop. I swear to God. I get chills when I tell the story.

35:46Lisa Valastro:And in the dream, we were doing it, like the same motions, and I woke up, and the next day, oh, yeah, true story.

35:56Buddy Valastro:I could literally cry. I'm like, I have the tails.

35:59Lisa Valastro:Yeah, no, it was a crazy story, and, you know, just something that we still make and take a lot of pride in.

36:07Buddy Valastro:They are, I think, my favorite dessert on the planet. I know my husband would agree. They are, because there's nothing like them in the world. No, they're so crispy. You know, I've been fooling around. Is this the cream that's in the cake mix, too, in your cake batter? It's similar. Similar.

36:23Lisa Valastro:So that, but that's got a little bit of whipped cream added to it to lighten it just a little bit. Just not the custard. But the thing is, these here I've been playing around with some savory. So, like, think of what you would put in an empanada, but you stuff that inside there, like ground beef or ricotta. Or like a ricotta or something. Ricotta, and you bake it because you get all those layers. Basically, those layers, because of the butter on it, when they go in the oven, they fry.

36:57Buddy Valastro:Mmm.

36:58Lisa Valastro:Because they're thin like little pieces of dough. Right, right, right, right. That just, they fry.

37:02Buddy Valastro:Right, and the air kind of like makes them light and fluffy. They are insane. You've got cannolis. Yes. And a whole cake. Here's the lobster tails. This is bonkers. Here, I'm going to show my face next to the lobster tails. Holy cannoli. Holy cannoli. Oh, you had the strawberry cannoli in there too. The strawberry cannoli. Is that new? It's just for the season. Oh, boy. Yeah. And then a whole cake, which we're going to eat. Rainbow cake. Yeah. Look at this cake, which is the rainbow cake, their famous rainbow cake, which I have to open. Yep. Which I'm just like, this is what I mean. Like, no other guest has shown up here with hundreds of dollars worth of baked goods.

37:39Buddy Valastro:Just so you know, you're the first. Shame on them indeed. But look at this, the rainbow cake. Here, next to my face. It's so insane. Thank you guys so much for being here. Thank you for having us. It's been such a dream, truly. Thank you. And I am so happy to see you after all this time. And this has been so fun. And I'm going to eat all this. So if everybody could just leave, I'll be here with my baked goods. That's our show for today. Thanks so much for joining Snacks. Please make sure you like and subscribe everywhere you get your podcasts. And make sure you follow at Snacks Podcast.

38:26We'll be right back.