Ace of Cakes

[JeanneCake]

What'd ya think?

[K8memphis]

I could not have loved it more. He's a voice for cake-buddies everywhere. Shoot yeah, I need a Mary Beth was that the manager's name? She's awesome.

"We don't do ordinary and we don't do simple." Rock on, Duff!! Whooo hooo

And the cake delivery through the horse pucky was fabulous. Puts a whole new spin on tiptoe through the tulips.

The only disappointment was temporary when I thought the building wasn't gonna have the weather vane--then he put it on at the end--far & away beyond way too cool.

And when he/they got huffy with the bride who got huffy about her gonna do the cake herself. Yeah right. Brides can be total nutjobs if they listen to some of the nutjob weddhing advisohrs. I can point you to a New Jersey bride getting married in Puerto Rico who has requested my friend in PR to overnight cake samples to her for her approval. From PR to NJ. Overnight samples just to see if she likes them and if she wants to book. Duff was so right on to dismiss that customer.

I loved every minute. His shop is awesome.

And yeah, me too, the coolest cakes I get to do are the freebies--where I get to design whatever I want.

I can't wait for the next episode.

edited to say: Oops, no, her name is Mary Alice.

Edited August 19, 2006 by K8memphis (log)

[chefpeon]

So......let me guess. It's on Food Network, right?

I hate my cable company. They have decided I can't have Food Network.

Fill those of us in who have mean cable companies. WHO is the Ace of Cakes? Is it one person?

Is that the name of the shop? Is the show a series?

[K8memphis]

Duff Goodman, Charm City Cakes

[JeanneCake]

Duff Goldman owns a company called Charm City Cakes (website in Baltimore, MD. He's been on a few of the Food Network cake competitions in the past year or so. His participation on those shows was pretty heavily edited to not present him in a great light (one cake fell over at the end and he was also shown brandishing a screwdriver; then in another one, he was putting a blowtorch into the mixer bowl to heat up some buttercream and the judges didn't like that).

Anyway, because he fits the demographic the Food Network is going for (males 18-35), the powers that be gave him a show, Ace of Cakes.

It was great, IMHO. I was more than a little curious about it because how much would he allow them to show? He's not about to give up any secrets! But if you go to the food network site, you can see how he introduces his staff (I SO want a Mary Alice person asnwering my phone!!!). Would he come off really well or goofy?

They sort of followed along for a week - he had 21 or 24 cakes going out that weekend (maybe it was more, they only showed a few). One was a Jeep replica that one of his assistants was making and Duff was having a bit of a fit about not having any modeling chocolate and lo and behold, the Albert Uster delivery comes through. The other was a shell/beach theme - he airbrushed a tiered cake in a sand color and put shells on (he airbrushes a lot in this episode) then he did a replica of the building in the center of the Preakness race track and showed how he had to deliver it through the parade of horses and across the track. I loved the part where he says "I'm here to deliver a cake" about a hundred times to various security guards, etc. How many times have we done that?!

Things that surprized me was - using wooden dowels. I stopped using those years ago (one because I had a thing about where were they before? Just how sanitary are these things anyway! And, two, it was easier to get the plastic dowels that you can cut with a knife. But Annie showed me a link to a source for bubble tea straws that work just as well if not better and are CHEAPER!); and it seemed that he uses those Coast plastic plates with the wooden dowels to stack cakes.

And airbrushing was the tool of the day in this episode. I use mine for flowers almost exclusively and sometimes for when I need a navy or black color for a cap on top of a cake.

I wish he had mentioned pricing for a few of those cakes. That would go a long way to educating the general public about these are not cheap and not everyone can produce work like that. Meaning: you're sure not going to find this at a supermarket and maybe not at your local neighborhood bakery.

I can't wait for next week's episode. See if someone can tape or TIVO it for you - I'd offer to do it but by the time I send the tape, the season'd be over!

[Qui]

Absolutely loved the show. Can't wait till next week... Duff makes some amazing cakes. Can't wait to see what other techniques he will show in other episodes.

JeanneCake: Can you post the link to the source of Bubble Tea straw? Thanks!

[JeanneCake]

Bubble Tea Supply Co

click

[Matcha Eyes]

I loved this show. Duff is so cool. He has a neat sense of humor and I like his style. He makes me want to continue going to school for baking.

[CaliPoutine]

And of course because I happen to live in Canada, we don't get that show on foodtv.ca.

Im stuck watching reruns of Giada and Rachael.

[bripastryguy]

I have had the chance to speak to Duff on the phone a few times (before he became famous). He is what you see, straight and to the point, he was very helpful with questions, answers and opinions when I was opening my business. He always answered the phone when i called and was speedy quick returning emails as well. I think his show is going to be very entertaining and a great watch.

[meredithla]

I loved it! It's great to watch someone who seems to be having fun doing what he loves, hires his friends to work with him and has passion and a sense of humor that comes out in his work. Too bad "he only hires his friends and no culinary students", it sure would be fun to apprentice there.

[Kris]

To be honest, I wasn't anticipating much when I heard that this show was going to air.

I'd seen Duff Goldman in three Food Network competitions and he came across as an inept clown in those episodes. None of his cakes worked within the specific show/cake theme format and they ended up as disasters (either tipping over or collapsing in some fashion).

But I actually liked the 2 episodes of Ace of Cakes that I saw. The Preakness cake was great! He and his sous chef really nailed that one. When it was cut, it actually looked like a homemade (meaning scratch) cake that I'd enjoy eating. He and his staff really turn out some excellent looking cakes overall.

I wish pricing was mentioned so the general public could be educated that cakes of this caliber don't come cheap. Just because they see these types of designer cakes in bridal magazines, doesn't mean that they're going to cost $2.00 a slice.

If I recall correctly, his cakes start at $175 for an occasion cake serving 10-12 people (I guess that's about an 7" or 8" size). So I can only imagine what one of those tiered or sculpted creations would cost.

Edited August 20, 2006 by Kris (log)

[srhcb]

I didn't expect much from this show either, and the promo ads didn't help. I found myself watching both episodes though, and found them very entertaining.

I think the production had a lot to do with it. The Cakes style owed more to Discovery Channel's American Chopper than any other food Food Network show. In fact, Goldberg was kind of like an Alton Brown/Paul Tuttle Sr character?

I think leaving off prices of specific cakes was a good idea. The fact they're well done, and in demand, makes the point that good work is not cheap. Judging by the size of the staff, and a guess about the cost of building and equipment, the overhead is pretty high!

SB (can't believe he enjoyed a show on cake decorating!)

[K8memphis]

SB (can't believe he enjoyed a show on cake decorating!)

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And from there it's easy to see how it's such a freaking addiction. It's a huge pia to do this kind of stuff but there you are doing it again. And poof it's gone~eaten up. This is the real deal which is why it is so intriguing, pull you in enjoyable.

Other sugar shows are 101's or highlight a different aspect of pastry. (yawn)

The show is a TEN. Easily. My kids, school teachers, loved the show, can't wait for the next one. Another friend was over, loved it, he's a sports enthusiast. Just in my little world, people from different walks 'get it'.

I love that Duff is a genuine person, and has a layman's size ego and a heart of gold. Mary Alice is the bombshabomb. Geof is amazing, a perfect alter ego to Duff as he said. The art work of "The Girls" priceless and breathtaking.

Question, What does it take as an artist to showcase your employees work on national tv? Or ANYWHERE?!

Duff is a ten, no he's a nine point ninety-nine--'cause he's not perfect and he's not on a pedestal and that makes him better than a ten anyday.

Edited to say: the producers of competition shows are deliriously happy (read: orgasmic) when contestant's artwork gets 'dramatic'. I'm sure none of the accidents are staged (insert whistling & looking innocent smilie face).

His web site states his per serving price for tier cakes starts at six bucks.

Mary Alice's famous quote.

"Well, we kinda specialize in not small and not simple."

Edited August 20, 2006 by K8memphis (log)

[Tweety69bird]

Bubble Tea Supply Co

click

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JeanneCake, do you think that those bubble straws are strong enough to hold up a 3 tier cake ie: 16 + 12 + 8? I wouldn't want to find out they're not strong enough when I do it!!

[patticky]

I almost skipped the show after seeing him in the Mystery cake competition. I'm glad I gave it a chance because I think he does beautiful work and watching the gang together is very entertaining. I agree; the cakes look good enough to eat. And while I don't do much cake decorating, I did get a few ideas for things I would like to try.

For the most part, I'll leave the deocrating to the professionals.

[K8memphis]

Bubble Tea Supply Co

click

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JeanneCake, do you think that those bubble straws are strong enough to hold up a 3 tier cake ie: 16 + 12 + 8? I wouldn't want to find out they're not strong enough when I do it!!

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Tweety, I do not chance it myself. I would use the bubble tea straws in the 12 to hold up the eight maybe. But another idea is to use regular straws inside the bubble tea if you want and to make it even more involved you can put bamboo skewers inside the regular straws.

But I just usually use the big white plastic kinda fat hollow dowels from the cake store for bottom tiers & use straws or some combination thereof in the upper tiers. And bamboo skewers are cool because you can kinda nail the cake into the board a bit if you're using cardboard. And all those things are fairly easy to cut.

Another thing you can use for big momma tiers is umm, pvc pipe. So nice & sturdy. A lot of my friends use the stress free support system--it's stainless steel and costs a fortune. The price and having to have them returned makes them muy stressful for moi. But a lot of decorators use them. I try to make everything disposable. Brides generally appreciate as few nagging details as possible to have to deal with. Hey, just like me.

[JeanneCake]

I think if you used 6-8 straws around the perimeter of the bottom tier, and one or two in the center, you'd be ok. It depends on what the tiers are above it - I know my carrot cake and truffle cakes are very heavy and when I'm stacking those, I use more straws to support those because they're just heavier than my regular buttercream cakes. I love using the tall green cold-drink straws from Starbucks for the smaller tiers (under the 5" and 6" tops).

Like K8, I once considered the stainless support system, and if I were doing some type of outrageous design, I'd seriously think about it. But the thing is getting all the pieces back - as it is, I have trouble getting my cupcake stands back unless I charge a fee to go and get them (which is what I do now, I don't give them a chance to suggest they'll return them.)

I was kinda surprized that Duff uses wooden dowels, and even more surprized that he uses them with the plate system.

Did anyone notice in the latest episode how the finished cakes went onto the wire shelving and not into the walk-in (speaking of what they're not showing yet - other than a few shots of removing cakes from the oven, we haven't seen a mixer in action or the walk-ins....)?

[chefpeon]

Trust me, people.

I have used bar straws and bubble tea straws exclusively when I build tiered cakes.

I have stacked up to five tiers using them with no problems! You don't need to use wooden or plastic

dowels until you get to the UNGODLY heavy and tall cakes, and I'm talking 6 tiers or more.

I've been doing this 16 years. I've NEVER had a cake collapse or FALL.....ever.

[fiftydollars]

Great show.

I'll have to start paying some serious attention to rice crispies...

[Tweety69bird]

Chefpeon and JeanneCake and K8, thanks for the replies. I will give it a go on my next wedding cake... although I have no idea when that will be.