The Cake Boss gets a CAKEOVER

Well folks…it’s official. We just put on one of the most exciting parties to date and we’re thrilled to give you all of the juicy details!
About one month ago we got the go ahead from a wonderful group of ladies at the PR firm Crossroads to start working on a proposal for the Cake Boss. Buddy Valastro the Cake Boss himself has launched a line of cakes for grocery stores. “You wanna piece of this?” Well now you can have it without having to go to Hoboken and wait in line at the famous Carlos Bakery! The cakes will be sold nationwide and the party was to get editors out to give them the good word…
 

Inspired by Fashion Week in NYC earlier in September, the girls at Crossroads said they’d like us to work with a “CAKEOVER” theme.  Think MAKEOVER that happens in fashion and the CAKEOVER that happens when you take a blank cake and turn it into a masterpiece. They put it best by explaining how these designer high end cakes would now be more available to buyers at a ready to wear level.

Since both Michelle and I had 10+ years in the fashion industry, we couldn’t have been more enthused about working with such a cool theme. On top of this all they had a great venue picked out for the party called the MPE Penthouse.  A corporate event space PERFECT for a function like this located on 45th street on the west side of the city in Hell’s Kitchen. The 2500sf space comes fully equipped with a 1750sf wrap around terrace overlooking Manhattan with the most beautiful views, a full kitchen, multimedia amenities, a fireplace and ceilings that go up to 18’high. After scoping it out for the event Michelle and I wanted to move in.
 

Now came the fun part – the design. We came up with three different areas for the party…
The Red Carpet: when you walked into the venue we had set up a Cake Boss step and repeat on a red carpet. Elegant, fitting and a perfect back drop for Buddy to be taking pics with the guests through the night. The guys that Michelle found at Fine Print NYC did an incredible job producing this signage for us and were so fantastic to work with coming in to set up and back to break down seamlessly.

Backstage: This is where the models – in our case here the cakes – get dressed. We set up make up stations with the tables, mirrors and lights from our new friends at Mirror Heaven and in front of this display we had 6 activity stations for the guests to participate at.

To decorate this area we used baking tools such as measuring cups and spoons, whisks, spatulas and oven mits displayed in make up case trains.

We also set out some of the Cake Boss chef hats which were super cute and looked so fab in front of the mirror tables.

Each station included a “naked” (icing only) cake along with an envelope for the guests to open. Inside included a mood board to serve as inspiration for designing the cake on the table. These mood boards were based off specific 2013 fashion trends including florals, metallics and jewel tones.

Around each of the cakes we set out practice mats that the creative team at Crossroads developed for the guests to experiment with techniques, colors and ideas before actually working with the cake itself. On top of each mat we included a piping bag of buttercream icing as well as jars of sprinkles all in colors matching to the specific mood boards that were given out.

While the guests were having fun with their designs and getting this special hands on experience, Buddy walked around giving tips and demos and later critiquing the completed cakes with great charm.

The Runway: The star of this party was the designer Buddy. And his models were the cakes. To display the cakes and make a statement we rented an LED bar from NY Lounge Decor and set it up to mimic a runway.

We placed cake stands in varying heights all along the runway to showcase their beauty and get the guests excited to try them. Behind the runway we hung a dramatic and fitting mirror to add some sparkle to our models.

Displayed on our runway were each of the cakes that will be showing up in your local grocery store if not so already (my mother-in-law has already seen these at her local BJ’s)!
* Whole lotta carrots – layers of moist cake with real carrots, pineapple, raisins, coconut and walnuts, married together by rich cream cheese frosting
* Bada Bloom – moist yellow cake and velvety chocolate cake layers married together by an indulgent layer of fudge filling
* It’s my party – moist yellow cake and velvety chocolate cake layers married together by an indulgent layer of fudge filling
* Va Va Velvet – moist layers of delicious red velvet cake filled with a rich cream cheese frosting and finished with cake crumbs and white chocolate shavings
* Dulce De Leche – caramel dulce de leche filling between layers of rich chocolate cake, iced with dulce de leche buttercream and drizzled with Belgian chocolate ganache

* Oh my ganache (what a clever name!!) – layers of heavenly chocolate cake with chocolate shavings filled with a creamy fudge filling and topped with Belgian chocolate ganache

In the second hour of the party each guest was given a “cake flight” which was a plate with a small slice of each of the cakes above so they could have a sampling and then tell Buddy how much they love his cakes! And I’ll tell you this…there was no question that every one of these cakes were off the charts delicious. I ate my flight in about 30 seconds flat. I couldn’t get enough!

As far as food – we had a TON of fun working with our new pals at Scoozi Events! Michelle has a close friend who told us about these fabulous ladies Stella & Bridget of Scoozi, a chic and creative catering company. When we brought our ideas to them they came back to us with a proposal including a menu that we couldn’t resist! The food we served was so fitting to the theme, tasted incredible and was displayed beautifully! On the menu…
Savory Canolies: Honey Goat Cheese & Pistachio and Short Ribs with Robiola Cheese
Petite Shitake Mushroom Buns
Chocolate Coffee Crusted Filet Mignon
Truffle Mac & Cheese Bites

Baked Chicken Lollipops
TUNA Tar Tar with Yuzu Caviar

One of the other requests from the team we worked with on this party was to have cake inspired drinks…so Scoozi came up with a Cake-Tini bar. Brilliant! Makeover your Martini with a Cake-Tini! These drinks were sexy and scrumptious. The flavors included…
Red Velvet Pomegranate Juice with Marsciano Cherries
Key Lime Juice with Candied Lime Gelee
Caramel Dulce de Leche with Caramel Rim

The staff that Scoozi had working the event were so cute (including a bartender who agreed to wear a Cake Boss chef hat all night long) and super sweet. We had a FAB time working with everyone here and cannot wait to grow our business together.

It didn’t end here…we also threw in a couple small but what we think are very important LMP details such as personalized Cake Boss bottles with red & white striped straws for sipping sparkling water and silver tea cups filled with bright red dahlias for the high boy tables that the guests mingled around.

Last but not least, two of our favorite people to work with – our DJ Kim Jefferson who came in to spin funky background tunes through the night and Raquel Biancawho took the photos. We could not be more grateful for the shots Raquel captured for us and as always was an absolute pleasure to work with and have around.

The end of the evening capped off with chef’s coats for each of the guests to get signed by Buddy and photographed before leaving…some of the editors who came to party and execs from TLC even got into character with it…such fun!

The party was a huge success and we couldn’t have been more honored to be a part of such an exciting new launch. We absolutely loved working with our team at Crossroads, Dawn Foods and TLC. Thanks to you all and look forward to working with you again soon!