We have seen him on TV. Seen photos of his amazing creations online. I never thought I would get a chance to see his creations in person. Then, I recently been gifted the book Cake Boss: Stories and Recipes from Mia Famiglia by Buddy Valastro.

I loved reading the stories from Buddy about growing up in a bakery and discovering his passion for beloved sweets. I loved that small photos are included so it truly feels like Buddy is telling you the story yourself. However, I was excited to see some of his recipes tucked neatly into the back.

He included recipes for cakes, cookies, and cream puffs for readers to try at home. I personally tried the carrot cake recipe (my mom’s favorite cake), and cream puffs (choux dough filled with custard).

The cake was a big hit, and a very traditional tasty cake. It is how my mom loves her carrot cake with subtly sweetness and a variety of textures. It baked beautifully in the oven and was easy to stack then decorate. However, the mix was a bit fussy to make. You had to sift flour and such. It will be given two thumbs up on flavor and looks. Level 5 on the skills needed for baking.

The cream puffs was a middle ground ok. The dough came out very well when baked. It was perfect little balls that can be filled. However, the custard filling was super runny and struggle to stiffen without the addition of cornstarch. So the next batch made were filled with pudding as a cheat to a good stiff filling cause I was over the fussy nature of making his custard recipe and I had plans for how to spend my day.

Overall, I think the book is good if you are a big Buddy Valastro fan then this book is for you. However if you are looking for recipes, I would point you in a different direction.