The One Pastry Buddy Valastro Struggled To Make
No matter who you are, there's most likely a recipe or two you find harder to make than others. But for Buddy Valastro of "Cake Boss," it was one specific kind of pastry that was incredibly difficult for him to figure out. Apparently, the signature pastry at his family's Carlo's Bakery, the lobster tail, was extremely challenging for him to learn how to make (via Eater). Even today, there are very few people at the bakery who are skilled enough to craft it.
The pastry, which is similar to the traditional sfogliatelle pastry in Italy, has been a staple at the famous New Jersey bakery for more than 110 years. The original sfogliatelle is far more delicate thanks to its phyllo dough, which creates something similar to a croissant (via Korena in the Kitchen). The Americanized version, lobster tails, also have a crisp pastry with many layers, but not quite as many as the sfogliatelle. While Valastro's father was adept at making the sweet treat, it took more than practice for Valastro to master the difficult pastry with so many delicate layers.
A PR representative of Carlo's Bakery told Eater, "Buddy himself has said working with it has brought many a man to tears out of frustration." But after all the work and tears he might have shed himself trying to learn, Valastro finally had an unusual breakthrough.
This is how Buddy Valastro finally figured out how to make lobster tails
Buddy Valastro wrote a story for Guideposts where he explained how he finally mastered the lobster tail pastry. It all had to do with a memorable dream he had after his father's death that deeply influenced his capability.
In the dream, Buddy was with his father in the bakery where he could learn how to make the pastries one more time. Valastro wrote of his dream, "We worked side by side, me mimicking his every move like always. He pulled the dough; I pulled it. He stretched it; I stretched it. Then something shifted — Dad was gone and there were two of me working the dough side by side. All of a sudden those two Buddys came together. My hands and my father's hands had become one and the same. A perfect roll of lobster tail dough stretched out before me." With that, Valastro went straight to work on the difficult pastry the next day in the bakery where he mastered it after the dream.
Today, Buddy effortlessly makes the pastry and even recorded a tutorial on YouTube that shows viewers how it's done. But those lucky enough to live near a Carlo's Bakery can just go buy the delicious treats in original, cookies and cream, salted caramel, and chocolate hazelnut flavors (via Eater).