TV: Ace of Cakes

While most of the Food Network's cooking shows are pretty square (that is, no one under the age of 18 is likely to watch Michael Chiarello prepare a roast chicken with wine glaze), there is one show that might be labeled "hip" - "Ace of Cakes," starring cake chef Duff Goldman and his crew.

Duff specializes in the kinds of cakes you always see on TV but probably will never get to have at your own wedding/birthday/wake - weirdly shaped, sumptuously detailed, and elaborately themed. His company, Charm City Cakes, has made cakes shaped like a flamingo, Wrigley Field, and the Capitol building. The show's popularity (and of course the quality of the cakes themselves) mean that actually getting one of CCC's cakes requires months of advance notice.

The show itself is a by-the-numbers reality TV show, but instead of whiny twenty-somethings competing in stupid challenges, you get Duff and his friends - a funny band of artists, musicians, and creative types - making cakes. While the company seems pretty laid-back (they don't mind joking around or cursing on camera), they also know how to buckle down and get the cakes done. In the end, it's Duff and his friends that make the show so lively.