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By Mary Therese Biebel mbiebel@timesleader.com
Features Writer
Mary Therese Biebel on Facebook   |   @TLTLMaryTBiebel on Twitter

No wonder they call him “The Cake Boss.”

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Buddy Valastro will make a cake for the couple who wins The Times Leader Fantasy Wedding Give-A-Way.

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Buddy Valastro can make a wedding cake that looks like the Leaning Tower of Pisa. It even tilts.

For an animal shelter’s fund-raiser, he sculpted a cake that had an uncanny resemblance to a boxer named James.

For his little girl’s birthday, he made a cake with a brick pattern in the fondant icing that looked like a 3-foot-tall version of Cinderella’s Castle at Disney World.

And, he once crafted a cake the size and shape of a NASCAR race car. “That thing took years off my life,” he said, “but it was well worth it.”

If you’re a fan of the show “The Cake Boss,” which airs Monday evenings on TLC, you know Carlo’s Bake Shop in Hoboken, N.J., churns out thousands of cakes per week, thanks to the efforts of Valastro and, as he fondly refers to his crew, “mia familia.”

Actually, much of the staff is his family, which adds drama to the show. Who else but sisters Grace, Mary and Magdalena would practically force their brother to hire himself an assistant, then commandeer the newcomer to clean a display case instead of running out to get the lunch a “starving” Valastro ordered?

“They are a handful,” Valastro told The Times Leader, “but at the end of the day they are your family, so you love them.”

One of Valastro’s favorite desserts is chocolate cake with chocolate ganache, fudge and fresh raspberries, but he can put together what seems like an infinite number of flavors. He hopes to make a combination that will be especially pleasing to the bride and groom who win The Times Leader Fantasy Wedding Give-A-Way.

“I hope to do a cake that the lucky couple dreams of,” Valastro said.

The Fantasy Wedding Give-A-Way, valued at $20,000, includes not only a cake from The Cake Boss but prizes from Exclusively You Bridal & FormalWear, White’s Country Floral, Tuxedo Junction, Shane East Photography, Valentine’s Jewelry and Parrish Limousine.

Genetti’s Best Western offers a gift toward a wedding reception and an overnight stay in a celebrity Jacuzzi suite at its Wilkes-Barre location, Woodloch Resort offers a two-night stay for two adults, and Alexander’s Salon & Spa offers hairstyling and make-up for the bride and bridesmaids.

The Caf� offers a gift toward a bridal shower, Mirage Lingerie offers a bachelorette party, Renee Edwards, D.M.D., offers teeth-whitening services, Details by Maggie offers professional decorating services, Finger Lakes Wine County offers a wine tour and overnight accommodations for six, and Abington Travel offers two tickets to anywhere.

To enter, a couple can visit www.timesleader.com and click onto Fantasy Wedding Give-A-Way or return the form that appears in today’s paper.

Entries must include a photo and an essay on “why you and your fianc� are simply the best couple in Northeastern Pennsylvania.”

To be eligible, both bride and groom must be at least 21 years old and legal residents of Pennsylvania at the time of the wedding. The wedding date must be between July 21, 2010, and Dec. 31, 2011.

All entries must be received by March 20. Winners will be announced in the April 12 edition of The Times Leader.