South Brunswick Mother-Daughter On Cake Boss Baking Show Sept. 15

SOUTH BRUNSWICK, NJ — Hey, South Brunswick, make sure you tune into the Discovery Family Channelthis Saturday, Sept. 15 at 9 p.m. to see a local South Brunswick girl and her mom compete in a new baking show with the Cake Boss!

South Brunswick resident Izzy Farhat, 10, a student at Crossroads North Middle School, and her mom Mary Farhat will be featured on this weekend's episode of "Bake It Like Buddy," featuring “Cake Boss” Buddy Valastro of the original Carlo's Bakery fame in Hoboken.

Mary, who works as a pharmacist at Robert Wood Johnson hospital in New Brunswick, told Patch that she and her daughter started baking together for fun when Izzy was about 3 years old. But they never thought they'd be competing in a baking competition on national TV. They were chosen after Mary applied to be a "Food Network Star" more than three years ago. She wasn't selected for that, but her name was put on a casting call list for other shows, and they recently got a call to appear on this new show.

Baking with her daughter has always been a pleasure, the South Brunswick mom says.

"It was so cute when she was little because I'd put her up on the counter with me and she'd stir the dough with me and eat it mostly," said Mary. "It started as my way of relaxation. After a really stressful, busy day at work, I'd just come home and attack the kitchen. It's always been my way of relaxing."

Farhat said after she and her daughter started making cake after cake for birthday parties, their friends and family started requesting that they make cakes and cookies for them, as well. It's now turned a side business for Mary. She makes cakes for birthdays and special occasions and sells them in the South Brunswick area. You can contact her at elegantcakesbymary@gmail.com

Mary said Izzy has learned to become very creative when it comes to cooking.

"I like watching her get creative. Sometimes she'll use applesauce instead of eggs. Or she'll use black beans instead of applesauce. She's very smart," she said.

The episode is titled “Candy Cakes,” and Izzy and Mary battle against another mother/daughter team from Iowa to see who can create the most fantastic candy-style cake in just four hours. Buddy, his sister Lisa and Carlo's Bakery decorator, Jessica, then judge both creations and vote for a winner. Each episode has a theme, which ranges from Halloween to unicorns, sci-fi, 3-D and more.

Mary said she and Izzy sketched out an elaborate plan beforehand of using hard candy, like Jolly Ranchers, but then created a chocolate-caramel cake once they arrived on set. But they were racing to decorate it at the end, with only 15 minutes left.

"I've never been in a time crunch like that before, and Izzy was more hyper than I am, if that's possible," said Mary. "We were painting chocolate leaves and making little butterflies. I saw my daughter work so well under pressure. I was like, I should be more like her!"

So who won, the South Brunswick team or the Iowa team? You'll have to tune in Saturday to find out. The winner received a $1,000 prize.

The episode airs Saturday, September 15 at 9 p.m. ET so either tune in or make sure you DVR it and support a local hometown girl and her mom!

Promotional photos provided to Patch by TLC.