The Big Problem Buddy's Team Had With Duff's Cake Idea In Buddy Vs. Duff

In the most recent episode of "Buddy vs. Duff," the popular Food Network baking competition, cake artists Buddy Valastro and Duff Goldman were given the task of creating cakes inspired by or modeled after real life architectural wonders.

Team Buddy stuck to the script, turning out a highly detailed rendition of the pyramids and sphinx of Giza (via Instagram). Settling on arguably the most iconic of the seven Wonders of the Ancient World, Valastro gave his chefs a difficult task –– and all things considered, they rose to the challenge. Team Duff, meanwhile, took the prompt in a completely different direction. Forgoing the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Statue of Zeus at Olympia, the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, and the Colossus of Rhodes, Goldman had his team of pastry chefs create a cake based on "a fairytale-wonderland tree house" (via Instagram). Sorry, what?

When it came time to roll out the competing cakes Sunday evening, many of the chefs on Team Buddy weren't sure what to make of Team Duff's creation. The artistry and craftsmanship were all there, to be sure. Standing multiple feet tall and featuring branches, a multi-room treehouse, and a swing tire, the cake itself was a wonder of modern baking. But what does a treehouse have to do with "Architectural Wonders"?

Compared to the sphinx and pyramids from Team Buddy, Goldman's treehouse concept was wildly off prompt. Rather than settling on one of the seven Wonders of the World, he seemed to have just gone off in his own direction and come back with something entirely unrelated. What could have prompted Team Duff –– and Goldman –– to take such a hard left on such a straightforward prompt?

As it turned out, Goldman had not lost sight of the prompt, but had, in typical Goldman fashion, interpreted the prompt in the most creative way possible. Goldman's "fairytale-wonderland tree house" was, in fact, based on a treehouse he intended to build for his new daughter, Josephine. The Ace of Cakes took to Instagram the day after "Buddy vs. Duff" aired to share the insight: "This week's cake on #BuddyvsDuff is something very special to me," he wrote. "#TeamDuff decided to make this fairytale-wonderland tree house inspired by Josephine! Since the day I knew I was going to be a dad, I knew I wanted to build a tree-house for my child." So there you have it, Team Buddy. Goldman and his chefs weren't ignoring the prompt. They were just offering a different take on the idea of "wonder" –– the wonder of parenthood.