The 'Cake Boss' Buddy Valastro returned with the second season of 'Next Great Baker' (Mon., 9PM ET on TLC). At stake is an apprenticeship at Valastro's bakery, so he's very invested in making the right choices as the competition progresses.

!!SPOILER ALERT!!

Sometimes that means looking beyond the final product to the individuals behind the efforts. For the elimination challenge, they were separated into teams, which would test their teamwork. As they each have their own artistic vision, this was a tremendous challenge. And with a four-foot tall cake to create, they had their work cut out for them.

If Buddy Valastro just made nice big chocolate cakes for kids' birthday parties, 'Cake Boss' (Mondays, 9PM on TLC) wouldn't be a very interesting show. Luckily, Monday's episode was far stranger than that, as Valastro made a cow-shaped cake for Eden's tenth birthday. By the way, Eden is a cow. And the cow cake, like Eden, also gave milk.

With the help of his crew, Valastro made a life-sized replica of Eden. The head was carved out of Rice Crispy Treats, and the udders were made of modeling chocolate, all built on a wooden frame. But the biggest challenge? "I gotta have somebody hide inside and squeeze the bottles to make it milk," said Valastro.

Thursday on 'Live With Regis and Kelly' (weekdays, syndicated), Alton Brown taught Kelly Ripa how to judge food. Friday on the show, Regis Philbin learned how to bake from Budday Valastro, the 'Cake Boss' himself, who taught him the finer points of confection. As an added level of difficulty, the cake was for a bride-to-be, named Kimberly.

Philbin knew there would be trouble when he sat down with Kimberly and asked what she wanted. "Three or four tiers," she said. "You're not makin' it, are you?" Valastro laughed. "Kimberly, you're a sweet girl," said Philbin, "but I didn't like that tone that much." That was only the beginning. Philbin nearly freaked out when he had to handle a slimy raw egg yolk.

The star of 'Cake Boss' appeared on 'The Oprah Winfrey Show' (weekdays, syndicated) to discuss his life and his dreams. Buddy Valastro -- head baker on the reality series -- talked to Winfrey about his childhood, and about how far he's come since then.

Watch the video after the jump.

TLC has decided to add another layer to the tasty pastry that is 'Cake Boss': According to Variety, New Jersey baker extraordinaire Buddy Valastro and his family will all return for a third season.

Founded in 1910 -- five years before the birth of Hoboken's other institution, Frank Sinatra -- Valastro's family business, Carlo's Bakery, caters to the rich and famous -- and sometimes just the rich. The show tracks the cake-baking process from start to finish, and features dazzling, sometimes bizarre, orders, such as a talking cake and a frosted replica of a roulette table.

After the big Jon & Kate premiere last night ("Look, honey! They're not sitting on the couch together! They must be getting a divorce!"), TLC premiered their new series, Cake Boss. It features Buddy Valastro, owner and head pastry chef at Carlo's Bakery in Hoboken, NJ, and shows how he runs the bakery along with his very Jersey family. Think about a cross between Ace of Cakes and The Real Housewives of New Jersey, and you'll get an idea of what's going on here: lots of hand gesturing and swearing being thrown around with the fondant and buttercream.

At least that's what the preview episode the network aired about a month ago showed. It was loud and obnoxious and looked like a lot of fun. Last night's premiere, though, concentrated more on the funky cake-making aspect of the job than the interpersonal relations between Buddy and his crew. What a snooze.