Community Corner

New City Yankees Fan Turns to the 'Cake Boss' to Honor Team

Special cake presented to Yankees' front office by group of season ticket holders to show their appreciation for the team and the late George Steinbrenner.

Calling Elaine Apfelbaum of New City a diehard Yankees fan just doesn't seem strong enough to accurately describe her level of dedication to the Bronx Bombers.

She's a true believer in the pinstripes.

As a baseball lover and a season ticket holder, the Yankees are more than just her favorite team - going to games has long been part of her family life and social life.

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Apfelbaum, who works at the Town of Clarkstown Recreation and Parks Department in New City, and her Yankees fans friends recently decided that it was time for them to do something special to show how much they appreciate the Yankees organization and also pay tribute to late team owner George Steinbrenner.

What to do? Answer: Everyone loves cake, right!

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But Apfelbaum and her friends didn't want just any cake. So, they turned to famed T.V. baker Buddy Valastro of TLC channel's "Cake Boss" to come up with a very special cake that they could present to the Yankees at the stadium. Valastro, a longtime Yankees fan, jumped at the idea and accepted the challenge.

Valastro is one of the most successful and renowned cake artists in the United States. Master baker of Carlo's City Hall Bake Shop in Hoboken, N.J., Valestro is star of the "Cake Boss." The show looks inside the operation of his bakery as he supervises a team that includes his mother, four older sisters and three brothers-in-law.

The T.V. show highlights the many special cakes Valastro and his team are called upon to make for customers. For the Yankees cake, the shop created a cake that was shaped to look like Yankee Stadium, with a likeness off George Steinbrenner and topped off with a giant red, white and blue Uncle Sam hat - just like the one Apfelbaum wears to every Yankees game she attends.

Apfelbaum is among a cluster of 18 fans who have cheered on the Bronx Bombers as a group since they first met at Yankee Stadium in 1996.  Now, they meet in the new Yankee Stadium in Section 108-109 Right Field.

Elaine Apfelbaum and group members Tim Burke of Westchester, Andrew Entwhistle of Katonah, Greg Tierno of New Jersey and Doug Perry of Connecticut  recently visited the "Cake Boss" shop to talk about the project with the bakery's team. Last Friday,  just prior to the Yankees-Boston Red Sox game, the special cake was  delivered to Lonn A. Trost, the COO of the Yankees and the entire organization as a sweet thank you from the 18 dedicated season ticket holders.

The players, the administration and the 18 fans wiped out the entire delicious cake in short order.

Apfelbaum says the group is "always seen standing, clapping and cheering our bombers with such passion it does not go unnoticed." Members of the group along, with Apfelbaum and her hat, were featured on page 224 of the 2009 Yankees Official yearbook. 


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