Create A Baby Shower Cake

When you decide to host a baby shower, one of the first details to consider is the menu.  And an important, unifying component of the menu will be the cake.  As is the case with a wedding, a baby shower can be built around the theme of a beautiful, original cake.  Like a wedding cake, a baby shower cake can be any shape, size, and flavor.  But a cake for a baby shower will probably include, either via the decorations or the shape of the cake, a reference to the baby.

There are lots of options for the shape of the cake.  Will you opt for a simple sheet cake that is decorated on top with ducks and lambs, bottles and strollers, or perhaps with scenes from a nursery rhyme? 

Perhaps you’ll choose a layer cake, with the possibility of different types of cake in each layer.  Again, you or the baker can add decorations to the cake, much like the topper on a wedding cake.  Decorations can be created with marzipan, fondant, or frosting.  You can purchase a simple topper, for instance, in the shape of a stroller or a stork, or you can decorate the entire cake with loads of little baby details crafted from sugar or frosting, like bottles, pins, cribs, booties, and pacifiers. 

Another option is to bake a sheet cake and then cut from it a fun shape, such as a bottle or a baby.  This is an alternative that most people can accomplish at home, without help from a baker.  It might take one or two practice runs, but it’s a very easy way to create a personalized cake. 

One other option is to bake lots of cupcakes and create a cake from them.  Each cupcake can be frosted in a different pastel color, which you can create by mixing food coloring with white frosting.  Or, with a little practice, you can become adept enough with a piping bag and tips to create fluffy little animals, like lambs, chicks, and bunnies, so that each cupcake has its own critter on it, and together, the cupcakes form an entire farm.

Finally, most baking specialty stores sell cake pans in shapes.  Some of these are mini-cakes, others allow for a full sized cake.  When you use one of these pans, the biggest challenge you’ll have is frosting the cake, as the shape already suggests a baby item.