Parenting & New Baby Advice Blog

Posts Tagged ‘Baby Shower Cakes’

What exactly is this thing called a diaper cake that everyone’s been talking about? It’s actually a very cute idea for a baby shower centerpiece or gift for the expectant mom at her baby shower. It’s a tiered “cake” made entirely out of rolled diapers. You can add as many tiers as you like to make it the center of attention or as few as you like to make it a simple gift. It’s great to bring to the hospital when you first meet the new baby or to give whenever a new baby is born. Here’s how to do it.

To start off you’ll need one large bottle of baby shampoo or lotion. This will be the base for your cake. You’ll need another small one, about 4oz. for the top tier. Then, you’ll need about sixty diapers for a standard three-tiered cake. You can choose to use either cloth diapers or disposables. Check with the new mom to see what she’s planning on using if you can. Select ribbon for the outsides of the cake that matches the shower décor. Gather up enough rubber bands to tie each diaper. Then, you’ll need some small baby supplies like travel sized powder, lotion, tiny thermometer, etc. These are for the outside to decorate the cake.

First, plan to arrange the cake on some sort of platter or disposable cake plate. Clear your area and start rolling up diapers. It’s easiest to do with disposable diapers because they’re already half folded. But if you are using cloth, just fold the diaper in half and then in half again and start to roll. Secure with a rubber band. Continue on for all sixty diapers.

To assemble, place the large bottle of shampoo or lotion in the center of the cake plate. Start adding the rolled diapers until you have on circle of diapers around the bottle. Secure the tier with wide ribbon tightly. Now, add the next tier. Do the same thing around the top of the bottle. Encircle it with the rolled diapers and secure with wide ribbon. For the third tier, place the small bottle of shampoo on top of the second tier. Use the rest of the diapers to create a small tip tier. Tie tightly with ribbon.

Use the extra supplies you have purchased to make a cute topper. A rubber ducky works well. Add the rest of the supplies by tying with ribbon onto the cake all around it. You can omit this last step if you like your cake the way it is. You can also sprinkle on baby-themed confetti that comes in the shape of ducks and baby bottles. You can find it at a craft store.

That’s it! Your cake is set to go. Present it to the hostess  and she may want to use it as a baby shower centerpiece. Or, just put it alongside the other gifts on the gift table. New moms love the gift of a diaper cake because as they disassemble it, they can use the diapers every day. It’s a gift that keeps on giving. Vary the sizes of the diapers if you like as moms tend to get more newborn diapers at their baby showers and then have to run out to the store as baby grows for the larger sizes.

As with all my cake posts, I'm drooling by the time I finish my research!  Luckily, my husband's birthday was earlier this week so I was able to indulge in a little cake, although it wasn't quite as inspiring as the cakes shown below.  All photos were found on www.flickr.com

The adorable creation shown in the top left is displayed by mandott on Flickr.  The two layer design features a railroad track piped on the cake plate and a train pieced together with fondant chugging around the bottom layer.  The top layer has fondant mountains and the topper is a railroad crossing sign.

The top center photo is a colorful train engine created by bo_n_arro.  The cake was cut and pieced together, then skillfully iced with buttercream.  Although it was time consuming to achieve the texture seen on the cake, the end result was worth the effort!

There are many ways to add a train to your shower cake, as seen on the top right cake made by sharoncakes.  The fancy 2 layer cake has colorful fondant accents, topped with a cardboard train that is decorated with icing.

The bottom cake shown above is my favorite train cake because of the shape, color and display!  The display board was simply decorated by cakeboxsoc with green icing and small, simple flowers along with a curved train track created out of icing.  The train itself was covered in brightly colored fondant, then small details were added with colored icing.  Although the design is not the most complex of the cakes shown here, it's still a successful creation.

The center cake in the collage shown above is a simple sheet cake, iced with a small train design in the center.  The train was modeled after the one on the tableware that was used at Linda's Kitchen's shower.

The top design in the second collage is a large train piece baked and frosted by bluecakecompany.  The large pieces were frosted and decorated with buttercream and fondant.  I especially love the gum paste babies that were along for the train ride!

The bottom left cake was made with cakes baked in a loaf pan, then cut, iced and decorated with cookies, graham cracker bears and candy pieces.  The tracks were made out of popsickle sticks and a toy conductor is perched alongside.  This cake was made by amanda p. wu, and I found a great instructional video illustrating how to make a cake similar to this - sponsored by the Betty Crocker Kitchens and Howdini.com.

The final cake in this post is a professionally decorated piece with zebra stripes and jungle animals riding inside the train cars.  I love the detailed fondant work done by Pacific Pastries.  She actually created the circus train out of rice krispy treats because they are easier to mold into shape than cake. I would love having any of these as a baby gift if I were a newborn!!

More fun cake ideas:

• Theme Baby Shower Cakes
• Theme Baby Shower Cakes II

A baby carriage cake may be just the finishing touch you want for your carriage-themed shower.  Whether you hire someone to make the cake or you are going to tackle it yourself, I have found a number of fun and colorful cakes for inspiration.  Many of these cakes can be done yourself, but some of the more difficult ones may require more time and patience then you have.  The most important thing to remember when making a cake is to have it taste good - and to know that your guest of honor will appreciate your effort no matter what!

The first cake shown above was carved from an oversized sheet cake, and decorated to match the baby shower invitations.  It is covered in buttercreme, then accented with sheets of fondant.  The checkered pattern is painted with edible paint, and the flowers are made from marzipan.  This cute creation was displayed on Flickr by Retro Bakery in Las Vegas.

The center cake is a simple round design, covered in buttercreme and finished with a carriage-shaped cookie.  The edges are draped in more fondant and simply accented with green Fleur de Lis patterns.  This cake was designed by Valerie Bredow Cakes.

The bright purple and yellow cake is a fun design, brought to life by great texture work and a cute baby face peeking out of the carriage.  The cake shape is from a carriage cake pan and was done by craftycake.

The blue carriage cake seen above and left was done with 3 round cakes, artfully arranged and cut to form a carriage.  The decorator used a fancy tip to create the buttercreme design, and sugar flowers accent the wheels and carriage base.  In my search, I found a number of cakes with this similar design, many decorators chose to use candies such as M&M's to create spokes in the carriage wheels.  I love the way creationsbyskip chose to add a handle to this carriage.

The center cake shown just above is the most difficult cake I chose to highlight in my post.  Done by a professional decorator, the layers are covered in fondant and the carriage is sculpted from  2 round cakes.  KupKake Tree used marzipan to make the teddy bear, and covered wire with gold-tinted chocolate to form the handle.

The final cake I chose to discuss is my favorite - the simple design is one I feel confident in recreating.  The cake is again crafted from 3 rounds, and most of the decorating is done with designer tips and buttercreme.  The tough part of this cake for me would be the fondant ribbon, I'm not sure I would be able to recreate the 3-dimensional affect that was achieved by purpleflourcakes.

Whether you're a novice at decorating or a semi-professional, the most important part of making a cake is the thought behind it.  Well, that and the taste!!  Don't be too critical of your decorating skills and remember that it will be eaten no matter how good or bad you think it looks.  Enjoy the process and delight in the praise you are sure to receive!

Find more baby shower ideas in this article on Personalized Baby Shower Favor Ideas.

I had a lot of fun searching for my favorite barnyard baby shower cakes at Flickr.com.  The animals are so cute and the decorating is flawless!  Whether you order a cake or use one of these cakes for inspiration to create your own design, it will be a great addition to your farm-themed baby shower.

The first cake pictured is a creation by abbymoakler.  She used baby shower bedding as her inspiration, and copied the squares in fondant.  The two layer cake is also covered in fondant and and the bow on top of the cake is also colored fondant.  If you aren't as talented as this cake artist, you could use farm animal toys in place of the edible animals.  The second cake seems to be something that I could re-create.  The single layer cake is covered with buttercreme frosting, then topped with a graham-cracker barn, pathway made of crushed graham crackers and hand crafted edible animals (I would have to use the toy animals instead!).  This colorful and cute design was made by sarahscakes.

The adorable cupcakes shown above were created by Angelina Cupcake.  The green grass background was created by piping buttercreme frosting over the cupcakes.  They were then topped with a fondant animal heads.  These cupcakes would be perfect to scatter around your barnyard-themed banquet table.

The design on the left uses a combination of cake and cupcakes, fondant and buttercreme decorating.  The cake part sits atop a 3-tier pedestal and is covered with ornate piping on a light green buttercreme base.  The fondant animals are spectacular!  The cupcakes on the lower two tiers alternate with the same light green frosting and a milk chocolate frosting.  They also have finely crafted details, down to the blue butterfly on the pig cupcake.  This excellent display of edible art comes from jdesmeules.  The cake on the right would work perfectly for a barnyard themed shower or a farm animals baby shower.  The three tiers are alternately covered with white and pink fondant, then decorated with relatively simple cutout decorations and whipped cream sheep.  Once again, the design was inspired by baby bedding.  The cake could be easily transformed for a boy or gender-neutral shower, simply substitute the pink accents with blue, green or yellow.  This design was created by Lecake.

Want more ideas? Try this article on having a Farm Animal or Barnyard Baby Shower.

These adorable cakes brought a smile to my face and I hope they'll do the same for you.  Today I was on the lookout for the best Under The Sea themed cakes that I could find on the net (check out the resource links underneath the photo collage).  I just love these cakes and cupcakes and I hope they'll inspire you when you are planning an Under The Sea Baby Shower!

There are so many options when it comes to ocean-inspired cakes and desserts.  And the colors of the ocean make for a great display on a baby shower buffet table.  Consider incorporating a snorkel-clad baby or a pregnant mermaid into the dessert to add a bit of whimsy.  If you aren't ready to whip up a full-blown masterpiece like some of the cakes shown below, have no fear.  You can still create an ocean-inspired dessert by visiting your local cake or craft store and purchasing under the sea themed cupcake liners and ocean inspired sugar decorations.  They even make cupcake sprinkles in the shape of fish, starfish, octopus, and seahorses.  And if you want to leave the baking to someone else, I'm sure that your local bakery would be more than happy to put together an ocean-inspired cake for you.

Image Resources:
1. ocean_cupcake_tower3_small, 2. Under the Sea Baby shower cake, 3. angies shower cake 008, 4. Under The Sea Cake, 5. Baby Shower Cakes Wilmington, NC Carolina Cakes & Confections, 6. Under the Sea Baby Shower Cake

Want more cake ideas? Try these posts:

• Theme Baby Shower Cakes
• Theme Baby Shower Cakes II