We're still celebrating 'Baby Month' here at Life's A Celebration!
Todays guest blogger is Melissa Woodland; owner of bespoke cakery The Cake Boutique, based in Maidenhead, Berkshire.
Melissa's talking about the latest craze to hit the UK - Gender Reveal Parties! There's even a cupcake recipe in here! Here's what Melissa had to say!
"When you’re expecting a baby, there are a fair few big decisions you need make. One of the most exciting is whether or not you’re going to find out the sex, and if you do, how are you going to announce it to your friends and family?
Well, there’s a new trend headed our way from across the pond that goes hand-in-hand with the increasingly popular Baby Shower phonomenon.
American parents-to-be are taking these pre-birth celebrations to a whole new level, incorporating the gender reveal into the party in a very innovative way!
Take one baby shower cake...
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| Credit:sweetgrace.net |
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| Credit:ebredhawk via Cake Central.com |
And when the moment arrives for you to announce the sex of your unborn child, simply slice into your cake and voila! Pink for a girl and blue for a boy.
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| Credit: looklovesend.com |
Your cake maker will have coloured either the sponge or the buttercream with pink or blue food colouring to reveal the sex!
Want to surprise yourself too? Well, if you’d like to really raise the stakes, why not find out at the same time as your guests? Simply ask your sonographer to write ‘boy’ or ‘girl’ on a piece of paper and seal it in an envelope for you to give to your caker. Then you’ll be as surprised as everyone else.
It’s a fun idea that’s guaranteed to get your guests talking.
We’ve rounded up a few of our favourite gender reveal cakes and cupcakes for you to feast your eyes upon.
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| Credit: Pretty Paws via CakeCentral.com |
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| Credit: LadyinaRedApron via CakeCentral.com |
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| Credit: Jessiccakesblog.blogspot.com |
Vanilla cupcakes (makes 12)
12 dark coloured or metallic cupcake cases (to ensure the colour of the sponge doesn’t show through the cases)
110g/4oz butter at room temperature
110g/4oz caster sugar
2 medium eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
110g/4oz self-raising flour, sieved
1-2 tbsp milk
Liquid or gel food colouring in pink or blue
Cream your butter and sugar together in a bowl until pale and fluffy.
Add a little egg at a time and mix thoroughly.
Stir the vanilla extract in with the food colouring (a few drops at a time) until you achieve a decent shade. The colour may soften during baking.
Fold in the flour gently to avoid knocking too much air out of the mixture.
Spoon the mix into the cupcake cases as evenly as you can. They will be about half full.
Bake them in a pre-heated oven at 180F for 10-15 minutes.
They won’t rise to the very top of the case – and that’s exactly what you want. You need to be able to completely envelope the sponge in buttercream so no-one gets a sneak peak!
While the cakes are cooling, beat 125g butter and 250g of sieved icing sugar together with an electric mixer until they are light in colour and creamy in texture. Add any flavour you like, then pipe a swirl on the top of each cake, ensuring all the sponge is hidden.
Add some gender neutral sprinkles, tiny question marks or rubber ducks to the top of each cake – whatever decoration suits your party theme.
And there you have it – DIY gender reveal cupcakes to wow your guests with. Enjoy."
You can find The Cake Boutique on face book and on twitter
Hope you've enjoyed Melissa's blog post and let us know if you try the recipe! If you want a chat about baby showers then get in touch. I'm always happy to discuss your requirements with you and put together a fabulous party box just for you!
Don't forget we also have our baby shower competition running until the end of September 2012. You could win a baby shower party box for 7 people - just visit our website, join our mailing list and you'll be entered. It's that simple!
Keep watching for our next baby related blog! See you soon folks.
Maxine
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