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What's It Going to Be: Gender Reveal Parties Announce Baby's Sex

Rebecca M Gruber — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 13:56:44 PDT

It's not all about the 20-week ultrasound anymore! More and more parents are planning gender reveal parties to find out their baby's sex and share the excitement with family and friends. While some mamas-to-be wait until the child debuts to find out if they should buy pink or blue, others embrace the excuse to party before delivery!

Some moms and dads have the ultrasound technician write the child's sex on a slip of paper that is placed in an envelope. It's then dropped off at a bakery where a cake is baked in the appropriate color and iced to hide the news. When the parents-to-be cut into the sweet treat, they learn about their future offspring. The idea gained national attention when Josh and Anna Duggar cut into a pink cake on the Today show to learn that they were having a girl a few years ago. The concept is gaining momentum as more couples opt to hold soirees to celebrate their impending offspring. Check out these cakes that families have used to announce the sugary-sweet news.

Source: Grey Grey Designs

Baking With Color: Chocolate-Matcha Mochi Bundt Cake

Sara Yoo — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 05:45:57 PST

I love using color to brighten up my baked goods, but sometimes the idea of adding drop after drop of artificial food dye makes me cringe. So with St. Patrick's Day coming up, the hunt was on to find a natural coloring agent to turn my baked goods a lovely shade of green.

Historically used in Japanese tea ceremonies, matcha is finely milled green tea powder that today finds its way into mochi, soba noodles, ice cream, candy, and pastries to impart a light tea flavor and intense green hue. Although it's not a traditional Irish flavor, I thought I'd test the luck of the, well, Japanese and add it to my Springtime Bundt cake.

Taking the Asian influence a step further, I substituted mochi rice flour for the regular all-purpose flour, which made it denser than the fluffy Bundt cake of yore but a little chewy and texturally interesting. A layer of chocolate gives your palate more to mull over while you chew.

Ready for this different take on a Springtime cake? Just keep reading!

Do You Dare Eat Beets With Chocolate?

YumSugar — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 14:35:17 PST

Well, you should, because this moist chocolate-beet cake recipe is one of the most delicious and interesting desserts I've had in a long time. Beets happen to be one of my favorite vegetables because of the earthy taste and vivid color, and the fact that this recipe artfully transforms the root into a luscious cake is just really cool.
There are more steps to this recipe than most cakes, because the beets have to be cooked, but the result is worth it: it's a moist, decadent chocolate cake. I could taste a hint of earthy, beet flavor (that I loved), but others claimed they tasted nothing but rich chocolate. Keep reading for more!

Learn How to Make a Fourth of July Flag Cake!

YumSugar — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 10:03:45 PDT

There's no dessert more patriotic than a classic flag cake! This easy-to-make treat is the perfect finish to a spectacular July 4 party. Watch the video to learn how it's done, then print the recipe after the break.

Do You Like to Make Cakes?

Katie Sweeney — Fri, 27 May 2011 03:55:54 PDT

Last weekend I went to a birthday party where the guest of honor was surprised with a homemade cake! Each layer was a different flavor with various fillings, from red velvet to milk chocolate to Oreo. The cake looked professional and tasted amazing. I asked the baker if she was interested in the cake business, but she said no, and that she just really enjoyed making cakes for her friends and family. I couldn't agree more! While mine aren't as elaborate as hers, I bake special occasion cakes several times a year. How about you? Are you into cake-making?

15 Pretty Pedestals For Wedding Confections

Tara Block — Thu, 26 May 2011 04:44:16 PDT

Whether your wedding dessert of choice is a three-tiered wedding cake, homemade pies, cupcakes, or macarons, you need a picture-perfect way to display your big day's saccharine delights. And when it comes to cake pedestals, I'm seeing everything from vintage to modern and rustic to girlie designs. Don't be afraid to use mismatched styles and colors on a dessert table, or try grouping a variety of pedestals in a monochromatic palette. Here are 15 of my favorites, dig in!

Start sharing your big day with our community. Just head to the Wedding Talk group, click "new post," and check the wedding content box.

Photo by Jill Thomas via Source

Let's Dish: What's Your Favorite Kind of Cake?

Katie Sweeney — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 04:30:04 PDT

This week you can't look anywhere without being bombarded by information about the royal wedding. One thing I keep thinking about is the two wedding cakes. Kate has chosen a classic fruitcake, while Prince William's groom's cake is made of chocolate biscuits. I wonder: is fruitcake really Kate Middleton's favorite type of cake or does she have to serve it because of royal traditions? Since I've got cakes on the brain, I'm dreaming of my ultimate wedding cake. It would either be chocolate or dulce de leche with a light and creamy frosting. A second choice would be a delicious princess cake with marzipan dome.

How about you? What is your favorite kind of cake?

A Royal Feast: Lemon Curd Cake

Lauren Hendrickson — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 15:19:58 PDT

A royal wedding requires a royal meal, and if you're tuning in on Friday to watch this fairy-tale wedding, why not celebrate with traditional British food? Every feast needs dessert, and a light, tart lemon-curd cake is the perfect way to finish an evening. The flavor of the cake is reminiscent of Madeline cookies, and it's layered with a sweet and slightly sour lemon curd and topped with a simple zesty frosting. If you've never made curd, don't fear, it is surprisingly hands off. For the ultimate lemon flavor, be sure to pick up Meyer lemons. This cake is fit for a princess, and perhaps even the queen! To nosh like royalty, keep reading and get the recipe.

Baby Cakes: Crazy Creepy or Crazy Cute?

LilSugar — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 12:01:19 PDT

"What's my baby doing on the cake platter taking a nap?" Oh snap! That's a cake! Every baby shower deserves a special dessert but these er... take the cake? Forget the diaper cakes or the diabetic friendly flower pastry. Shower hosts can serve up a frosted newborn on a silver platter.

On the hilarious and uber-creative blog spot Cake Wrecks, we found some unsettling baby confections. What could be creepy about a baby cake? Well for starters, some of them have a doll buried under icing making it look more like a deathbed than a bassinet. And what happens when it comes time to eat the dessert? No guest wants to see the sugary lil toes sliced off for their nibbling pleasure. The bakers are certainly skilled in the decorating department, but maybe a crib full of stuffed toys would have done the trick.

What do you think about these babylicious cakes?

These Soap Cakes May Be Prettier Than the Real Thing

Miriam Lacey — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 12:00:56 PDT

There are few things sweeter, in a number of senses, than a beautifully decorated cake. But with the risk of developing insulin resistance from all the sugar and the ever-present danger of crushing the icing when the cake slides around in the box, perhaps we'd all be better off with these oh-so-pretty Yorkshire Soap Co. soap cakes.

The company hand-makes soap cakes to order, and the finished products look almost better than the real thing. Would you buy one of these for a sucrose-averse loved one? And which cake do you think looks the most real?

Source: The Yorkshire Soap Co.