How to Select Baby Shower Cakes

Hosting a baby shower is an exciting task. Baby shower cakes can be decorated in many different, imaginative ways. If the task of choosing a baby shower cake seems somewhat daunting, use this guide to help you make a good selection.

Ideas for Symbols and Words

A baby shower can be held before or after a child`s birth—depending on individual and cultural choices. For this reason a cake may or may not reflect a child`s sex or name. Some words that may be written in icing or on a topper include:

• Welcome Baby
• A Bundle of Joy!
• A Baby Girl!
• Now the Fun Begins!
• Congratulations!

There are many possible decorative symbols. Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Teddy bears,
• Baby birds,
• Angels,
• Bunny rabbits,
• A baby sleeper,
• Booties,
• Storks,
• Baby footprints,
• Pacifiers,
• Baby Rattles.

One or several of these symbols may be incorporated into a beautiful design.

Baby shower cakes can be almost any flavor and feature any kind of icing. Your choice will be influenced by the skills of the cook, the time of year, what other food is being served, and of course, the tastes of the guests.

Fondant icing offers a smooth, elegant look and lends itself to many different cutout designs, trims, sugar paste flowers, and sugar paste figurines. Butter cream icings, on the other hand, melt in the mouth and also can be used for beautiful designs and textures. Butter cream is easier to work with than fondant, but an experienced decorator can come up with impressive fondant decorations. There are other options to consider as well--many people prefer whip cream or cream cheese icings, as they are less sugary and go particularly well with some kinds of cakes.

Do you want to serve a special flavor or type of cake? Consider the following possibilities:

• Cheesecake,
• Pound cake,
• Ice cream cake,
• Lemon,
• Raspberry,
• Chocolate,
• Mocha,
• Fudge,
• Strawberry shortcake, and
• Strawberry trifle.

When in doubt, consider chocolate--many women adore chocolate and it`s currently a fashionable flavor for all occasions.

A single color can be very elegant in the hands of a skilled cake decorator. Pastel colors such as yellow, blue, and pink are often chosen, but don`t feel limited to these tones. Consider the décor, flowers, and tastes of the mother-to-be. The overall cake design may also generate color ideas. The key goal is to come up with a cake that will grab attention and admiration as a table centerpiece.

When designing the party dessert, first decide how many servings will be needed. A baking consultant knows how many servings a particular cake size will provide.

Next, consider shape and structure. You can serve one flat cake, multiple stacked cakes, or a multi-dimensional sculpture. Use different shapes such as hearts, diamonds, squares, or circles for individual or stacked cakes.

There are four popular baby shower cake designs: regular cake with geometric shape, thematic shape, 3D sculpture, and cupcakes. Consider this example. If a teddy bear is the main decorative theme, there are four key ways that a cake artist might use this motif:

1. Decorate a round or flat cake with sugar teddy bear cutouts, an icing teddy bear picture, or non-edible teddy figurines.
2. Shape and decorate the cake as a teddy bear by combining different shapes or by using a mold,
3. Create a cake sculpture. This means that the cake is a standing or sitting teddy bear—a 3D creation.
4. Top individual cupcakes with a cute teddy bear made of sugar or a non-edible material; or create a teddy bear sculpture using cupcakes.

The four design alternatives described above can be applied to any motif. Another popular example is a set of colorful baby blocks spelling out 'A B C D' or the word 'B A B Y'. Imagine 3D cakes that are blocks; a round cake decorated with blocks; or individual cupcakes, each adorned with a block or other toy.

Traditional decoration styles are still popular and often make up the main design, tastefully accompanied by writing and/or a baby topper. Lacelike sugar latticework, embroidery, pearls, bows, hearts, spirals and ribbons still elicit 'oos' and 'aws' from party guests. Fresh flowers or sugar paste bouquets are also beautiful options.

To get the best understanding of what people are doing for baby shower cakes, look for photos. Pictures of baby shower cakes say much more than words possibly can. On the internet, baking enthusiasts and professional designers display pictures of their latest creations. Colorful books and magazines offer clever and mouth-watering illustrations. To get an even more vivid sense of selections, visit a cake shop to look at and taste freshly baked offerings.