Gender Reveal Cake

Our hearts are full as we await the arrival of our first baby in the coming weeks. The journey toward getting pregnant was overwhelming and emotional, but experiencing pregnancy has been nothing short of a blessing.

As with any woman who has been on this journey, these last few weeks are full of emotions and excitement, aches and pains. I’m taking it one day at a time, kicking my feet up and soaking in every joyous movement I feel. Our world is about to change forever and for that, we are eternally grateful.

Life right now? Doing teeny tiny baby laundry and crying about how cute it all is because HORMONES. Using my belly as a snack bowl holder. Nesting. Energy fading. Catching Jude and Frankie sniffing around the nursery. Waddling.

We found out our baby’s gender on May 1st. We told our family and close friends, but decided to keep it mostly private up until now so that we could really cherish this exciting news with loved ones. We didn’t do anything special when telling our friends/family– just phone calls and text messages. I couldn’t wait to spill the beans.

Even baking a cake was too long to wait!!!

Gender reveal parties and cakes are all the rage right now, so I wanted to do something special to share the news with YOU. You have all been so supportive and encouraging during this special time and we are so thankful! I also wanted to share a new cake recipe– something that you can make when the opportunity for a gender reveal cake (or, well, any layer cake!) presents itself in your life. 🙂

I had a few dreams about the gender in my first trimester. Mother’s instinct, perhaps? (It’s def a real thing!) We would’ve been ecstatic either way as long as our baby is healthy and thriving, but I totally had a feeling our first would be a…

GIRL!

Many of you have been throwing out guesses this year and you were right. ♥ We cannot wait to meet and snuggle with our daughter!!

And how cute is the oh baby topper? (cake topper or cupcake topper)

Gender Reveal Cake

How about this cake though! I adapted it from my funfetti layer cake, swapping all-purpose flour for cake flour. I love how fluffy and soft cakes are when made with cake flour. It’s not always necessary and you can certainly get around using it by ensuring there’s plenty of creamed butter/sugar for fluffiness– but a gender reveal cake screams for a suuuuuper light cake flour crumb.

Did you know? If you’re ever swapping cake flour for all-purpose flour, you should increase the amount because cake flour is much lighter than all-purpose; there won’t be enough dry ingredients to soak up the wet. The cake could be *too* moist. OR you can experiment by changing the amounts of wet ingredients. I actually skipped all that and just used the SAME amount of cake flour. I was pleasantly surprised by how light and soft the cake crumb was… without being too wet or soggy. You’ll love this switch!

Now if all-purpose flour is more convenient for ya, you can certainly use it. I just suggest you sift it before measuring. Sifting will aerate the flour and lend a lighter crumb. But for the *lightest* crumb, use cake flour.

Does all that make sense?

The recipe all stems from 1 vanilla cake batter, but you’ll divide the batter up. 2/3 of the cake will be funfetti and 1/3 will be pink/blue. The batter is about 6 cups, so:

• 4 cups = funfetti batter


• 2 cups = pink or blue batter

I used 1-2 drops of “deep pink” Americolor gel food coloring and pink Sweetapolita sprinkles. You can obviously use any food coloring or sprinkles you like best. Or you can make every layer the pink or blue color OR every layer pink or blue funfetti. How you choose to “reveal” with this cake is totally up to you!

This is a super fluffy, super simple, super soft, super delish 3 layer vanilla cake recipe that you’ll use time and time again.

For decorating, I used my basic vanilla buttercream and Ateco #844 tip for decorating. I turned to our beloved two-toned frosting trick to pipe pink and blue designs. Remember when I taught you that for April’s Baking Challenge? (Video included!)

For a nice tight-looking crumb, I refrigerated the cake for 2 hours before cutting into it. This creates a beautiful slice and keeps the frosting decoration intact. Highly recommend especially if you’re showing this cake off at a party!!

PS: A very heartfelt prayer for all of you experiencing the hurricane in Texas. Stay safe. ♥

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Gender Reveal Cake

• 
  Author: Sally


• 
  Prep Time: 45 minutes


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  Cook Time: 25 minutes


• 
  Total Time: 4 hours, 10 minutes


• 
  Yield: serves 12-14


• 
  Category: Cake


• 
  Method: Baking


• 
  Cuisine: American

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Description

How to make a gorgeous and festive gender reveal cake for a gender reveal party or baby shower. Such a fun way to share the exciting news!

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Ingredients

• 3 and 3/4 cups (410g) cake flour (spoon & leveled)


• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder


• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda


• 1 teaspoon salt


• 1 and 1/2 cups (3 sticks; 345g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature


• 1 and 3/4 cups (350g) granulated sugar


• 4 large eggs, at room temperature*


• 2 large egg whites, at room temperature*


• 3 teaspoons (15ml) pure vanilla extract


• 1 and 1/2 cups (360ml) buttermilk, at room temperature*


• 1/2 cup (95g) blue or pink sprinkles


• 1–2 drops blue or pink food coloring

Vanilla Buttercream

• 1 and 3/4 cups (3 and 1/2 sticks; 400g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature


• 7 cups (840g) confectioners’ sugar


• 6 Tablespoons (90ml) heavy cream


• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract


• 1/4 teaspoon salt

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease and lightly flour three 9-inch cake pans.


2. Make the cake: Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside. Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on high speed for 4-5 minutes until creamed together. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. On medium-high speed, add 1 whole egg at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the 2 additional egg whites and the vanilla extract. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. If mixture looks curdled, don’t worry. It will all come together.


3. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients in three additions alternating with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients, and mixing each addition just until incorporated. Do not overmix this batter. The batter will be smooth, velvety, and slightly thick.


4. There will be just over 6 cups of batter total– transfer just over 2 cups of it to a separate bowl. Tint that batter pink or blue with food coloring. Gently stir the sprinkles into the remaining 4 cups of batter.


5. Pour/spread batter evenly into prepared cake pans.


6. Bake for around 25 minutes or until the cakes are baked through. To test for doneness, insert a toothpick into the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, it is done. Allow cakes to cool completely in the pans set on a wire rack. The cakes must be completely cool before frosting and assembling.


7. Make the frosting: In a large bowl using a hand-held mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add confectioners’ sugar, cream, vanilla extract, and salt with the mixer running on low. Increase to high speed and beat for 3 full minutes. Add more confectioners’ sugar if frosting is too thin, more cream if frosting is too thick, or a pinch more of salt if frosting is way too sweet.


8. Assemble and frost: Place 1 cake layer on your cake stand or serving plate. Evenly cover the top with frosting. Top with 2nd layer and evenly cover the top with frosting. Finish with the third cake layer and spread the remaining frosting all over the top and sides. Use any leftover frosting for piping decoration. (I used an Ateco #844 tip and piped two-toned designs.) For a neat cut, refrigerate for 1-2 hours before slicing.


9. Cover and store leftover cake at room temperature for 1-2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

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Notes

1. Make Ahead Instructions: The cake layers can be baked, cooled, and covered tightly at room temperature overnight. Likewise, the frosting can be prepared then covered and refrigerated overnight. Assemble and frost the cake the next day when you are ready to serve. Frosted cake can be frozen up to 2 months if you have room in the freezer. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before serving. It tastes much better fresh though!


2. Special Tools: KitchenAid Stand Mixer | 9-inch Round Cake Pan | Piping Bags | Ateco #844 Tip | Americolor Soft Gel Paste Kit | Oh Baby Cake Topper | Oh Baby Cupcake Topper | Custom Printed Fork


3. Eggs: You need 4 whole eggs and 2 additional egg whites for this recipe.


4. Buttermilk: Buttermilk is best for this recipe. If you do not keep it on hand, you can make a sour milk by adding 4 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice or white vinegar to a large liquid measuring cup. Then add enough regular room temperature milk (whole, skim, 1%, 2%) to make 1 and 1/2 cups total. Stir and let sit for 5 minutes. This soured milk can be used in the recipe.

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @sallysbakeblog on Instagramand hashtag it #sallysbakingaddiction

You could even make a checkerboard cake with blue or pink instead! Recipes are similar.

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