DIY Gender Reveal Cake

We've been bitten by the baby bug lately as our co-founder Maan is currently pregnant and in her 6th month - which means, we finally know if it's a boy or a girl! Here's how she had her gender reveal by baking a cake. Recipe (and if she's having a boy or girl!) below:

DIY Gender Reveal Cake: White* Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

(*We'll make it blue or pink in the end!)

Hi, everyone! I had so much fun baking the cake with my sister, Hannah so I decided to share the recipe - and the fun! - with you guys. We wanted a fun way to announce our baby's gender and what better way than with cake! The recipe is for a basic White Cake which we tweaked a little and added food coloring. If you don't have a baby on the way, you can use this recipe to make a basic white birthday cake or a rainbow cake or any excuse to have cake! ;)

INGREDIENTS:

Cake

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups granulated sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup (1 whole bar or 2 sticks) butter softened

1/2 cup vegetable shortening (Crisco or the pre-mixed tubs in Caro & Marie)

5 eggs at room temperature

1/2 cup whole milk, room temperature

1/2 cup buttermilk, room temperature (DIY: add 1 teaspoon of vinegar to 1/2 cup whole milk)

3 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Blue or Pink food coloring

Cream Cheese Frosting

2 (8oz) packages cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter softened

2 cups confectioner's sugar, sifted

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

Prepare

3 9 inch round cake pans

Electric Mixer

Measuring Cup

Blue AND Pink Sprinkles

INSTRUCTIONS:

Cake

1. Preheat oven to 180C or 350F

2. Coat cake pans with shortening or butter and sprinkle flour to avoid sticking after baking

3. In a bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside dry ingredient mixture.

4. In another bowl, combine butter and shortening and with the electric mixer, cream together until light and fluffy.

5. Add sugar to mixture 1 cup at a time. Fully incorporate each cup of sugar before adding the next

6. Add eggs to mixture 1 at a time, fully incorporating each egg before adding the next.

7. In a measuring cup, pour milk, buttermilk and vanilla and whisk together with a fork.

8. Slowly add dry mixture to butter mixture, alternating with the milk mixture - begin and end with dry mixture.

Adding the dry mixture. My baby bump photobombs, haha!

Alternate with the milk mixture

9. Combine all ingredients together by gently stirring with a wooden spoon, Make sure to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl so that all ingredients are mixed well.

10. Add blue or pink food coloring to desired shade and mix well

I guess I have to do the gender reveal before I post the photo! Haha. We are having a...

IT'S A BOY!

So, we used blue food coloring :)

11. Evenly distribute batter to all 3 cake pans and place in oven.

12. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

13. Remove then cool completely on a wire rack.

Frosting

1. Place cream cheese in bowl and cream with electric mixer.

2. Add in butter and mix until light and fluffy

3. Add confectioner's sugar, 1/2 cup at a time. After each cup is incorporated, turn mixer to highest speed setting for about 10 seconds to lighten frosting.

4. Add in vanilla and mix until well-blended and light and fluffy.

Decoration

1. Stack cakes one on top of the other, adding a generous spread of frosting in between

2. Frost whole cake as desired

3. Add blue and pink sprinkles

And there you go! Make sure to refrigerate the cake if you're not going to eat it right away as the frosting will melt. If you want a thicker frosting, you can add more confectioner's sugar as desired but be careful so it won't turn out too sweet (but if that's how you like it, go ahead!)