Follow the Ruels

Surprise Inside Gender Reveal Cake

Since gender reveal week is coming to a close, I guess it’s about time I reveal the gender. 

Some of you already know or have guessed. If you follow me on Instagram, then you may have seen my latest (and only) bump pic asking you whether you thought I was carrying high or low. A few were pretty certain you knew after I posted that picture. I guess my bump gives it away.

I also mentioned in the last post that I knew the gender of this baby before it was even born thanks to an old “wives tale” that my former boss used to preach to us anytime anyone we knew ended up pregnant. 

Here’s how it goes:

Because the gender of the baby is determined by the father (sperm), look at his family line. Is he the youngest of all girls? Is his dad one of four boys? If the male side of the family is dominated by girls, then there is a good chance you are having a girl. If it’s dominated by boys, well then you are having a boy.

I think this wives tale only really works well if there are lots of kids in the family and it heavily swings one way or the other. Otherwise, if the grandfather had an older sister, but dad has a younger sister, it may be a total crapshoot.

Luckily for me, Billy’s side of the family swings very heavily in one direction. 

It’s a boy!! 

Because Billy’s family is pretty much all boys (I don’t think he has a single girl cousin on his dad’s side of the family), we were pretty sure we were having a boy. So when the nurse called us after my 12-week blood test with the news, we were not surprised in the least to hear the results!

Of course, we would have been happy with either, but we are thrilled for a boy. If we were having a girl, I just know she would have her dad wrapped around her finger the instant she was born. At least now this child stands a slight chance of not being completely spoiled by dad. 

We’ll leave the spoiling for the grandparents. 

Okay, enough about this baby boy. Let’s get to the cake!

Recipes and Supplies

The beauty of this cake is that you can make any flavor you like! The only thing that really matters is the color of the candies in the center. 

However, I will caution you against strawberry cake if you are having a boy. That may be a little confusing. 

For my cake, I made a simple vanilla cake recipe, adapted from my favorite cupcake recipe. You can find the recipe at the end of the post. 

You could also make a boxed cake because there is no shame in that. Here are my tips for making a boxed mix taste like a homemade cake. 

You just need enough cake to make at least 3 layers of cake, so that one layer can hold the candy center. A typical cake recipe can make a 3 tiered 6″ cake, but I would double most recipes if you want to make a bigger cake, such as a 8″ or 9″ cake. 

For reference, I made a 4 tiered 6″ cake. I doubled my cake recipe and had enough batter left over to make a few cupcakes. It would have been the perfect amount of batter to make a 4 tiered 8″ or 9″ cake. 

Aside from the actual cake, you will need the following:

I would also recommend the following to make your cake assembly and decorating much easier:

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How to Make It

Start with your already baked cake. Level and divide the cake into however many layers you like. 

Tip: Chill your cake before you start cutting into it. It will cut much easier and will not produce as many crumbs.

Identify your center layer or layers. Use a round cookie cutter to cut a circle in the center of the layer(s). 

To build the cake, start by placing the bottom layer on a cake board or cake stand. Afix it to the board or stand with a little buttercream. 

Then pipe a ring of buttercream around the edge of the cake as wide as the second layer. 

Place the second layer on repeat with the third layer.

Fill the center hole with blue or pink candies. 

Tip: Hit up your local candy store that sells candy by color. Many sell M&Ms, Jelly Beans, and other goodies separated by color. That way you don’t have to go digging through a bag of M&Ms for just the blue or pink ones. 

Top with the final layer of cake and press down to make sure all layers are secure and level.

Cover the entire cake with a very thin layer of frosting to trap in all the crumbs then place back in the fridge to set for about 20 minutes. 

Once the cake is out of the fridge, cover the entire thing with a generous amount of frosting. The frosting doesn’t have to be perfect but make sure the entire cake is covered and it’s generally pretty square and level. 

Using a large spatula will make your life a lot easier in this endeavor!

To get the pink and blue streaks, just tint a small amount of frosting pink and blue. Then add dots of frosting haphazardly around the cake. Use a spatula or bench scraper to then drag the icing around the cake in one big motion. 

If you want to add more color, add more dots of icing and repeat the process. 

There is very little technique involved with this! Just keep spreading the frosting until you are happy with the results. 

If you want to add a little something extra to the top of the cake, might I suggest these little fondant question marks!

I colored several small balls of white fondant with gel food coloring. Rolled them out and cut them with a question mark cookie cutter, then attached them to a lollipop stick. 

Place one cut out question mark backwards on your work surface, spread a bit of water on the back, place the stick in the center, then add the other question mark on top. Be sure to press down the edges and wrap the top question mark around the stick.

Let these sit out flat for at least an hour so they can dry and harden.

All that’s left to do is to add some sprinkles on top and stick the question marks in!

Oh…and cut into it!

That’s the best part.

Which just slightly edges out eating it!

Vanilla Cake Recipe

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Gender Reveal Cupcakes

I have another gender reveal goodie for you today!

But if you read Monday’s cookie post, then you know that I am not quite giving away any secrets just yet. You will have to come back later this week for the actual gender reveal.

In the meantime, I thought it would be fun to go through some of those old wives’ tales to “predict” the baby’s gender. We’ll see which ones are right and which ones are wrong at the end of the week.

If you don’t care about any of that, just skip down to “Recipes and Supplies” to see how to make the cupcakes. 

Wives’ Tales
  1. Sweet vs. Salty. Sweet cravings mean you are having a girl; salty cravings means you are having a boy. Verdict: Boy.
  2. Morning sickness. Extreme morning sickness (i.e vomiting) means you are having a girl; mild morning sickness means a boy. Verdict: Boy
  3. Moody vs. Mellow. If you are moodier than usual, you are having a girl; less moody and more mellow then you are having a boy. Verdict: Boy
  4. Baby’s heart rate. It’s said that if the baby’s heart rate is faster than 140 BPM then it’s a girl. Last ultrasound had it clocking in at 145. Verdict: Girl
  5. Cold feet. Colder feet means you are having a boy. Warm feet means you are carrying a girl. Verdict: Girl
  6. The Skin Test. Oilier skin that is breaking out more than usual means it’s a girl. Dry skin means it’s a boy. Verdict: Boy
  7. Chinese Gender Calendar. This fun little calendar predicts gender by finding the intersection of the lunar age of mom at the time of conception and the month of conception. My lunar age is 27 (I am liking this lunar age thing) and the baby was conceived in March. Verdict: Boy
  8. Clumsiness. If you are clumsier than normal, then you are having a girl. If you are just are sure-footed then it’s a girl. Verdict: Girl
  9. Weight Gain. Gaining weight all over means you are having a girl. If the weight seems to be just in the tummy, it’s a boy. Verdict: Boy
  10. Foot Size. Growing feet indicate a boy, while feet that stay the same size indicate a girl. Verdict: Girl. 
  11. Sleep Position. Falling asleep (naturally) on your left side means it’s a boy. On the right side means it’s a girl. Verdict: Girl
  12. Carrying High vs. Low. Carrying hight means it’s a girl; carrying low means it’s a boy. Verdict: Boy? (Not really sure where I am carrying this baby)
  13. Ramzi Method. During an early (transvaginal) ultrasound you can see which side of the uterus the baby is forming. If it’s forming on the right side, it’s a boy. On the left side, it’s a girl. Flip the results if the ultrasound is done abdominally. Verdict: Girl
  14. Mayan Gender System. The Mayan’s used mom’s age at conception and year of conception to predict gender. If both are even or both are odd, then it’s a girl. If one is even and the other is odd, then it’s a boy. My age at conception was even (although my birthday was probably the next week) and the year was even. Verdict: Girl. But if we use my lunar age, then it’s a boy. 

Boy – 7

Girl – 7

I swear I didn’t plan it to come out 50/50! If you want to throw out the Mayan method because it’s somewhat inconclusive, then the remaining 13 wive’s tales favor a boy. But barely!

There were several other wives tales that I didn’t test. Most of them involved taking urine samples or eating lots of garlic. No thank you! If you want to see a full list of these wives tales, I highly recommend this post. It’s where I initially got this idea. 

There was one “wives tale” that I did use to predict baby’s gender. Actually, I predicted this baby’s gender years ago using this method. I will wait to tell you what that one is on Friday when I reveal the actual gender. 

Alright, enough about this baby…let’s get onto the cupcakes!

Recipes and Supplies

The beauty with these cupcakes is you can make just about any cupcake flavor you’d like! 

Sure, there are some exceptions like making a strawberry cake or anything tinted one color or another. But as long as the cake is a fairly neutral color (even chocolate would work) then it should work perfectly.

One note on chocolate: if you do decide to go this route, you will want to make a small batch of vanilla just for the centers so that they can be dyed one color or another. Of course, if it’s a girl you can make strawberry or red velvet for the centers. For a boy, blue velvet would also work. 

I have several recipes that can help you out in this respect:

For the frosting, I’d recommend sticking with something simple so that you can tint it various colors. Here are a couple options that will work well:

To assemble the cupcakes you will need:

  • Food coloring
  • Cookie Cutter
  • Cupcake Tin
  • Cupcake Liners
  • Large Piping Bags
  • Piping Tips: #1A, 1M, and 2D (or any large round and star piping tips)
  • Sprinkles

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How to Make Them

Start by making your cupcake batter. 

From the main batch of batter remove about 1 cup of batter and tint it the desired color. 

Pour the dyed batter into some sort of baking dish. It can be a small cake pan, sheet pan, or even several cupcake tins. You at least want whatever you are baking to be 1/2 inch thick. Bake the small batch of cake for 15-20 minutes, depending on size of the baking dish, or until the cake is fully baked. 

Remove the cake from the oven and let cool completely. To make cutting out the shape even easier, chill the cake for about 3o minutes. 

If the cake was baked in one flat layer, then just use a small cookie cutter in your preferred shape to cut out the centers. If you make cupcakes, slice the cupcake horizontally into 2-3 slices, then cut into shape.

To assemble the rest of the cupcake, spoon a small amount of batter into the bottom of a lined cupcake tray. It should be enough to cover the bottom. Place the cut out cake into the batter, then spoon more batter on top so that it is covered. You don’t want to overfill your cupcake tin (like I did). So try to keep it about 2/3rds of the way full. 

Bake the cupcakes for 20-25 minutes, or until the edges are slightly golden and a toothpick comes out mostly clean. 

While the cupcakes cool, make your frosting. 

You can make your favorite frosting recipe, but if you don’t have one, here’s mine! It’s a delicious Swiss Meringue Buttercream that is light, airy, and not too sweet. 

To top these cupcakes, you will want both pink and blue frosting. Remove about 2 cups of frosting from the main batch and place 1 cup in two separate bowls. Tint one blue and one pink.

To get that swirled effect in the frosting, lay out a sheet of plastic wrap on your work surface. Spread a thick layer of pink, white, and blue in a line. Then roll up the plastic wrap in a tube and twist the ends. Snip off one end and place the whole tube into a piping bag fitted with your desired piping tip. 

Place the extra frosting into separate bags fitted with different styles of tips. 

To create a fun frosting decoration, I like to pipe the multicolored frosting in a spiral on top of the cupcake. Then I use the other colors to pipe little stars or dots around one side. 

Add some extra decoration by adding some multicolored sprinkles on top. 

Have fun with the decoration. There isn’t any rhyme reason to it. I just tried to get each cupcake to be equally blue and pink. But you could also keep them stark white if you wanted!

These cupcakes are just as easy to make two of as it would be to make a full dozen (or more), so I think these would be the perfect way to announce the gender to friends and family. Everyone can have their own cupcake and when the bit in they will get to see what color’s inside!

What do you think? Totally doable, right? I think they would be a great addition to any baby shower or gender reveal party!

Easter Egg Popcorn Balls

Did you make popcorn balls as a kid? Sadly my childhood was void of popcorn balls, which is a shame because they are so much fun to make! They are the perfect thing to make with kids, or for kids, because they require just a few basic ingredients  and absolutely no baking.

I didn’t even have a popcorn ball until I was an adult. I have a friend that makes them every year for the holidays to hand out for friends and family. I look forward to her popcorn ball delivery every year! But these puffy, sweet popcorn confections shouldn’t be reserved for Christmas. They seemed perfectly suited for Easter, too!

You may already have everything you need to make these popcorn balls in your pantry. All I needed to pick up from the store were the marshmallows.  We always seem to have a monster, Costco-sized bag of SkinnyPop in our pantry, so I used that instead of making popcorn from scratch. So much easier, plus I have something to snack on while I make the popcorn balls!

Just find the biggest bowl you have and pour in your popcorn. I like this one because it has the measurements on the side so I don’t have to individually measure out 8 cups of popcorn. 

Set your popcorn aside and get to work on the sweet marshmallowy goodness to pour on top. Melt together the butter, corn syrup, and sugar. If you want to tint your marshmallow mixture, this would be the time to add your food coloring. Then add in the marshmallows and watch them dissolve into a creamy sauce. 

Once all the marshmallows are all melted, pour them right over the popcorn and use your biggest spatula to stir everything together until all the popcorn pieces are covered. If you feel like getting a little crazy, you can also add some sprinkles.

Now, to form them in to Easter eggs, you could just form them with your hands into a slightly uneven oval shape. Make sure you grease them up with a little cooking spray or else to you will have sticky popcorn all over your hands.

OR…

You could add a little something extra by stuffing some M&Ms into the center!

To make your surprise inside Easter Eggs, use the largest plastic egg you can find and press the popcorn mixture into one half. Then use your finger to form a little hole and fill it with the candies. Do the same thing with the other half then press the two sides of the Easter egg together. When you pull the plastic egg apart, you should have one while popcorn ball Easter egg. 

How adorable are these? Wouldn’t they be a fun addition to an Easter basket? I wrapped them up in plastic wrap once they had set a bit and you could barely tell they were wrapped. 

And of course they look like a plain Easter Egg Popcorn Ball, but you and I both know that there is a little somethin somethin inside. 

Because every Easter Egg should be filled with candy! Even the popcorn variety!

 

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