Lilo and Stitch Inspired Gender Reveal Cake

Gender Reveal Cake

Last year, my friend Krystal asked me to make her a cake for a gender reveal party she was having. I happily agreed, and got set designing. She had requested something that seemed like April Showers Bring May Flowers. And, since she's as passionate about Disney as I am, I  knew I needed to incorporate something Disney in the cake. In thinking, I remembered the summer after we first met, and how we went and saw Lilo and Stitch in the theaters several times.

There was a part of the movie where Stitch takes the Ugly Duckling storybook from Lilo, and reads it outside. The image struck a cord with me, so I decided to put the ducks with the flowers (I cannot take credit for the umbrella, that was Krystal's creation) to allude to the story. 

To make this cake, I used three 10*10 rounds for the first tier and three 8*8 rounds for the second tier. Since the cake needed to be colored on the inside, I chose to do vanilla cake mix for the flavor - I did use a cake mix as I needed consistency in the layers, and that can be the easiest, and least time consuming, way to do it - and used a packet of jello for the color. All that needed to be done was mix the cake batter, and at the last minute gradually poor in the jello packet until the desired color is reached: Because the amount of batter to jello is so great, the jello flavor will not come through in the cake! Bake as directed on the box.

For the frosting, get the recipe here and do a crumb coating on the cake - a crumb coat is a decent layer of frosting applied to the whole cake, and then putting the cake in the freezer to seal in the moisture and reduce the amount of loose crumbs. After the cake has sat in the freezer for between 15-20 minutes, remove and carefully apply the rest of the frosting with your cake spatula. Place in the freezer again, and start to work on the fondant.

Wilton sells fondants pre-colored that are very easy to use (if you're trying to get a very deep color, purchasing pre-done can be much simpler than mixing your own), and I purchased a box that had pastelle yellow, green, blue, and pink. I rolled out the colors to about 1/8" thick, and use the Wilton Flower Press to make the large flower (bottom) and small (top). Then, for an extra magical look, use a paint brush and dust on some powder. Once the fondant flowers are done, simply place them on the cake in whatever array you choose (the fondant and frosting do very well fusing together). I will admit that I left a little gender clue on the outside, but placing two pink flowers next to each other in the back!

Now that the cake has been decorated, put the final touch of rubber ducks around the top tier, gently pressing into the side of the cake. In order to make sure that the ducks are secured on the cake, place the cake back into the freezer after the ducks are firmly against the frosting. 

If you are transporting the cake, and it is not going to be well frozen before going into the vehicle, trim and insert dowel rods between each tier. The added cost is worth it knowing that your cake will arrive in one piece!