Homemade Baby Shower Cake

We decided to serve sheet cake for the baby shower.  The co-host made a delicious Texas sheet cake, and I made an orange sheet cake.  And we all ate a slice of each, because --you know-- sheet cake is pretty flat, only like half the thickness of a regular slice of cake.  So a slice of each is really only like having a whole slice of "regular" cake--right?

 I made this orange sheet cake with orange cream cheese Icing from Wilton, but made a few changes.

First, I left out the orange extract, because it's totally not necessary.  That is a typical standard American diet kind of ingredient.  There is fresh orange zest in the cake and frosting, as well as orange juice in the frosting.  That is plenty "orangey" enough.  If you add the extract I'll bet you wouldn't be able to make it through a whole slice because the flavor would become overbearing.  Subtlety is a virtue that a lot of food lacks these days.

Also, the recipe said to bake it in a 9x13 pan.  Obviously that would make a 9x13 cake, not a sheet cake.  Wilton is just trying to advertise one of their pans, but it's a completely wrong opportunity to do so.  I baked this recipe in a half sheet baking sheet.  That's the normal thick jelly roll-type pans that everyone got for wedding gifts from Cosco members. (That's not a dis, I love and use all three I got weekly, and particularly love the two with lids.)

Finally, the recipe for the delicious orange cream cheese frosting makes at least twice as much as you need for a sheet cake.  I can't imagine spreading that much frosting on the smaller 9x13 size cake they suggested baking--it would be half frosting. 

So here are the recipes, with my suggested changes:

Orange Sheet Cake Recipe:

• 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour 
• 2 tablespoons orange zest 
• 1 tablespoon baking powder 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• 3/4 cup (1-1/2 stick) butter, softened 
• 1-3/4 cup granulated sugar 
• 3 eggs 
• 1-1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract 
•  1-1/4 cups buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease sheet pan.


In medium bowl, combine flour, orange zest, baking powder and salt. In large bowl, beat butter with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add sugar 1/4 cup at a time, scraping down sides of bowl as needed; when combined, beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition; add vanilla extract. Add half of flour mixture; beat on low speed until nearly combined. Add buttermilk to moisten; add in remaining flour mixture, beating until just incorporated. Spread batter evenly in pan.

Bake 25-33 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool cake in pan completely before icing.

Orange Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe:

•  1/4cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened 
• 1 1/2 8oz packages cream cheese, softened 
• 1 1/2 tablespoons orange juice 
• 1 tablespoon orange zest 
•  2 to 2 1/2  cups confectioners' sugar

In large bowl, beat butter, cream cheese, juice and zest with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add confectioners' sugar one cup at a time, beating until icing is light and fluffy.

It was ton's a fun to host a baby shower for my good friend.  And I loved using my time and talents to help honor her on her journey to motherhood.  She's looking great at "term" and I can't wait to get that exciting phone call sometime this next month!

Handmade Baby Shower Gift

The gift theme for the baby shower was "My Favorite Things", which really is a great theme fora first-time mom and baby. And it was actually Emily--the mom-to-be--'s idea

I decided one of my favorite things is the bapron, so I made her one (This time baby-sized and girly.)

I used the extra corner of some fabric I bought to make a classy, feminine apron for myself--luckily there was *just* enough leftover for a little bapron.  And I found a cute coordinating flannel in my stash. 

Something that was a favorite of my sisters, that she gifted to us with our last newborn was a Boon Squirt Spoon. Emily and her husband had actually seen us using the spoon at church before and thought it was the coolest thing, so I made a mental note to get one for them when they were pregnant.  The store I was at no longer sold the Boon brand, but they had this similar baby food-dispensing spoon of another brand. 

The two gifts made a great pair. 

I was happily impressed by the number of hand-made gifts she received at the shower.  She also received a hand-made quilt, some embellished cloth diaper burp rags, and a hair clip organizer ribbon, with a handful of homemade flower barrettes. 

After the shower the co-host and I were talking about this and asked: wouldn't it be cool if we could have an "all-handmade" baby shower sometime.  Obviously we'd have to be a bit selective on the invite list, but wouldn't that gift-opening everyone would enjoy watching?!

Homemade Baby Shower

Since last week was Steampunk bedroom remodel week I figured I'd make this week on the blog baby shower week, since I got to throw one for my friend last week.  (Next week will be Divergent Week in case you are wondering--that's just how my brain is working right now.)

I made a baby shower centerpiece of baby washcloth roses, using one of my oldest but still traffic-heavy tutorial on the blog.  While I was at it I added two new pictures there that help clarify a step that I always thought was lacking in the tutorial. 

 I got some cute napkins and baby washcloths and tissue paper that all coordinated.  And I got a cute little tin pail and put florist foam down int he bottom.  I used the tutorial for washcloth roses, using a bamboo skewer for stems, and cut the tissue paper in fourths and stuck them down ins between the roses. 

 I was super pleased with how cute it turned out. 

It was a fun and bright centerpeice for the shower.