I could not wait to share this cake with you guys, and I was not even sure if I would blog it initially. Normally I do a pretty balanced mix when posting and I’ll do a bit of savory and of course share some sweets. I just had to break my pre-planned rotation though to show you this cake. Although it looks like you’ve landed on a baking blog, stay tuned. There are several everyday meals coming-including low carb, bari-friendly pizza!
One of my best friends (who is basically a brother to me) and his wife are expecting. I jumped at the opportunity to make their gender reveal cake, which would not come as a surprise to those who know me well. It’s my second favorite occasion cake to make, just behind smash cakes.
It brings so much joy to know you hold such an exciting secret and make the moment the parents find out so special. To make it for two such dear friends makes it even more meaningful.
This cake was filled with a combination of crazy amounts of candy. Gum balls, M&Ms, Jelly Bellys, chocolate covered mint candies, gummy sharks, sprinkles, sprinkles and more sprinkles! All of the blue felt a little flat so I added in a few orange, green, white and a punch of purple sprinkles to add depth to the concoction.
The cake itself is my favorite white cake recipe, which is really a basic white cake but a million times better! The key to it is the Princess Bakery Emulsion, which gives a subtle lemony, vanilla what-on-earth-makes-this-cake-so-good quality. That is the recipe I am sharing with you today, plus a quick tutorial on how to assemble the cake.
Gender Reveal Cake
Author: The Ruby Kitchen
Notes: this is a huge and heavy cake. Make sure you use a strong cake drum instead of the thinner (more popular) cake board.
Special equipment:
Disposable cake drum
Turntable (optional, but makes life so much easier)
Wilton 1M piping tip and disposable piping bag, optional
Ingredients
6 cooled layers of Super (how is this so good) White Cake, recipe follows
10 cups Swiss meringue buttercream frosting (I used vanilla bean paste instead of vanilla extract to get those lovely flecks in the frosting)
3 cups assorted candy and sprinkles in desired colors (M&M’s, chocolate-covered mints, gummy candies, Jelly Belly’s and gumballs are all good choices.)
Blue and Pink sugar pearls or sprinkles to decorate the outside, optional Cake topper, optional (I ordered mine from Papered Whiskers on Etsy)
1. In four of the cake layers, cut a hole about 3.5 inches round in each and set aside. I used a large drinking glass but you could also use a large biscuit cutter or cookie cutter.
2. Place the cake drum on a wet paper towel on top of your turntable (this prevents it from slipping). Spread a small dollop of buttercream on it before placing down a solid cake layer. Spread a thin layer of frosting over it and place a holed-out layer on top. Repeat this process with each of the holed-out layers. Once all your holed-out layers are stacked, apply buttercream on the inside along all of the sides and on the top of the tallest layer.
3. Carefully pour your candy/sprinkles combination into the hole. If using large gummies (like the gummy sharks I used) place them in between the candy layers. If any candy goes astray, scoot it back into the hole.
4. Place the final solid cake layer on top of the cake and coat with a thin layer of buttercream (the crumb coat). Place in the fridge a few minutes to harden.
5. Frost the cake in a thick layer of frosting and smooth the sides. Using a Wilton 1M tip and disposable piping bag, pipe dollops of frosting around the edge. Set cake on a small, but stable container on a sheet pan. A heavy, flat top canister works perfectly for this or even a coffee canister. Carefully apply the sprinkles in a sweeping motion from the bottom, working up. I like to leave a rough edge, so don’t be too concerned about making a perfect line of sprinkles across the bottom. Throw some sprinkles on the top and keep refrigerated until the big reveal. Allow to set at room temperature at least 1 hour before serving so the frosting has a change to soften.
6. A note on cutting: I attended this gender reveal so I was able to pre-cut the cake slice for the parents. I did this in case any of the candy bled and I did not want them to see any stray color when cutting the cake themselves. Alternately, you can pre-cut the revealing slice before frosting the cake and use a couple toothpicks to indicate where the cuts are. Make sure you do a large slice (mine was probably 4 inches wide) so the candy spills out easily.
Super (how is this so good) White Cake
Author: The Ruby Kitchen
Adapted from: The Sweetapolita Bakebook by Rosie Alyea
Notes: You can use pure vanilla extract in place of the Princess Bakery Emulsion, but it will not taste the same. Plan ahead to order it if you can – it really makes a huge difference! Also, make sure your baking powder is not expired and all of your ingredients are room temperature, unless otherwise indicated.
Special Equipment
Three 8-inch round baking pans
Stand or hand mixer
Ingredients
360 mL (1.5 cups) whole milk
2 tsp. Princess Bakery Emulsion
1 tsp. lemon juice
322g liquid egg whites or 7 large egg whites
375g (3.25 cups) cake flour
1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. baking powder
¾ tsp. salt
450g (2.25 cups) sugar
170g (.75 cups) cold, unsalted butter cut into cubes
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease the bottom only of three 8-inch round cake pans and add parchment paper if you wish.
2. In one bowl or measuring cup, mix half of the milk with the emulsion and lemon juice. Set aside.
3. In a separate bowl or measuring cup, mix the second half of the milk with the egg whites. Set aside.
4. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. With the mixer running on low speed, add the cold butter one piece at a time. Beat until the butter is incorporated, about 3 minutes.
5. Increase the mixer speed to medium-low and gradually add the emulsion mixture, beating for 5 minutes. Scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula.
6. Reduce mixer speed to low and gradually add the egg white mixture. Beat for 2 minutes, occasionally scraping the sides of the bowl. Divide the batter evenly into prepared pans.
7. Bake in the center of the oven for 20-22 minutes, until a toothpick of knife come out with a few crumbs. If you cannot fit all three on the center oven shelf, bake in two batches. Let cool for 10 minutes (seriously, time it!) before running a knife along the edges and turning onto a rack to cool completely.
8. Store wrapped tightly in plastic at too temperature for up to two days if making ahead of time.
The Ruby Kitchen 
Very lovely cake! Congrats on the baby boy to your friend and his family :-)