I've seen Baby Gender Reveal Cakes on the internet over the years and I always knew that when I had my own baby I'd love to make a Baby Gender Reveal Cake. When I got pregnant I knew I wanted to make one to tell my family if we were having a boy or a girl. Of course it didn't matter to me what gender baby I got, but either way, it's always good to have cake! You can adapt this Baby Gender Reveal Cake for either gender baby you're revealing and I've included full instructions at the end of the post, plus scroll to the end to find out the gender of my baby!
Ingredient Tips & Equipment Information
- Make sure all your ingredients (particularly the butter and eggs) are at room temperature before you start baking.
- I used a baking spread for the cake and unsalted butter for the buttercream.
- For the best results, use good quality professional food colourings. My favourite brands are Pro Gel and Sugarflair. You can buy these easily online. Other well known brands are Colour Mill and Americolor.
- For all the tips and tricks on how to make a drip cake, including a how to video, check out my Ultimate Drip Cake How To Guide!
- Although I provide cup measurements, I highly recommend weighing your ingredients out using digital kitchen scales*. It is the most accurate way to measure ingredients and will ensure the best results. Digital scales are very low cost and can be purchased for around £12 ($16.50) .
- For teaspoon (tsp) and tablespoon (tbsp) measurements, please use measuring spoons* and not the type of spoons you eat with. Again this will ensure accuracy and provide the best results.
For the full recipe with measurements, head to the recipe card at the end of this post.
How to make a Baby Gender Reveal Cake
Mix the butter and caster sugar together in a large bowl. Then add the eggs and vanilla extract, and whisk them in.
Add the food colouring of choice and the self raising flour, once it is all mixed, divide it between the cake tins then bake. Once they are baked and fully cooled, trim the tops slightly to make sure they are all level. (The photos are black and white to hide the gender reveal until the end of the post!)
Start stacking them up and fill the centre with jam, using a buttercream border to stop it from running into the outer layer of buttercream. Then give the whole cake a crumb coat and put it in the fridge to firm up.
Make the blue and pink buttercreams, and pipe them in lines around the cake. Smooth it out to create the stripey effect. Then add the white chocolate drip. Use the remaining buttercream to pipe blue and pink rosettes on top and add some blue, pink and white sprinkles in the centre if you like.
How do you get the perfect chocolate drip?
It's really important to have a good base for the chocolate drip, so the cake needs a 'crumb coat' then a top layer of buttercream. Try and get it as smooth as you can so the chocolate drip has a nice even surface to drip down. Each layer of buttercream needs to firm up in It's really important to have a good base for the chocolate drip, so the cake needs a 'crumb coat' then a top layer of buttercream. Try and get it as smooth as you can so the chocolate drip has a nice even surface to drip down. Each layer of buttercream needs to firm up in the fridge and be chilled when you apply the chocolate drip. Be frugal with the drip amounts at first and see how far it drips, then you can reduce or increase the amount of chocolate you release from the piping bag or squeeze bottle as you move around the cake. For all the information, including a tutorial video and step by step instructions with photos, check out my Ultimate Drip Cake How To Guide!
How long does the cake last for and can you freeze it?
The cake will keep in an airtight container for 3 days in a cool place. You can freeze the sponges either alone, or decorated (but do not freeze the sprinkles). Once the sponges are fully cool, wrap them well with cling film or put them in an airtight container with some baking paper between them. You can freeze the buttercream on it’s own in a tub, or you can decorate the cake and freeze it fully assembled. To do this and avoid damage to the decoration, freeze it either in an airtight container or let it freeze solid on a cake board or plate, then wrap in cling film. Remove the cling film when you take it out to defrost it, if you don’t it could damage the decoration as it defrosts and softens. You can also freeze slices of the cake, again well wrapped in cling film or in airtight containers.
Can this cake be made in different size cake tins?
Yes! If you would like to make this cake in different size tins, please check my Conversion Guide to find out how to adjust the recipe.
And... it's a boy! I of course knew the gender as I made the cake, but my partner did not know. He cut the cake and it was such an emotional moment when everyone found out, once we'd all taken photos and some of us had wiped our eyes, we tucked in to the cake! It was really yummy and the jam helped to cut through the sweetness, plus it gave an extra blue effect to the filling.
Troubleshooting
If you have any questions about this recipe, or if something went wrong and you need help, please use the comment form below and I will get back to you. You can also get in touch with me on my Twitter, Instagram or Facebook. I'd love to hear from you!
Recommended equipment & ingredients*
- 8" cake tins
- Angled palette knife
- Buttercream scraper/smoother
- Round cake tin liners
- Decorating turntable
- Piping bags
- Electric mixer
- Cake leveller
- Pink food colouring
- Blue food colouring
*The items above are all affiliate links. I will receive a small amount if you make a purchase, this does not increase the price for you at all. Thank you for supporting The Baking Explorer!
More baby recipes...
More drip cake recipes…
Baby Gender Reveal Cake
Ingredients
For the sponge
- 500 g Butter or baking spread
- 500 g Caster sugar
- 9 Eggs Large
- 500 g Self raising flour
- 2 tsp Vanilla extract
- Blue or pink food colouring I use Pro Gel
For the filling
- 340 g Blackcurrant jam (for a boy) OR strawberry/raspberry jam (for a girl)
For the crumb coat buttercream
- 150 g Butter or baking spread
- 300 g Icing sugar
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
For the blue buttercream
- 250 g Butter or baking spread
- 500 g Icing sugar
- 1 ½ tsp Vanilla extract
- Blue food colouring
For the pink buttercream
- 250 g Butter or baking spread
- 500 g Icing sugar
- 1 ½ tsp Vanilla extract
- Pink food colouring
For the white chocolate drip
- 75 g White chocolate
- ½ tsp Vegetable oil
For decoration
- Blue/pink/white sprinkles optional
Instructions
- Pre-heat your oven to 160C Fan/180C/350F/Gas Mark 4, and grease and line three 8" cake tins that are at least 2" deep
- Make the sponge by mixing the butter and caster sugar in a large bowl until fluffy, ideally using an electric mixer
- Add the eggs and vanilla extract, and whisk until fully incorporated
- Add the self raising flour and whisk in until you can't see any flour anymore
- Add your chosen food colouring and whisk until you get the desired shade
- Divide the mixture between the tins, use scales for accuracy (mine worked out at about 675g of batter per tin)
- Bake them for 35 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Leave them to fully cool either in the tins or remove from the tin and place on cooling racks
- To make the crumb coat buttercream mix the butter and icing sugar together. Once it starts to come together add the vanilla extract and mix until smooth. I use my electric hand whisk to do this but you can also do it by hand with a spoon. If the buttercream is too stiff, you can add some milk to it
- Put about a third of the crumb coat buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a circular nozzle
- If the cakes have domed on top, level them off with a cake leveller or a serrated knife
- Put one of the sponges on a decorating turntable and use the crumb coat buttercream in the piping bag to pie a border of buttercream around the edge of the sponge - this is to stop the jam seeping into the buttercream that you will spread around the sides of the cake
- Fill in the centre of the sponge with half of the jam, then add the next sponge
- Do the same again - pipe a buttercream border and fill the centre with the remaining jam, then add the final sponge
- Use the rest of the crumb coat buttercream to fully crumb coat the cake, then put it in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up
- Make the pink and blue buttercreams in different bowls. Mix the butter and icing sugar together. Once it starts to come together add the vanilla extract and mix until smooth. I use my electric hand whisk to do this but you can also do it by hand with a spoon. Then add the pink food colouring to one, and blue to the other and mix in well. If the buttercream is too stiff, you can add some milk to it
- Put about two thirds of the pink buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a circular nozzle. Do the same with the blue buttercream
- To create the striped effect, pipe lines of alternating pink and blue buttercream all around the sides of the cake. Use a cake scraper to smooth the sides and create the stripey effect, making sure to wipe off excess buttercream from the scraper as you go
- Once the sides are smoothed to your liking, add more lines of alternating pink and blue buttercream to the top of the cake and smooth it out using a palette knife
- Put the cake in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up
- Melt the white chocolate in the microwave, start with a 30 second blast, then stir it, then do 10 second blasts, stirring in between until it's melted
- Mix the oil into the melted chocolate
- Put the chocolate into a piping bag and snip a small section off the end
- Pipe blobs around the edge of the cake, allowing the chocolate to drip down the sides in varying amounts
- Use a palette knife to smooth the chocolate around the edge on the top of the cake
- Then put the remaining pink and blue buttercream into piping bags fitted with a Wilton 2D nozzle, or other nozzle of your choice, and pipe alternating rosettes of blue and pink buttercream on top of the cake round the edge
- Fill the centre with pink and blue sprinkles if desired
- Move the cake onto a serving plate or cake stand, and slice for the big reveal! Leftovers will keep in an airtight container in a cool place for 2-3 days
Notes
- Make sure all your ingredients (particularly the butter and eggs) are at room temperature before you start baking.
- I used a baking spread for the cake and unsalted butter for the buttercream.
- For the best results, use good quality professional food colourings. My favourite brands are Pro Gel and Sugarflair. You can buy these easily online. Other well known brands are Colour Mill and Americolor.
- For all the tips and tricks on how to make a drip cake, including a how to video, check out my Ultimate Drip Cake How To Guide!
- Although I provide cup measurements, I highly recommend weighing your ingredients out using digital kitchen scales*. It is the most accurate way to measure ingredients and will ensure the best results. Digital scales are very low cost and can be purchased for around £12 ($16.50) .
- For teaspoon (tsp) and tablespoon (tbsp) measurements, please use measuring spoons* and not the type of spoons you eat with. Again this will ensure accuracy and provide the best results.
Corina Blum
This is such a gorgeous looking cake and it must be quite a fun way to reveal the news to family and friends, although it must have been hard to hide the gender from your partner until you'd made the cake! I think I'd have given it away!
thebakingexplorer
Thanks Corina! It was so tricky, I was running around the kitchen looking for blue crumbs!
Phil in the Kitchen
Great news, congratulations. That's a truly memorable way to announce the gender - the cake looks excellent.
thebakingexplorer
Thank you so much Phil!
Sammie
I’m so thrilled for you. What a fantastic way for your partner to find out the gender. Beautiful cake and congratulations xxx.
thebakingexplorer
Thank you Sammie!
Angie | Fiesta Friday
Congratulations!! I'm so happy for you, such exciting news! The cake is absolutely gorgeous!!
thebakingexplorer
Thank you Angie, I'm so excited!
Cat | Curly's Cooking
Such a fantastic idea. Congratulations again and can't wait to see more baby related posts 🙂
thebakingexplorer
Thanks Cat! It'll be baking only from me as I'm not looking to blog about my baby, but I'm sure I'll be sharing any future birthday cakes!
Jo Allison / Jo's Kitchen Larder
Again, huge congrats Kat, such exciting times! Gender reveal cake is such a wonderful way of letting everybody know baby's gender! Absolutely beautiful! xx
thebakingexplorer
Thank you so much Jo!
Lizet Flores de Bowen
That is a super cute cake! and congrants on the boy!
thebakingexplorer
Thank you so much!
kunstkitchen
wow! What a fun cake!