Cupcakes are Great for Baby Showers

by Nami
(australia)

I just got done doing a baby shower and I'm doing another one next month. I chose to do cupcakes for this last one because I found these adorable cupcake wrappers at the store that I wanted to use. So I made vanilla cupcakes with vanilla frosting, that's it! I wrapped them in these wrappers and they looked awesome. Sorry don't have a picture or I'd share it. I didn't even think of taking a picture of the cupcakes.

Krispy Kreme Donuts

by Mandy
(Willits, CA)

My friend is having a baby and loves Krispy Kreme donuts. I don't know if I'll be involved in giving her a baby shower, but wouldn't it be cool Krispy Kreme's were served? I was reading here that pregnant women should stay away from sugar sweets, but I'm sure one donut at her own baby shower won't kill her.

What about Pie for a Baby Shower, is that OK?

by cameron
(KY)

I'm hosting a baby shower in a few months, and I don't really know how to make any desserts, except for lemon meringue pie. Will pie fly at a baby shower? I would hate to offend anyone by not serving the traditional baby shower dessert. But, my lemon meringue is really good and everyone always seems to love it when I make it.

Chocolate Bouchons

by Tommy
(Marin)

I don't know if everyone here is familiar with Chocolate Boucons, but they're like little brownies shaped like wine corks. There's a bakery/restaurant in the Napa valley that makes them, and now they sell their baking molds and cake mix in Williams Sonoma. They're just little bite sized things, kind of perfect for women to just have a little bite at a baby shower.

Butter Pecan Pumpkin Pie

by Andrea
(Delaware)

I know pumpkin is more of a fall only dessert, but I tend to serve it any time of year and no one ever seems to mind.

Ingredients
1 quart butter pecan ice cream, softened
1 pastry shell (9 inches), baked
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon each ground cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg
1 cup heavy whipping cream, whipped
1/2 cup caramel ice cream topping
1/2 cup chocolate ice cream topping, optional

Additional whipped cream
Directions
Spread ice cream into the crust; freeze for 2 hours or until firm. In a small bowl, combine the pumpkin, sugar, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg; fold in whipped cream. Spread over ice cream. Cover and freeze for 2 hours or until firm. May be frozen for up to 2 months.
Remove from the freezer 15 minutes before slicing. Drizzle with caramel ice cream topping. Drizzle with chocolate ice cream topping if desired. Dollop with whipped cream. Yield: 6-8 servings.

Tiramisu Cupcakes from Martha Stewart

by Nancy
(FL)

I love Tiramisu but it's kind of hard to serve nicely. I found this recipe on Martha Stewart for Tiramisu cupcakes, check it out.


Ingredients
Makes 18

1 1/4 cups cake flour (not self-rising), sifted
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 cup milk
1 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise, seeds scraped and reserved
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into pieces
3 large whole eggs plus 3 egg yolks, room temperature
1 cup sugar
Coffee-Marsala Syrup
Mascarpone Frosting
Unsweetened cocoa powder, for dusting
Directions
1.Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Sift together cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Heat milk and vanilla-bean pod and seeds in a small saucepan over medium heat just until bubbles appear around the edge. Remove from heat. Whisk in butter until melted, and let stand 15 minutes. Strain milk mixture through a fine sieve into a bowl, and discard vanilla-bean pod.
2.With an electric mixer on medium speed, whisk together whole eggs, yolks, and sugar. Set mixing bowl over a pan of simmering water, and whisk by hand until sugar is dissolved and mixture is warm, about 6 minutes. Remove bowl from heat. With an electric mixer on high speed, whisk until mixture is fluffy, pale yellow, and thick enough to hold a ribbon on the surface for several seconds when whisk is lifted.
3.Gently but thoroughly fold flour mixture into the egg mixture in three batches; stir 1/2 cup batter into the strained milk mixture to thicken, then fold milk mixture into the remaining batter until just combined.
4.Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until centers are completely set and edges are light golden brown, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes.
5.To finish, brush tops of cupcakes evenly with coffee-marsala syrup; repeat until all syrup has been used. Allow cupcakes to absorb liquid 30 minutes. Dollop frosting onto cupcakes; refrigerate up to overnight in airtight containers. Dust generously with cocoa powder just before serving.
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Read more at Marthastewart.com: Tiramisu Cupcakes - Martha Stewart Recipes

Strawberry Shortcake

Strawberry Shortcake is a tradition in my circle of friends...we always have it for each other's birthdays, barbaque's and what not. I think it would be totally cool if we also had it for each of our baby showers, assuming we'd each be throwing a baby shower for each other. Strawberry Shortcake is so easy to put together and everyone seems to love it.

Lemon Desserts for Baby Showers

by georgina
(us)

I was reading a Martha Stewart mag a few years ago and there was this article about a lemon themed wedding shower. I totally fell in love with the idea and have been hosting "lemon" parties ever since. I just recently threw a baby shower and we had lemondade, lemon squares, lemon tea, lemon cupcakes and all of the decor was yellow. I even filled the big flower vases with lemons too. It's a great summertime idea, but it doesn't have to be summer. Yellow is also a unisex color, so in case the pregnant mom doesn't know what the sex of the baby is, the theme will still work.

Individual Chocolate Cakes

by Christie
(San Francisco)

This recipe makes 12 little 3 inch round chocolate cakes. I have made them before for small gatherings. The cake itself is great, but the chocolate glaze is really what makes it so delicious. It's really a manageable dessert if you only have about a dozen or so guests.

Here are the ingredients:

2 eggs
1/2 cup melted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour or pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
7 ounces 64% bittersweet chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup sour cream


Here are the directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a flat sheet tray with 12 3-inch stainless ring molds. Spray the pan then line them and wrap bottoms of the molds with aluminum foil.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, place the eggs and whip them for 1 minute. Stream in butter, sugar and vanilla, and whip on speed 2 for 3 minutes.

Sift together the dry ingredients and set aside. Melt the chocolate in the microwave and keep warm. Adding to the bowl of the mixer, alternate the sour cream and dry ingredients, scraping the sides down as you go. Remove from the mixer and divide into the 12 3-inch molds.

Bake for 15 minutes. Turn the tray, and bake for another 10 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean and cake is firm to the touch. Allow to cool. Remove cakes from the molds. With a sharp knife, slice tops of each cake horizontally, leaving a nice flat surface. Turn each cake over and place them on a cooking rack. (They are now upside down). With a ladle or spoon, pour chocolate glaze over the cakes, covering all sides.

Glaze: 16 ounces of bittersweet chocolate, and chopped 1/4 cup melted butter.

Melt the chocolate in a microwave, and stir until smooth. Slowly stir in butter. Save any leftover glaze in an airtight container in refrigerator for up to two weeks. Microwave again to melt.

delicious desserts

All of these desserts sound amazing. It's great to see an alternate form of dessert accepted for a baby shower. I have only known there to be the boring dry cake.

English Toffee for a Baby Shower Dessert

by Lorna
(WA)

English Toffee is dainty and a finger food, and really good to serve as the dessert, or one of the desserts at a baby shower.

Here is the recipe.

From the kitchen of Dora Grimm
Ingredients

2 sticks butter (1/2 pound)
1 cup sugar
6 ounce package chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans
Directions

Line a 13x9x2" pan with parchment paper. sprinkle the bottom of the pan with 1/3 of the pecans. Cook butter and sugar in heavy pan over medium heat. Stir with a wooden spoon and cook until it reaches 300 degrees on a candy thermometer. Pour over the pecans then layer the chocolate chips over the cooked layer and spread evenly. Sprinkle the rest of the pecans over the chocolate and press into candy. Cool 1 to 1-1/2 hours in refrigerator then break into irregular pieces.