British bakers rise to baby gender cake opportunity

29-Apr-2012 - Last updated on 30-Apr-2012 at 07:53 GMT

Sweet opportunity? More expectant British parents are commissioning gender reveal cakes

Trendy parents-to-be could open a new niche market for British bakers by commissioning cakes for so-called gender reveal parties, held to reveal the sex of their unborn baby to family and friends.

Predictably an idea from the US, the gender reveal cakes and parties are becoming more popular on this side of the Atlantic. More couples are commissioning cakes in multi-coloured icing filled with either pink sponge for a girl or blue sponge for a boy. Some even have questions etched in icing on the top such as: am I a superhero in blue or a pretty princess in pink? The first slice reveals the answer.

Pregnant 27-year old Michelle Whitney told The Observer: “I saw all these videos on You Tube of women cutting open their gender-revealing cakes in America and I thought it was a great idea.”

Thousands of videos are posted on You Tube celebrating the reveal all pink or blue party cake occasion.

Given to the baker

Some parents even save their own discovery of their baby's gender to the party itself. With steely resolution, they look away from the screen during the 20-week ultra sound scan and ask the technician to note the gender in a sealed envelope, which is given directly to the baker.

One video posted on You Tube, filmed in September 2009, called the Langley Party Cutting Cake was captioned: “We found out our baby's gender with all our friends and family. We cut the cake and if it's blue it's a boy and pink if it's a girl.” (See end of this article to discover the gender of baby Langley).

Linda Murray, of the US website BabyCenter.com, confirmed that social media channels are fuelling the fad for gender reveal cakes. Not just videos but Facebook and other social media channels are used to record cake-cutting moment of discovery, she said.

Traffic spike

Murray added that she has noted a recent spike in traffic about gender reveal cakes and parties on the BabyCenter.com's community sites.

Meanwhile, back in Britain, more bakers are starting to produce gender reveal cakes for their trendier customers. Cheshire cake producer Pretty Princess Cakes and Cupcakes now offers what its website describes as "the new craze that's sweeping America”.

Once expectant parents have told the baker whether it's a boy or a girl, the baker promises to make the cake with a blue or pink inside. “It is then iced up neutrally waiting for the first slice to reveal the surprise. It all makes for a fun and exciting way to break the news to family and friends,” claims the website.

But not everyone is a fan. One commentator on the anonymous message board of the US site YouBeMum sneered: “Really? Who the fxxx cares what gender your baby is, other than Grandma?”

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