Most Americans center their days around their meals! For this reason, menu planning for a baby shower needs to be one of the main focuses on any baby shower checklist. The foods you serve should reflect or at least coordinate with the theme of the shower.
The center of your menu should be the cake. Just taking a simple cake decorating class can really do wonders for your confidence. Not only will the classes teach you how to decorate a cake, but you might also pick up a few other tips.
You can use any basic cake mix, but a nice dense cake works well. Every time I bake a cake, no matter what the occasion, I do one simple thing ANYONE can do: add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract to the batter. You will be amazed at how something so little can really change the taste of a cake mix! Now, here is my all time favorite cake recipe:
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Chocolate sour cream pound cake
1 box dark chocolate or fudge cake mix
1 cup (about 6 oz) vanilla yogurt
1 box instant chocolate fudge pudding
4 eggs
½ cup warm water
½ cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups chocolate chips
Instructions: Put all ingredients except chips into large mixing bowl and mix on medium speed for 4 minutes. Fold in chips. Pour batter into greased bundt pan and bake at 350 F for 45-55 minutes. Be sure to watch your oven. Take out as soon as a toothpick comes out clean. Loosen the cake from the pan by lightly shaking it. Let the cake cool for 10 minutes and turn it out onto a cooling rack.
If you want to make a layer cake, bake for ~20 minutes, checking often to prevent burning.
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Well, now that you have a great cake, most people want to decorate it! Some bakeries will sell you icing, but you can also buy Wilton cake frosting in the tubs, just like the kinds on the baking aisles. I’ve never seen them anywhere except around the Wilton baking pans in the craft section of my favorite discount retailer. Using gel coloring, you can dye the icing to make just about any color you want. Using liquid food coloring will not yield the vibrant colors you can get from the gels.
Now you can decorate the cake any way you want. I have decorated cakes for showers like a baby quilt, a little boy’s outfit (that matched the invitations, by the way!), a dump truck with “Baby Under Construction” and “Mom at Work” signs and more! Inspiration is not as far away as you might think!
Now for some menu ideas! These are just suggestions, but should inspire you.
Brunch: Breakfast casseroles, quiches, muffins, finger sandwiches, spinach dip in bread bowl, teas, coffee, punch, water and sodas.
Lunch: Finger Sandwiches, fruit and veggie trays, hot hors‘d oeuvres like mini pizzas, water, punch, sodas, teas.
Mid Afternoon: Similar to Lunch, but you won’t need as much food.
Dinner: Hot hors ‘d oeuvres, tossed salad of mixed baby greens with a nice balsamic dressing, fresh bread slices with herb butter, Chicken casserole, fruit tray.
Tea Party: Finger sandwiches, fruit and veggie trays, hot hors‘d oeuvres, petit fours
Now, if you like the petit fours idea, but don’t know how, it’s really very simple! Check out http://www.baking911.com/cakes/petits_fours.htm for complete instructions.
Be sure to have fun planning your baby shower menu! Remember to have plenty of non-meat items for anyone who might be a vegetarian and some healthy options for those watching their waist lines.
Also, if the mom-to-be is on any restrictive diets, you will want to consult her to see what she is and isn't allowed to eat. As someone who was on a diabetic diet, the last thing I would have wanted to see is a bunch of sweets or high carb foods I couldn't eat!
Keep everything in balance and don't try to do it all yourself. Your local grocery store or favorite restaurant might have some party trays that can really save you time! You don't want to be too stressed out on the big day!