“Baby Cakes” Offer Up Proof in the Frosting

Thursday, 19 May 2011 | by Pat's Picks

The proof, it seems, is in the frosting. “Finding out the sex of your baby via ultrasound is so last year,” says the New York Post. The newly fashionable way doesn’t involve tea leaves either, just a piece of cake. This is how it works: You give a sealed envelope from your doctor to the bakery. And then they send a “baby cake” along, the outer layer of fondant hiding either blue or pink icing inside. Fueling the desire for baby cakes are the parties that usually accompany them, which offer up a happy compromise between learning the big news in a “sterile environment” and being force to “wait the whole nine months.” It also, as you might imagine, puts an added pressure on bakers to get it right.

An example, via YouTube. The show-mom-and-dad-via-Skype moment makes it feel especially modern: