"Baking" a Diaper Cake: A Great Baby Shower Gift

If you would like to make a thoughtful and practical gift for the expecting mom and dad, a diaper cake is an excellent idea. Not only will this gift look beautiful and can be used as a centerpiece at the baby shower, but this is the gift that truly keeps on giving as the new parents use it when their new baby arrives. Commercial diaper cakes are very expensive and usually filled with cheap, plastic toys that are relatively useless. You can make your diaper cake fit with the baby shower theme, the new parent's nursery theme or fill it with useful and practical items the new mom will surely thank you for. Even if you do not consider yourself a "crafty" person, you can make a diaper cake in relatively no time.

This recipe will make a 3 tier diaper cake using 60 size 2 diapers. You will use 7 diapers for the top tier, 15 for the 2^nd tier and 38 for the bottom layer. You can make smaller, 2 tiered cakes, or larger ones, such as 4 or 5 tiered cakes. Adjust the number of diapers used accordingly. This can be an expensive cake to bake, so will suffice as a gift at the baby shower or even in the hospital when you visit the new mom. You can adjust the layers (number of diapers you buy) and items used to decorate the cake according to how much you plan on spending.

Ingredients:

60 diapers (see note on diapers)

60 small rubber bands

3-4 large rubber bands

16" round pan/tray

Wooden dowels (2)

Ribbon (color and style of your choice)

Toys or other items to fill the cake

Cake topper (candy filled baby bottle, a rattle, or small stuffed animal)

Baking time: Approximately two hours for the beginner

* Diapers: It is a good idea to buy larger size diapers as babies do not stay newborn size forever and chances are the expecting mother will get or has many newborn diapers already. I recommend size 2 or 3 diapers. Alternatively, you can get different size diapers and alternate layers with them.

Assembling the Cake:

Step One: Place diaper with design facing down, elastic or open side (the side that would normally be facing out when Baby is wearing it) facing you. Begin rolling diaper away from you.

Step Two: Wrap a small rubber band around the diaper to keep it from unrolling. The rubber band should be in the lower half or third of the diaper. Try to keep all the rubber bands on the diapers in the same area, which will make hiding them later easier.

Step Three: Continue to roll diapers until you have 7 rolled and wrapped. This will make the first layer. Wrap one of the large rubber bands around all 7 of the diapers (which will be standing up) to form the first tier. Adjust diapers so they are uniform and form a circular tier. You may choose to have any designs facing in or out of the cake, but it should be uniform throughout the entire cake, so adjust diapers as necessary.

Step Four: Begin rolling diapers for the middle tier. You should roll about 15 diapers. Wrap all diapers together with a large rubber band. You may find it easier to begin to place the rolled diapers inside the larger rubber band until you have all 15 wrapped for this layer (trying to get 15 diapers inside one rubber band at the same time can be an unwieldy task).

Step Five: Now begin to work on your bottom layer. Roll and wrap with rubber bands 38 more diapers. As in the previous steps, start to put the rolled diapers inside a larger rubber band to form the third tier until you have all 38 inside to form a circle. Adjust diapers as necessary.

Step Six: Cut your large cardboard circle and place the bottom cake layer on top. Place the middle tier on top of the larger one, and finally top off with the smaller tier. You may find it easier to separate the layers to decorate before securing them with the wooden dowel. If so, move on to "Decorating the Cake". If you prefer to keep them assembled and decorate, push the wooden dowels through the layers, beginning at the top of the cake so that the cake stays together in transport. The dowels should go through to the bottom layer.

Now that you have made your diaper cake, it is time to decorate and "fill" it!

Decorating the Cake:

Step One: Starting with the bottom layer, place decorating accessories inside the rubber band, spacing them as you choose to. As shown in this photo, the bibs were placed at 3 points, covering the diapers. Baby hats, socks and no-scratch mittens were placed in the spaces between the bibs. The top of the bibs are under the second layer of the cake.

Step Two: For the middle layer, I chose to decorate it with clothing (2 shirts, a sundress and a colorful onesie). I placed each piece of clothing item folded on its side, underneath the larger rubber band holding the layer together. The clothes effectively covered the white diapers. In the spaces between where the clothing intersected each other, I placed small items such as travel size powder, teething gel and pacifiers.

Step Three: For the top tier, I used 4 colorful washcloths to "frost" the cake with. In between the places where the washcloths met, I decorated the cake with travel sized bath and diapering items such as shampoo, diaper balm, etc. Place your cake topper on top of the first tier to top off the cake.

Step Four: Now, it is time to finish off the cake. Here, I selected a thick yellow ribbon and covered the rubber bands on each tier with it. Self-sticking white bows were placed on top of the yellow ribbon to create a pretty look. Place the entire cake on the pan or tray you are using. Here I wrapped a pizza pan in baby shower paper. You could also use a plastic tray purchased at a party store or another type of pan. I strongly suggest using something that has a lip that you can use when lifting the cake. This will also aid in transporting the cake.

Your cake is now baked, decorated and ready to go. I suggest placing it inside cellophane to keep it clean, a large gift bag or a plastic gift wrapping bag (designed to wrap hard to wrap gifts). This will help in transporting the cake and the new parents will appreciate a clean diaper cake that they may actually use!

Alternative suggestions for decorating the cake:

Buy a pack of receiving blankets and use this instead of the bibs, clothing or washcloths I used to frost the cake.

Leave the cake "unfrosted" and place small items inside the rubber bands, scattered throughout each layer.

Remove a diaper or two throughout the cake and replace it with a rolled piece of clothing, washcloth, towel, small toy or bottle of lotion or baby wash. This will continue to surprise the new parents as the begin to use the diapers on the cake and find hidden gifts inside.

Use crib sheets to frost the cake instead of clothing or blankets.

Give the new mom or dad gifts as well in the cake; or make a "mom" side and "baby side using various items such as lotions, gift certificates, nail polish, etc. for mom's side.

Buy items off the new mom's registry to decorate and frost the cake with. She will love you for it and you will be confident that she can use (and wants) the items.