The Ubiquitous Diaper Cake
Ever since Carrie and Samantha showed up to Miranda's baby shower with one of these lovelies, there has scarcely been a gathering of oohh-ing and aaahh-ing females in which a diaper cake has not been present. I used to be very much a Miranda...eschewing the cutesy, cliched, baby-crazed atmosphere of a shower, praying that there would be a sufficient amount of chardonnay on offer to dull my senses enough to endure the length of the event. But, slowly, I've come around. I'm not quite a Charlotte yet, but for the most part, I have discarded my bad attitude and really do enjoy a good baby shower. In reality, I haven't had a choice...my friends won't stop procreating. And if there are two things I absolutely enjoy, they are hosting parties and crafting. So, I've thrown a million of these showers. I've planned a million cheezy games, researched and tested thousands of non-alcoholic punch recipes, envisaged hundreds of ways to incorporate onesies and rattles into decorating schemes, and built dozens of these baby diaper cakes. The first one I attempted took me all day involving multiple trips to the grocery store for more diapers, but in the years since, I've perfected my technique and can practically whip one of these out in my sleep.
This particular cake is for my gorgeous and spirited cousin, Lindsey. She is expecting a baby girl, but I thought the traditional pastel pink was too boring a color scheme for Lindsey. She needed something less predictable. So, I decided to go with pink and orange. You can use any colors you like. In the past, I've made cakes in pinks, blues, browns, greens. I once even created an orange and black Halloween-themed diaper cake. No joke.
Here is what you will need:
+ Cardboard cake rounds, for a 3-tiered cake you will need 3, I used 8'', 10'' and 12'' diameters, they have these at Michael's in the cake decorating section
+ Cardboard tubing cut into 4'' lengths, or spent toilet paper rolls, 5 should be sufficient
+ Glue gun + glue
+ Diapers, I used a pack of 78 which was just enough, I recommend Pampers Swaddlers because they are mostly white which I find more aesthetically pleasing in a cake rather than some diapers which are covered in ninja turtle or my little pony graphics
+ Rubber bands
+ Ribbon
+ Adornments: use whatever you like in complimentary colors, for example: stuffed animals, pacifiers, wash cloths, teething rings, baby powder, rattles, diaper pins
+ Silk flowers, optional
Step 1: Make the cake structure.
Use a glue gun to glue the cardboard tubing to the cake rounds. Something I learned: Using spent toilet paper rolls is quite a bit easier than cutting a long tube into 4'' lengths yourself. It ensures that the cake will be perfectly level. As you can see in the above photo, I was struggling with 'crooked cake' syndrome and it took me a while to correct it. Also, using 3 cardboard tubes to support the bottom tier makes a sturdier base.
Step 2: Roll the diapers tightly keeping the white section on the outside of the roll. Secure each diaper with a rubber band. To save time, you may want to refrain from rolling some of the diapers. You can use these ones by just wrapping them around the cardboard support tubes at the interior of the cake where they won't be seen. Make sure to use only rolled, banded diapers at the outer edges of the cake for a more uniform appearance.
Step 3: Decide what you will use as a cake topper and how you will engineer its secure placement on the cake.
I like to use something fun like a stuffed animal as a cake topper, but instead of just balancing it on top, I usually build the cake around it, like this:
In this instance, I balanced the stuffed dog on the cardboard tube on the top tier of the cake and secured its legs with a rubber band. I then surrounded the legs with rolled, banded diapers and secured the entire tier with a large rubber band.
Step 4: Fill the rest of the cake tiers with diapers and secure each tier with large rubber bands (or tie a few rubber bands together to get the size you want).
Step 5: Use your colorful baby items to adorn the cake. Secure them as best you can by tucking them under the rubber bands. You may have to use your imagination.
Step 6: Use matching ribbon to surround each tier and to disguise the rubber bands. I have been on a tulle kick lately, so that's what I used this time.
Step 7: Tuck in some silk flowers around the bows or use a glue gun to secure them (making sure not to get glue on any diapers because the shower recipient will definitely want to use the diapers after she disassembles the cake).
Et, voila. You're done!
Cute, right? All you Charlottes are loving this, I'm sure. And you Mirandas out there are probably throwing up. Oh well, you can't please everyone.
