Whether people are interested in the effort you put forth, or they just want to feed their sweet tooth, the baby shower cake is a huge focus of your party. This is why choosing the recipe and design for your baby shower cake can be so important. There are many different options that you have when choosing a cake design for your baby shower. You can serve a simple, yet elegant cake, or if you are hosting a theme shower, be creative and coordinate your cake with the theme of your party.

My favorite cake design for a shower that does not have a predominant theme is a gift cake. This is a very simply decorated cake that is to resemble a present. If you are having a large shower, you can make several smaller cakes and group them together for a delightful centerpiece, or set one on several of the tables were you are seating guests for a double-duty centerpiece.

For this cake you will need a dense cake recipe (you can use your own or, if you really want to make it easy, you can purchase a pre-made pound cake). You will also need some rolled fondant, again you can use pre-made or make your own, and some pretty ribbon.

The first step, of course, is to prepare your cake. You can really make it in whatever shape you desire. I usually use a 9 x 9 square pan and make a double layer cake. Feel free to use any shape that will be an appropriate size to resemble a gift box.

If you are using a double layer cake, you have many options for fillings. You can use a basic icing, or get creative with fruit spreads, or even flavored fillings.

After your cake is prepared you will need to cover it with the fondant. I like to ice my cake with a thin layer of confectioners icing to help the fondant adhere to the cake. Again, you can use any color scheme that you like for the fondant. Use pink or purple for a girl, blue or green for a boy, or stick with a basic white and add a colorful ribbon.

After your cake is covered in the fondant, then all you have to do is add your ribbon to give your cake the appearance of being gift wrapped. I like to use ribbon that is at least an inch thick.