There are countless ways to celebrate your baby-to-be when you're expecting. One way to commemorate the future arrival of your new family member is with a gender reveal party, in which you reveal your little one's biological sex to loved ones. For the big reveal itself, there are many memorable approaches you can take — but one of the yummiest ways to do it is with gender reveal cupcakes.
These sweet treats typically reveal your bundle of joy's sex via pink or blue buttercream, sprinkles or cake hidden inside, only visible once you take a bite.
"Cupcakes are a sweet and simple treat that'll please everyone," says Amy West, baker and owner of Sugar Teeth Sweets. "Food has always been and always will be something that brings people together, whether you're strangers or friends! And who doesn't love tiny cakes at a party?"
Below, find everything you need to bring this idea to life, from unique decorating ideas to how to bake gender reveal cupcakes right at home. (And if you're not a huge cupcake fan, fear not — we have plenty of other gender reveal food ideas to consider, too.)
How to make gender reveal cupcakes
Here's how you can make gender reveal cupcakes all on your own, courtesy of West from Sugar Teeth Sweets.
Ingredients
This recipe makes roughly 15 cupcakes. All ingredients should be room temperature.
For the cupcakes
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3 egg whites
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- ½ tbsp vanilla bean paste
- ¾ cup milk (2%)
- ¼ cup full-fat sour cream
For the buttercream frosting
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 4½ cups confectioners’ sugar
- 4½ tbsp of whipping cream
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp salt (or more — the salt is a nice balance to the sweetness)
- Pink or blue gel food coloring
Instructions
For the cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Line a 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake liners and a second pan with three liners. Set aside.
- Whisk flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a bowl and set aside.
- Using a stand mixer with the fitted paddle attachment, beat the butter for about one to two minutes. Add the sugar, and continue to beat for another two to three minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. (Note: If you don't own a stand mixer, you can use a handheld mixer.)
- Add the egg whites, vanilla extract and paste, and beat on medium high for two to three minutes, scraping down the sides when needed.
- Add sour cream, and beat for 30 seconds.
- Turn your mixer to low, and slowly add the dry ingredients until JUST incorporated. At this time, you can add the milk until just combined. Remove the bowl from the mixer stand, and smooth out the batter with a whisk.
- Pour the batter into the liners, filling them roughly three-quarters full to avoid overspills.
- Bake for 17 to 19 minutes, or until a inserted toothpick comes out clean. Keep an eye on your cupcakes near the end of your timer to ensure the fluffiest, perfectly baked cupcakes!
- Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before cutting and decorating.
- Once cool, use a piping tip to carve out space for your filling. Turn the tip around, pressing the round bottom end down into your cupcake. Whatever the piping tip carves out should leave the ideal amount of room for your colorful filling.
For the buttercream frosting
- Using a handheld or stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream the butter for three minutes.
- Add in confectioners' sugar, whipping cream and vanilla, starting with low speed. Gradually increase the speed to beat your buttercream for at least two minutes.
- Add salt and mix.
- Remove the bowl from the stand. The buttercream should be smooth.
- Take a quarter portion of this buttercream, putting the remainder aside.
- Color this quarter portion of buttercream according to the gender reveal (blue or pink). Add a few drops of food coloring into the buttercream, and mix until color is evenly distributed.
- Place your colorful buttercream into a piping bag (or plastic sandwich bag), and cut the tip.
- Fill in the carved-out parts of your cupcakes with pink or blue buttercream.
- Use the remaining frosting to top the cupcakes. Get ideas on how to decorate them below!
How to decorate gender reveal cupcakes
Looking for some ways to make your gender reveal cupcakes stand out? Check out these fun ideas to get inspired.
Keep it simple with white frosting
The simplest and easiest way to decorate your cupcake tops is to place white buttercream frosting in a piping bag. (A 1M tip works especially well.) Starting from the edge of the cupcake and working your way to the inside, fill the top of your cupcake with the buttercream. Then top it off with blue and pink sprinkles.
Blend pink, white and blue together
If you want swirled colors, divide your buttercream frosting into three bowls. Use food coloring to color one pink and another blue. Leave the third white. Then, put down a piece of plastic wrap on your work surface. Spread the buttercream in three large, even, vertical lines, with each buttercream color touching the next.
Next, roll up the plastic wrap horizontally from left to right, holding the buttercream so it comes together in a tube-like shape. Cut the end of the plastic wrap, and place that open end in a piping bag with a 1M tip. Pipe the frosting on your cupcakes by starting from the outside and moving your way to the middle.
Alternate icing colors
Decorate half of your cupcakes with blue icing and half with pink. Then encourage your party guests to take a guess at the reveal by picking a color!
Add Instagram-worthy cupcake toppers
Jazz up the decor by adding themed toppers to your treats. Whether you're making gender reveal cakes or cupcakes, these adornments take your sweet treats to the next level.
Save the color for the inside
Whether you want your desserts to embrace a chic, minimalist look or just prefer to save all the pink or blue color for the inside of the cupcake, consider decorating your treats with neutral-toned icing and embellishments.
Make only one special cupcake
Rather than filling every single cupcake with pink or blue filling, consider baking a big batch of regular cupcakes and only adding filling to one cupcake. At your gender reveal party, pass out the treats, have everyone bite into them at the same time and see whose cupcake has the special gender reveal filling!
More tips for making gender reveal cupcakes
Here are a few extra tips from West to ensure your gender reveal cupcakes turn out perfectly, whether you're a baking beginner or seasoned pro:
Don't overmix the batter
Otherwise, you risk a less-yummy texture for your gender reveal cupcakes.
Use a toothpick to check doneness
"Before removing your cupcakes from the oven, insert a toothpick into your cupcake," advises West. "If it's clean with small crumble bits, the cupcakes are ready!"
Don't shy away from food coloring
When you're adding food coloring to the frosting, don't worry about accidentally using too much, notes West.
"Think about it this way … the worst that can happen is that it's bubblegum pink as opposed to a lighter pink, or a brighter blue rather than a baby blue," she says. "It's a win either way!"
Also good to keep in mind? Gel food coloring is always West's preference when baking desserts.
Pipe in your filling for best results
The ideal way to fill cupcake centers with the colorful buttercream is by piping it in, advises West. Don't have a piping bag at home? No worries!
"You can simply use a Ziploc bag, and cut a small corner out!" she says. "This way provides a clean application in the center without the reveal showing anywhere outside the cupcake."
No matter how you end up decorating your gender reveal cupcakes, they're sure to be a hit — not to mention, a delightfully delicious way to celebrate your future baby boy or girl.
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