When one of your besties tells you she’s pregnant you literally jump at the opportunity to throw her a baby shower (well at least I do!). My excitement and joy for Mandy is easily expressed through the love of showering her with a party; filled with good food, friendship and of course pretty little details.
Since my catering days are over I forget how much I love putting on events, planning menus and creating experiences that my guest will not forget! And this baby shower was no exception!
The theme was simple and not overly cutesy; a modern jungle in the city. I transformed my little home into a world of a playground for twenty-two women and filled the concrete corners with as much greenery as possible.
The hot sun beamed down in the city and my backyard was filled with shaded umbrellas and ferns to hopefully give some relief to my guests. The day was spent sipping on bubbly, talking everything baby, getting to know each other and anticipating the arrival of a baby boy.
When it comes to the menu I like to try and keep things simple but to still have a flair. All of the food was appetizer style so it could easily be eaten with your fingers and no cutlery was needed.
The Menu
- Honey Garlic Chicken Skewers
- Mini Gazpacho
- Blackberry Goat Cheese Flatbread
- Vegetable Pinwheels
- Charcuterie Board
- Veggies and Dip
The dessert is where things get fun for me. Again I did my best to simplify the dessert table by keeping to a minimum of desserts. I made one of Mandy’s favourite cakes; a banana cake iced with cream cheese icing. The cake was layered upon layer totalling 3 layers and topped with toy animals. I placed the cake on display for everyone to see as they arrived and had almond chocolate chip cookies spilling out of a bowl. The cookies did not last long or even make it to the end when the dessert was actually served. They were slowly snatched up throughout the day and once word spread they were made with almond flour they didn’t stand a chance on display! On a side note, next time I’d have half the cookies set aside to serve at the end to make sure everyone got one or two. 🙂
Games and activities
- Guess how many animal crackers are in the jar
- Clothes pin game – Can’t say the word ‘baby’
- Advice cards to the new mommy
- Baby name suggestions
- Guess the delivery date
I couldn’t have asked for a better day – everyone was filled with joy and excitement, had full stomachs and Mandy’s smile didn’t fade once. Seeing how happy the mamma to be was and how excited the guests were to be part of this special day meant everything to me and I’d do it all over again!!
We can’t wait to meet you little man!
Banana Cake
This banana cake is a family favourite. The cake is banana-y, light, fluffy and has three layers of soft cream cheese icing.
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 8inch -3 layer cake 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: Canadian
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 5 ripe bananas, lightly mashed
- 2 1/2 cups cake and pastry flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350˚F, line 3 round pans with parchment paper and grease the sides (use 8 inch or 9 inch pans).
- Using a stand mixer, beat butter and sugars together until light and creamy. Add eggs one at a time and continue to beat until fluffy. Add vanilla extract and mix. Fold in mashed bananas.
- In a separate bowl mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add to banana mixture and alternate with buttermilk until combined.
- Separate the batter into 3 equals parts and pour into prepared pans. Bake in the oven for approximately 30-35 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean and the sides are starting to brown.
- Let cake cool for 5-10 minutes on a cooling rack then place right into the freezer while you make your icing. Freeze for approx. 20 minutes. Then remove from pans to assemble cake.
- Alternate cake and icing until you have 3 total layers. See cream cheese icing recipe below.
Keywords: Banana Cake, Dessert, Cake
Cream Cheese Icing
This cream cheese icing is light, fluffy and buttery. It makes a perfect addition to cakes, cupcakes and cookies.
- Prep Time: 8 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 8 minutes
- Yield: Approx. 2-3 cups
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 3 cups icing sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Beat cream cheese and butter together. Add icing sugar and vanilla extract. Beat on low to incorporate and then on high speed until smooth, light and fluffy.
- Use icing at room temperature.
Keywords: Icing, Cream Cheese, Butter
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Wow! It all looks so spectacular. That is one stunning baby shower!
Now I know what I can do with those black bananas rather than make banana muffins. The cake was delicious – very moist with lots of flavour and was surprisingly easy to make. A couple of questions – can I use different sized pans? How do you get the same amount of batter in each pan? Just trying to make mine look like the pictures! LOL
★★★★★
Hi Susan, so happy you like the banana cake, it’s a family favourite at the Romano’s! Yes, you defiantly can use different sized pans, you just have to watch your baking time as the time will differ from larger to smaller pans. The best way to get an even amount of batter in each pan is by using a scale. If you weigh your batter in the pans you’ll know the exact amount to divide up. If you don’t have a scale do your best to eye ball the amounts. Hope that helps 🙂 Happy Baking.