A diaper cake is a cake where each tier is assembled from what looks like diapers rolled into a cylinder and stuck together.
Each tier has a number of diapers that form a circle to make the tier. Deciding how many people the cake needs to serve will determine the size of the cake. Generally the bottom tier is thirty diapers the middle tier is about half that about fifteen and the top tier is five or six.
A diaper offers the perfect cake to decorate to suit the individual party, it can be decorated with baby items that are special for the mother to be. I know of one occasion when a pregnant lady who had a thing for spag bol when she was pregnant asked me to make a cake with a plate of spag bol on the cake. The spaghetti was made from rolled fondant icing and the bolognaise sauce was very small pieces of chocolate and the sauce was a fairly runny butter cream.
A little extreme but this is an occasion when you can get away with whimsical gestures. Sugarcraft has some edible designs that can be used to decorate the cake.My choice for making a diaper cake would depend on how much time and notice you have.
A perfect choice is a Calabrian Christmas cake, in fact both choices of cakes are Italian recipes, but the Calabrian fruit cake needs to be prepared weeks in advance. If you have the time it is an excellent flavorsome choice that will be talked about for a long time. My second choice for cake would be a chocolate genoise sponge or a roulade.
A genoise sponge originated in the Italian city of Genoa and it is a light airy sponge It differs from the regular sponge mixture in the respect that the butter is added in a liquid state, this is fairly common in Italian recipes. It is meted to prevent it from being too heavy and knocking the air out of the batter. Always use eggs at room temperature never cold, as they need to incorporate the maximum air for maximum volume.
This unusual Christmas cake, made from yeast dough and filled with nuts, raisins, spices, and honey, has many names, ranging from pittenguise to dolce antica. It is perfect for a diaper cake as it is made as several small cakes rolled up and ready to be a diaper. However it needs two months to mature.
Start with all the ingredients at room temperature.
Dough
4 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
5 to 6 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
Filling
4 1/2 cups plump raisins
3 1/2 cups walnut pieces
2 cups honey (use a specialty honey for a more delicate flavor)
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
About 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 to 5 tablespoons sugar
Parchment paper
Each tier has a number of diapers that form a circle to make the tier. Deciding how many people the cake needs to serve will determine the size of the cake. Generally the bottom tier is thirty diapers the middle tier is about half that about fifteen and the top tier is five or six.
A diaper offers the perfect cake to decorate to suit the individual party, it can be decorated with baby items that are special for the mother to be. I know of one occasion when a pregnant lady who had a thing for spag bol when she was pregnant asked me to make a cake with a plate of spag bol on the cake. The spaghetti was made from rolled fondant icing and the bolognaise sauce was very small pieces of chocolate and the sauce was a fairly runny butter cream.
A little extreme but this is an occasion when you can get away with whimsical gestures. Sugarcraft has some edible designs that can be used to decorate the cake.My choice for making a diaper cake would depend on how much time and notice you have.
A perfect choice is a Calabrian Christmas cake, in fact both choices of cakes are Italian recipes, but the Calabrian fruit cake needs to be prepared weeks in advance. If you have the time it is an excellent flavorsome choice that will be talked about for a long time. My second choice for cake would be a chocolate genoise sponge or a roulade.
A genoise sponge originated in the Italian city of Genoa and it is a light airy sponge It differs from the regular sponge mixture in the respect that the butter is added in a liquid state, this is fairly common in Italian recipes. It is meted to prevent it from being too heavy and knocking the air out of the batter. Always use eggs at room temperature never cold, as they need to incorporate the maximum air for maximum volume.
Calabrian Christmas Cake
This unusual Christmas cake, made from yeast dough and filled with nuts, raisins, spices, and honey, has many names, ranging from pittenguise to dolce antica. It is perfect for a diaper cake as it is made as several small cakes rolled up and ready to be a diaper. However it needs two months to mature.
Start with all the ingredients at room temperature.
Dough
4 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
5 to 6 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
Filling
4 1/2 cups plump raisins
3 1/2 cups walnut pieces
2 cups honey (use a specialty honey for a more delicate flavor)
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
About 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 to 5 tablespoons sugar
Parchment paper
In a large bowl, mix together the eggs, salt, wine, oil, sugar, and yeast. Cover and let stand for 10 minutes, in a warm place. Add the flour 1 cup at a time, mixing with your hands until a soft ball of dough is formed. Knead the dough on a floured surface until it is smooth and no longer sticky, adding flour as it becomes necessary. Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour, or until doubled in bulk.
Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, mix together the raisins, walnuts, 1 cup of the honey, cinnamon, and cloves. Set aside. Punch down the dough and knead it for a few minutes on a floured surface. Take a piece of dough the size of a medium orange and roll it out on a floured surface, into a 9-inch circle. Place the circle on one of the cookie sheets and brush the dough lightly with vegetable oil. Sprinkle evenly with 1 tablespoon of the sugar.
Take a second piece of dough the size of a large orange and roll it into a 20 by 8-inch rectangle. Cut the rectangle crosswise into eight 2 1/2-inch-wide strips. Spread about 2 tablespoons of the filling mixture evenly down the center of each strip. Starting at a short end, roll each strip up tightly like a jelly roll. Place them close together on top of the circle of dough, leaving a 1-inch border around the outside edge of the circle. Brush the outside edge of the circle with water. Bring the edge of the circle up around the rolled strips, and tie the cake loosely with string.
Continue with the remaining dough to make 3 or 4 more cakes. Cover and let the cakes rise for 4 hours, or overnight, in a warm place. There will only be a small increase in the bulk of the dough. Preheat the oven to 275 F. Brush each cake with a little vegetable oil, and drizzle 2 tablespoons of the remaining honey over the top of each cake. Bake the cakes for about 45 minutes, or until they are light golden in color. As they bake, baste the cakes occasionally with any of the drippings.
Remove the cakes immediately to a cooling rack set on a piece of wax paper under it. Cool completely. Wrap each cake in plastic wrap, then in aluminum foil, and store in airtight tins. After about a week, turn the cake tins upside down, then reverse the cakes again to distribute the honey collected on the bottom of the tins.To bake and assemble the diaper cake:Make the Calabrian cake two months before it is required. Assemble the diapers on a cake board and tie with a ribbon, or a small blanket and a diaper pin. To assemble the second tier stick the cakes upright as diapers with a little royal icing.
Stack the third tier in the same way Decorate the cake with babies comforters’ small bottles or whatever theme you have decided on.If you have not got the time to make the above cake make as many genoise sponges as necessary in a jelly roll cake tin. Cut the cakes into a quarter or fifths long-ways and roll up the diapers with your favorite frosting recipe. Assemble the cake as above and decorate to you theme.
Claudia Childs, India
Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, mix together the raisins, walnuts, 1 cup of the honey, cinnamon, and cloves. Set aside. Punch down the dough and knead it for a few minutes on a floured surface. Take a piece of dough the size of a medium orange and roll it out on a floured surface, into a 9-inch circle. Place the circle on one of the cookie sheets and brush the dough lightly with vegetable oil. Sprinkle evenly with 1 tablespoon of the sugar.
Take a second piece of dough the size of a large orange and roll it into a 20 by 8-inch rectangle. Cut the rectangle crosswise into eight 2 1/2-inch-wide strips. Spread about 2 tablespoons of the filling mixture evenly down the center of each strip. Starting at a short end, roll each strip up tightly like a jelly roll. Place them close together on top of the circle of dough, leaving a 1-inch border around the outside edge of the circle. Brush the outside edge of the circle with water. Bring the edge of the circle up around the rolled strips, and tie the cake loosely with string.
Continue with the remaining dough to make 3 or 4 more cakes. Cover and let the cakes rise for 4 hours, or overnight, in a warm place. There will only be a small increase in the bulk of the dough. Preheat the oven to 275 F. Brush each cake with a little vegetable oil, and drizzle 2 tablespoons of the remaining honey over the top of each cake. Bake the cakes for about 45 minutes, or until they are light golden in color. As they bake, baste the cakes occasionally with any of the drippings.
Remove the cakes immediately to a cooling rack set on a piece of wax paper under it. Cool completely. Wrap each cake in plastic wrap, then in aluminum foil, and store in airtight tins. After about a week, turn the cake tins upside down, then reverse the cakes again to distribute the honey collected on the bottom of the tins.To bake and assemble the diaper cake:Make the Calabrian cake two months before it is required. Assemble the diapers on a cake board and tie with a ribbon, or a small blanket and a diaper pin. To assemble the second tier stick the cakes upright as diapers with a little royal icing.
Stack the third tier in the same way Decorate the cake with babies comforters’ small bottles or whatever theme you have decided on.If you have not got the time to make the above cake make as many genoise sponges as necessary in a jelly roll cake tin. Cut the cakes into a quarter or fifths long-ways and roll up the diapers with your favorite frosting recipe. Assemble the cake as above and decorate to you theme.
Claudia Childs, India
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