Lily Pond Baby Shower

When our friends, Mark & Narin, were expecting their first child, they didn't want to know the baby's gender in advance. Daddy Mark would address Mommy Narin's growing belly as "Taddy", short for Tadpole. Thus the motif for their baby shower was spawned.

Guests were greeted at the front door by a large helium-filled bullfrog balloon. The gender neutral theme includes a center piece water lily cake. The 18-inch round bottom "lily pad" is covered in tinted rolled fondant, as is the topper, a 9-inch cake layered in varying shades of lilac-tinted petals.

What’s a lily pad without frogs? Easy cupcakes were baked with extra cake dough. Their eyes are mini marshmallows topped with chocolate chips. The table is set with artificial lilies and folded origami napkins to resemble the aquatic flower. The party plates had to be green, of course, to best mimic lily pads under floating flowers.

The lily pond punch is a combination of green-colored fruit punch stirred in with ginger ale for a touch of sparkly fizz. Sliced starfruit (also known as Carambola) replicate floating water lilies.

Afterwards, I wondered if a few purple grapes could be tossed in to imitate tadpoles (sans their tails). Or… would it freak out the guests too much? For those with a goth sensibility, they could prepare a packet of sweet basil seed (found in Asian markets) and serve separately in a clear pitcher. When mixed with water, a gelatinous film will develop around the tiny black seed and look convincing like frog eggs. It’s a common Thai drink.

My mother used to mix it with water sweetened with honey and added cubed grass jelly for effect. As kids, my siblings and I loved drinking it for the novelty and it tasted pretty good too. When I recently saw a picture of it online, I must admit I had an interesting and unique childhood. OK, maybe the “frog egg” drink is a bit too weird for a baby shower. Maybe I should revisit that for a Halloween blog.