Food Matters: Use cupcakes for your 'baby reveal'; fall food and wine festival in Hill Country this weekend

Boy or girl? The cupcake knows

Few parents, including this one, can resist the temptation of finding out the sex of their unborn baby. The 18-week sonogram is a routine checkup that doctors like to do to track the baby's development, but for many parents, it means that they can finally find out whether they are having a boy or a girl.

But in recent years, the "gender reveal" party has become popular among expectant parents like Kendra Kingsley Young. In August, an 18-week-pregnant Young and her husband, Jacob, asked the sonographer to not tell them the results in the office but instead to write the sex of the baby on a piece of paper and seal it up in an envelope. "I promptly drove from the doctor's office to Upper Crust Bakery and asked them to make 30 vanilla cupcakes injected with a shot of pink or blue icing, depending on whether the note said `boy' or `girl.'"

A few days later, they hosted a party with a few friends. "We had a 3-2-1 countdown and everyone bit into their cupcake at the same time," she says. The pink frosting inside told them they were having a girl, who is due in January.

Upper Crust Bakery owner Stephanie Schuster says she gets at least one such request a month, either for cupcakes or cake. "It's fun and cute," she says. "It reintroduces the element of surprise." Schuster, who waited until her own children were born to find out the sex, says they take great care to mark the orders clearly so if the person requesting the cake calls, her staff doesn't accidentally reveal the secret. "It's an easy thing to add to the process, plus it adds a layer of fun for us."

Saturday bake sale to benefit Bastrop fire victims

The group of volunteers who raised more than $11,000 through a citywide bake sale for Japan after the tsunami earlier this year are back, this time raising money for victims of the area wildfires. Austin Bakes for Bastrop will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday at seven locations - Community Renaissance Market (6800 Westgate Blvd.), The Flying Saucer (815 W. 47th St.), Foreign & Domestic (306 E. 53rd St.), Hotel San Jose (1316 S. Congress Ave.), Old Settler's Park (3300 E. Palm Valley Blvd,, Round Rock) and both Whole Foods Markets - and will feature baked goods from more than 80 home cooks, food bloggers and businesses. Proceeds will go to Austin Community Foundation's Central Texas Wildfire Fund, and if you are interested in participating, email Kathryn Hutchison at austingastronomist@gmail.com. austinbakes.wordpress.com .

Stroll into fall with a wine glass in hand

Celebrate the best of Hill Country wine and food Friday and Saturday at the seventh annual Texas Fall Fest and Wine Auction in Marble Falls and Horseshoe Bay. The two-day event starts Friday with a "sip and sunset stroll" at Quail Point Lodge on Lake LBJ, where sixteen wineries and sixteen chefs will provide food and wine while guests browse artisan products from local producers. On Saturday night, Lamberts Downtown Barbecue owner Lou Lambert will be cooking for a wine dinner and auction in downtown Marble Falls. For more info and to buy tickets ($25-$75) are at texasfallfest.com . The event benefits Texas wine and grape research and Hill Country CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates).

Openings, closings and coming soon

• Open: Napoli's, an Italian restaurant at 11905 Bee Cave Road. 263-0455, napolisbeecave.com .

• Open: Lizzie's Lunchbox, a trailer operated by Lisa Allen featuring wraps, sandwiches and salads at 10401 Jollyville Road. 217-8848, lizzieslunchbox.com .

• Opening Friday: Torchy's Tacos, 11521 RM 620, the eighth Austin location of the taco restaurant that originated in a trailer in South Austin. 381-8226, torchystacos.com .

• Closed: Graze, the promising restaurant at 1707 E. Sixth St. that only recently opened posted a sign last week that said they would be closed through the end of the year.