The Barbie Cake

I used a simple vanilla cake recipe to make my Barbie cake. On my first try, I used a chocolate recipe, but the cake crumbled when I was carving it into the skirt shape, and the chocolate crumbs were not easily hidden by the pale pink frosting, so go for vanilla. Here’s how I did it!

Vanilla Cake:
The cake requires three tiers (using an 8” diameter circular pan, so use one and a half times the below recipe):

1/2 c. butter

1 c. sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

2 eggs

1 1/4 c. flour

1 tsp. baking powder

First mix the butter and sugar (it is important to make sure that these two ingredients are mixed thoroughly). Add vanilla and eggs; mix well. Add flour and baking powder; mix well, but do not “over-beat” the flour. Bake at 350˚F for approximately 25 minutes.

Vanilla Butter-Cream Icing:
I doubled-up this recipe to ensure I had enough icing to do the piping for the dress.

1/2 c. butter

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/4 tsp. salt

4 tbsp. warm milk

3 c. icing sugar

Mix butter, salt and icing sugar. Add milk and mix with an electric mixer at top speed until it reaches a stiff consistency (about 3-5 minutes). The icing needs to be firm to do piping techniques, so add more icing sugar if required. Putting the piping bag into the fridge for a few minutes mid-decorating can also help to keep the icing firm.

Steps:

1. Bake three layer cakes using an 8” circular pan and allow to cool.
2. For the base layer use the entire cake, the middle layer should be cut down to a circle with a 6” diameter, and the top layer should be cut down to a circle with a 4” diameter.
3. Assemble the cakes with quite a lot of icing in between each layer (this will give added height to Barbie and be delicious too!)
4. Carefully pare down the sides of the cake so that it forms a smooth, cone shape.
5. Insert a knife into the centre of the cake from above, and gently wiggle it around. Next, carefully place the doll into the insertion, being very careful not to crack the cake. If you do not intend on using the doll again, it may be helpful to cut off her legs mid-thigh.
6. Cover the dress with a smooth layer of icing. Next, use your fingers to “paint” an icing top on the doll. At this stage I also added an icing necklace and bracelet using a toothpick. Use a piping bad and a tip with a corrugated edge to do details on the skirt.
7. I placed a birthday candle into the cake near the doll’s hand, and gave it as a gift to my friend Chelsea for her birthday. I have never seen a crowd of girls get so excited about a cake, no one wanted to make the first slice!

Voila!