The Barbie Doll Cake

So here is the thing. I don’t really like cake and I cannot bake very well (I can bake bread and I can cook at least 3 or 4 fabulous meals, but baking sweets? No.).

Somehow, though, this trend is developing (is it because I am mad about Duff, The Ace of Cakes king???) and here I am, baking cakes and decorating them, by request. I made a joke about Barbie Doll cakes once. My mom’s one experience in trying to become a cake decorator was when a church lady taught her to make a Barbie cake and she made it for my 13th birthday. I hadn’t played with Barbies since I was 4 (because my mom threw them away since they were always lying around naked) and I wasn’t too happy about having to pose with it so I was making jokes about Barbie cakes. But Jovan said, “I want one.”

So she got one. I couldn’t find one with her coloring with blue eyes (Barbies are a very limited breed), but this one had her hair color and skin color and blue eye shadow so it looked the closest.

I wanted a pink gown, but had forgotten that every last drop of red food color went into Hunter’s firetruck a few weeks ago. So I had to use white and blue and green and when Dave came home, he brought red so I could create a few pink flowers and trim.

I used 2 cake mixes, Betty Crocker Funfetti and a couple of recipes of my famous almond-infused buttercream icing. I baked 3- 8″, 1- 6″ layer and used a small stainless steel bowl to bake the little mound for the top. I stacked them with icing in between on a 10″ crystal cake stand then I took a knife and “carved” a skirt from the cake pile.

It turned out to be the easiest to make so far. It was also much smaller than most of the recent cake attempts, but 13 people still ate less than half. I am glad Jovan made me do it. Now I know why my mom felt so proud and why she made me pose with it – as I made Jovan pose with this one!

Ken cake, anyone?…Jeanie

Pictured: Barbie getting her “crumb-coat.” Barbie, rear-side view; front-side view; and Barbie with Jovan, the inspiration.

NOTE TO SELF: If there is a next time, perhaps create an “undergarment” for Barbie so as not to traumatize the children as the dress is cut away.

Check out my Ace of Cakes (www.charmcitycakes.com) obsession and previous cakes here…here…and here…and here. Hmmm…we did a cupcake tower for Guini…who has those photos???