DIY: How to make a doll cake

I’d like to show you how to make an easy doll cake, that would make the little birthday girl super happy.
My neighbor’s daughter had her 5th birthday and I offered to make a doll cake for her.
I really enjoyed making this cake as I knew i will always be making firetruck and dinosaurs cakes for my boys.

All you need for this cake is:

3 boxes of cake mix and all ingredients for these cake mix(unless you prefer to make the cake from scratch)
3 different size cake pan ( if you don’t have 3 different size cake pan, you can make 3 same size cake and cut the edges off to create a skirt shape once they are on the top of each other)
1 doll
Buttercream Frosting(recipe below)
Fondant(recipe below)

Bake all tree cakes as directed and let them cool down. While you are cooling the cakes, prepare the buttercream frosting.
Few years ago I found this great Buttercream recipe.

Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter(2 sticks or ½ pound), softened
3-4 cups confectioners sugar
¼ tsp salt
1 tbsp vanilla extract
Up to 4 tbsp milk or heavy cream

Instructions:

Beat the butter for a few minutes with mixer.
Add 3 cups of powdered sugar and turn your mixer to the lowest speed until the sugar has been incorporated with the butter.
Add vanilla extrat, salt and 2 tbsp milk and beat for aout 3 minutes with high speed.
If you need to adjust on consistency add sugar or milk

Cover the cakes with buttercream and stack them on each other.After they stick together well, cut the edges off to make skirt shape.Cut out the middle of your cake “tower” , so you can stick the doll in the middle. If you are using a doll with long dress cover the bottom of the doll with plastic wrap to protect the dress from getting dirty.
Cover the whole cake with the buttercream, which will make the fondant stick to the cake well.

Fondant is not easy to work with, I tell you that. My first fondant ended up in the trash… I used a recipe that didn’t work for me at all…I could not roll the fondant.
After all I found this perfect Fondant recipe.

Fondant

Ingrediens:

1 Tbsp of unflavored gelatin

1/4 cup of cold water

1 tsp of almond extract

1/2 cup of light corn syrup (If a corn syrup is not available, you can substitute it with a sugar syrup made with 1-1/4 cups sugar and 1/3 cup water, boiled together until syrupy)

1 Tbsp of glycerin (some recipes say it’s optional, believe me, it’s a must)

2 lbs 10X confectioners’ sugar

1/2 tsp of white vegetable shortening

Directions:

Sprinkle the gelatin over cold water in a small bowl and let it rest for 2 minutes to soften

Place the bowl in a microwave for 30 seconds on High, until the gelatin dissolves

Add the Almond extract

Add the corn syrup and the glycerin and stir until the mixture is smooth and clear (if the mixture is not turning smooth and clear, microwave it for an additional 15 to 20 seconds on high and stir again)

Sift 1 1/2 pounds of the sugar into a large bowl

Make a hole in the sugar and pour the liquid mixture to it

Stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture becomes sticky

Sift some of the remaining 1/2 pound of sugar onto a smooth work surface and add as much of the remaining sugar as the mixture will take

Knead the fondant, adding a little more sugar if necessary, to form a smooth, pliable mass

Rub the vegetable shortening on your thumbs and knead it into the fondant

Once you roll your fondant out , take the doll out from the center and cover your cake with fondant. Measure the height of your “tower” cake and make sure you roll the fondant wide enough.
Cut the middle of the fondant and stick the doll back to the center. Make a little “belt’ for your skirt from a different color fondant to cover the edges of the center – it will give your cake a nice finished look.
Easy enough..?Doll Cake is done.