Birthday Cakes

This cake never fails to impress kids and adults alike because the cake actually forms the dress of a fashion doll. You may find other versions of this recipe that call for shaving the cake in a certain way to form the dress or baking a cake in a round bowl (which I find makes for a hard cake to cut!) to get the right shape.

I’ve found that a Bundt pan and two 9-inch round pans work beautifully to give me the shape I need. Other than the doll, you don’t need any other accoutrements to make this cake special —just lots of frosting. And be prepared to go through lots of it! Because it takes a bit of time to create all the rows of frosting that decorate the dress, this recipe calls for stiff buttercream frosting. After all, you don’t want the dress pattern to droop while you work! This cake is shown on the first page of the color section.

Tools: Two 9-inch round cake pans, 12-cup traditional Bundt pan, #30 icing tip, #35 icing
tip, plastic wrap, long serrated knife
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Baking time: 45 minutes plus 2 hours for cooling
Decoration time: 2 hours plus 2 hours for refrigeration
Yield: 32 servings
For the cake:
2 batches Delicious Yellow Cake batter
For the frosting:
4 batches Stiff Decorator Frosting
For the decorations:
11-inch tall fashion doll
Deep pink food coloring gel
Orange food coloring gel

The Messy Part:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 9-inch pans and the Bundt pan, and set aside.
2. Prepare two batches of Delicious Yellow Cake. Put one batch in the Bundt cake pan, and divide the other batch into the two 9-inch round pans.
3. Bake the two rounds according to the recipe, and bake the Bundt cake for 50 minutes. After the rounds are completely cool, level them. Let the Bundt cake cool completely, but don’t level it.
4. Sandwich the two round layers together with a layer of frosting, and spread a layer of frosting on the top layer. Then place the Bundt cake on top. Apply a crumb coat (thin layer) of frosting to the entire cake, and refrigerate it for at least 1 hour. (If possible, refrigerate the cake overnight for best results.)
5. Using the open circle of the Bundt cake as your guide, cut a circle out of the center of the layered cake below. Pull this cake out (you may need to use a serving spoon). Reserve the scraps.
6. Frost the cake again with a thin layer of frosting, and refrigerate for 1 hour
7. Raise the doll’s arms and wrap plastic around her arms and hair. Place the doll into the center hole of the cake. To keep her centered and in place, insert cut-up scraps from Step 5 in the open space. Frost around the doll to create a smooth, complete surface for your decorating.
8. Divide and tint the remaining frosting as follows: 4 cups deep pink and 4 cups orange.
9. Outfit a pastry bag with a #35 tip and pink frosting. Starting at the front of the doll, pipe three rows of pink stars (see Chapter 11) down the front of the cake dress. I like to pipe the rows at a diagonal to make it look like the dress is swirling, but if it’s easier (or more preferable) for you, you can simply pipe in straight lines down the front of the dress.
10. Outfit a pastry bag with a #30 tip and orange frosting. Pipe three rows of orange stars on either side of the pink stripe. Continue piping three-row stripes around the dress, alternating the frosting color with each row.
11. Using the #30 tip, pipe a band of orange frosting around the doll’s waistline.
12. Using the #35 tip and pink frosting, create the ruffled layers of the dress’s bodice by piping horizontally around the doll, moving the tip up and down as you go. Finish by frosting pink straps over the doll’s shoulders.
13. Remove the plastic wrap from the doll’s head and arms.
14. To finish the dress, pipe a ring of orange stars or waves around the base of the cake.