happy birthday!

One of Lydia's friends had a 5th birthday party this morning! I had the honor of making her cake. I've not done a cake decorating post in a while, so I thought I'd show you this one. It was great fun, and I really enjoyed making it.

She wanted a Barbie cake - I had not done one of these before, but I was willing to give it a try. I used the Pampered Chef batter bowl and the instructions on their website to make the cake. Rather than make a second cake in the bowl, as the instructions say, I made a round cake to put underneath and give a little extra height.

The head and body of the doll are a pick made for this kind of cake, but a regular doll can be used if you make a hole in the cake, or take off the legs. I'm sure you know already that nothing artificial comes out of my kitchen, so food coloring is sometimes a challenge. I made a half-dress for the doll, sewing pieces of sheer nylon and ribbons where the skirt ought to be. These laid down over the cake "skirt" to give it some color. (Leave it to me to combine sewing and baking!) You could achieve the same effect by finding a doll with a swimsuit or a blouse, and attaching the ribbons and sheer fabric or tulle to a rubber band around her waist.

Here's a back view. The wreath on her head is just craft wire wrapped with white florist tape, with loops of the ribbons taped in. And a big ribbony bow on the back, of course.

And here's a close-up - I put some ribbons and fabric at the neck too.