How to make a Princess Barbie Cake with easy step-by-step tutorial

For my daughters fourth birthday I made a princess cake. It was very pink, and she loved it.

And, I loved making it!

How to make a Princess Barbie cake with easy step-by-step tutorial

I had seen cakes with dolls in the middle. You can even buy special cake tins (some come with a doll on a spike!) to make them. You can carve the layers to make a skirt. You can make a flat cake in the shape of a skirt. Lots of options.

But, I like my basic cake shapes to be as easy as possible, so I used a combination of a round cake tin and a Bundt cake tin to create the shape of the skirt, with no cutting/carving required.

You need sufficient height in the layers of cake to reach the dolls hips. If you use a Barbie like I did, you will be surprised by just how long their legs are!

To make the Princess Cake you will need:
A Barbie, or similar
Round cake tin
Bundt cake tin
Shot glass, or similar
Frosting/buttercream
Fondant
Decorations (flowers/candies or similar)
Icing (for decoration)
A circle of cardboard (to form the top of the skirt)
A glass/small dish (to use as a template for the top of the skirt)
Cling wrap

I also used fondant adhesive and a fondant roller, both of which are handy, but not essential. Also, I find that a pizza cutter is great for cutting fondant!

Princess Cake Tutorial 1

1. Bake sufficient layers of cake to cover your dolls legs. I used a standard Barbie and needed four round layers plus the Bundt layer. I wanted to make a stripey cake, so used one plain cake mix, one strawberry and one chocolate. It would be simpler to stick to one colour!

2. Once all your layers are cooled and ready to ice, cut a circle in the middle of each round layer (I used a shot glass) to create a space for Barbie’s legs.

3. Layer your cake, I used a buttercream filling.

4. Add the Bundt layer to the top.

Then, you’re ready to decorate the cake! I like to gather everything I’m going to need before I start.

Princess Cake Tutorial 2

Princess Cake Tutorial 3

5. Dirty ice the cake, I used a vanilla frosting, but you could also use buttercream. I do this in sections so that it doesn’t have any time to harden before I stick the fondant on.

6. I started with a white strip of fondant on the front of the cake. Roll out sufficient fondant, cut a rectangle and lay it onto the cake, starting in the middle of the Bundt layer and draping it over the full height of the cake.

7. Continue with further stripes of fondant until you have covered the whole cake. I chose to do the fondant in three colours and in sections to give the effect of layers of fabric (and also because narrower strips are easier to work with!).

Then, it’s time to set the Barbie in place.

Princess Cake Tutorial 4

8. I wrapped the Barbie’s legs in cling wrap/film (I did this before I put the doll anywhere near the cake!).

9. Using a glass that is about the same size as the whole in the centre of the Bundt cake (at its widest) and cut out a circle of cardboard. Cut a slit into the centre of the circle, and a hole just big enough to fit around the Barbie’s waist, and make a cone shape and tape/staple in place. This will ‘hold’ your Barbie in position in the centre of the cake.

10. Using the same glass as a guide, cut a circle of fondant that is slightly larger. I gave the circle a wavy edge. Again, cut a slit into the centre of the circle, and a hole for Barbie’s waist, and place the fondant over the cardboard. Your Barbie is now in place and the skirt complete.

Princess Cake Tutorial 5

Now you can have some fun decorating the dress!

Princess Cake Tutorial 6

11. I kept in simple, with a few sugar flowers (the larger ones are cupcake toppers and the small ones are sprinkles!). I used some pink icing as ‘glue’ to stick the decorations on. You may need to hold the flowers in place for a second or two to allow the icing to harden a little so that the stick on the vertical surfaces.

And, there you have it. One Princess cake! When you’re ready to cut it, you can simply lift the Barbie out :)

Princess Cake Tutorial 7

Princess Cake Tutorial 8

It was very easy to make, albeit the baking of all the layers took while! It was great fun to decorate, the possibilities for creating different coloured and patterned dresses are endless, and I was really pleased with how it turned out.

And best of all, my little girl loved it :)
 

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20 thoughts on “How to make a Princess Barbie Cake with easy step-by-step tutorial”

  1. I am so impressed with your skills! Good job! A friend of mine was recently telling me their mum used to make these, so I really enjoyed seeing how you did it xx

    1. mumturnedmom

      I imagine there are lots of ways to do it, but I like to find a way to make a cake with largely what I have to hand :)

  2. I love it! I’ve seen the kits before but this has got to be way more cost-effective. I mean, you’ve already got the Barbie and the Bundt pan, so all you’re paying for is the ingredients. I’m keeping this in mind for our next girl birthday.

    1. mumturnedmom

      Yes, the kits seemed expensive for what they were, especially as you were unlikely to use it again! I like finding easy ways to make cakes :)

  3. WOW! Sara you are such a clever clog!!! :) This is an epic cake for a little girl — I’d have given my eye-teeth for a Sindy cake when I was little (Barbie was never my thing)!!! You’ve made it look so easy!! Fantastic — am sending this to my sister for her daughter’s birthday! :)

    1. mumturnedmom

      I was a Sindy girl too :) It really was fairly straightforward – you just need to bake a lot of layers!!

    1. mumturnedmom

      Ha! I bet I could use a similar method to make an R2D2 or something… Hmm, you’ve got me thinking now!

  4. Wow, you did an amazing job. I’ve seen these cakes at a few parties but not tried to make one myself yet. Great tip about the pizza cutter for the icing. I’d never thought of that. Hope your daughter had an amazing birthday. x

    1. mumturnedmom

      The pizza cutter is great for cutting fondant! She had a wonderful birthday, thank you x

    1. Sara | mumturnedmom

      I’m so sorry, I’ve just seen this question! We had 12 children and about 12 adults at the party and there was plenty of cake left over. I would say that you could easily feed at least 30 people. It has six layers, so it’s effectively three ‘standard’ cakes, and a standard cake would feed at least 10-12 children easily. We cut each full slice into two/three pieces, which was plenty for a child. Hope that helps!

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