Mary Poppins Doll Cake Recipes

BLUEBERRY DOLL CAKE

Steps:

• For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and line the bottoms of three 8-inch cake pans with parchment and set aside.
• In a large bowl, sift together 4 cups of the flour, the baking powder and cinnamon, then lightly stir in the salt; set aside. In a large measuring cup, whisk together the heavy cream and sour cream and set aside.
• In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together the granulated sugar, butter, coconut oil and lemon zest on medium high until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla and almond extract, if using. Reduce the mixer to medium low and add the dry mixture and cream mixture in 3 alternating additions, mixing until just combined.
• Toss the frozen blueberries with the remaining tablespoon of flour and fold them into the batter (don't rinse the blueberries). Distribute the batter evenly among the cake pans and spread it out evenly (don't be alarmed if the frozen blueberries cause the cake batter to firm up, that's ok!).
• Bake until the tops of the cakes are starting to brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few crumbs on it; begin checking for doneness at 33 minutes and try your darnedest not to let it over-bake. Let cool in the pans for 10 minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
• For the frosting: Combine the frozen blueberries with 2 tablespoons water in a medium saucepan and heat over medium, stirring and mashing occasionally with a rubber spatula, until the blueberries have broken down and released their juices, about 10 minutes. Strain the juices through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl or measuring cup, using your rubber spatula to mash the blueberries and wring out any juices that they're still holding onto. You should have around 3 tablespoons of liquid (if it's much more than that, discard any excess or reserve it for another use).
• In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat together the butter and cream cheese until creamy. Gradually add the powdered sugar, then mix in the heavy cream, vanilla, salt and blueberry juice until creamy.
• To decorate: Shaping this cake is easiest to do when the layers are cold. So if you have the time, wrap the cake layers in plastic wrap and freeze overnight or even up to a few weeks. (If you don't have the time, it's not the end of the world, just make sure the layers are fully cooled.) Use a sharp serrated knife to level the cake layers if they're not totally flat on top and save the scraps in a large bowl. (If the cakes are frozen too solid to cut, you can let them thaw at room temp for a few minutes so they soften just slightly.)
• Place an 8- to 10-inch cardboard cake circle on a rotating cake wheel and add a small dollop of frosting to "glue" on the first layer. Add the first layer of cake, followed by a thin layer of frosting, another layer of cake, another thin layer of frosting and the third layer of cake. Use a thin knife to cut a hole down the center of the cake that's just big enough for a Barbie doll. Try not to make the hole too big so that she doesn't flop around. Shove her in! The cake will only come up to her thighs at this point but fear not, the rest will be filled in by cake scraps.
• Now it's time to carve the cake. Use a serrated knife to slowly carve away the cake into the shape of a skirt. Start at the top and shave it off gradually, cutting away from yourself and down the bottom, transferring your scraps to the scrap bowl. Leave about 1 1/2 inches of uncarved cake all around the top to allow room to build up the remaining skirt with your scraps. This doesn't need to be perfect AT ALL! Frosting will cover up any imperfections! Once you've got a general skirt shape, use your hands to mush up the scraps in the bowl. The frosting and the cake's moisture should help them stick together into a dough-like consistency, but if they're too dry, add a plop of frosting. Pack the cake dough firmly on top of the cake to build the skirt up to reach Barbie's waist (or higher to be an empire waist! Or a low-rise waist! You are your own fashion designer!).
• Take a step back to look at the general shape of the skirt and make any adjustments you'd like: carve off some more for a slimmer skirt, add some Victorian-era dimension with some cake dough, etc.
• And then frost! Frost all over with thick swoops of frosting. Swirl in food coloring to create a groovy tie dye look, add sprinkles for a bedazzled look or get out your piping bags and pipe a whole lace wedding dress if that's your vision.
• Enjoy!

PRETTY PRINCESS CAKE

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Grease and line a deep 15cm round cake tin, making sure the lining is higher than the top of the tin. Grease and base line a 1 litre ovenproof glass pudding basin.
• Using electric beaters or a tabletop mixer, beat the butter, sugar, vanilla and ¼ tsp salt together until pale and fluffy, then pour in the eggs, one at a time, giving the mix a really good beating before adding the next. Add 1 tbsp of the plain flour if the mix starts to look slimy rather than fluffy. Beat in the yogurt.
• Mix the flours; then, using a large metal spoon, fold them into the batter, and spoon into the prepared tin and bowl. The mixture will come almost to the top. Place the bowl and cake tin on a baking tray. Cook in the oven for about 1 hour 40 to 1hour 50 mins. Allow the cakes to cool completely.
• To make the butter icing, put the butter into a bowl and beat well until softened. Gradually beat in the icing sugar. Trim the tops of the cakes level. Slice the pudding basin cake in three and the 15cm cake in half. Using a 5cm round cutter, stamp out the centre of each piece of cake.
• Place one half of the 15cm cake on a cake board. Spread with a little butter icing and place the other half on top. Spread a little icing on this layer and top with the widest layer of the basin cake. Repeat with the other layers. Spread the remaining butter icing all over the assembled cake.
• Take 250g white fondant icing and roll out into a long strip about 7cm wide. Press the edge gently with a teaspoon to give a frilled effect or use a ball tool. Attach to the base of the cake, pushing gently onto the icing.
• Roll out the pink icing to a large circle about 36cm in diameter. Cut a hole from the centre using the 5cm cutter. Cut away just under an eighth section of the icing. Drape the icing over the cake, making the join at the back. At even intervals push up the pink fondant to create a swagged look.
• Spray the cake lightly with the edible lustre. Take the doll and wrap the legs in plastic film. Place the doll in the cake. The top of the cake should come to hip not waist level. Using the trimmings, roll out an oblong of pink icing and wrap around the body of the doll to make the bodice. Smooth the bottom of the bodice onto the top of the skirt.
• Roll out some white fondant and cut out a 9cm circle using a fluted or flower cutter. Cut a small circle from the centre of this and then split one side and place around the waist of the doll, cutting away any excess. Use the remaining white icing to make a large bow and place at the back of the dolls waist.
• Make up the royal icing according to pack instructions. Using a piping bag fitted with a small plain nozzle (or use a strong plastic bag and cut off the tip), pipe around the edge of the pink skirt. Attach a rose to the top of each swag. Pipe three lines of dots just above the roses going up the dress.
• Pipe across the top of the bodice and half way down the front. Using the icing attach a sugar butterfly to the top of the bodice and one large sugar rose at the waist.

BARBIE DOLL CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 2-quart ovenproof Pyrex glass mixing bowl with shortening and dust with flour.
• Prepare cake as directed on box. Pour batter into prepared bowl.
• Bake 50-60 minutes or until cake tester inserted into center comes out clean. Cool 15 minutes.
• Invert on cake plate with widest part of cake on the bottom. Cool 3 hours before decorating.
• Insert a clean doll into center of cake. Decorate the skirt with icing tinted any color or use more than one color. Use a decorator tip to make the skirt as fancy as you like and decorate the top of the doll for the top of the dress also.

PRINCESS CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease four 8-inch springform pans and line with parchment paper.
• Combine 1 cup plus 6 tablespoons butter and sugar in a large bowl; beat with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Sift flour in gradually and add the vanilla extract, beating until smooth. Distribute batter evenly between the 4 prepared pans.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean, 25 to 35 minutes. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes. Remove rings and transfer cakes to wire racks. Cool completely before decorating, about 1 hour.
• Cut out a 2-inch hole from the center of each cooled cake using a round cutter of glass, large enough for the doll to fit through.
• Glue cake board onto a revolving cake stand using a small amount of frosting. Spread 2 tablespoons of frosting on the cake board and lay the first cake on top. Repeat with remaining cake layers, aligning the holes in the center; cake should reach the hips of the doll. Insert 4 straws 1/2 inch from the hole, piercing all the way through the layers, to add stability. Cut off the ends of the straws sticking out from the cake with scissors.
• Measure 1/2 inch from the top edge of the cake using a ruler, rotating the cake and making marks with a skewer. Trim off the edge at an angle to create a dome-shaped skirt.
• Color 2/3 of the vanilla frosting in a bowl with a few drops of pink food coloring. Frost entire cake with a thin layer of frosting, including inside the hole in the center using a thin spatula. Refrigerate cake for 30 minutes to 1 hour to set the first coat.
• Fill a piping bag with a large flat tip with frosting. Pipe frosting around the cake, working from the bottom up, until it is fully covered. Immerse a long icing spatula in hot water and dry thoroughly with a kitchen towel. Smooth frosting with the warm spatula for a polished, smooth finish. Repeat process until frosting is smooth. Chill cake in the fridge for at least 1 hour and up to overnight.
• Wrap the doll's legs with plastic wrap and insert doll into the hole, adding frosting to the hole if necessary to keep the doll in place.
• Divide remaining frosting into different bowls and color pink, green, and/or leave some white. Use the skewer to trace where you intend to pipe any patterns, bows, or other design elements over the frosting.
• Fit a small star tip on a piping bag and fill it with white or light pink frosting. Holding the bag almost perpendicular to the cake, make rows of small stars for the front of the dress. Work from the bottom up. Pipe more stars directly onto the doll from the waist up to make the top of the dress.
• Use a ruffle tip to create ruffles, ribbons, and bows. Use a small star tip to create rosettes all over the skirt of the dress. Use a leaf tip with green icing to add leaves. Keep completed cake in the refrigerator until serving.