I would like to make a 3D dress cake (the kind you insert the Barbie torso in). I will actually be making a Cinderella cake and would appreciate any tips or advice. I've seen some great pictures of other members' works in the gallery and noticed that some people were able to construct the cake without the "cake dress pan." So I have a few questions...

1. If you don't use the cake dress pan, what sizes did you use to construct the dress?
2. Did you use dowels or straws to keep the layers together?
3. To decorate the bodice/torso - did you use a layer of buttercream before you placed the fondant? If you didn't use fondant, what did you use and how?
4. How do you make natural looking folds on the dress?
5. Did you use a regular Barbie or did you use the doll pick?
6. Any other tips or suggestions?

I am in the process of making a bridal doll cake now, I can't answer all your questions, but on the bodice, I did not buttercream it, just covered with fondant. You could put a small amount of piping gel with a small brush to make it adhere. I did not and it's been 2 days and it
is OK. I have read that others cover the Barbie with plastic wrap before inserting her into the cake. I am using the doll pick. I am making my bride doll like the one Boween made on this site, NO HEAD, NO ARMS, (haha) It's just so beautiful, but a child would not enjoy this version at all.
Wilton says, roll fondant into 12 logs and place under dress for folds on dress, but Boween just used her fingers to fashion folds. I will be using her method. I hope this helps. Good Luck

I recently made my first Barbie cake and they requested a real doll. I made 2 6" rounds and one 9"round for the dress. I used a round cookie cutter to cut a small hole in each layer and then filled it with a little buttercream to help support Barbie. I wrapped Barbie in plastic wrap so she wouldn't get messy. Then I just started carving until I got the shape I wanted. I used some of the scraps mixed with buttercream to fill in around her waist. After that, I covered in buttercream and then applied the fondant. I did not make pleats of folds, but saw on wilton.com where they made fondant ropes and stuck it to the buttercream so when you put the fondant over the top, the ropes underneath looked like pleats. I'll try to attach a pic of my cake. Good luck!

I recently made my first Barbie cake and they requested a real doll. I made 2 6" rounds and one 9"round for the dress. I used a round cookie cutter to cut a small hole in each layer and then filled it with a little buttercream to help support Barbie. I wrapped Barbie in plastic wrap so she wouldn't get messy. Then I just started carving until I got the shape I wanted. I used some of the scraps mixed with buttercream to fill in around her waist. After that, I covered in buttercream and then applied the fondant. I did not make pleats of folds, but saw on wilton.com where they made fondant ropes and stuck it to the buttercream so when you put the fondant over the top, the ropes underneath looked like pleats. I'll try to attach a pic of my cake. Good luck!

Thanks so much for the feedback! Both responses are very helpful. Yes, please post your pictures. I'd love to see the final cake! If you have any other words of advice...I would really appreciate it!

I can't get the picture to post here, but if you click on my photos under my reply, you will see it there.

Hi, I have a Sleeping Beauty Doll cake in a couple of weeks for my DD. When covering the dress in fondant do you go from the top down before putting the barbie in or do you put the barbie in and then go around the dress?

TIA for any advice.

Hi There,

I used a dolly varden tin, I used a 'real' barbie and just took the legs off, I used fondant to dress the barbie. To make the fondant stick to the barbie I just used a bit of water.

I have never made a cake dress layering different cake size tins.

I have attached a picture of the cake, it was for my daughter and I just loved making it for her, it was the cake I always wanted as a little girl.

Best of luck with it,

Kim

This is similar to how I did mine. Next opportunity I will do it with rolls underneath to make the folds. There are quite a few good styles of Barbie to follow.
http://www.wonderhowto.com/how-to/video/how-to-decorate-a-child-s-barbie-princess-cake-165795/

if you have a pampered chef batter bowl you can also use it.......

Pumpkinroses: put the fondant on before inserting Barbie - cut a hole in the fondant just big enough to put her in. Otherwise, you'll have a seam in the back to deal with!

I have a doll cake that I did a few months ago, it's in my pics.

I did the doll in her dress ONTOP of an 8" round

I used the sports ball pan(because that's all I had) and carved one of the balls a bit so I didn't have a complete circle for the dress

I used a dollar store barbie, cut the legs to length and wrapped the legs in saran wrap before inserting her.

I covered the dress in buttercream, using star and ruffles, as you can see in the pics.

PM me if you have any questions about more details!

Thank you all so much for your replies. I'm sorry it's taken me so long to post my response.

I plan on attempting this cake this week. You've all made such great suggestions and I truly appreciate all the wonderful tips. I've taken a quick peak at your pictures and your doll cakes are beautiful! Wish me luck!

We used the wondermold pan sitting on top of a 9" round cake - the combination was perfect. We did not use dowels, just filling in between the mold and the single cake layer. We used real dolls and saran wrapped their bottom half before sticking it into the cake. We cut a hole in the center of the entire cake for the doll to fit into. We covered the cake in a crumb coat of buttercream before fondanting. I just used my fingers to make the natural folds of the skirt. For the bodice, we just used a little water to seal the edges together. Here's a picture of the cinderella-like cake that we did. Good luck, this is a fun cake to make!

Wow! Thanks for posting another beautiful doll cake! I really appreciate the tips, too!

I have one quick question...can I use ready made frosting (i.e. Betty Crocker's frosting in a can)instead of homemade buttercream for the bodice and crumb coat? I am trying to avoid having to make a whole batch of homemade buttercream for this one cake. TIA!