I love baking cupcakes from scratch for my daughter’s birthday and I am NOT a baker. It may seem intimidating but I promise that it is super easy and requires very little equipment, time and effort.

But then our Vintage Barbie Party party happened and I miraculously pulled off a perfectly homemade Barbie Birthday Cake!

Barbie Cake Supplies: 

• Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer is your best defense in pulling offer the frosting. It’s the one of those must-have kitchen appliances but if that’s not an option ask a friend or neighbor if you can borrow. I did this until I finally had my own.
• Wilton’s Classic Wonder Mold Doll Cake (rumor has it a 2 quart oven safe bowl can be used however you’ll need to bake 2 8 inch round cakes to give the doll height). Watch this video demo for inspiration.
• Wilton’s Decorating Kit
• Flexible Decorating Knife
• Candy Thermometer

How to make a Barbie Cake

Martha Stewart is my go-to recipe site for baking. My original plan was to use Martha’s yellow cake recipe with layers of fresh strawberries and buttercream.

I knew it was a risk using that type of recipe with the mold because I wasn’t sure how dense the cake would be. My test run using a Betty Crocker yellow cake box mix was perfect, however it did not rise high enough. I’m sure there are ways around this but I really wanted to make the cake from scratch.

NOTE: See below how the box mix did not fill up the mold and why you should always conduct a test run. It wasn’t horrible but knew i could do better!

In round two I used Martha Stewart’s Yellow Cake Batter recipe and it filled the mold just a few inches from the top. The cake rose to a perfect height but we did run into a problem taking it out.

This could have been from not letting it cool long enough or the batter was too dense. In the future I would add a pack of instant pudding to help thicken the batter.

Although the cake crumbled in one section, it wasn’t anything a little frosting couldn’t repair.

After removing from the mold, I immediately put in the freezer for about 20 minutes pressing the crumbles back into place. After 20 minutes we applied the crumb coat of frosting and stored overnight in the refrigerator.

How to Make Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Thanks to Swirlz, my favorite cupcake shop in Chicago, for sharing the secret to their fabulous frosting – Italian Whipped Buttercream.  I had never heard of Italian Buttercream, but is super easy to make and tastes so incredible you will NEVER eat canned frosting again.

The original test run of frosting was Italian Whipped Buttercream that turned out ok. The second time around I made Swiss Meringue Buttercream.

Swiss Meringue Buttercream and Italian Meringue Buttercream are almost identical, but the difference is the method in preparation. Swiss Meringue is created by heating  and whisking sugar and egg whites in a bowl over hot water on the stove. Italian Meringue Buttercream is created by first creating a simple sugar-syrup on the stove and adding to a whipped meringue base, followed by  butter.

There is a trick to making this type of frosting and that is the whipping process. If it were not for Rosie (editor of demystifying Swiss Meringue Buttercream, I would have thrown the first round in the garbage. Turns out the frosting will deflate and look soupy before it becomes the most delicious fluffy and satiny masterpiece.

It does take a little time to make, it’s recommended to make larger batches that can be frozen.

Swiss Meringue Ingredients (Makes 6 cups)

• 1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 6 egg whites
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Do NOT attempt Buttercream Frosting without reading these instructions from Sweetapolita!

1. Beat butter with electric mixer until fluffy and pale. Transfer to small bowl.
2. In double boiler over simmering water, whisk sugar and egg whites until warm and sugar is dissolved, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to clean bowl of electric mixer; beat on high with whisk attachment until fluffy and cooled, about 10 minutes.
3. Reduce mixer to medium-low; add butter a scant 1/4 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in vanilla.
4. Switch to paddle attachment; beat on lowest speed 3 to 5 minutes. Leave at room temperature if using same day.

Swiss Meringue Buttercream Recipe from Martha Stewart

Voilà – Barbie Birthday Cake Masterpiece!

Chic Baking Tips:

• Purchase enough ingredients to bake this recipe at least twice. Practice makes perfect!!
• Bake cake 1-2 days prior to the party, store in refrigerator covered. Trust me you need the time to recover from any mishaps.
• Prepare the buttercream frosting one day prior and store in refrigerator in air tight container.
• Rewhip buttercream in your Kitchen Aid Mixer prior to frosting cake. The frosting will fluff up again. Promise!!
• Watch this video demo How to Make a Princess Cake by Betty Crocker for a few tips.

Be sure to check out all the party details and tips on How to Plan & Host a Vintage Barbie Birthday Party!