Barbie Birthday Cake

Follow the directions on the back of the cake mixes to make the cake batter. Divide the cake mix into four bowls and add food coloring to each bowl so you have four colors. Mix food color in and bake cakes in round pans; let cool and then chill the layers.

Next, cut each cake in half and start layering it like a rainbow, iced between each layer as you go. Cut down the top edges of the cake to form a dress, and do a crumb coat (thin layer of icing). Re-chill the cake for an hour.

Making the buttercream icing:

In a large bowl, cream the butter with an electric mixer. Add vanilla. Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl often. When all the sugar has been mixed in, icing will appear dry. Add milk and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy. Keep the icing in the refrigerator.

You can take a few drops of each food coloring and color the white icing any color you like. Add more drops for a darker color.

Ice the entire cake with white icing. This gives you a nice smooth base coat to start your decorating on.

Cut a small cylinder out of the middle. Wrap the ‘naked’ Barbie in plastic wrap from the waist down and stick the doll into the center of cake.

Time to decorate! I used a cake decorating kit my mom has with all the tips. I made up my own design using my daughter’s name in four panels: S-A-R-A. I made the outside of the panels first, then did the block letters. After that, I filled in with the different-colored icing.

When you cut into this cake, it is so beautiful with all the colored cake layers.