I'm wondering if any of you bakers out there can help me. I volunteered to make a doll cake for my granddaughter's First Communion. I have the Wilton Wonder Mold (which holds 5-6 cups of batter), but don't want to use a boxed mix or a shortening based icing. I plan to buy a little doll, so as not to horrify her with the bifurcated pick doll that came with the pan, but I'm really in need of a good cake and decorating icing recipe (she likes chocolate) and any decorating tips veterans might have. I'm half-inclined to wiggle out of this, but really would love to surprise this darling seven year old. Can anyone advise? Many thankks.
Doll Cake help, please!
- Thread starter gretasmom
- Start date
HI There, I have made a doll cake through the years and always have used a pyrex...
bowl and a recipe for butter cake.
Now I'd happily offer the recipe but I don't know if my cake recipes work so well with the American flour...never had either a good nor a bad report on the few cake recipes I've posted
Anyway, I make the butter cake and fill the rounded glass bowl.
Then, once the caked is baked, I remove the legs from the doll...(usually a new barbie) and after making a small hole in the center of the upside down cake I set the doll in.
I've used royal icing in various shades to ice the dress, usually sticking to one colour highlighted with white makes more of a WOW outfit.(Pink dress, blues , greens, yellows) The green one turned out especially good).
I ice in whatever pattern I take from an open colouring book or if the sprog has brought me a picture of her favourite princess.
I ice a bodice up and over the shoulders of the doll too. Then using silver baubles I decorate the dress, sometimes the hair and once a wrist with icing and baubles.
One child wanted coloured sprinkles down the front panels of the dress. This did not work as well as hoped. The sprinkles pooled on the board at her feet, so we picked a few ixora flowers and broke them into wee florets and there, she had a carpet of flowers and sprinkles to walk on.
I always use a butter cake for the birthday cake center piece as it is a firmer cake, tastes good and can be frozen. We offer other cakes as well if the occassion calls for them.
Have fun.
bowl and a recipe for butter cake.
Now I'd happily offer the recipe but I don't know if my cake recipes work so well with the American flour...never had either a good nor a bad report on the few cake recipes I've posted
Anyway, I make the butter cake and fill the rounded glass bowl.
Then, once the caked is baked, I remove the legs from the doll...(usually a new barbie) and after making a small hole in the center of the upside down cake I set the doll in.
I've used royal icing in various shades to ice the dress, usually sticking to one colour highlighted with white makes more of a WOW outfit.(Pink dress, blues , greens, yellows) The green one turned out especially good).
I ice in whatever pattern I take from an open colouring book or if the sprog has brought me a picture of her favourite princess.
I ice a bodice up and over the shoulders of the doll too. Then using silver baubles I decorate the dress, sometimes the hair and once a wrist with icing and baubles.
One child wanted coloured sprinkles down the front panels of the dress. This did not work as well as hoped. The sprinkles pooled on the board at her feet, so we picked a few ixora flowers and broke them into wee florets and there, she had a carpet of flowers and sprinkles to walk on.
I always use a butter cake for the birthday cake center piece as it is a firmer cake, tastes good and can be frozen. We offer other cakes as well if the occassion calls for them.
Have fun.
sandy-in-baltimore
Well-known member
Here is my suggestion
I make 2 doll cakes for my granddaughters every year for their Birthdays. It has become a Tradition, the girls really lok forward to them. Every year they tell how that want the dolls to be dressed. The cakes have been:Soccer Players, Cheerleaders, last year my older Granddaughter was Bat Mitzvaed and I used a picture of her dress for the evening and copied that. Now you have to understand that I am not artistic and do no other decorated cakes, though one year I did do a Winnie the Pooh. Now here is what you will have to do. Go to EBay and do a search for a Darling Dolly cake pan.I have had mine for 13 years and I don't think they are still made, tho you might try going to the Wilton web site and they may be making a formed girl pan under a different name. The one I use comes with a suggested picture of how to dress her (very simple) and you will wind up with more cake.
I hope this helps. My scanner isn't working or I would send you a picture. Send me a Private Message if you would like. (sandygram@verizon.net)
I make 2 doll cakes for my granddaughters every year for their Birthdays. It has become a Tradition, the girls really lok forward to them. Every year they tell how that want the dolls to be dressed. The cakes have been:Soccer Players, Cheerleaders, last year my older Granddaughter was Bat Mitzvaed and I used a picture of her dress for the evening and copied that. Now you have to understand that I am not artistic and do no other decorated cakes, though one year I did do a Winnie the Pooh. Now here is what you will have to do. Go to EBay and do a search for a Darling Dolly cake pan.I have had mine for 13 years and I don't think they are still made, tho you might try going to the Wilton web site and they may be making a formed girl pan under a different name. The one I use comes with a suggested picture of how to dress her (very simple) and you will wind up with more cake.
I hope this helps. My scanner isn't working or I would send you a picture. Send me a Private Message if you would like. (sandygram@verizon.net)
sandy-in-baltimore
Well-known member
Re: Doll Cake!
If you have too much batter...make cupcakes
If you have too much batter...make cupcakes
I fill the bowl to about 1/2 an inch from the top but then I know how this batter rises....
if you use a bowl you could always make a collar as you would a souffle. Then after wards if the batter has risen that much you could level off where you want it to. I use a recipe that makes a cake for 12. I have also baked this in a metal round bowl. This bowl made an interesting shaped dress as it is flat at the bottom. So when inverted the doll was placed in the center of this flat area. Then I iced the flat area back of the doll into a sort of bustle shape. It was the green doll and turned out into quite an elaborate dress.
if you use a bowl you could always make a collar as you would a souffle. Then after wards if the batter has risen that much you could level off where you want it to. I use a recipe that makes a cake for 12. I have also baked this in a metal round bowl. This bowl made an interesting shaped dress as it is flat at the bottom. So when inverted the doll was placed in the center of this flat area. Then I iced the flat area back of the doll into a sort of bustle shape. It was the green doll and turned out into quite an elaborate dress.
Bifurcated pick doll! Ha! I've provided a link to the Riviera Bakehouse
...the owners who wrote "The Whimsical Bakehouse".
One of their specialities is doll cakes. The photo with the barbie uses two basic 8" round pan layers topped with a rounded bowl pan. That would allow you to put the entire doll in the cake....and give you room to decorate.
Does you granddaughter have favorite colors? I can see chocolate for the cake, but decorating it with chocolate icing wouldn't leave much room for creative decorating..unless her favorite character is Cruella De Ville.
Cake batter: I LOVE the batter from epicurious for "Double Chocolate Layer cake". It bakes/freezes/slices/decorates very nice. Big crumbs, though, so you do have to do a crumb base first with the icing.
Or...even simpler...I've been making cakes with ricotta cheese and box mixes that turn out moist, delicious and amazingly home-made tasting.
Ricotta Cake Mix Cakes:
1 box chocolate or yellow cake mix (the type WITHOUT a stick of butter as an added ingredient)
1 2-lb tub of ricotta (either whole or FF; I've used both)
4 eggs
1 C sugar
1 tsp vanilla.
Mix dry cake batter and remaining ingredients. Bake in greased/floured pans at 350 until toothpick comes out clean. I've been making this in 13x9" pans and it takes an hour to bake. Layers would take less, but I'm not exactly sure how long. NO ONE has figured out that these cakes have been made from mixes yet.
Sometimes I add a cup of mini-semisweet chips to the batter as well. This would certainly be a lot less work than making the batter from scratch.
http://www.geocities.com/rivbake2/frame_cakes.htm
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/101275
...the owners who wrote "The Whimsical Bakehouse".
One of their specialities is doll cakes. The photo with the barbie uses two basic 8" round pan layers topped with a rounded bowl pan. That would allow you to put the entire doll in the cake....and give you room to decorate.
Does you granddaughter have favorite colors? I can see chocolate for the cake, but decorating it with chocolate icing wouldn't leave much room for creative decorating..unless her favorite character is Cruella De Ville.
Cake batter: I LOVE the batter from epicurious for "Double Chocolate Layer cake". It bakes/freezes/slices/decorates very nice. Big crumbs, though, so you do have to do a crumb base first with the icing.
Or...even simpler...I've been making cakes with ricotta cheese and box mixes that turn out moist, delicious and amazingly home-made tasting.
Ricotta Cake Mix Cakes:
1 box chocolate or yellow cake mix (the type WITHOUT a stick of butter as an added ingredient)
1 2-lb tub of ricotta (either whole or FF; I've used both)
4 eggs
1 C sugar
1 tsp vanilla.
Mix dry cake batter and remaining ingredients. Bake in greased/floured pans at 350 until toothpick comes out clean. I've been making this in 13x9" pans and it takes an hour to bake. Layers would take less, but I'm not exactly sure how long. NO ONE has figured out that these cakes have been made from mixes yet.
Sometimes I add a cup of mini-semisweet chips to the batter as well. This would certainly be a lot less work than making the batter from scratch.
http://www.geocities.com/rivbake2/frame_cakes.htm
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/101275
I have been quite happy with Rose Levy Beranbaum's recipes. Adapted MOUSSELINE BUTTERCREAM
MOUSSELINE BUTTERCREAM adapted from Rose Levy Beranbaum by Sarah Phillips
Makes 4 1/2 cups - enough to fill and frost 2 9-inch x 1 1/2 layers or 3 9 x 1-inch layers
This buttercream may seem tricky to make, but once made holds up better than any other European type buttercream; it is quite stable in 75 degree F weather. "Its light and smooth and incredibly easy to work with. It is soft enough for beautiful shell borders yet strong enough to pipe roses" and can be tinted and flavored. It's like "Butter whipped into a fondant".
The recipe starts out thin and lumpy looking and about three-fourths of the way through, it starts to come together or emulsify and turn into a luxurious cream.
The temperature of the butter is important - use butter that is 65 degrees F. If it is too soft or the room too hot, the buttercream turns thin or into a grainy, hopeless puddle. If the mixture does not feel cool, refrigerate it until it reaches 65 to 70 degrees F. If the butter is too cold, then suspend the bowl over a pan of simmering water and heat very briefly, stirring vigorously when the mixture just starts to melt slightly at the edges. Dip the bottom of the bowl in a larger bowl of ice water for a few seconds to cool it. remove and beat by hand until smooth.
INGREDIENTS
1 pound unsalted butter (65 degrees F - softened but cool - not runny, greasy or soupy)
1 cup (200 grams) sugar
1/4 cup (60 grams) water
5 large (150 grams) egg whites, room temperature
1/2 + 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon liquor of choice or optional flavorings below
A stand mixer works best, using the whip attachment for the eggs and switching to the paddle when you start adding the butter (to reduce unwanted air bubbles when icing the cake), and you'll need a candy thermometer.
INSTRUCTIONS
In a mixing bowl beat the butter until smooth and creamy and set aside in a cool place.
Have ready a 2-cup heatproof large glass measuring cup near the stove. LIGHTLY spray the inside with nonstick vegetable oil spray.
In a small heavy saucepan, under medium-high, boil 3/4 cup sugar and the 1/4 cup water, stirring constantly, until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is bubbling. Stop stirring and reduce the heat to low. (If using an electric range remove from the heat.)
With a stand mixer, using another mixing bowl and fitted with a WHISK attachment, beat the egg whites until foamy, add the cream of tartar, and beat until soft peaks form when the beater is raised. Gradually beat in the remaining 1/4 cup sugar until stiff peaks form when the beater is raised slowly. Simply turn off the mixer.
Increase the heat and boil the syrup until you get bubbles all over the surface, the syrup starts to look thicker and the Candy Thermometer registers 248°F to 250°F (the firm ball stage). Immediately transfer the syrup to the glass measure to stop the cooking. Do not scrape the bottom of the saucepan to get the last remains of the syrup.
Fit the mixer with a PADDLE attachment (not a whisk attachment.) Turn on the mixer, holding the stiff egg whites, to high. Start drizzling the sugar syrup, in a thin stream, into the contents of the bowl directly from the glass measuring cup. Aim for the space between the side of the bowl and the moving beater attachment. Do not hit the beater; the syrup will get caught in the beater and/or spin onto the sides of the bowl where they will harden, and will not get mixed into the egg whites, ruining the recipe with pieces of hardened sugar in your meringue.
Continue with the remaining syrup, gradually pouring it into the beaten meringue. For the last addition, use a rubber scraper to remove the syrup clinging to the glass measure. Lower speed to medium-high and continue beating up to 2-3 minutes to start to cool the mixture. (Feel the side of the bowl. It will feel really warm. You want to cool the mixture down before you add the butter. If not completely cool, continue beating on medium speed - no lower. Keep feeling the side of the bowl to help you gauge the temperature of the mixture. Keep beating until the mixture cools completely, taking about 5 to 10 minutes. At this stage, you have made Italian meringue. It should be glossy and thick, and very stiff. If not, start over.
Beat in the butter at medium speed 1 tablespoon at a time. After the first few tablespoons have been added, the mixture will seem thinner, but keep adding in butter slowly and beating because the meringue will thicken beautifully by the time all the butter is added. If at any time the mixture looks slightly curdled beause the butter is too cold, increase the speed slightly and beat until smooth, and then lower the mixer speed before continuing to add more butter.
Sarah Says: Italian Meringue Buttercreams are an emulsion between fat and water. When you add butter to the mixture, the temperature of the butter and whipped egg whites need to be pretty close. If the butter is colder than the egg white mixture, the beaten egg whites will curdle. If the egg whites are too hot, the butter will melt, thinning the mixture. Either place the mixture in the fridge to cool it down or warm up the egg whites by increasing the beating speed.
Lower the speed slightly and drizzle in the liquor. Don't use more than 1 teaspoon or the recipe's emulsion will break. Place in an airtight bowl. Rebeat lightly from time to time to maintain silky texture. Refrigerating the mixture to firm the fat in the butter and then rebeating helps to fluff it up, too. Buttercream becomes spongy on standing.
Will keep 10 days refrigerated, 8 months frozen. Allow to come to room temperature completely before rebeating to restore texture or it will break down irretrievably.
Variations after making the main recipe, you can beat in:
Chocolate: Beat in 5 ounces of melted and cooled bittersweet chocolate
White Chocolate: Beat in 6 ounces of melted and cooled white chocolate
Fruit: Beat in up to 3/4 cup lightly sweetened fruit puree (strawberry or raspberry) or orange, passion, lemon or lime curd.
Nutella (by S Phillips): Beat in 5 ounces of room temperature Nutella
Adapted from The Cake Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum
Happy Baking911, Sarah Phillips, Founder and President, baking911.com - And, Housewife in the Suburbs....
Buy my cookbook, Baking 9-1-1, Simon & Schuster, 2003 ~ Read my blog (Yawn!)http://www.baking911.com/asksarahbb/index.php?showtopic=913
MOUSSELINE BUTTERCREAM adapted from Rose Levy Beranbaum by Sarah Phillips
Makes 4 1/2 cups - enough to fill and frost 2 9-inch x 1 1/2 layers or 3 9 x 1-inch layers
This buttercream may seem tricky to make, but once made holds up better than any other European type buttercream; it is quite stable in 75 degree F weather. "Its light and smooth and incredibly easy to work with. It is soft enough for beautiful shell borders yet strong enough to pipe roses" and can be tinted and flavored. It's like "Butter whipped into a fondant".
The recipe starts out thin and lumpy looking and about three-fourths of the way through, it starts to come together or emulsify and turn into a luxurious cream.
The temperature of the butter is important - use butter that is 65 degrees F. If it is too soft or the room too hot, the buttercream turns thin or into a grainy, hopeless puddle. If the mixture does not feel cool, refrigerate it until it reaches 65 to 70 degrees F. If the butter is too cold, then suspend the bowl over a pan of simmering water and heat very briefly, stirring vigorously when the mixture just starts to melt slightly at the edges. Dip the bottom of the bowl in a larger bowl of ice water for a few seconds to cool it. remove and beat by hand until smooth.
INGREDIENTS
1 pound unsalted butter (65 degrees F - softened but cool - not runny, greasy or soupy)
1 cup (200 grams) sugar
1/4 cup (60 grams) water
5 large (150 grams) egg whites, room temperature
1/2 + 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon liquor of choice or optional flavorings below
A stand mixer works best, using the whip attachment for the eggs and switching to the paddle when you start adding the butter (to reduce unwanted air bubbles when icing the cake), and you'll need a candy thermometer.
INSTRUCTIONS
In a mixing bowl beat the butter until smooth and creamy and set aside in a cool place.
Have ready a 2-cup heatproof large glass measuring cup near the stove. LIGHTLY spray the inside with nonstick vegetable oil spray.
In a small heavy saucepan, under medium-high, boil 3/4 cup sugar and the 1/4 cup water, stirring constantly, until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is bubbling. Stop stirring and reduce the heat to low. (If using an electric range remove from the heat.)
With a stand mixer, using another mixing bowl and fitted with a WHISK attachment, beat the egg whites until foamy, add the cream of tartar, and beat until soft peaks form when the beater is raised. Gradually beat in the remaining 1/4 cup sugar until stiff peaks form when the beater is raised slowly. Simply turn off the mixer.
Increase the heat and boil the syrup until you get bubbles all over the surface, the syrup starts to look thicker and the Candy Thermometer registers 248°F to 250°F (the firm ball stage). Immediately transfer the syrup to the glass measure to stop the cooking. Do not scrape the bottom of the saucepan to get the last remains of the syrup.
Fit the mixer with a PADDLE attachment (not a whisk attachment.) Turn on the mixer, holding the stiff egg whites, to high. Start drizzling the sugar syrup, in a thin stream, into the contents of the bowl directly from the glass measuring cup. Aim for the space between the side of the bowl and the moving beater attachment. Do not hit the beater; the syrup will get caught in the beater and/or spin onto the sides of the bowl where they will harden, and will not get mixed into the egg whites, ruining the recipe with pieces of hardened sugar in your meringue.
Continue with the remaining syrup, gradually pouring it into the beaten meringue. For the last addition, use a rubber scraper to remove the syrup clinging to the glass measure. Lower speed to medium-high and continue beating up to 2-3 minutes to start to cool the mixture. (Feel the side of the bowl. It will feel really warm. You want to cool the mixture down before you add the butter. If not completely cool, continue beating on medium speed - no lower. Keep feeling the side of the bowl to help you gauge the temperature of the mixture. Keep beating until the mixture cools completely, taking about 5 to 10 minutes. At this stage, you have made Italian meringue. It should be glossy and thick, and very stiff. If not, start over.
Beat in the butter at medium speed 1 tablespoon at a time. After the first few tablespoons have been added, the mixture will seem thinner, but keep adding in butter slowly and beating because the meringue will thicken beautifully by the time all the butter is added. If at any time the mixture looks slightly curdled beause the butter is too cold, increase the speed slightly and beat until smooth, and then lower the mixer speed before continuing to add more butter.
Sarah Says: Italian Meringue Buttercreams are an emulsion between fat and water. When you add butter to the mixture, the temperature of the butter and whipped egg whites need to be pretty close. If the butter is colder than the egg white mixture, the beaten egg whites will curdle. If the egg whites are too hot, the butter will melt, thinning the mixture. Either place the mixture in the fridge to cool it down or warm up the egg whites by increasing the beating speed.
Lower the speed slightly and drizzle in the liquor. Don't use more than 1 teaspoon or the recipe's emulsion will break. Place in an airtight bowl. Rebeat lightly from time to time to maintain silky texture. Refrigerating the mixture to firm the fat in the butter and then rebeating helps to fluff it up, too. Buttercream becomes spongy on standing.
Will keep 10 days refrigerated, 8 months frozen. Allow to come to room temperature completely before rebeating to restore texture or it will break down irretrievably.
Variations after making the main recipe, you can beat in:
Chocolate: Beat in 5 ounces of melted and cooled bittersweet chocolate
White Chocolate: Beat in 6 ounces of melted and cooled white chocolate
Fruit: Beat in up to 3/4 cup lightly sweetened fruit puree (strawberry or raspberry) or orange, passion, lemon or lime curd.
Nutella (by S Phillips): Beat in 5 ounces of room temperature Nutella
Adapted from The Cake Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum
Happy Baking911, Sarah Phillips, Founder and President, baking911.com - And, Housewife in the Suburbs....
Buy my cookbook, Baking 9-1-1, Simon & Schuster, 2003 ~ Read my blog (Yawn!)http://www.baking911.com/asksarahbb/index.php?showtopic=913
Doll Cake Redux
Thanks everyone! I went out to look for a small doll this afternoon, but only found Big Tall Barbie, so I'll either have to put her on another cake, or lop her toes off (ouch) if I use the Wilton pan. I wonder why I've gotten myself in a state about this. Hopefully, I'll have a photo to show everyone. If it turns into a mess, I'll 'fess up.
Thanks everyone! I went out to look for a small doll this afternoon, but only found Big Tall Barbie, so I'll either have to put her on another cake, or lop her toes off (ouch) if I use the Wilton pan. I wonder why I've gotten myself in a state about this. Hopefully, I'll have a photo to show everyone. If it turns into a mess, I'll 'fess up.
