Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Happy 30 b-day to me! with a Doll Cake.

I like birthdays. I've always like them. Mine, family, friend's, strangers, early birthdays, belated birthdays, unbirthdays. I like them all. Don't know why. Perhaps it's because it's a celebration of that individual and their life.

So, now I'm 30 and really happy about it. The 20's were awesome, the teens had their good parts, my first decade started off heavenly and quickly went 'splat', but there were some shining moments. I can honestly say, life has just gotten better & better. I'm very much looking forward to the rest of it!

One of my favorite parts about birthdays is the cake!
"Ooh! CAKE! Everybody likes cake!" -Eddy Murphy in 'Shrek'


I've had some truly nifty cakes.
The kitty cake
The shoe cake
The bunny cake
The tea pot cake (though this wasn't for a birthday)
and a lot of cake-cakes of varying degrees of niftyness.

But around age 10, and not consistently, I started making my own birthday cakes. This was after the bunny cake fiasco (which involved coconut not just on the outside which was removable, but also baked in, which made me very sick for the rest of the day).
Not only did making my own cake make it my own fault if I got sick, but I got exactly what I wanted in a birthday cake. This may take 'if you want something done right, do it yourself' a little too far for some folks, but I made my own wedding clothes too.


With all those cool cakes the one thing I never had was a doll cake. I always wanted a doll cake. But not one of those cheesy round 50's ball-gown-ish monster-frosting cakes. And I never knew how to even begin making one until I watched a few episodes of Charm City Cakes, Amazing Wedding Cakes & Cake Boss. I never knew cake could be carved!


So off I go on my doll cake adventure!
Cheep-o fashion doll. Check
Fake flowers. Check
Baby powder. Check
Cake mix. Check
Frosting. Check (so I thought, had to go get another one)
Silver platter. Check
Food coloring. Check



I washed the doll & dressed her hair a la' 18th century. Pinned a few flowers in & then powdered the heck out of it. Thankfully baby powder sticks to nylon hair quite well and was still powdered after I tapped most of it off.
Baked 2 cakes & cut to size, glued them together with frosting and set the doll inside. Had to add a bit to get the dress up to her waist.
Frosted the bottom & then frosted her top so she was actually wearing a dress, not just a skirt.
Piped on yellow with a little purple & called her done!

She may not win any awards, but she was exactly what I wanted.

2 comments:

Gail Kellogg Hope said...

btw. If you make this type of cake for a little girl, buy another doll for her to keep. DO NOT try to keep the doll in the cake. They tend to mold & stink... even if you detach arms & legs & wash like crazy.

So I suggest buying the cheep-o doll for the cake & the real Barbie for the gift.

Anonymous said...

Ooooh - that is amaaaaaazzziiiiiiing! You're very good :) Thank you for sharing and happy birthday!