Fairy Tale Princess Cake Recipes

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Grease and line a deep 15cm round cake tin, making sure the lining is higher than the top of the tin. Grease and base line a 1 litre ovenproof glass pudding basin.
• Using electric beaters or a tabletop mixer, beat the butter, sugar, vanilla and ¼ tsp salt together until pale and fluffy, then pour in the eggs, one at a time, giving the mix a really good beating before adding the next. Add 1 tbsp of the plain flour if the mix starts to look slimy rather than fluffy. Beat in the yogurt.
• Mix the flours; then, using a large metal spoon, fold them into the batter, and spoon into the prepared tin and bowl. The mixture will come almost to the top. Place the bowl and cake tin on a baking tray. Cook in the oven for about 1 hour 40 to 1hour 50 mins. Allow the cakes to cool completely.
• To make the butter icing, put the butter into a bowl and beat well until softened. Gradually beat in the icing sugar. Trim the tops of the cakes level. Slice the pudding basin cake in three and the 15cm cake in half. Using a 5cm round cutter, stamp out the centre of each piece of cake.
• Place one half of the 15cm cake on a cake board. Spread with a little butter icing and place the other half on top. Spread a little icing on this layer and top with the widest layer of the basin cake. Repeat with the other layers. Spread the remaining butter icing all over the assembled cake.
• Take 250g white fondant icing and roll out into a long strip about 7cm wide. Press the edge gently with a teaspoon to give a frilled effect or use a ball tool. Attach to the base of the cake, pushing gently onto the icing.
• Roll out the pink icing to a large circle about 36cm in diameter. Cut a hole from the centre using the 5cm cutter. Cut away just under an eighth section of the icing. Drape the icing over the cake, making the join at the back. At even intervals push up the pink fondant to create a swagged look.
• Spray the cake lightly with the edible lustre. Take the doll and wrap the legs in plastic film. Place the doll in the cake. The top of the cake should come to hip not waist level. Using the trimmings, roll out an oblong of pink icing and wrap around the body of the doll to make the bodice. Smooth the bottom of the bodice onto the top of the skirt.
• Roll out some white fondant and cut out a 9cm circle using a fluted or flower cutter. Cut a small circle from the centre of this and then split one side and place around the waist of the doll, cutting away any excess. Use the remaining white icing to make a large bow and place at the back of the dolls waist.
• Make up the royal icing according to pack instructions. Using a piping bag fitted with a small plain nozzle (or use a strong plastic bag and cut off the tip), pipe around the edge of the pink skirt. Attach a rose to the top of each swag. Pipe three lines of dots just above the roses going up the dress.
• Pipe across the top of the bodice and half way down the front. Using the icing attach a sugar butterfly to the top of the bodice and one large sugar rose at the waist.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease four 8-inch springform pans and line with parchment paper.
• Combine 1 cup plus 6 tablespoons butter and sugar in a large bowl; beat with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Sift flour in gradually and add the vanilla extract, beating until smooth. Distribute batter evenly between the 4 prepared pans.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean, 25 to 35 minutes. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes. Remove rings and transfer cakes to wire racks. Cool completely before decorating, about 1 hour.
• Cut out a 2-inch hole from the center of each cooled cake using a round cutter of glass, large enough for the doll to fit through.
• Glue cake board onto a revolving cake stand using a small amount of frosting. Spread 2 tablespoons of frosting on the cake board and lay the first cake on top. Repeat with remaining cake layers, aligning the holes in the center; cake should reach the hips of the doll. Insert 4 straws 1/2 inch from the hole, piercing all the way through the layers, to add stability. Cut off the ends of the straws sticking out from the cake with scissors.
• Measure 1/2 inch from the top edge of the cake using a ruler, rotating the cake and making marks with a skewer. Trim off the edge at an angle to create a dome-shaped skirt.
• Color 2/3 of the vanilla frosting in a bowl with a few drops of pink food coloring. Frost entire cake with a thin layer of frosting, including inside the hole in the center using a thin spatula. Refrigerate cake for 30 minutes to 1 hour to set the first coat.
• Fill a piping bag with a large flat tip with frosting. Pipe frosting around the cake, working from the bottom up, until it is fully covered. Immerse a long icing spatula in hot water and dry thoroughly with a kitchen towel. Smooth frosting with the warm spatula for a polished, smooth finish. Repeat process until frosting is smooth. Chill cake in the fridge for at least 1 hour and up to overnight.
• Wrap the doll's legs with plastic wrap and insert doll into the hole, adding frosting to the hole if necessary to keep the doll in place.
• Divide remaining frosting into different bowls and color pink, green, and/or leave some white. Use the skewer to trace where you intend to pipe any patterns, bows, or other design elements over the frosting.
• Fit a small star tip on a piping bag and fill it with white or light pink frosting. Holding the bag almost perpendicular to the cake, make rows of small stars for the front of the dress. Work from the bottom up. Pipe more stars directly onto the doll from the waist up to make the top of the dress.
• Use a ruffle tip to create ruffles, ribbons, and bows. Use a small star tip to create rosettes all over the skirt of the dress. Use a leaf tip with green icing to add leaves. Keep completed cake in the refrigerator until serving.