How to construct a Barbie cake

Pinterest has a way of making you feel invincible.  I'm sure I'm not the only one who looks at a project lined out on there and says "Oh that's so SIMPLE!'  Then truth sets in and you feel like a big fat failure.  This is how my initial stab at The Barbie Cake went.  After two failed attempts at baking two identical round cakes with the perfectly sized center missing, I scrapped the idea and baked two bunt cakes.  (Strawberry Sour Cream Pound cake, to be specific because I made them the day prior to the party JUST IN CASE we had flop #3 and I needed them to be perfectly moist and dense, and how better to ensure that than a pound cake?)

I placed the two cakes together, top to top.

Trim the edge off of the top to make a rounded "skirt".  Being as hindsight is 20/20, in the future I'll shave the sides down as well, so that the top cake is more narrow than the bottom.

Cover with icing, leaving or filling in the gap, however you'd prefer.  I left mine to give the effect of a ruffled dress. This step calls for 2 batches of icing and a cold beer of your choice.  I paired mine with a Michelob Ultra Lime Cactus.

I added a chevron stripe with metallic silver rock crystals after drawing the zig zag line into the frosting with a fork, giving me a guideline,

Finally, stuff your Barbie into the center, then fill the empty space with strawberries, lining the top, and wait for the endless oohs and aahhs from every little girl you encounter!

xoxo,

Lauren