This is another cake order from work for a Barbie cake. I've never made one before but I've been wanting an opportunity to make one especially after my AlphaBakes co-host Caroline made one for my birthday last year. Unfortunately all didn't go to plan and I had to improvise and hope for the best. Luckily the birthday girl was pleased and on reflection, it really doesn't look too bad. I used Nigella's old fashioned chocolate cake recipe which is my go to chocolate cake recipe.
I used a cutter to cut out little flowers 2 days ahead so that it had time to dry. 
I baked 2 sponges - 1 in a glass bowl and another round cake for the base 
This is the 'glass bowl' cake 
I used the bowl as a guide to trim the round cake to the same size
I used a cookie cutter to cut out a hole in the centre for Barbie's legs 
I made some pink vanilla buttercream icing and used it to sandwich the layers together
My first mistake was not using a smaller cookie cutter to cut out the middle of the top layer which is why my Barbie is leaning. I also realised too late that Barbie has really long legs! The cake only came up to her thighs instead of her waist as planned so I had to put extra icing on her body. 
I cut out a triangle shaped piece of white fondant to create her underskirt
I used the same flower cutter which I gently pressed into the fondant to create an impression 
I stuck lots of flowers all over her dress including a row on either side of her skirt. I also used a scallop tool to create a pattern on the bottom of her skirt
Remember to wrap Barbie's legs in cling film before placing her in the cake 
Here's the finished version 
The birthday girl wanted a '6' on her cake so I placed it on the front of her dress 
I placed a row of white flowers to create a waistline and added more flowers to her dress to create a pattern
You can see how Barbie is leaning back here 
View from the back 
another side view finished cake 
