“One Bowl” Elsa Doll Cake Tutorial + Disney Frozen Party Ideas

Bubbles celebrated her 4th birthday back in February.  I had big plans of sharing the entire thing with you at that time, but we were all sick both prior to and following her birthday, so sharing the details kind of slid to the back burner.

As she’s getting older now and definitely has her own opinion on things, I let her choose her own party theme this year.  We looked at some different options online and in the stores, and in the end she (unsurprisingly) chose a Frozen theme.  And once we had decided on Frozen, I knew I wanted to try my hand at an Elsa cake.

Elsa Doll Cake Tutorial

I’ve seen those cute doll cakes a number of times, and I figured this was a great chance to give one of my own a try.  There are a lot of different methods out there, and most of them involve multiple pans.  I wanted to simplify it a little, and I was able to get the process down to just needing one bowl to bake in.

Supplies:

2 boxes cake mix + ingredients listed on back
glass batter bowl
Elsa doll with removable skirt
prepared frosting (I like the Wilton buttercream recipe)
blue food dye

Tutorial:

Wrap a cutting board or cake form in aluminum foil; set aside.

Prepare the first cake mix according to the box instructions.  Spray the inside of the batter bowl with cooking spray, lightly dust with flour and then pour in the batter.  Bake in the center of a 325 degree oven for about 60 minutes.  Remove from oven and let cool in bowl on a wire cooling rack for 15 minutes, then invert onto the rack and let cool completely (I let mine cool overnight).  Repeat with the second mix.

While cakes are cooling, prepare the frosting according to the directions (or use your own favorite buttercream recipe).  Tint with blue food coloring until you achieve the color of Elsa’s dress (hold your doll up to the frosting to try and get a close shade match).

Once both cakes are completely cooled, trim the bottom of each cake flat.  Cut a small circle out of the middle of each piece of cake, about 1.5″ wide.  It needs to be just big enough to fit the doll’s legs into it.

Next, cut about 2″ off the bottom of one of your cakes.  Spread the slice with frosting then take the second cake and place it on top of the slice, creating the shape of the doll’s dress.

Frost the entire cake, using extra frosting to fill in any gaps or bumps, until you have a smooth dress.  Remove the doll’s skirt and wrap her leg in plastic wrap, then side her down into the center of the cakes.  Finish smoothing the frosting up to the doll’s waist.

At this point, my daughter came into the room and started bouncing around excitedly.  I hadn’t told her the kind of cake I was doing, and my husband had managed to keep her entertained in another room up until then.  I was getting ready to add some piping to do ribbons and snowflakes on Elsa’s dress, but my daughter wanted it left just the way it was.  I did manage to get some blue decorating sugar patted onto her dress here and there to give her a little glitter.

I finished by piping a few snowflakes on the board, and then making a “snow drift” in one corner to add her candle.  It was much easier than I thought it would be!  And once the cake is gone, you’ll have an extra gift for the birthday girl.

I decorated the table and the house with (affiliate) Frozen birthday party supplies Bubbles helped me pick out online.  Tablecloth, centerpieces, a wall banner, latex balloons, mylar balloons, plates, cups and more.  She was thrilled with her party and cake, and every time she grabbed one of our guests by the hand and said, “Come see the Elsa doll cake Mama made! It’s so beautiful!” it made me so happy that I had put a little extra effort into her cake.

For whom would you make an Elsa doll cake?