Barbie Cakes: a Brief History of a Surging Trend

Jun 25, 2023

Is the Barbie cake poised for a pop culture comeback?

Just as pink outfits weren't exactly out of vogue before Barbiecore became a trending hashtag, what became a Barbie cake predates the doll, much less the film Barbie. Still, Greta Gerwig's adaptation of the iconic toy could lead to a surge in Barbie cakes— or Dolly Varden cakes or princess cakes, depending on whom you ask.

First, a little historic context. Dolly Varden's a young, stylish woman from Barnaby Rudge, a Charles Dickens novel penned in the 1940s and set during the Gordon Riots of 1780. Varden became synonymous with high society and high fashion. Her colorful garb inspired Dolly Varden cakes, which began as desserts mimicking the colorful, flowing, floral-patterned outfits worn by the character. Somewhere along the way, a baker stuck a doll inside a cake which intentionally resembled a polonaise overskirt. To be clear, the dolls are wearing the cake as a dress, not standing atop the icing like a wedding cake topper.

By the '60s and '70s, Barbie had become so popular that the Mattel brand became a generic term for all fashion dolls. Barbie-themed birthday bashes inevitably got enveloped into a preexisting creative and edible project that required baking, stacking and decorating a cake that's shaped like a ballgown, with a doll wearing a buttercream frosting top to match its delicious skirt.

Baking tins to simplify a project that looks more in the video above like taking up pottery than mastering confectionary art made parents' lives simpler while allowing companies to cash in on Barbie fever.

In the 21st century, Disney princesses' popularity have matched —or even eclipsed— that of Barbie. Thus, Elsa and other characters entered a cake centerpiece lineage that went from Dolly Varden cakes to Barbie cakes and, in its most recent evolution, princess cakes. Of course, "princess" gets used in some instances instead of Barbie for copyright reasons, not as a shunning of the brand. In each incarnation, creations ranged from high art to modest creations by a patient and crafty parent or grandparent.

Foc Kan/WireImage

With Barbie now at the center of adult's nostalgia kicks and forever on the pinkest toy aisle's shelves, she might be able to wrestle doll cake priority away from princesses. Whether it's for children's birthday parties or millennials' '90s-themed events, Barbie cakes may reemerge as the belle of the ball.