How to Decorate a Diva Cake

Make your friends and party guests feel like royalty by serving a diva cake at your next party. While it's possible to purchase professionally decorated cakes at specialty bakeries, it's fairly easy, inexpensive and fun to decorate a diva cake on your own. One popular and easy way to turn an everyday cake into a glamorous designer treat is by decorating your cake to resemble a fancy purse or handbag.

Things You'll Need

• Cake mix
• Round baking pan
• Serrated knife
• Icing
• Frosting
• Licorice

Instructions

1. Make a cake batter. You can purchase a ready-made cake mix from the grocery store or prepare your own cake batter using a family recipe.

2. Pour no more than half of your cake batter into a round baking pan. The batter should be about 1 or 2 inches deep. Save the second half of your cake batter to make a second layer for your diva cake.

3. Bake the first cake layer according to your recipe. When it's done, allow it to cool completely on a cake rack.

4. Bake the second cake layer using the remaining batter.

5. Lay your two cake layers on top of each other and trim away a quarter of the cakes using a serrated knife. Imagine you're cutting the face of a clock. Slice an even, straight line between 4 and 8 o'clock. Discard the trimmings.

6. Spread a thin layer of icing along the bottom of one of your cake layers. Lay the other cake layer on top, as if you're making a cake sandwich. The two layers should be stuck together.

7. Stand the parallel cake layers up next to each other with the trimmed side facing down, towards your serving dish. The cake should now have the basic shape of a stylish handbag.

8. Use a knife, rubber spatula or cake airbrushing kit to apply a base layer of cake icing. Pick a color that would work for a fancy diva purse, such as hot pink.

9. Use a frosting bag to add details to your purse. Copy the design of an expensive designer purse or invent a design of your own. Try using decorative candy pieces to create polka dots.

10. Use licorice to create a handle on the top of your purse.

11. Look for more decorating tips at Baking911.com (see Resources below).

Tips & Warnings

• If you don't have a decorative cake stand or serving dish for your diva cake, try spray-painting a pizza box. Choose a festive color like pink or yellow.

• Decorate your serving dish with costume jewelry or Mardi Gras beads for that extra diva touch. A costume or hobby shop can give you lots of great, inexpensive ideas for ways to further decorate your diva cake.

Resources

• Creative tips from Baking911.com