How to Decorate a Mermaid Cake

Creating a mermaid-themed cake requires some creativity. Piping a whole figure out of frosting would require a lot of skill and time. However, by using a doll dressed like a mermaid, you can save yourself a lot of time and frustration. Begin with an ocean-inspired cake. Then, you can nestle in the mermaid in a fitting pose and context. Mix ocean and pirate imagery on the cake for effect. Put a treasure chest decoration next to the mermaid. Incorporating one or two human elements into the overall design will help make the ocean theme seem more mermaid related.

Things You'll Need

• Prepared cake batter
• Cake pans
• Small doll in mermaid costume (Barbie-sized doll)
• Frosting
• Dye or food coloring (blue and green)
• Offset spatula
• Piping bag and decorating tips
• Platter or cake stand
• Fish-shaped candy

Instructions

1. Bake and thoroughly cool the cake in your shape and size of preference. Prepare the icing, and dye it while you wait for the cake to cool. You will want blue or green icing at minimum. Depending on how detailed you want the finished product to be, you may want other colors for coral, plant life, fish or rocks.

2. Assemble the cake.

3. Frost the cake your chosen ocean color. Pipe decorative icing or place some other embellishment along the edges. Small beads of white icing, representing pearls or bubbles are a nice touch. There are also edible decorating pearls you can buy for this same purpose. The pearls would also work well if placed as bubbles throughout the cake.

4. Add oceanic detailing. Pipe long, flat, green stripes for seaweed. Add large, jagged, gray boulders, or narrow, orange branches of coral. Remember the other ocean creatures, such as starfish.

5. Pipe frosting or apply fish-shaped candy to give the mermaid some underwater company. You can also use gummy sharks or dolphins.

6. Add some pirate-themed embellishments to connect your mermaid with her human side. Place an open treasure chest to the side, letting jewelry and coins spill out.

7. Nestle the mermaid into the cake on top or the side. Wherever you place her, incorporate her into the cake. If you just stick her to the side with little else around her, it will look like an ocean cake with a doll to the side. Overlap some of the decorations with the doll, to better combine her with the edible elements.

Tips & Warnings

• If you don't have a doll in a mermaid costume that can be used for the cake, take a bare doll and make mermaid fin and clothing out of green Fruit Roll-Ups. They have a luster similar to that of mermaid costumes. They are also inexpensive, and their sticky quality means that a firm press of your fingers should be all that's required to seal the costume on her body.

References

• Betty Crocker: Mermaid Cake
• Wilton: Miss Mermaid Cake