Recipe: Dolly Varden Cake by Baked in Space’s Natasha Mavros

This story appears in our July 2025 Nostalgia issue, presented by Up, where we asked 13 professional bakers to recreate cakes from the iconic The Australian Women’s Weekly Children’s Birthday Cake Book.

I am deeply loyal to Swiss meringue buttercream to line, fill and decorate my cakes as it is a delicately light buttercream. However, I understand not everyone has the time or equipment to attempt this in their own kitchen, so here’s an alternative method that some may argue is even better. It will elevate any cake you make – including the classic Dolly Varden.

The butter you use plays an important role in taste and texture, so please do purchase a high quality butter for this recipe.

Russian buttercream ingredients

500g unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cans condensed milk (790g altogether)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Russian buttercream method

Place butter in medium-large bowl. Using a stand or handheld mixer, whip butter on medium to high speed, scraping down the bowl when necessary. Continue whipping until butter is almost white (about 4 minutes).

Next, add both cans of condensed milk and whip on medium speed until it comes together and resembles the same texture as Swiss meringue buttercream, firm but silky smooth.

Once you are happy with the consistency of your buttercream, add in the vanilla extract and mix until combined.

I like to scrape down the bowl at this stage to ensure all elements are combined. You may also use your paddle attachment to remove any air bubbles.

Assembling the cake

Bake cake according to the original instructions. (I found my Dolly Varden cake tin at Spotlight.)

Once cooled, use a serrated knife to slice cake into four layers. Sandwich together with Russian buttercream (or filling of your choice) then remove the centre of the cake so you can place the doll inside.

Using a Mondo cranked spatula or similar, apply a thin layer of buttercream as a “crumb coat” then chill for at least 10 minutes in the fridge.

Place cake on turntable for decorating.

Using a large round piping tip (like the Wilton 1A or larger), pipe on your design to form soft spikes all over the skirt. I finished with an airbrush for colour – for home bakers it’s probably easier to tint your buttercream different colours before applying. (Colour Mill has a big range of Australian-made options.)

Add sugar pearls and butterfly cake toppers for extra decor if desired. You can find similar here.

If you’re up for the challenge, I recommend watching this explainer vid from Preppy Kitchen for more tips on how to bake and decorate a cake and how to fill and use a piping bag.

The Dolly Varden cake recipe first appeared in the The Australian Women’s Weekly Children’s Birthday Cake Book, published in 1980.