Home » Character Cake Designs » Animated Character Cakes » Ariel and Other Mermaid Cakes

190+ Coolest Homemade Ariel and Other Mermaid Cakes

Take a look at these cool homemade Ariel and other mermaid cakes shared with us by cake decorators from around the world. Along with the birthday cakes here, you’ll also find loads DIY birthday cake-making ideas and how-to tips to inspire your next birthday cake project. Enjoy!

And don’t forget… if you end up with a cool cake, have great tips to share or pictures of awesome birthday cakes you’ve made in the past, share them here and be a part of our coolest birthday cake community.


Latest Mermaid Cakes



Featured Mermaid Cakes

Little Mermaid Cake by Melissa S., Perth, Western Australia

Coolest Little Mermaid Cake Ideas and Photos

I made this Ariel cake for my nieces third birthday She loved it. After searching for the perfect Little Mermaid cake I finally found this site and got some great ideas.

This is a simple butter cake recipe made in a round bowl. The doll is a bought Ariel doll but I removed her legs to fit in the cake. The tail is made from rolled mini marshmallows which give an awesome effect of scales.

Little Mermaid Cake by Lori W., Plainfield, IL

The Little Mermaid Cake Photo

This little mermaid cake was carved out of a 9in round and a 9in. square cake. All is edible except the bra “cups” which are made from a mini candy cup cut in half and the face which is a plastic face from the doll making section of the craft store. I made this cake for my sister-in-law’s birthday about three years ago. This cake spawned a home-based cake and cookie business and since this cake I have made nearly 100 cakes.

Little Mermaid Cake by Jenn S., Wallingford, CT

The Little Mermaid Cake Photo

I just finished a beginner’s cake decorating class and learned a lot! I decided to use a mermaid theme for my final for my class because my 2 year old daughter is really into mermaids etc.

I used a Wilton wonder mold for the top half of this little mermaid cake and a professional 9″ round for the bottom, using two box mixes, one in each pan. After the cake cooled, trimmed the bottom 9″ to fit the wonder mold and just stuck the Barbie into the center of the two cakes. I made a small cut in the cake before inserting the Barbie to prevent the cake from cracking.

I used buttercream tinted in all shades and a star tip to make the mermaid’s body. I just tried to use my imagination and my daughter was delighted when she saw it!!! Also try different tips for different things…example I used the grass tip to make the purple sea urchins on the side of the cake and lots of icing on the sides to form waves…I also used edible sparkles…they make the cake look so beautiful!

Little Mermaid Cake by Karen R., Sterling, VA

The Little Mermaid Cake Photo

This little mermaid cake is similar to other’s doll cakes where you bake a cake in a Pyrex bowl, but I also baked an 8 inch round to put under the bowl cake and then used a real Ariel doll with tinfoil around her legs.

The bowl cake is not deep enough by itself for a real Barbie-sized doll. I used Wilton icing colors and put Ariel on a rock with blue and white icing waves crashing up onto it. Her tail was layered to look like scales and I adorned the rock with seashells, starfish and urchins. Flounder found a place near the waters edge too. I added five candles later, two on one side and three on the other that went into the rock around her tail.

Little Mermaid Cake by Traci F., Dannebrog, NE

The Little Mermaid Cake Photo

I made this Little Mermaid Cake for my daughters second birthday. I used a Wilton doll cake bowl. It came with a doll that has no legs and you put it on a stick in the center of the cake but I wanted the doll to look like Ariel so I took off the dolls head that it came with and placed Ariel’s head off a doll I purchased on clearance from the disney.com web site.

I used a two layer cake mix box and a butter cream frosting recipe. I frosted the top of the cake grey to act as a rock she is sitting on and then the bottom half of the cake blue to represent the ocean. I made seashells with cream and pink frosting, her tail with teal green frosting and sea creatures with purple frosting. I used a variety of Wilton tips to make each part. It was fairly time consuming to make but turned out cute. my daughter loved her Little mermaid cake!

Little Mermaid Cake by S. Collins, Halifax, Nova Scotia

The Little Mermaid Cake Photo

For this little mermaid cake I used a sheet cake 9X13 and a loaf for the rock. I cut the loaf ends and placed it on the corner of the sheet. I iced the loaf a grey color. I layered white sky blue and a bit of teal on the sheet cake and swirled the colors together.

Then I used a bit of piping gel tinted blue and swirled that on top. I covered the Barbie legs with fondant and when it was dry I layered scales on. For the edges I did blue and white swirls to look like waves.

Little Mermaid Cake by Patricia G., Surrey, BC

The Little Mermaid Cake Photo

I made this little Mermaid cake for my daughter’s 6th birthday. It is made of a Pyrex bowl with a Barbie pick inserted. I used fondant for this cake. The tail is totally made of fondant with scales carved in with an apple corer.

HINT: I found it really easy to color fondant in a kitchen aid mixer. Soften and cut into pieces works really well. Along with these cakes were a dozen cupcakes with sea creature picks inserted into butter icing. The kids loved that.

The Little Mermaid Cake Photo

Little Mermaid Cake by Janelle R, Sherwood, OR

The Little Mermaid Cake Photo

I first saw this cute little mermaid cake recipe on a Family Fun web sight. I knew my little girl who was turning 5 would love it. It was perfect for her whole Little Mermaid “under the sea” theme.

I first baked the chocolate cakes and cupcakes the night before then cut out the cake on a large board covered with foil. Then I covered the whole cake with a thin plain white layer also called a crumb layer (which I am so glad I did!) then I made the flesh color with a drop of brown dye and a drop of yellow color. I though it gave a little golden tone to her.

I used teal for the fin and a whole bottle of red with a drop of brown coloring for her hair. I mixed blue and red for her little top. I used the frosting as glue to hold her together. I also used butter cream frosting from the cake shop along with their food color. The colors darkened a little after they set.

Then I topped the little mermaid cake off with a little eatable glitter. We drove with it to the Children’s Museum with little damage so it’s pretty durable. I would only recommend giving yourself plenty of time to frost it that’s my only complaint it’s not as neat as I’d liked it to be because I had to rush.

Little Mermaid Cake by Carrie O., Batesville, IN

The Little Mermaid Cake Photo

I saw something like this little mermaid cake on another website and thought it was too cute. I prepared two cake mixes and baked them in a bowl big enough to put the mermaid doll down in.

I just decorated it to make it look like she was on a rock in the water adding seaweed and flowers for a bit more flare. I did sprinkle edible shimmer flakes on her tail to make it look a bit more realistic.

Little Mermaid Cake by Joy R., Lake Wales, Fl

The Little Mermaid Cake Photo

I purchased the mermaid at a local store. I used an 18 inch round pan for the base and a six inch round for the island. It has basic butter cream frosting all over then put on the piping. The “water” is a gel icing. I used Swedish fish candies (sea life) to put on the little mermaid cake.

Little Mermaid Cake by Carrie J., Forest Grove,OR

The Little Mermaid Cake Photo

My daughter had a Mermaid/Pirate Party for her fourth birthday, so I searched the internet and found some cakes similar to this little mermaid cake for inspiration.

I made a cake using a “layered” cake pan that we got at a garage sale. I put that cake on a foil lined pizza pan and frosted it with grey frosting. I used homemade frosting (recipe at bottom), colored with Wilton concentrated gel color. I frosted the pan around the little mermaid cake with blue frosting, making sure to “make waves.”

To make the mermaid, I just wrapped a Barbie’s legs with plastic wrap, cut the fin out of cardstock paper, and taped the fin to the legs. Then I sat the Barbie on the cake and used a leaf tip to cover her legs. I started on her waist and went back and forth, all the way down to her ankles, and covered the end of the fin too. The fin ended up being pretty heavy, so it’s supported with a rose nail and a broken chopstick. I used the Wilton 21 Star tip for her shells, with a pearl made from a tiny round tip (Wilton 3) in the middle. I also used this tip for her pearl necklace. I made drop flowers on the rock and used the leaf tip for the seaweed. I think that’s it.

Grandma Orton’s Frosting, 3 egg whites, 3/4 cup Crisco, 1/2 t salt, 1 t almond extract, 2 lbs powder sugar, 1/4 c milk

Beat egg whites until stiff. Add the Crisco, salt, and almond flavoring. Add the powder sugar and the milk. Beat on high until light and fluffy. Don’t leave out. Store in the refrigerator.

Little Mermaid Cakes by Faith B., Etters, PA

The Little Mermaid Cake Photo

My original inspiration for a little mermaid cake came from this site. After about an hour of looking at other cakes I really wanted to try a mermaid cake. I used the Pampered Chef bowl and a single layer 9inch round cake for the base and stuck the Barbie in the top.

I cream colored frosting which was a good base for the “sand beach” my mermaid was going to sit on. I used marzipan for the tail octopus and clam shell. Then frosted it the colors requested by my four year old. I finished the sandy beach look with crushed graham crackers and pink sugar to add a little sparkle. My daughter loved it which was my only goal and it was also a hit at her party.