Mermaid princess

Preheat oven to moderate, 180°C. Lightly grease a 10-cup dolly vardin pan. Dust with flour, shaking out excess.

Prepare cake mixes following packet instructions. Spoon into pan, smoothing top. Bake 70 minutes, until cooked when tested. Cool in pan 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Trim base to sit flat and transfer to cake board or plate.

Partially knead blue colouring into 500g fondant to create swirls. Roll out between 2 sheets of baking paper to a 4mm thick round to cover cake. Brush top and sides of cake with jam. Lift icing onto rolling pin and drape over cake. Gently press down with floured hands, folding at base to create waves.

Cut a hole in top of cake and insert top half of doll.

Knead purple colouring into 250g fondant. Shape a mermaid tail (use inverted cake pan to get width of waist), score to create scale pattern and brush with glitter. Secure to cake with toothpicks, if required. Allow to dry and set firm.

Halve remaining fondant. Knead orange and pink colouring into each half until smooth.

On a lightly dusted surface, roll orange fondant into a thin log shape, cut to various lengths and pierce with a skewer to create "coral". Arrange around cake.

Roll out pink fondant between 2 sheets of baking paper. Using a small star-shaped cutter, cut out "starfish". Arrange around doll's waist and cake base with animals.