The Floral Hat cake- fit for a queen occurred to me after making wafer paper flowers. For some unknown reason I thought about Queen Elizabeth and all the beautiful hats that she wears.

This cake is a chocolate cake with buttercream frosting covered in fondant and topped with fragrant ( lemon extract) wafer paper flowers. Follow the steps and you too can have a cake fit a queen!

Recipe for the chocolate cake

Steps to make the Floral Hat cake

For this cake, I used 3 chocolate cake layers ( 9×3) that I had in the freezer. I would recommend using 7×3 round cake pans. If you are starting off with a freshly baked cake, make sure that the cake is completely cooled. I would suggest to place the cake in the freezer to make sure it is not warm and also aid with the cake crumb from crumbling as much when carving the cake. Cool to cold cakes are easier to carve.

Since the cake was larger than what I wanted. I first placed a 7 inch round cake pan on top to guide the first cut. Once happy with the overall size of the cake, I began carving into the sides to bring them in.

Note: this is a messy job. I place kitchen garage bags under the turntable the cake is on to catch all the crumbs. It makes for an easy clean up.

Once happy with the overall shape, the cake was crumb coated with buttercream frosting

The crumb coats will set ( becomes firm to touch) in about 20-30 minutes. Once it sets, it is time for the fondant.

What is Fondant?

Fondant is a type of icing used to cover, decorate and sculpt cakes. Though made with sugar it does not have the sweet creamy texture or taste of buttercream. The texture is much like play-doo.  Its stiffness allows for it to be rolled out thin to cover a cake, or shaped into a variety of shapes. Kneading fondant makes it soft and playable.

Decorating the Cake

I decided that I wanted the Floral Hat- Fit for a Queen to be purple in color, but not a solid overall.

I added purple food coloring to the white fondant and and kneaded it in. Using the rolling pin to combine the color and disperse the color giving it a marbled effect.

Note: with continued kneading, all of the fondant would have been purple. Additionally, instead of coloring the fondant, it can be purchased in a variety of colors.

After the fondant has been colored, it is time for a arm work out. The fondant starts out a bit stiff, but quickly softens up. Roll the fondant out to about 1/4 inch in thicknest and large enough to cover the whole cake. Measuring the height of the sides of the cake along with the top. Roll the fondant out to the needed measurement to cover the cake.

This cake measured 7 inches tall by 7 inches wide. So ,I rolled out the fondant to accommodate ( 7x7x7cake for the north to south side of the cake and 7x7x7 for the east to west orientation of the cake. I added a couple of inches to ensure that the fondant would completely reach the cake all the way around the cake. This resulted in rolling out the fondant to approximately 24×24.

Using a fondant tool, smooth out the top and sides. Lift the fondant and smooth as the sides get covered. Cut off excess fondant and continue to smooth.

Adding the Bow

Cut a stripe of fondant about 2 inches wide times the circumstance of the center of the cake. Apply the band with a dab of water. Apply the strands of the bow to the band.

Form a band of fondant into a bow shape by bringing the ends up to the center and snitching. Apply a dab of waterloo adhere the ends to the center of the bow. Allow the bow to dry out lying on its side on the work surface.

Note: – Fondant will stretch when wet. If this occurs, use a knife to cut the excess out. – The cake was placed on a new cake plate that was covered in white fondant before adding the bow

Adding the Flowers to make the cake a Floral Hat – Fit for a Queen

It would not be a Floral Hat cake without beautiful wafer paper flowers. Go to how to make wafer paper flowers for the detailed instructions for making these beautiful flowers. https://mymeasuringcup.com/wafer-paper-flowers/

Completing the bow

When the fondant for the bow loops has set, apply a dap of water and set the bow. For added support until the fondant has completed dried out and harden, toothpicks can be used to prevent the loops for sagging.