Sunday, May 20, 2012

Regal Jubilee Crown Cake

Well it's only two weeks until the Queen's Jubilee and I for one can't wait for a right royal knees up! Even if you're not a Royalist, it's a good opportunity for a get together. So to celebrate Her Majesty's 60 years on the throne I thought it would be appropriate to celebrate with a Jubilee themed cake.

The cake design is by Fiona Cairns, who made the Royal wedding cake no less. I just happened to see it online a couple of weeks ago and decided that I'd like to give it a go...possibly a bit gungho at that point!
So how is was it made? Well firstly the cake inside is made up of four 8" Victoria sponge layers, sandwiched together with buttercream and raspberry jam. The stack was then chilled to make it a bit firmer for carving. The top edges were carved to give a smooth curve and then the cake was tapered down to a 6" cake drum.

I love the colour of the sugarpaste for this cake,  Renshaw's amethyst paste...and it's the perfect colour to add a regal touch to the crown. To create the gold strips, it is just sugarpaste painted with a mixture of edible gold dust and dipping solution (alcohol). However, to make the ball and cross, I mixed the sugarpaste with some CMC the night before to make it really firm, otherwise the cross wouldn't stay up there on it's own.
To add the finishing touches, a 'fur' trim was created around the base...this is made out of priceless Fox's glacier mints, which were given an almight bash with a rolling pin...it's actually harder than you think to break a Fox's glacier mint! Then the little pearls were stuck on with royal icing, as were the jelly diamonds...I may have been a little cross-eyed after all that sticking! But the result...a crown fit for the Queen!
This month Homemade by Fleur is hosting a Blogging Jubilee Baking Competition so I think this is the perfect entry, what says Jubilee better than a Coronation crown. The competition is sponsored by Appliances Online.
Today is also World Baking Day and I couldn't resist joining in with a little 'Caking'. Check out the World Baking Day website if you want to find out more but it involved me taking my cake for a little walk and taking a picture of it in an unusual place! Here is the result, it drew more than a couple of strange looks from passersbys but the Royal Mail postbox goes perfectly with the Royal cake!
I hope you enjoy your Jubilee celebrations...God Save the Queen!

34 comments:

  1. Wowsers! That looks amazing! I like your caking pic too!

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  2. I just love it. That is hat I call a cake fit for a queen!!

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  3. That is awesome! I'm thinking Freddy Mercury strutting around a Wembley stage with it... :)

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  4. OMG! Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful!!!! Well done you!

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  5. Oops, I'm entering that exact cake into Fleur's competition too, but I'm not making it until the actual jubilee weekend as it's my mum's birthday! I doubt mine will turn out as good as yours though, and I don't think I want to try balancing it on a postbox, that was very brave of you!

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  6. oh my - what a work of art! Love how you've used jelly sweets for the jewels. Nicely carved sponge too - god you're talented!

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  7. Wow! What a great cake. Looks fab and really impressive. Well done!

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  8. I've just noticed as well how many pearls you've stuck on it, that must have taken you hours! Very impressed.

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  9. Oh my goodness, what a labour of love - the work that you put into that cake - amazing! So much detail, love the jelly diamonds, the gold sugarpaste strips and all those intricate little pearls - so so clever! and I absolutely love the fact you put it on top of the postbox for your unusual shot! It fits the theme perfectly and I can only imagine the funny looks you got for doing it haha!

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  10. Fabulous and I love your picture - the very typically English postbox is such a perfect setting for your magnificent cake! X

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  11. Wowzers! What an amazing cake.  I LOVE it.  You are soooo clever Laura.  I am thrilled to be hosting a Jubilee Baking Comp as I am getting to see such wonderful creations. x

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  12. What a elegant and yet whimsical cake! The final photo is a delight!

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  13. This cake is Ace! it must have taken ages

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  14. Simply amazing Laura! Truly a work of art.
    Love the colours :D

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  15. So beautiful! I will definitely make a cake like this. I will make it for my father, that I truly love very much!!

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  16. What a stunning cake! Absolutely amazing! Well done again , Laura! :)

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  17. Marvellous !!
    What a beautiful and fantastic cake and I love the postbox photo.

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  18. This is amazing Laura, massive claps for this one!! Well done. xx

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  19. That is really impressive - I love the colour, and that picture of it on top of the postbox is hilarious!

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  20. I saw this cake online and yours looks EXACTLY like the picture so well done!! I am super impressed. Love that last photo! I would have been so worried about the cake toppling over after all that effort!

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  21. wow your incredible talented cake decorator, so impressive...Love it, diffidently fit for a queen : )

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  22. I've just stumbled upon your blog and what a beautiful cake! I'm a follower now I hope to see you at mines as well : )

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  23. Wow just brilliant! Good job! That cake looks amazing! Great picture too!

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  24. Thanks for all your kind comments! I haven't been brave enough to cut into it yet. Might have the #caking bug now...I really wanted to take it to Buckingham Palace for a photo shoot! :-)

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  25. This is actually amazing - you have perfected the art of cake decoration my friend - beautiful job :)
    I think personally, this would be much more fun to wear (and eat :D)

    Cheers
    Choc Chip Uru

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  26. OMG I saw the image on twitter but I did not realise it was yours - I should have known! Amazing job - truly.

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  27. Your cake is AMAZING!!! I'm gobsmacked! I love it!

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  28. WOW! This is amazing! You are sure to win with this cake. I'm so very impressed. Did it take very long to create? I love the purple icing too. And a spot of 'caking' too. Perhaps all post boxes need a crown cake for the jubilee weekend! :) x

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  29. What an amazing cake Laura! Really, truly regal! And I love the caking photo too...

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  30. Thank you for shsring. I'm giving this s go. All baked and crumb layer of icing on and in fridge now. Ready for purple icing tomorrow - this is where it will go wrong! Hope mine looks half as good ad yours!

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  31. How exciting! I'm so glad you're making one...I'd love to see how you get on...I'm sure it'll be great! :-)

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