How to Make a Coronation Cake
Be prepared for all eyes on you when you serve up this magnificent coronation cake!
Decorated in icing and other sweet ornaments, this cake would make a superb idea for a coronation party and will allow you to build up to the big day in style. From assembly to decoration, recreate the iconic coronation crown with the help of our easy-to-follow, step-by-step guide!
Project and instructions by Lucy's Sugar Shack
You will need
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How to make
* A 9” Round Cake (approx. 5” high) on a 12” Round Gold Cake Drum
* A 6” Round Cake (approx. 4.5” high) on a 6” Round Cake Card
* Royal Icing
* Gel Food Colouring - Yellow, Orange and Black
* Renshaw Ready to Roll Icing - White and Purple
* Red Ribbon
* Piping Bags & No.2 Piping Tips
* Renshaw White Flower & Modelling Paste
* A Large Daisy Cutter
* A Bunting Cutter
* Powder Food Colours - Red & Blue
* Lustre Dust - Gold, Silver, Red and Blue
* Cake Dowels
* Greaseproof Paper
* A King Charles III Monogram - Printed
* A Pencil
* A Scriber Needle Tool
* Cake Dowels
* A Fine Paintbrush
* Clear Alcohol
* Kitchen Roll
* A Craft Knife
* Gold Ball Sprinkles
* Cocktail Sticks
* A Ruler
* A Pizza Cutter
Before starting on the cake, make the royal icing transfer of the King Charles monogram – this can be made a few days ahead of time or at the very least the day before so that the icing has time to dry and harden.
Print off the monogram (there are lots on the internet) so that it measures approximately 9cm tall. Take a piece of greaseproof paper and trim to size, so that it is a little bigger than the monogram.
You will also need the 9” cake tin that the cake is to be baked in.
Decant a quarter of the tub of royal icing between 2 bowls. Colour one bowl of icing with black food colouring and the other yellow with a tiny amount of orange to make a golden shade.
Add a few drops of water to the bowls of icing to loosen the icing a little so that it can be piped. Put the icing into 2 separate piping bags fitted with writing nozzles (no.2).
Put the greaseproof paper over the monogram print out, and use the black icing to carefully trace the outline of the monogram – remember to breathe!
Top Tip: We would advise attempting 2 or even 3 monograms in case of any breakages.
Fill in the letters with the golden yellow, using a scriber needle tool to tease the icing into the corners and up to the edges. You will need to stand the 9” cake tin on its side, and somewhere out of the way – you can sit it inside another tin to stop it rolling around.
Lift the piece of greaseproof off the print out template, and rest it on the curved top of the cake tin. This will ensure that the royal icing transfer dries in a curved shape so that it can be fixed to the front of the finished cake.
Leave to dry overnight.
Give the whole cake a crumb coat of frosting or ganache and cover with white fondant icing.
Ensure that you trim away any excess icing.
Once covered in the white fondant icing, wrap red grosgrain ribbon around the base of the cake.
Insert dowels into the cake and trim to size to support the weight of the crown cake on top.
Roll out white modelling paste approximately 2mm thin and use the bunting cutter to cut out 30 triangles.
Make edible paint by mixing powder colours with a little clear alcohol (vodka or clear extract like lemon), and paint on the union flags with a fine paintbrush.
Leave the bunting to dry.
Lay the monogram icing transfer down on a surface and carefully peel back the greaseproof paper. Pipe a little of the remaining yellow royal icing onto the back of the letters and affix to the front of the base cake.
Top Tip: You can paint the letters with gold lustre dust mixed with clear alcohol to make them shine.
Arrange the bunting on the base cake and fix the segments into position with blobs of royal icing.
Prior to the decoration of the second cake, put the 6” cake on a 6” round cake card and give it a crumb coat all over of frosting or ganache.
Put the cake into the fridge for 30-45 minutes to firm up.
Top Tip: Place the cake and cake card on an 8” cake card for ease of moving the cake around.
Roll the leftovers of the white icing into a long thick rope and coil into a ring on top of the cake – this will help to give the crown extra height and shape.
Knead all of the purple icing together until warm and pliable.
Divide into 2 pieces, and roll out one half into an oblong shape, approximately 30cm x 20cm. Brush a little cooled, boiled water over one half of the cake so that the icing will stick to it. Drape the purple icing over one half, encouraging a few drapes and folds over the top to emulate the look of velvet fabric.
Trim away excess icing at the base and sides.
Repeat with the rest of the icing on the other half of the cake.
Top Tip: You need to end with 2 joins, one on either side of the cake – these will be hidden later by the arches of the crown.
To make all of the golden metalwork parts of the crown you will need to switch to using modelling paste.
Top Tip: This has lots of strength and dries hard very quickly – use in small amounts at a time and keep the rest wrapped up in an airtight bag/box to stop it drying out.
Colour the modelling paste with a little yellow food colouring (and a tiny bit of orange) to make a pale golden colour.
Knead the paste well so that it is easier to roll out.
Use a ruler and pizza wheel to cut out a strip measuring 50cm long x 5cm wide and 5mm thick. Wrap this around the base of the crown, securing with a little water on a delicate brush.
To make the 4 arches, cut out 4 strips of paste measuring 20cm long, 3cm wide and 5mm thick.
Have 4 pieces of kitchen towel to hand that have been folded and rolled up to support the arches whilst they dry.
Stick the first arch over one of the joins in the purple icing to hide it. Bend the strip over the top of the cake and secure it in the middle using a piece of kitchen roll to support the arch.
Repeat on the other side of the cake to cover the other join, making sure that the arches are at an angle of 180° from each other. Continue with the third and fourth arches.
Finally, roll a ball of modelling paste to a diameter of 4cm, and stick the ball on the top of the crown where the 4 arches meet.
To make the cross which sits on top of the crown, roll out a small piece of modelling paste approximately 6mm thick and cut the piece into a square measuring 5cm x 5cm.
Use a large daisy cutter to remove a section from each corner and insert a wooden cocktail stick. Leave the piece to harden up, and then this can be inserted into the ball on top of the crown.
Mix up a teaspoon of gold lustre dust with a clear alcohol such as vodka (or a clear extract) to make an edible paint.
Use a flat brush to paint all of the metalwork parts of the crown.
Once this has dried, use a fluffy brush to work in dry lustre dust to enhance the golden sheen.
Decorate the crown with gemstones cut from modelling paste and painted with edible lustre dusts – or you could even use sweets.
You could also fix tiny gold ball sprinkles in place to increase the glamour of the crown!
To make the fur trim at the base of the crown, take an apple sized amount of white fondant icing and use a cocktail stick to drag a few lines of black colouring through it.
Knead the icing to marble the colour through it, and then roll it into a long flat sausage around 50cm in length.
Wrap the icing around the base of the crown, attaching in place with a little water.
Cut off any excess at the back.
Finally, use a veining tool or cocktail stick to score lines into the icing to give the texture of fur.
Craft with us at our workshops
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