A friend had stated months ago that for her birthday next summer she wanted a garden party that looked like a french film with a long table under a tree, set with lace table cloths, flowers, nice china, spectacular food and she wanted her guests to wear big floppy hats… So when she invited me to dinner this weekend I decided to let her know that we have not forgotten her fantasy… and I made a cake that (tried to) look like a floppy straw hat.
To make the shape , I baked one large round cake and one small bowl shaped one. I chose a carrot cake because mine holds its shape well, and tastes great.
While it cooled, I made the marzipan flowers to decorate it. They are much easier to make than appears. After shaping a small cone, you shape the petals one by one by pressing small balls or marzipan into your hand until they have a somewhat circular shape and you stick them onto the cone one by one, going around the cone a few times. You can turn them back a little to give them a more open look.
To make the brim of the hat undulate a bit, I carved out a piece in a wave fashion….it was semi successful… Finally to imitate the look of straw, I added orange and lemon zest to the icing, which also gave it a nice fresh flavour. Finally to do the ribbon and bow I rolled out some more marzipan, cut it in a ribbon and fashioned a bow with the remnants.
Looks brilliant, Eve. You’re very creative with food, I’m sure your friend will greatly appreciate this.