How to Make an Uncle Sam Hat Cake

Because America's birthday deserves a little something special.

           

          

By Gabriella Stevens, Good Housekeping

 

Everyone's seen a flag cake — but this impressive and inspiring dessert is next-level. Change up your typical patriotic buffet centerpiece with a unique twist: a fondant layer cake!

Difficulty: Intermediate

Total Time: 2 hours, plus overnight in the freezer

What You'll Need

• any favorite cake recipe
• 3 16- oz packages of powdered sugar, plus extra for the counter
• 2 packages of marshmallows
• 1 teaspoon water
• microwave-safe bowl
• air-tight containers
• blue and red food coloring
• small-sized star cookie cutter
• rolling pin
• frosting of choice
• serrated knife
• plate for decorating
• plate for display
• pizza cutter or scissors

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How to Make the Fondant

STEP 1: Place 5 bags of marshmallows with 1 tablespoon of water into a microwave-safe bowl at 45-second intervals. Continue heating until all the marshmallows are melted.

STEP 2: Start by adding 3/4 of one package of powdered sugar and massage mixture with hands until powdered sugar is completely mixed in. Continue to add more powdered sugar, about 1 to 1 1/2 cups at a time as needed until the mixture no longer sticks to hands or the bowl.

STEP 3: Place the fondant in an airtight bag and then into a plastic container to prevent it from cracking. Keep at room temperature.

How to Make the Cake

STEP 1: Bake any a box cake or your favorite cake recipe in two 9" pans and one 8" pan. Red velvet gives a festive surprise when you slice into the cake!

STEP 2: After the cakes have cooled, level them by using a serrated knife — cut off the tops to make them nice and even.

STEP 3: Wrap cakes in plastic wrap and place in the freezer overnight, or for at least 2 hours if you're short on time.

STEP 4: Remove cakes from the freezer and take off the plastic wrap.

STEP 5: Put a dab of icing of your choice on the middle of your plate that is being used to decorate the cake. This will anchor the cake in place.

STEP 6: Place the 8" cake on the bottom, frost its top, and place the 9" cake on top. Repeat with the next 9" cake.

STEP 7: The cake should look a bit like an inverted triangle. To create the top hat shape and magnify the triangle, reach for the serrated knife to gently trim down the sides of the cake by slanting the knife inward toward the cake. This can be tricky! Be sure not to trim too much, just enough to show the decreasing width from top to bottom.

STEP 8: Using the same frosting, do a crumb coat of the cake. This is just a thin layer of frosting all around the cake so that the fondant will stick and prevent any crumbs from peeking through.

STEP 9: Place the cake back in the freezer to allow frosting to stiffen – about 20 minutes should do the trick. After the 20 minutes, remove the cake from the freezer.

STEP 10: Dye two handfuls of fondant red using red food coloring. Add 3 drops of the food coloring to the fondant and knead with your hands until the color is fully incorporated (wear gloves to keep your hands from becoming discolored). For a darker and more vibrant hue, continue to add the food coloring 2 to 3 drops at a time as needed. Roll out the red fondant and cut into a circle that's bigger than the 9" pan but no larger than the cake plate being used. Place a dab of frosting on the cake plate and place the red circle onto the cake plate or stand. This is the lip of the hat. Roll out the fondant again and cut another circle that can be placed on top of the 9" cake. Set this circle aside.

STEP 11: Take the cake from the decorating plate and place it in the center of the cake plant on top of the red circle.

STEP 12: Using a rolling pin, roll out the white fondant on a surface covered in powdered sugar to prevent sticking and pulling. The fondant should be double the size of the cake so there's enough to play with in our next step!

STEP 13: After the fondant is rolled to about 1/8" thick, lay the rolling pin on the fondant side farthest from you. Flip the fondant over onto the pin and roll toward you until it is all on the pin.

STEP 14: Place the edge of the fondant at the bottom corner of the cake and unroll the fondant over the cake. Cut off any excess pieces using scissors or a pizza cutter.

STEP 15: This next step requires some fast moving. Quickly stretch and rub down the fondant so that it covers all sides smoothly. Start with the top, move down to one side, and then continue to work around the cake.

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STEP 16: Roll out the red fondant into strips about 1/2" wide to create the stripes on the cake sides. Again, remove any excess using scissors. (Note that if the fondant is ever having trouble sticking to the cake, a dab of water can be applied to the back to act as glue.)

STEP 17: Take the previously cut red circle and place on top of the cake.

STEP 18: Dye one handful of fondant blue. Roll out the fondant long enough to fit the circumference of the bottom layer of the cake. This should be about 3/4-to-1" wide. Place the blue band around the bottom layer of the cake.

STEP 19: Roll out the white fondant once more and cut enough stars using a small cookie cutter to be placed around the cake, about 8 to 15.

STEP 20: Enjoy!

 

See More:

• Pound Cake with Pears
• Lemon Angel Food Cake
• Old-Time Fudge Cake