Steampunk Top Hat Cake

This cake was inspired by a good friend of mine. She visited me a few months ago all the way from New York and while she was here she told me about her interest in the steampunk culture. I had seen some steampunk things before and I think they look really cool. So I knew I had to at least try to make a steampunk themed cake. And what is more iconic of the steampunk culture than a top hat? So that's what I decided to make.

Before I started on cake, though, I had to make some hardware. I used circle cutters, a knife and various round piping tips to make some gears or cogs of several sizes. I also made the base of a pocket watch, small rings to act as grommets, a belt buckle, and a watch chain, or at least half of one. I set these aside to dry for two days. 

Then I painted them with bronze edible paint. Basically everything. And I used the paint to make the clock face as well.

Now we can finally get on with cake. I had baked four four-inch round chocolate chip cakes. I filled them with dark chocolate ganache,

placed a very small cake board on the top and carved down to the bottom, tapering out. I had a very hard time with the carving since the cakes were still mostly frozen and because the chocolate was particularly difficult to cut through.

Then I crumb coated the cake with dark chocolate ganache and put it in the fridge to set up.

I got out a small plate about the right size and with gently raised edges to act as the brim of the hat. I brushed a bit of water onto it and covered it with black fondant. 

 

Then I placed it upside down onto the center of my cake and flipped it onto the plate.

Then I rolled out some black fondant and covered the top and the sides of the hat.

Then I cut a strip the same width as the belt buckle, cut it to just longer than the distance around the hat, used the overstitch wheel to give it a stitched texture and made holes in one end with a round piping tip. 

Then I wrapped the strip around the hat and placed my buckle on it making sure to tuck in the end of the buckle tongue into one of the holes. It looked just like a buckled belt!

I rolled a log of black fondant and placed it on the seam along the top of the hat. Then I textured it with my overstitch wheel. The top of the hat was a bit wonky, but it was the best I could do at this point.

I rolled out two thin strips of black fondant and made holes in them using a piping tip again. I used one to cover the seam in the hat and trimmed the top. The other I glued on maybe two inches to the left and trimmed it the same way. I did notice that they had two different numbers of holes, but wasn't overly concerned because they were both trimmed to be flush with the top of the hat. 

Next I added the bronze circles I had made beforehand to all the holes.

Then I used my clay extruder to make the black laces. I dabbed a bit of edible glue into opposite holes and laid a length of extruded fondant into the holes, tucking in the ends with the handle of a paintbrush.

Then I placed the cogs onto the sides of the cake. These were placed fairly randomly. I did cut one in half that had turned out lopsided so you couldn't see the unevenness.

Finally, I placed the pocketwatch on the top to cover up the wonkiness. I carefully placed the chain nearby. 

And I realized I had forgotten to paint the hands on the watch. So I painted the hands on and touched up the bronze paint elsewhere as well.

And our steampunk hat cake is finished. I'm so proud of this cake. It's very detailed and lovely. It really reflects the steampunk culture and is super fun. 

This is for you, Rachel.

 

 To watch the whole process on our YouTube channel, click here: https://youtu.be/2ehxeorcCfA
Um das ganze Prozess auf YouTube zu schauen, klickt hier: https://youtu.be/5JsH8mKxgCs