A Very Special Cake Created Especially for Her Majesty The Queen

At Renshaw we’re excited to reveal something that’s been months in planning, weeks in the making and (what will only probably take) hours in the eating. We’ve partnered with expert cake crafter (and Royal Cake Expert of choice) Fiona Cairns. After appreciating Fiona’s fantastical Royal Wedding Cake for Prince William and Kate, The Duchess of Cambridge, 2 years ago, we decided she was the perfect choice to the make the Queen’s Coronation Cake, celebrating her 60 year reign.

When we start to plan a cake, we tend to create a mood board with colour, shape and technique ideas and then a drawing to bring all the ideas together. Above you can see Fiona’s drawing for her initial concept, and below you can see that the finished cake royally reflects the original idea.

The finished cake is completely covered with Renshaw sugarpaste ready to roll icing and marzipan. Intricate detailing includes piping with Royal icing, hand modelled roses and hand painted modelled features.

The diamond shape was piped by hand with Royal icing and it’s the symbol of the coronation festival.

The crowning glory of the cake is an edible replica of the Sovereign’s Orb. It represents the Monarch’s role as Defender of the Faith and Supreme Governor of the Church of England. The Queen held the orb at her Coronation in 1953. The orb has taken a modern twist with hand piped pearls, jelly gems and gold painted icing.

At Renshaw, we’re deeply proud of our British heritage and felt the cake should feature the countries of the British Isles. In the photos above, you will see flowers of the four nations; English rose, Scottish thistle, Welsh daffodil and the Irish shamrock. Each flower is hand modelled from sugarpaste and marzipan.

The cake also showcases design features from the Coronation Coach and the abstracted Fleur de Lys inspirations from the crown.

Adding a touch of sparkle to the cake, are glorious glinting gold crowns, which are caste icing and hand painted.

The prospect of constructing a 5 (or 6 if you include the cross!) layer cake may seem like a daunting prospect, so we’ve gathered together 3 top cake decorating tips from our experts on where to start if you’d like to create your own coronation cake.

3 Top Tips For Creating Your Own Coronation Cake

1. Design

Write a brief outline, make a spider diagram or draw a sketch of your cake before you begin. Take inspiration from everywhere and don’t stop planning until you’re happy.

2. Technique

There are 3 main techniques used in our Coronation Cake, requiring different skills. Take a look through our blogs for guidance on cake decoration, from button and bows to people.

3. Modelling

Roses are the easiest of all modelling techniques, yet look mightily impressive. Try crafting these and adding as cake or cupcake toppers in a contrast sugarpaste colour for extra impact. Take a look at our guide on modelling flowers for step-by-step instructions.

What will you be making in celebration of the Coronation?