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Winter hat cake – recipe for fancy knit hat cake
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Winter hat cake / knit hat cake

The winter hat cake tastes incredibly creamy, airy and moist. With its unique look, it is a winter eye-catcher on the dining table and is ideal for the Advent days. With this recipe you can make such a fancy cake yourself without any special confectionery skills.
Course Dessert
Prep Time 50 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Cooling time 10 hours
Servings 10

Equipment

  • round salad bowl – top Ø 20 cm large, volume approx. 1.6 l
  • star nozzle open Ø 8 mm

Ingredients

for the sponge cake

  • 6 eggs
  • 135 g sugar
  • 140 g flour
  • 8 g vanilla sugar
  • 1 pinch of salt

for the cake cream

  • 400 g cream cheese cold
  • 300 g cream cold
  • 200 g caramelized sweetened condensed milk cold
  • 8 g vanilla sugar

for the cream for decorating

  • 400 g cream cheese
  • 265 g mascarpone
  • 160 g cream
  • 150 g powdered sugar

Instructions

Preparation of the sponge cake

  • Beat eggs, sugar, vanilla sugar and salt until light and fluffy.
  • Fold in the flour to make an airy, thick sponge mixture.
  • Spread half of the batter evenly on a baking sheet lined with baking paper and bake the sponge cake in a preheated oven at 190 °C top and bottom heat for about 10 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, spread the remaining batter on a second baking sheet lined with baking paper and bake the second sponge cake directly after the first one, also at 190 °C top and bottom heat, for about 10 minutes. Let the two sponge cakes cool down.
  • Line the salad bowl with plastic wrap so that the wrap hangs outward.
  • Cut sparingly, at the edge of the sponge cake layers three circles in the size of approx. Ø 18 cm, Ø 16 cm and Ø 14 cm each.
  • Cut the leftover sponge cake layers into long strips about 3 cm wide.
  • Spread the sponge cake strips close together in the salad bowl so that the bowl is completely covered with them (see pictures at the top of the post), and then cut off the ends of the sponge cake strips that are above the edge of the bowl.
  • Gather the sponge cake scraps, wrap them in an airtight container, and set them aside for now.

Preparation of the cake cream

  • Whip cream with vanilla sugar until creamy.
  • Add cream cheese and whip until homogeneous.
  • Add caramelized sweetened condensed milk and whip again to a homogeneous cream.

Preparation of the cake

  • Pour about 1/3 of the cake cream (enough cream to fit the smallest round sponge cake base when placed on top of the cream) into the salad bowl with the sponge cake strips and place the Ø 14 cm sponge cake base on top (see pictures at the top of the post).
  • Spread about half of the remaining cream on the smallest sponge cake base in the bowl and place the second largest (Ø 16 cm) sponge cake base on top.
  • Spread the remaining cream on the second sponge cake base in the salad bowl and place the last largest (Ø 18 cm) sponge cake base on top.
  • Cover the top of the bowl with the plastic wrap and refrigerate the cake for about 8 hours or overnight.

Preparation of the cream for decorating

  • Whip cream cheese, mascarpone, cream and powdered sugar to a firm cream.

Decorating the cake

  • Put about 1 tablespoon of cream in a small bowl, gradually add as much sponge cake scraps until you get a well moldable mass (like for cake pops).
  • Form a ball out of the sponge mixture.
  • Take the cake out of the fridge in the salad bowl, remove the cling film from the top, place a flat plate on top of the bowl and invert the cake onto the plate. Carefully remove the salad bowl and plastic wrap from the cake.
  • Spread a thin layer of the decorating cream on top of the dome cake, place the sponge cake ball on top center of the dome and spread it with the cream as well.
  • Fill the remaining decoration cream into the piping bag with the star nozzle and pipe any knitting pattern on the cake.
  • Chill the cake for about 2 hours.

Notes

  • Do not bake the sponge cake longer than necessary or it may become brittle and not bend. Use a toothpick to check if it is baked.
  • You can adjust the amount of powdered sugar for the decorating cream to taste.
  • Detailed instructions on how I decorated my cake are here at the top of the post.
  • Note the detailed tips and tricks for making the winter hat cake at the top of the post.