Eager to celebrate the luck of the Irish? Try these adorable, tasty, and truly easy Dublin Derby Mini Cake hats!
As soon as I spotted these mini cakes on our website, I knew I wanted to try them. To start, I generously greased the mini ball pan with cake release and then filled each of the cavities 2/3 full. I baked the cakes for approximately 18 minutes at 350 degrees.
In order to help the mini cakes lay flat, I trimmed a little bit of cake off the bottom after the cakes were cool. I then prepared the mini cakes for fondant by lightly icing them with Wilton’s buttercream recipe. I added 2 capfuls of butter flavor to the buttercream (my family is addicted to it and they don’t even know it 
).
I tinted white fondant green to use for the hat. When covering the cakes with the top layer of green, I did not worry about what the ends would look like because they were going to be covered with the black brim anyway!
Also, as you can see, I added way too much black icing color when preparing the fondant hatband. (I added 1/3 of the black icing color for 1/3 of the fondant.) This was not the smartest idea; you will not need that much to make black fondant. You might also want to wear food-safe gloves when tinting fondant.
Tip: cut a 5-inch diameter circle out of a paper plate. This template helped me to trace the hat brim.
To make the curves in the brim, I placed cotton balls under the brim for a few minutes. Then I removed the cotton balls to allow room to place the black fondant hatband around the brim. After the hatband was attached, I put the cotton balls back under the brim for about an hour, just so the shape would hold.
For the hatband buckles, I tinted white fondant with yellow icing color, then cut the pieces with a paring knife. I attached the buckles to the hats with a damp brush.
Once the details were finished, I trimmed the end of the Shamrock Foil Fun Pix® by an inch and inserted them into the cake!
The derby mini cakes were a lot of fun to make and even more fun to share. Enjoy!
To see more fun St. Patrick’s Day ideas, be sure to check our website.
Jenn's love of baking began when she used to admire how her Grandma Anne worked so easily in the kitchen making donuts and cakes for all of her family. Once she started at Wilton, her fascination of cake design took off and she ended up taking all three of the Wilton Method courses. Since then, she has been creating all types of cakes for her family and friends. Jenn enjoys working out, volunteering, and spending a lot of time with her family, friends, and her new dog Sabra. Jenn is a Bilingual Customer Service Representative. 
Awesome job! They looked professional! I can’t wait to see what you do next!
Thank you, Chandra! There may be delicious cakes in your future!
Jenn
Love them! Shared with all the other students too! Guess you forgot about putting dark colors in a ziptop bag to color if you didn’t have gloves on hand.
Hi Barb,
I definitely forgot about using the bags to color- it would have been a lot easier. I had colored hands for a few days! Glad you enjoyed them!
Jenn
These are adorable and perfect for any St Patty’s party! GREAT JOB!!!!!!
Thank you Melanie, they were pretty easy!
Jenn
They look awesome! The football cake you made was the best cake I have ever tasted!
Lisa,
Thank you, and its all about the butter flavoring! Glad you loved the cakes!
Jenn
Wow, those are so cute! I love St. Patricks day, its so fun to get into the spirit of the holiday.
Hi Amber!
Thank you! These are definitely a way to get in the spirit, and you get to share them with everyone!
Jenn
Why not just buy black fondant. It is a Wilton product. The hats look great!
Hi Vicky,
I have no idea why I did not, and I was thinking exactly what you said as we colored it black- it would of made it much easier for me! Thank you for the compliment!
Jenn
I did the same with my hands last night turning white fondant blue. Those cakes look great Jenn.
Hi The Cake Commando!
Thank you very much!
Yes, I learned my lesson to use a zip lock bag or plastic gloves instead! Or, just buy it colored.
Jenn
Your mom brought the cakes to work…they looked AMAZING!!!!…hmmmm wonder if you could make me a Hello Kitty one for my birthday (hint hint to your mom)….I want to order the cake pan not sure I would be very good at decorating it…Your cakes always look and taste amazing!!!
Hi Paloma,
Thank you very much! I am glad they tasted good as well. I used a little bit of extra buttering flavor so it would help the fondant taste great! Wilton provides a really easy way to decorate the cakes and that link is right here for you! I promise it is painless! This pan is pretty popular!
http://www.wilton.com/idea/Hello-Kitty-Cake
Thank you again!
Jenn
Awesome job!!!! I see a bright future ahead!
Hi Cindy,
Thank you, they were fun!
Jenn
They look fabulous! Looks like fun project I could do with my son! Do you give classes? Keep up the good work!
Hi Tim!
Thank you, it is very easy and two hands will make it work in no time at all! At this time, I do not give classes, but I would love to!
Jenn
Wow Jen, these look amazing! Thank you for sharing the experience with us!
Hi Diana,
It is no problem at all, it was really fun!
Jenn
Great Blog Jenn! You are an expert! You would be a perfect blogger for them for all Social Media!! Love your conversational, yet informational and humorous style!!
Great Job!
Tracy
Hi Tracy,
Thank you for your comments! It was the first one I have done, so I am glad it went well!
Jenn
Very impressive Jen !! Waitiing for a Moist chocolate Cake of some kind !! Love You ! , Dad
Thank you Dad.
Yes, it appears there may be a cake in your future!
Jenn