Magical Cakes For St. Patrick's Day

Lucky Leprechaun's Hat

This design calls for a dome cake and a slightly wider, round cake layer. If you don't have a dome cake mold, use an oven-safe glass bowl.

Torte and fill the dome cake. Using green tinted buttercream, ice the round cake. Before the icing crusts, place the dome on top and ice it.

Give the leprechaun's hat a wide band that you create with chocolate buttercream or a ribbon of chocolate fondant. To pipe the hatband, you can use a strip of evenly cut paper to create an imprint, and then, using a star tip, fill in the band.

Next, pipe a gold buckle (with orange-yellow icing) onto the hatband. For a magical touch, apply edible gold glitter to the buckle.

Note: While edible gold glitter isn't cheap, you can find some good deals online. Large craft stores such as Michael's may also carry this.

Then pipe a large shamrock onto the hat. If you'd rather not do this freehand, make an imprint by pressing lightly onto the icing with a shamrock cookie cutter. Then using a start tip and dark green icing, fill in the shamrock. For an extra festive touch, serve with Irish Coffee.

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And here are more decorating ideas for magical St. Patrick's Day cakes:

• Create a character cake with an easy-to-use character pan decorating kit, except add a St. Patrick's Day variation: whip up some green buttercream and add some leprechaun mischief like a green bow tie and shamrocks.

• Decorate a sheet cake with an "end of the rainbow" scene. Ice the cake with pastel blue for the sky and green for the emerald meadow. Pipe tufts of green grass. Then using an icing bag, round tips and buttercream, decorate with a rainbow, white clouds and a pot of gold. Pipe gold nuggets and sprinkle with edible gold glitter. If you enjoy modeling with marzipan or sugarcraft, create a three-dimensional pot of gold filled with little gold wrapped candies. Then pipe a St. Patrick's Day message. Highlight with edible gold glitter. Finally add leprechaun figurines, store bought or sugarcrafted.

• Create a pot of gold cake. Ice a round cake or an upside down dome cake with yellow buttercream. Craft or purchase a rainbow arch that you can set up on the cake. Model nuggets and coins with marzipan or fondant, and then coat with edible gold glitter. Lavishly decorate the top of the cake with these.

• Bake an Irish Coffee cake and liberally top with freshly whipped cream. Decorate with shamrock cake confetti and leprechaun party picks. Serve immediately.

• Create a charming cake, literally. Purchase Irish good luck charms, one for each guest. Thread each charm onto a clean, green ribbon. Bake an angel food or bundt cake and glaze. Drop the charms inside the center of the cake, and drape the ribbons over the cake. Before slicing, each guest draws a charm.

• Alternatively, charms can be added as they often were to Victorian wedding cakes. To do so, bake round cakes. While filling, place the charms around next to the edge before placing the top layer. Allow the ribbons to emerge over the sides of the cake. After the cake is presented, each person pulls a charm out.

• Remember the green when selecting a cake recipe. Use white or yellow so that it can be easily tinted green. You might even want a green filling such as pistachio pudding. Not nuts about pistachio? How about key lime?

• · Bring a wee bit of Irish charm to your cupcakes. Buy a box of Lucky Charms cereal (this magical leprechaun has been entertaining at breakfast tables for over 40 years!), pour into a large bowl, and take out all of the marshmallow charms (you have permission!). After frosting the cupcakes with pretty swirls of green buttercream, decorate with the magical four leaf clovers, blue moons, shooting stars, leprechaun hats, purple horseshoes and pots of gold.

Finally, here's a Cake Decorator's version of the Irish Blessing for you:

May the road rise to meet you, May the wind be always at your back, May all your cakes bring a smile to your face!