How do you decorate a cross shaped cake to look old with the purple cloth like the poem Hang it on the cross?

Answer 1

Fondant is your friend! You can buy ready-to-use rolled fondant at Michael's craft stores or any place that sells Wilton baking supplies. Tint some purple (knead the color into the fondant) and roll it out to make the cloth. Shape it as desired. Tint more of it brown for the crown of thorns, roll it into logs and braid it.

You can use the Wilton cross-shaped pan, but since it is beveled it may not give the effect you are looking for. You can also easily cut a rectangular cake into the right shape. Be sure to crumb-coat it well (putting a thin layer of thinner frosting on to seal in all the crumbs) before frosting. I would use either chocolate frosting or vanilla buttercream tinted brown for the cross. Use a knife or metal spatula to add texture to the frosting so it looks like wood.

After frosting, add the fondant decorations. Your "cloth" will need to be in three sections (one across the middle, and one hanging down on either side) because it will be nearly impossible to run it in one piece under the decorated cake.