Baker makes Dolly Parton a realistic ‘Coat of Many Colors’ cake for her 80th birthday

HUNTSVILLE, Ark. (KFSM) - Life is sweet for one Arkansas baker who got the opportunity to create a special 80th birthday cake for legendary country artist Dolly Parton.

Hannah Rider, owner of Hannah’s Cake Co. in Huntsville, Arkansas, went viral during the holiday season after making a hyper-realistic turkey cake. She is yet again catching attention after presenting Parton with an extravagant cake that pays homage to her 1971 song “Coat of Many Colors.”

“I never thought in 100 years that the turkey cake was gonna happen, let alone going and making a cake for the country queen. That is just a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” Rider said.

The baker says she connected with Parton through one of her friends, Jett Mason, a musician who was in Nashville, Tennessee, recording a new song with the country music icon.

A conversation about Parton’s 80th birthday, which was Monday, led to weeks of planning and days of baking for Rider. Several people, including her mom, suggested she make something to honor “Coat of Many Colors.”

“That’s her life. It’s kind of how she got started,” Rider said.

She built the life-size cake from about 20 different cakes, layered and shaped to look like a real coat. The cake also displayed sheets of music, a microphone and vinyl records.

Rider got to personally deliver the cake to Parton in Nashville over the weekend.

“She is this legendary icon, and there’s some nerves when it comes to meeting someone like that. But as soon as she walked in the room, she had this peace about her. She is definitely so humble and kind,” Rider said.

She added that she’d always be available if the country star needed another cake made.

Parton also celebrated her birthday by releasing a new version of her 1977 single “Light of a Clear Blue Morning” with proceeds benefitting a children’s hospital in Nashville.