A Weekend of Baking - Sugar Flowers

This weekend I started on the preparation for my Birthday cake! I am again making sugar flowers to decorate it, so I thought I'd show you how I make roses, leaves and other flowers.

First of all, gather all of your ingredients together, including your trusty Mich Turner Cake Masterclass Cook Book! If you would like a professional tutorial on ow she makes her sugar roses, have a look at her tutorial on YouTube, this is how I learnt! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fczCtymCSc

Tip: When colouring sugarpaste, use a gel colour. It is more concentrated so you don't need as much as normal food colouring. Apply to the icing using a cocktail stick and build up the colour gradually. I always use a pair of disposable gloves when colouring icing, so it doesn't stain your hands.

I wanted my roses to have a vintage brown tint to their edges, so I wrapped a section of pink in a delicate beige shade. This meant that when they were shaped into the roses, the petals had a graduated pink tinge.

I also decided to purchase some edible gold lustre for my roses, and applied it using a clean soft paint-brush. It gave the roses a gorgeous golden tinge and adds to the vintage feel. 

I always use cutters for some of my icing and flowers, and these plunger rose leaf cutters are perfect for creating 'realistic' looking sugarpaste leaves. When stamped out, I give them a little twist to add curves and movement. 

To make the little pink flowers, I used a small flower cutter, and then poked them out onto the foam using the end of an elastic needle, creating the circular dent in the centre. 

Tip: When making icing decorations, leave them to dry on a foam mat for at least 24 hours, otherwise they will fall apart when you try and put them on your cakes. Once dry, store in an airtight container until you need them.

To make the centres of the flowers, I used sugar pearls secured with royal icing. The pearls are very cute, and finish off the delicate pink flowers perfectly.