I have been involved in cake decorating and sugar art since 2007 when I took the Wilton Method of Cake Decorating basics classes. I was hooked after the first buttercream roses we learned to make. I then became a Wilton Method Instructor.
The love for this artistic expression has grown through the years. One of the things I always discuss with students who are getting into this hobby is that you don’t always need all the latest tools and gadgets to make a cake. Some really basic supplies in your cake toolbox is all you need. The rest is up to your own creativity and expression.
So today I decided to show that with this tutorial using only the basic supplies I listed on the Art of Cake Decorating video I posted earlier this week.
Here are a list of the supplies I used in creating this cake:
Rolling pin- Large and small without rings
Spatula – Small angled & small straight
Cutting tools – pizza cutter & cutting/quilting wheel
Dusting pouch
Practice board, plastic baggy or document protector sheet
Fondant smoother
Paint Brushes – round & angled – small or large
Foam – Thin and thick
Modeling tools – veining, Dresden, ball, small & large modelling stick
Color – gel– basic or primary colors
Mat – Fondant mat
Cutters – Basic shapes, round & square – Plastic or Metal
Other Supplies:
Fondant mixed with Tylose or Gumpaste mix
Piping gel for gluing
Styrofoam cake dummy – covered
Cake board- covered
So let’s begin.
First I colored the fondant into both the primary and secondary colors to include having black and white fondant.
The cake dummy was covered with fondant and glued it down with piping gel. I already had a covered the cake boards with added ribbon around the edge.
The cake board covering was made by cutting circles with a medium round cutter and then cutting those circles in half and gluing them to the cake board with the piping gel and set aside to dry.
Next the same medium cutter was used to cut more half circles in both black and white. These circles were ruffled on the edges using the veining tool then cut in half. Theses half circles where glued the bottom of the cake as a part of the border.
Large leaves were made using a medium square shaped metal cutter. The squares were cut on the diagonal in half. The two edges of these half triangles were folded over at the top and the bottom unfolded edge was pinched pleated in the center until the edges met at the bottom. The stem was made by pinched the met edges together.
The smaller leaves were made using a small round cutter. Fondant was cut into circles then cut in half and pleated on the straight edge until they met. A small stem was formed in a similar manner as the large leaf.
The daisy was made using 3 sizes of metal cutters; small, medium and large. The first step is to roll out the fondant thin so it can ruffle more easily. Next cut 3 different sizes and make slits all the way around the circle of fondant. After this is done, begin shaping the flower petals by placing the fondant piece on a thin foam then using a veining tool drawn from the outer edge of the petal inward. This will thin the petal more making it longer and cupping it at the same time. Set aside the petals to dry a bit before stacking and gluing them together. Next the centers of the daisy were made by taking a small ball of fondant and flattening it slightly. Then using a thin veining tool add texture to the center by poking holes into it. Once completed take 3 different sizes of the daisy petals, with largest on the bottom, stack and glue each in the center to each other. Glue the center to the daisy. Set aside to dry.
The next flower to complete is the ribbon rose. Make a small rope out of the fondant approximately 6 to 8 inches long and flatten it down but not too thin. Take this piece of fondant and fold over. Take the end of the fondant strip and fold down the edge, then begin folding and pleating the edge with each turn until you reach the end of the fondant. Then pinch off the excess. Set flower aside to dry.
The next flower to make is the fondant rose. These were made using only fondant circles. In this section multi-colored fondant circles were used for demonstration. The actual fondant roses were made in purple for the cake.
- Make a cone for the base and cut out approximately 11 circles of fondant. When making roses keep in mind odd number of petals for the rows. Such as 3 petals for center, 3 petals for 2nd row, 5 petals 3rd row, etc. Roses can be made with as many petals as desired, using odd numbers of petals for each row gives a better symmetry overall. The petals can be softened or ruffled before attaching to the base cone beforehand but care should be taken if petals are really thin due to possible breakage or tearing.
- Next take the first petal, paint cone lightly with water and apply petal overlapping to form center. Then apply the next two petals overlapping on the sides.
- Next take the next 3 petals, brush first row of petals lightly with water and place first petal on, leaving open on one side. Brush petals lightly with water and place the second petal leaving open on one side. Brush lightly with water and place last petal gluing down who petal. When brushing petals with water only go half way up the cone from the base. Petals need to be open on the top. From a top view the petals should be overlapping and have a spiraled look.
- Next apply the last five petals the same way as the 2nd row. It is important to note that you want the petals to be equal and level with each other.
- After all the petals have been applied, the base of the rose is now elongated and will need to be pinched on the sides. When this is done the petals will open up slightly. The excess will need to be cut away. The rose petals then can be curved and opened more if desired. The overall look is up to you.
- Once you have the look of your rose, set aside to dry. Since this is a relatively thick flower, overnight drying may be required. A calyx and leaves can be added if desired. *Note: A really good tutorial that I learned about roses is from a cake and sugar artist named, Edna De la Cruz, here is her website address. http://www.designmeacake.com/
The website has some wonderful tutorials.
Set all flowers aside to dry.
Next take small pieces of fondant and roll out into rope shapes and attach to cake with water to form stems or vines. I added some texture to the vines/stems by using the quilting wheel and going over the vine making small lines. The shapes can go in any direction, I preferred S shapes and attached the small leaves as I went along. Remember when attaching leaves to stems or vines. It’s under the hills and over the valleys. If adding branches or leaves to a stem, going with the flow of the curve correctly will keep it from looking broken up. The leaves need to be going in the same direction as well.
Once the stems or vines have been added it was time to make the beads for the bottom border. I cut many small circles and to ensure the beads were uniform, I used two circles per bead and balled them up. Then let them dry before attaching to the cake. I started gluing the multicolored beads to form the bottom border.
A paint was made from Everclear and gold dusting powder. High alcohol content tends to work better for painting and it evaporates quicker. Paint can also be created by using Lemon extract mixed with the dusting powder instead but does require a longer drying time. I then painted dots of gold on the half circles as a part of the covered board.
The final steps was to arrange the flowers and leaves on the top of the cake.
More pictures of the finished cake.
This cake was completely made with only a basic set of cutters, a set of rounds and one square cutter. Plus some basic modeling tools such as the ball, Dresden and veining tools. No molds or flower cutters were used.
As you can see the only limitation is one’s imagination as to what can be created.
I hope you enjoyed this blog post.
Thank you for stopping by and have a great week!
Happy caking!
Suzanne
love to bake 
You must be logged in to post a comment.