Making fondant roses, part 2
A few weeks back, I posted a tutorial on how to make a simple fondant rose. This is another tutorial to make larger and more realistic rose, similar to the ones you see on elaborate wedding cakes. You can achieve quite a realistic rose with not much effort, all you need are the right tools. So, here goes..The main difference in making these roses is that it uses florist paste (also known as gum paste) rather than standard fondant. Florist paste dries rock hard and is generally more pliable and doesn’t tear easily which makes it perfect for sugarpaste flowers. I picked up a pack of Renshaw florist paste at Cake International in April, it cost £2 for 250g which is quite reasonable compared to other brands of florist paste. If you can’t track it down in your local supermarket, try looking at online cake stores.
What you’ll need:
- Florist paste (feel free to colour as desired)
- 5 petal cutter, or single petal cutters also work
- Foam pad
- Ball tool
- Small paintbrush & water
- Rolling pin
Before you begin, take a piece of florist paste (or normal fondant) and roll it into a bud shape, sticking a cocktail stick into the end. Make sure this is rock hard before you start making the flower – this forms the base for the rose so it needs to be sturdy. Sometimes I leave this in the fridge to harden overnight before I start on the roses.
Start by rolling out a piece of florist paste, it doesn’t need to be particularly thick, in fact, the thinner the better. You can use Trex to stop it sticking whilst you roll it out (don’t use any flour or icing sugar!) Handy tip – keep the remaining florist paste you’re not actively using in an airtight box/bag as it’ll dry and get hard before you get to use it.
Using the cutter, cut out the flower shape and move to the foam pad. These aren’t too expensive and is essential to making these flowers. Take the ball tool and roll it around, to start thinning out the edges of the petals. You’ll see the ruffle effect start to appear on the petal as it gets thinner, which makes it look more realistic. The combination of the ball tool and foam pad means you can get the edges thin without it tearing or sticking to the surface.
Taking the bud from earlier, pierce a hole in the centre through the rose shape and start to wrap the petals around the bud. Use a small amount of water as a glue to stick it together. After wrapping the first petal around the bud, I generally take a petal from the opposite side and wrap that around the bud to create a more realistic centre for the rose. Once you’ve finished wrapping all the petals around the bud, you’ll start to see the rose take shape. Put it to one side and start on the next rose shape, repeat the ball tool step to thin out the edges.
I found that by the time I got to my second piece, the cocktail stick had fallen out – not to worry because now that we’ve got a base it’s easier to handle. Use a small amount of water to secure the base of the first rose to the flat, rose shape. Repeat the same process again, wrapping petals around the rose with water. You can start manipulating the petals to make them look more rose like, it’s quite pliable at this stage. I wouldn’t leave this until the end because it’ll dry out and you’ll end up snapping the petals.
I stopped here, but you can always add more layers and build up the roses more and more. The advantage of using single petal cutters is that you can keep adding petals as necessary. You might be able to maintain a pointier base, which looks more rose-like than the flat base you’ll get with this technique.
Leave aside to dry completely and it’ll go rock solid, ready to be added to whatever masterpiece you’re creating!
