How to make a sugar rose
Learn how to make a sugar rose out of gum paste with this rose tutorial. I use one or two sizes of petal cutters when making sugar roses. The sizes of cutters generally depends on the size of the “rose” cones that I am making. The more petals you add, the more fuller it will get. It looks really pretty when big roses and rose buds is mixed together on a cake.
This is what I use:
Flower paste/gum paste
Gel paste colors
Corn starch
Styrofoam or cake dummie
Flower foam pad (Orchard products)
Dogbone tool or ball tool
Small spatula
Tylo glue
Small brushes
Toothpicks
Rolling pin
Non-stick board
7 tablespoons
Rose petal cutters in various sizes
Rose leaf cutters in various sizes
Leaf veiner (optional)
Calyx cutters in various sizes
A small plastic bag
White vegetable fat
Edible petal dust
Small rose and rose buds
Step 1:
You will need to make a cone (no. 1 in the picture) for each sugar rose you are making. It is a good idea to start making the cones a day or two ahead. Remember that the cones should be a little bit smaller than the size of the petal cutter you will be using. Stick a tooth pick in the bottom af the cone and set aside on the styrofoam/cake dummie to dry completely.
Next step is to roll out your flower paste/gum paste thinly and cut out three rose petals. Use your dogbone tool on the flower foam pad and carefully thin the edge of the rose petals so it get slightly frilly. Put two of the rose petals in a plastic bag to prevent them from drying out. Brush the cone with tylo glue and wrap one rose petal thight around it, so that the pointed end of the rose cone is covered (no. 2 in the picture).
TIP! Use this as a closed rose bud
Brush with tylo glue once again and take the two last petals from the plastic bag. Wrap them around the cone so they slightly overlap each other (no. 3 in the picture). Arrange the rose petals and make “movements” with your fingers and leave them to dry for about 30 minutes or more before you add more rose petals.
TIP! Use this as a open rose bud
Cut out three more rose petals, just like the ones you made to begin with. Brush the rose petals lightly with tylo glue and arrange the next three rose petals, again overlaping the petals (no. 4 in the picture) Again make “movements” with your fingers and leave your small sugar rose to dry comepletely.
TIP! Use this as a small rose
Step 2:
If you want a larger sugar rose, do as follows: Roll out your flower paste/gum paste thinly, this time cut out five rose petals with the next size of cutter. Use your dogbone tool on all five petals, as in step 1. Take five tabelspoons and dust them with a little corn starch (this will prevent the rose petals from sticking to the tbsp).
Put the rose petals on the teaspoons and let the petals go over the top of the edge of the spoons (as shown in the picture). Let the rose petals dry in the spoons for around 15-20 minutes. Then brush the lower half of the petals with tylo glue and arrange the petals arround the rose, so that they overlap each other. Set the rose aside to dry completely.
If you want an even bigger sugar rose, cut out seven more rose petals and put them on the tablespoons. Since the rose is getting rather big now you need to carefully turn the rose upside down for the last rose petals. Attach the rose petals with tylo glue like previous. Let the big sugar rose dry completely.
TIP! Use a piece of foam to place the rose on, to prevent it from breaking
Step 3:
When your rose is dry, roll out some green flower paste/gum paste and cut out a calyx that fit the rose. Brush the calyx with tylo glue and attach it to the bottom of the rose. When making small sugar rose buds, put a small ball of green flower paste/gum paste on the rose buds after the calyx as well.
TIP! Apply dry edible petal powders with a soft brush on your roses, for great looking effects.
Note: Remember to remove any toothpicks when placing the roses on the cake.
Want to learn more? Find some of the best sugar flower books in my bookstores: UK and US
Happy Caking!
Louise
1. Anonymous
July 10th, 2007 6:28 pm
lovely, im learning this
2. Louise
July 11th, 2007 3:46 pm
I am glad that you are learning
3. Anonymous
July 17th, 2007 3:37 am
FANTASTIC tutorial, thankyou very much.
4. handmaiden
September 9th, 2007 3:57 am
I really like the spoon method. Thank you!I really enjoy your tutorials.
5. Louise
September 11th, 2007 9:30 am
Thank you handmaiden.
6. Meredith
December 15th, 2007 10:45 pm
How long prior to an event (e.g. wedding) should the sugar paste roses be made? How long do they “last”?
7. Louise
December 15th, 2007 11:52 pm
It depend on how many you are going to use. I make mine 1-2 weeks before. They dry up and can be a bit hard to chew on. I would not keep them longer than 6 month if they are going on cakes ect.
8. efe
April 22nd, 2008 5:29 pm
am really grateful for the tutorial,am crazy about sugar petals,thanks alot
9. Louise
April 25th, 2008 1:35 pm
efe: I am glad that you like it.
10. Geraldine
May 2nd, 2008 4:24 pm
hi, cant wait to try out the rose,, do you have a tutorial on making a calla lilly?
11. Louise
May 3rd, 2008 9:27 pm
Geraldine. No I am sorry I have not made that yet. But I found this one from Wilton http://www.wilton.com/decorating/basic/callalilly.cfm
12. Theresa
June 29th, 2008 6:13 pm
Hi Louise.. great tutorial.. I was wondering how do you make the flower paste / sugar paste ? do you have a recipe or know where I can find one.. this would be such a great help.. your gallery is awesome.. I love your work .. you are very talented.. you fairy is adorable as well as the turtles.. Love it just Love it.. Thank you again for everything..
13. Bonnie
June 30th, 2008 4:47 am
hi i love the sugar roses…………..they do a really great finish on a cake
14. Louise
June 30th, 2008 7:38 pm
Thersa: Try this recipe for gumpaste/flower paste from Nicholas Lodge:
http://www.nicholaslodge.com/gumpaste.htm
Thanks.
15. Emma Doll
July 9th, 2008 9:37 pm
WOW! that looks hard! well i was just looking on the internet and i looked it up it looks beautiful and tasty. i bet they leave a good touch on the cake. well hope you have fun time making them every one! !i love cooking!
16. Louise
July 12th, 2008 10:47 pm
Emma Doll: It may look harder than it is… But it is not very difficult to make the smaller roses:-)
17. anita bradley
September 10th, 2008 7:41 pm
If i need help i know where to come, and step by step instructions really help.
thanks
anita
18. Louise
September 16th, 2008 11:23 pm
anita bradley: Great to hear that Anita.
19. Cute_Lily
October 18th, 2008 6:51 am
lou…u’re really helping us a lot…
thank u verrryyyyy muuccchhhh….
20. Louise
October 19th, 2008 10:33 pm
Cute_Lily:
) glad to hear that….
21. hanny
December 10th, 2008 2:27 pm
thank you……….
22. Homemade cakes
December 15th, 2008 3:11 pm
Nice post i like it, Keep it up
Find more about handmade cakes at http://www.morefood.co.uk/cake-details.html
23. laypeng
December 22nd, 2008 11:37 am
where do i get those ingredients/tool for making a sugar flower? Thank you!
24. Louise
December 26th, 2008 10:54 pm
Laypeng: you can get tools from sugarcraft supply stores online.
25. Miasol
January 20th, 2009 10:33 pm
love all of the great tips!!!!a million thanks from California!
26. Louise
January 21st, 2009 9:25 pm
Mirasol:
27. Lana
January 25th, 2009 8:33 pm
please could you tell me the easiest and most efficent way of making flower paste. Many thanks Lana (from england)
28. Carleen
January 28th, 2009 10:09 pm
Louise, I agree it does go very hard, but if it went on a wedding cake the bride could keep it for a long time, obviously the colour will fade but it will last for years. Customers always say, its too pretty to eat!
29. holly
January 31st, 2009 4:17 pm
may you please tell me what a dogbone tool is. im new at the cake bisness and i just cant figure it out.
30. sian
February 1st, 2009 1:14 pm
i love your site, i’m learning to make flowers, very helpful thankyou. from england
31. Louise
February 3rd, 2009 3:59 pm
Lana: Try this one http://www.nicholaslodge.com/gumpaste.htm its from one of the sugarcraft masters.
Carleen: I have a flower that has been made ages agoe ang it still looks fine. But yes most people have difficulties throwing out the decorations.
holly: this is a dogbone tool:http://www.globalsugarart.com/product.php?id=17237
sian: Thank you
32. Kosiette
March 1st, 2009 3:45 am
hi Louise. im trying to buy the petal cutters that you have and used here. can u tell me what sizes you bought. thank you
33. Louise
March 2nd, 2009 11:39 am
Kosiette: Look for “rose petal cutter sets” from either: FMM or Tinkertech two.
http://www.globalsugarart.com/search.php?search=rose+petal+cutters
34. ayang19
April 10th, 2009 10:19 pm
hi Louise…i try making rose frm rolled fondant which i bought ready made..i found out tat my fondant tend to become sticky while drying up the rose…where did i go wrong? cos the packaging state ready to use n didnt state any other instruction.. can u pls help me…?
35. Louise
April 12th, 2009 8:42 pm
ayang19: Its because you need to add either Gumtex or tylo powder to the rolled fondant. Otherwise it will be sticky and it will not dry properly or harden.
When it says ready to use it is meant for covering cakes with. If you dont have gumtex or tylo powder you should be looking for ready made gumpaste this is to make flowers out of.
36. ayang19
April 15th, 2009 11:22 am
thks louise…u r such a great help…really apprieciate it.. i lov ur bunny marshmallow too..
37. kat
May 11th, 2009 2:09 pm
hi there, thank you for that.
i do know where i can buy the kit from please tell me where i can buy it from.
thank you.
38. Louise
May 14th, 2009 11:57 pm
Kat: You can get the equipments from http://www.confectionerswares.com or http://www.globalsugarart.com
39. jean
May 16th, 2009 1:28 pm
hi Louise, your web site is Great, and very informative. Was just searching the web to find out, how much tylo powder is needed to be added to sugar paste to make a larger rose & found your web page & you answered my question from the information you had there, brilliant. So you maybe the person to tell me what is & what do you use Mexican Paste for. Many thanks jean ( From England )
40. jean
May 16th, 2009 1:30 pm
Hi Louise Take it my email to long winded can you tell me what Maxican paste is & used for thanks brill web site
41. Louise
May 18th, 2009 10:23 am
jean: To tell you the truth, it has always been a little confusing with all the different pastes that you can get. I have never tried mexican paste or maybe I have not sure really. But when searching for mexican paste is says that its a modelling paste that dries up hard so thats why its great for larger items.
42. Anonymous
May 22nd, 2009 12:05 pm
Hi louise, your website is fantastic and i’m inspired to learn about baking (i’m a beginner!!) I had no idea you could do so much with sugar!! I would like to ask what the best ingrediants are for gum paste, and other ways suitable for making sugar flowers. Unfortunately i’m having no luck in making flowers and roses that look nice. Thanks
43. Traci
May 23rd, 2009 5:59 pm
Can you please tell me where i can find your video of how to make the roses, saw it but dont know where it went. Thank you
44. baha
May 30th, 2009 10:28 pm
Hi, I just love Your website. I’m from Poland and we havent got such things as tylo powder for example. So i have a question, Is this gumpaste eatable?
i will be very very happy if You answer me, because i have read a lot about it but i can’t find the answer for my question. Sorry for my english
Jo
45. Louise
May 30th, 2009 10:49 pm
Anonymous: I like to use tylo cmc powder to make gum paste. There are many good gum paste recipes on Google.
Traci: you have to go to the other post: How to make gum paste roses to find the video tutorial by Fran.
46. Louise
May 30th, 2009 11:26 pm
baha: well when using gum paste or tylo powder with your fondant it harden up the flowers so it is not nice to eat. But it will hold the shape of the flowers so nicely.
If you only add a little amount of tylo powder or mix a little gum paste with your normal fondant you can make flowers there dont get as hard as the ones with a lot of tylo or gum paste. note that when making roses you want to make sure that the petals holds their shape. this will be more difficult if not using gum paste/tylo powder.
Pls write if you still have more questions. Thank you!
47. baha
May 31st, 2009 4:19 pm
Louise thank You very much:) unfortunatelly I can’t find the tylo powder here
Can I use something else instead???
48. Louise
June 4th, 2009 11:18 pm
baha: Well you can buy tylo powder from the UK to ok prices though. But I remember that once on wrote to me about using a “dental fix powder” (for fake teeth) because it have a gum agent in the powder. Try and look for it at your drugstore/pharmacy? If you are not going to eat the flowers anyway their should not be any problems.
49. Clarissa
June 10th, 2009 4:20 am
Louise, I love those flowers. I really want to learn how to make them. I am a beginner though. Is there a starter kit that you can buy with all of these items in it?
50. Louise
June 11th, 2009 11:30 pm
Clarissa: Well im just working on a flower kit together with one of my sponsors…..
51. baha
June 15th, 2009 11:54 am
Louise do You oil the flowers? What can i do to make fondat more shiny?
52. quinn
June 16th, 2009 5:39 am
hi there u are an awesome cook
hope to make this soon
53. Louise
June 22nd, 2009 12:15 am
baha: no I dont use any oil but now and then if the fondant is a bit dry I knead in a little bit of crisco
54. Leah
June 23rd, 2009 6:34 am
baha: if you steam the fondant when you are finished with like a hand held steamer, it’ll make the fondant shiny.
55. sarah
July 3rd, 2009 7:43 pm
hi louise,
really easy to follow tutorial, would like to get your book i live in the uk and would like to know where to purchase it from, please could you help? i am making my own wedding cake and have been looking for a website that gives you step by step intsructions and couldn’t find any till now, thank you again!
56. Louise
July 19th, 2009 10:38 pm
sarah: Do you mean my Easter ebook? That can be purchased here on the site. Please look here http://www.cakejournal.com/ebook-store
57. MAUREEN
July 24th, 2009 2:13 am
I just started playing around with gumpaste and by watching several videos a few times I made my first 12 roses. thank you for your tutorial because I now see the problem I was having with the calex.
your tutorial is extremely helpful
58. Maggie
August 24th, 2009 3:39 pm
brill got a idea,i could not find a book but this is good
59. mette
September 4th, 2009 10:01 pm
Hey Louise
Do you keep the air tight box with the flowers in the fridge? ( i use fondant with tylo powder, but i dont know how to store them..)
60. suzanne
September 5th, 2009 1:46 am
I like you site.I would love to learn how to make sugar roses.Also I want to take a course in cake decorating.where and how do I get started to learn to make roses and other flowers.I love baking and would like to learn how to decorate.
61. Louise
September 6th, 2009 9:07 pm
mette: just store your sugar flowers in a box out of sunlight. Dont store in the fridge.
suzanne: Well you could start with the tutorials that I have on my site. Look for cake decorating classes in your area and buy 1-2 books about cake decorating. You can also find many great sources online.
62. Cathy
February 8th, 2010 7:46 am
Hi Louise,
i was just wondering what brand is your leaf veiner?
thanks!
63. somara
February 11th, 2010 10:54 pm
I was wondering about the brand of leaf veiner as well.
64. Louise
February 13th, 2010 12:00 pm
Cathy & Somara: The leaf veiner that you can see on the photo I cant remember the name of. If you want a really great leaf veiner then I can recomend this one: http://www.globalsugarart.com/product.php?id=19025&name=Classic%20D/S%20Multi%20Purpose%20Veiner%20(SV-001)%20by%20Sunflower%20Sugar%20Art
You can see it used here:http://www.cakejournal.com/archives/how-to-make-gum-paste-strawberries
65. gengen
February 14th, 2010 10:14 pm
Luvin it!! wish there was a fave’s button so we could save our favorites here hehe.. beautiful roses, love the spoon method
66. mina
March 15th, 2010 8:31 pm
This is lovely, thanks for the great tips
67. Cathy
April 20th, 2010 8:56 pm
What’s this technique called?
68. reka
April 23rd, 2010 1:24 pm
wow cool cake making….do you sell them if yes how do we buy it??
69. colleen
May 15th, 2010 10:55 am
love this site, easy to follow.
70. Nancy
May 19th, 2010 12:27 am
Hi Louise!!! Thanks so much for your tips!!! I need to make a Wedding cake for a friend and she wants me to make really big fondant roses… any advice you could give me would be wonderful. Thanks again!!!
71. Louise
May 24th, 2010 8:11 pm
Nancy: To make them bigger you need to use both a larger cone and petals.
72. Kay
May 30th, 2010 4:26 pm
Hi Louise, I absolutely love that rose! I have just start sugar craft as a hobby and found your rose tutorial the easiest to follow! I hope my roses can get as good as yours one day, thank you for the tutorial!
73. Cindy
June 26th, 2010 7:22 pm
Great tutorial. Love the photos- they really help alot!
74. Ayla
July 3rd, 2010 4:03 am
You are an amazing artist. Thanks for sharing your talents
75. Ayla
July 9th, 2010 6:28 am
Hi, how do you stop the fondant / gum paste from getting warm & drooping when putting on the petals?
76. Debs
July 25th, 2010 12:19 pm
Hi, this is a fab site. One question though – how do you attach these to the cake and can you put them in a cascade down the sides or will they be too heavy? Thanks.
77. mahalakshmi
July 27th, 2010 5:32 pm
ur works r superb dear
78. Annie
August 4th, 2010 12:44 am
Hi!
I love your website and I am hoping to start making gum paste decorations soon. I was wondering if you’d have recommendations for a good cutter starter kit?
79. Rosie
August 13th, 2010 10:52 am
Hello, great tutorial. Just wondering if anyone has any tips on attaching the roses to a three tiered weding cake? I’ve made nice big blooms for my best friends wedding cake, but am worried they might fall off the cake. I was going to use royal icing to “glue” them on, but is this a fool proof method?