Using Cake Decorating Flowers

Floral designs and accents are one of the easiest ways to make a cake both striking and attractive. Cake decorating flowers come in handy for all of the most popular types of cake, including Mother’s Day cakes, birthday cakes, and most importantly, wedding cakes. Cake decorators can use several different options: edible flowers, artificial flowers, and handmade sugar flowers, which can all help you to achieve the right look. Flowers tend to stand out best on white or other solid-colored cakes, and can help make the decorating job easier for those who don’t want to go through the effort of piping edges and frills.

Real flowers are the easiest option for anyone who needs a unique floral cake decoration but doesn’t know how to make edible sugar flowers themselves. Fresh flower displays are eye-catching and easy to arrange, but you must be careful to purchase the flowers close enough to the event so that they don’t wilt too early. Some of the most popular edible flower choices are roses, violets, and nasturtiums. Be certain to wash the flowers in order to remove possible pesticides, and research the flower to ensure that it’s edible and has a pleasant taste. If the short time frame of real flowers is a problem, silk flowers are another option which will give the same general look, but removes the risk of wilting and can be reused for future cakes.

With the right tools and knowledge, anyone can learn how to make beautiful cake decorating flowers themselves. Although there is extra effort and time involved as opposed to purchased flowers, handmade sugar flowers have several advantages. They can be made in a nearly endless variety of colors or shapes. You can use materials you already have on hand, which greatly reduces cost. Also, people often prefer edible sugar flowers for their taste and appearance.

For the easiest flower, you can pipe butter-cream icing right onto the cake using a flower tip. This will result in a softer-looking flower with fewer hard edges and may be best for a whimsical child’s birthday cake or baby shower cake. For more impressive-looking flowers which will dry harder and sturdier, royal icing is the choice most decorators use. You can use a petal or leaf tip and pipe individual petals onto parchment paper, making sure to turn your work surface slightly each time so that the petals spiral outward. Many professionals will pipe flowers onto a small metal tool called a flower nail. These types of flowers can be kept frozen for months in order to reduce preparation time ahead of the event. You can also roll gum-paste into a thin layer and either cut the petal shapes yourself or use a specialized cutter, and then assemble the petals with dabs of icing to hold them in place. Yet another option is to press fondant into a floral mold which are sold in many different designs and sizes.

Although using flowers on cakes sounds like an intimidating prospect at first, anyone can achieve beautiful results by purchasing or making their own floral decorations. Use flowers to turn a plain cake into an impressive display.