Give your classic wedding cake a contemporary twist with these beautiful sugar rose and button decorations.

Sugar roses are the perfect skill to learn and once mastered will allow you to turn any cake into a real show stopper!

For this cake you will need:

152, 203 & 254mm (6”, 8”& 10”) round cakes
305 & 381mm (12” & 15”) round boards
2.5kg White Sugarpaste
200g White Gum Paste (PME made without egg)
PME concentrated paste colours –
Hot Pink & Sage Green
PME powder colours – Canary Yellow,
Red Velvet, Raspberry Delight, Emerald Green,
Olive & Chocolate Brown
PME Edible Glaze Spray (EG700)
PME Petal Glue (104FP006)
JEM Easy Rose Cutter 110mm (103FF023)
PME Veined Rose Leaves large set of 3 (RLL660)
JEM PopIt Button Mould (1102EP016)
PME Modelling Tools – Bone, Ball & Scriber
PME Veined Rolling Out Board (RBV1)
JEM Roller Pad (109SE013)
PME Floral Wires Green 20g (FW20)
& White 26g (FW126)
PME Sparkle Floral Tape Light Green (FTG208)
& Gold (FTG206)

Preparation:

Bake a 6", 8" and 10" cake, arrange on cake boards and cover in white sugarpaste. Stack the cakes.

Instructions:

1 - To make the rose: start by modelling a small cone for the centre. Use the cutter as a guide by placing the cone in one of the individual petal shapes, it should fill around three quarters of the petal. Once happy with your cone take a 20g wire and curl one end to create a hook. Thread the wire through your cone so the hook is at the top, secure in place and leave to one side to dry.
2 - Take the darkest shade of pink gum paste and roll out finely on the roller pad. Gently lift the paste off the roller pad and place the rose cutter underneath. Lay the gum paste over the cutter and cut out the five petal rose shape by rolling back and forth over the top with the rolling pin.
3 - Using the dog bone tool lightly run over the outer edges of all the petals to thin them out and use the ball tool to gently cup the middle section of all petals. For added detail you can use a cocktail stick to gently roll back the outer edges to create a more life-like effect.
4 - Arrange the five petal rose shape so that the centre lines up with one of the holes on the roller pad. Take the wire cone and gently thread through the middle of the rose shape and through the roller pad. Lift the first petal up and wrap tightly around the cone so that the top of the cone is hidden.
5 - Continue arranging the remaining petals in the following sequence 3, 5, 2 & 4. To help secure each petal use a small amount of petal glue. You now have a rose bud!
6 - Repeat steps 2 to 3 with a slightly paler pink gum paste. Once you have your second five petal rose shape thread the rose bud through the centre. Paint a thin line of petal glue down one side of the first petal and gently attach to the rose bud. Paint a line of glue down the same side of the second petal tucking it inside the first petal before securing in place. Repeat this for petals 3, 4 & 5 and once complete use a small amount of petal glue to secure any unattached sides. For the third layer repeat this process but using an ever paler pink.
7 - Using the palest shade roll out a thin strip of gum paste onto the veining board. Take a 26g white wire and place on top of the strip making sure it lines up with the groove and is arranged halfway along the strip. Gently fold the top of the strip over on itself and use a rolling pin to flatten and secure in place.
8 - Take the wired paste and place over one of the petals in the five petal cutter. Use a rolling pin just like before to cut the paste into a petal shape, you can use a cutting wheel to trim off any excess. Soften and shape the petal as in step 3 and set aside to dry. Repeat this so you have seven petals in total.
9 - Use the powder colours to dust over the rose and petals to create depth. To attach the individual petals bend the wire at the base of the petal and tape in place around the main flower using the sparkle floral tape.
10 - The leaves are created just like the single petals but using a plunger cutter this time. With your wired green gumpaste place the plunger cutter over the paste lining up the centre of the cutter with the wire. Press down firmly on the plunger to create the veining before cutting. Cut out the leaf and brush with powder colour for finer detail. Make as many leaves as you would like in your arrangement.
11 - To make the buttons: Roll out a piece of gum paste left over from creating the rose so that it is deep enough to fill the mould. Place the Popit button mould onto the roller pad and place the gum paste over the mould. Roll the rolling pin across back and forth to cut the paste.
12 - To release the buttons from the mould use a scriber tool to gently ease them out. Lightly spray each button with the edible glaze to create a gentle shine and attach to the cake in a random design.
13 - To give added detail to the arrangement bind some of the 20g wires with the sparkle floral tape. Gently curve and twist into loops and tape to the rose spray. Use a flower pick to attach the rose spray to the cake. For a perfect finishing touch use the sparkle floral as a trim for the cake boards using double sided tape to secure.