Creating Wedding Cake Floral Icing Decorations

Decorating a wedding cake with icing flowers is a fun and creative way to add a unique touch to your big day. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced baker, creating beautiful buttercream flowers is an achievable skill that can elevate the look of your wedding cake. In this guide, we will take you through the process of making icing flowers, from choosing the right tools and techniques to assembling and decorating your cake. We will also explore the option of using fresh flowers as an alternative to icing flowers, providing a natural and elegant touch to your wedding cake design.

Choosing the right piping tips

Tip Shape and Size:

The shape and size of the piping tip will determine the type of petals or leaves you can create. For example, a small round tip (#3) is suitable for piping small dots or centres of flowers. On the other hand, a larger open star tip (Wilton 1M) is perfect for creating roses, as it gives a beautiful swirl pattern. Consider the variety of flowers you want to make and choose tips that will allow you to achieve the desired shapes and details.

Leaf Tips:

Leaves add realism and depth to your floral arrangements. Two commonly used leaf tips are the small 349 tip, perfect for delicate foliage and Royal Icing work, and the 352 tip, which is highly versatile and suitable for piping leaves for most flowers, including hydrangeas, sunflowers, and violets. The 352 tip can also be used to create beautiful ruffle borders.

Petal Tips:

Petal tips come in various shapes and sizes, allowing you to create different types of petals. For example, the #199 piping tip is a large open star tip perfect for creating large swirls, while the #21 piping tip is a small open star tip ideal for smaller accents. Choose a range of petal tips to give you the flexibility to make different types of petals and flowers.

Drop Flower Tips:

Drop flower tips are perfect for creating small, delicate flowers. The #2F drop flower tip, for instance, can be used to pipe out small flower shapes, such as five-petal flowers, which are simple yet elegant.

Couplers:

Using couplers with your piping bags is a great way to switch between different piping tips without making a mess. Couplers allow you to change tips easily, so you can create a variety of flowers with different shapes and sizes without having to use multiple piping bags.

Practice and Experimentation:

Lastly, don't be afraid to experiment with different piping tips and techniques. Practice piping flowers on a piece of parchment paper before attempting them on your cake. This will help you get a feel for the amount of pressure needed and how to manoeuvre the piping tip to create the desired shapes.

Selecting the right food colouring

Types of Food Colouring

The most common types of food colouring used in baking are liquid, gel, and oil-based colours. For icing flowers, gel or oil-based colours are generally recommended as they produce stronger and more vibrant hues. Gel colours come in small pots or tubes and are highly concentrated, requiring only a small amount to achieve the desired shade. Oil-based colours are also easy to incorporate into icing and result in rich, true-to-colour hues.

Brand Recommendations

When it comes to selecting a brand, there are several reputable options available:

• Progel Food Colouring: Progel offers a range of vibrant colours in easy-to-use tubes, making it convenient to get the desired amount without creating a mess. Their blue and purple colours are particularly popular for creating stunning icing flowers.
• Sugarflair Food Colouring: Sugarflair is known for its intense colours that can withstand the brown of cocoa powder in red velvet cakes and create a true black shade. Their red and black colours are excellent for achieving deep, rich tones.
• Colour Splash Food Colouring: This brand offers a range of colours in tubes at an affordable price point. Their pink shade is perfect for creating a vibrant or pale pink hue, and they also offer a high-quality brown colouring.
• Wilton Food Colouring: Wilton is a well-known brand in the baking world, offering a basic set of staple colours. Their leaf green colour is particularly popular for its bright and beautiful shade. They also offer a liquid white colouring that is excellent for creating light and airy hues.
• Colour Mill Food Colouring: Colour Mill is a newer brand with an extensive range of colours. Their orange and yellow shades are notable for their intensity and true-to-colour results.

Additional Tips

• Avoid liquid food colourings from supermarkets, as they tend to be weak and may ruin your icing flowers.
• Always use gel or oil-based colours for the best results when colouring icing.
• Practice makes perfect – don't be discouraged if you don't get the desired colour right away. Adjusting the amount of colouring and allowing the colour to develop over time are essential steps in achieving the perfect shade.
• When in doubt, invest in a starter set of food colouring to experiment with different colours and find the ones that work best for your icing flowers.

Preparing the piping bag

Firstly, choose the right piping bag for your needs. You can find disposable piping bags online or at specialty baking stores. Select a size that comfortably fits your hand and has enough space for the desired amount of frosting.

Next, prepare your frosting. For buttercream flowers, a stiffer buttercream like American Buttercream is a good choice as it is more stable against heat. However, it will result in jagged petal edges due to the extra powdered sugar. If you prefer smoother edges, opt for an easy buttercream frosting, but keep in mind that it is more susceptible to heat. You can also experiment with different flavours and colours to make your flowers unique.

Now, it's time to fill the piping bag. If using a coupler, unscrew it and place the larger piece into the bag. Cut off the tip of the bag so that half of the coupler can fit through. Choose the appropriate piping tip for the flower design you wish to create. For example, a #352 leaf tip or a #3 piping tip for leaves and petals respectively. Attach your chosen piping tip to the coupler and secure it with the cap.

Fill the bag with your desired colour of buttercream frosting. You can use different piping bags for different colours if you plan to create a variety of flowers. Ensure that the frosting is smooth and free of bubbles by mixing it on low speed for 10-15 minutes before filling the bag.

Once your piping bag is filled, you can begin creating your icing flowers by following various techniques, such as piping "U" shapes for petals or using a flower nail as a base to pipe the flowers before transferring them to your cake.

Remember to practice creating flowers on a piece of parchment paper before attempting them directly on the cake. This will help you get a feel for piping and improve your technique. With these tips in mind, you're well on your way to creating stunning icing flowers for a wedding cake!

Practising the technique

Before you begin, it's important to have all the right tools. You will need a piping bag, a coupler, a small circular tip (size 3 or 4), a rose tip (large or small), small squares of wax paper, and a rose nail. You can get these items at Michaels or online. It is also helpful to sketch out your cake design and choose your colour palette before you begin.

Now, you're ready to start practising! First, fit the piping bag with the rose tip and fill it with your frosting. Hold the piping bag in your dominant hand and the rose nail in the other. Pipe a small amount of frosting onto the top of the rose nail and press a small square of wax paper onto it. Position the tip onto the top of the nail, with the wide end touching the nail. The tip should be at a 30-45 degree angle from the base.

To create the first petal, gently squeeze the frosting out of the bag at a steady rate while moving the piping bag in a circular motion. This will create a "petal" shape that is broader on the outside and narrows to a point in the middle. While you are squeezing and moving the bag, slightly turn the nail in the opposite direction so that your pastry bag is in the same position as when you started. Repeat this process to create a second petal right next to the first, aiming for the petals to be approximately the same size and shape. Continue making petals until you have six petals on your flower. Don't worry too much about the exact number of petals, as what matters most is that they are close to the same size and evenly spaced.

Once your flower is finished, add a dot in the centre using a different colour frosting for contrast. You can pipe several dots in a design in the centre if you wish. Carefully slide the wax paper off the nail and place your flower on a baking sheet or another flat surface. Repeat this process to create as many flowers as you need and a few extra in case of emergencies!

If you are using buttercream, place the flowers in the refrigerator or freezer to harden if you are not using them right away. Once hard, they can be easily removed and placed on a cake. If you are using royal icing, leave the flowers at room temperature to harden. The outside will harden almost immediately, but the bottom will take longer, so give them 24 hours to fully set before removing them from the paper. They can be stored indefinitely at room temperature.

Attaching the flowers to the cake

• Prepare the flowers: If using fresh flowers, wrap the stems with floral tape, which sticks to itself and usually comes in green shades. This step is important to prevent any flower fluids from leaking into the cake. For sugar or buttercream flowers, place your piped flowers in the freezer for at least five minutes to let them harden and set.
• Choose your attachment method: You can insert flower stems directly into the cake using straws, such as bubble tea straws, to avoid ruining the icing and cake structure. Alternatively, you can use a frosting-covered board placed on top of the cake and adorn it with flowers, removing it when it's time to cut the cake.
• Position the flowers: Decide on your desired flower arrangement. You can create a cascading effect on a three-tiered cake by positioning flowers down the sides in a cascading pattern. This look can be achieved with various flowers, including garden roses, spray roses, Juliet roses, and passion flowers.
• Secure the flowers: If using straws, trim them to a few inches and insert them into the cake at the desired angle. Then, slip the flower stems into the straw openings. If using a frosting-covered board, pipe a dot of frosting onto the back of each flower and gently press them onto the board.
• Final touches: If desired, scatter edible flower petals like confetti over the cake for added colour, texture, and flavour. You can also mix petals into the icing before decorating. Remember to keep the cake chilled until it's time to serve, as fresh flowers will last only a few hours outside the refrigerator.

Frequently asked questions