Creating A Ruffle Rose Wedding Cake: A Step-By-Step Guide

Ruffle rose cakes are a popular choice for weddings, with their elegant and intricate appearance. While they may look difficult to create, making a ruffle rose wedding cake is quite simple. This cake design involves creating long strips of modelling or flower paste, frilling one edge with a ball tool, and then attaching the strips to the cake in a circular pattern like a flower. The process can be done using a variety of materials, including fondant, gum paste, chocolate, marzipan, sugar paste, and candy. Additionally, there are different techniques to achieve the ruffle rose effect, such as using a petal tip to pipe buttercream directly onto the cake or using a silicone mold to create the ruffled roses beforehand and then attaching them to the cake.

Using buttercream or fondant

If you're using buttercream to make your ruffle rose wedding cake, you'll need a piping bag for each colour you plan to use, a petal tip (Wilton 125 is recommended), wax or parchment paper, cake forms or Styrofoam dummies, and a rubber shelf liner to help grip your paper rounds. You'll also need access to a large freezer.

Begin by preparing your chilled and stacked cakes, ensuring each tier is frosted with a base coat in the final colour of your rosettes. Cut out several 3" to 4" rounds of wax paper and place them on your turntable. Using a small petal tip, pipe rosettes of varying sizes onto the wax paper rounds. The fat end of your petal tip should be down, touching the board, and the ruffles should press up against each other to form one solid piece when frozen.

To create the curved shape of the flowers, freeze the rounds on a curve. You can cut round cake dummies in half and place them on a strainer, securing the wax paper with quilting pins. Freeze for 10-20 minutes. Then, pipe a blob of frosting onto your cake where you want the rosette to go, quickly peel the frozen rosette off the paper, and apply it to the cake. Continue this process, placing the rosettes sporadically to create variety in size and spacing. Pipe additional ruffles in the gaps between rosettes to achieve larger-looking flowers.

If you're using fondant, you'll need a fondant rolling pin, a round cutter, a ball tool, a Dresden tool, fondant shaping foam, a small paintbrush, and water or piping gel or gum glue. Start by covering each tier of your cake with fondant, preferably in the same colour as your petals for a uniform look. Then, roll out your fondant to a thickness of around 1-2 cm using a rolling pin or pasta maker machine.

Cut out circles with your round cutter (a 2" cutter is recommended), and cover the cut-outs with plastic cling film to prevent them from drying out while you work. Place a "petal" on a piece of foam and thin out the edges with a ball tool. Transfer the petal to a thicker foam and use the ball tool to thin the inside, creating a cup shape.

Brush a small section of the cake with water, piping gel, or gum glue, and start adding petals from the bottom up so that gravity helps anchor them in place. Position the petals so that the edges are curled out and not stuck to the cake, using your fingers to create movement within each petal. Use a Dresden tool to help shape the petals, pinching and folding them before adding them to the cake. Continue adding petals until you've covered the desired area.

Choosing the right tools

To make a ruffle rose wedding cake, you will need a range of tools to help you create the intricate design. Here is a list of essential tools to choose from for your project:

• Piping bag: You will need a piping bag for each colour you plan to use in your cake design. Piping bags are essential for controlling the flow and placement of your frosting or buttercream.
• Petal tip: A petal tip, such as the Wilton 125, is used to create the ruffle effect on your roses. It is attached to the piping bag and helps form the ruffled shape of the buttercream or frosting.
• Wax or parchment paper: Cut into 3-4 inch rounds, wax or parchment paper provides a surface for you to pipe your buttercream rosettes before transferring them to the cake.
• Cake forms or Styrofoam dummies: These are used to provide a curved surface for your buttercream rosettes to set properly before being applied to the cake.
• Rubber shelf liner: This helps to grip your paper rounds and prevent them from slipping while you pipe the rosettes.
• Freezer: A freezer is necessary to set your buttercream rosettes. It should be easily accessible and have enough space to accommodate your wax paper rounds.
• Fondant and gum paste: A 50/50 mix of fondant and gum paste is rolled out to create the base for your ruffle roses. The mixture should be rolled thinly, about 1/8" thick, or even thinner if possible.
• Cutting tools: You can use a sharp knife or an adjustable multi-ribbon cutter to cut the fondant into strips. The strips should be approximately 11 inches long and 1/2 inch wide.
• Cel pad: A cel pad or a similar non-stick surface is used to place your fondant strips while you work on them.
• Ball tool: This tool is used to create the frilled effect on the edges of the fondant strips. By applying pressure and sliding the ball tool along one edge of the strip, you can achieve a natural frilled look.
• Vinyl or glass bowl: To keep your fondant strips fresh and pliable while you work, cover them with vinyl or place them under a glass bowl.
• Paintbrush: A paintbrush is used to apply piping gel or sugar glue to the cake where you will attach your fondant strips.
• Toothpick or Q-tip: These tools can be used to manipulate the petals of your ruffle roses, giving them the desired shape and dimension.
• Ruffle rose fondant mold: A fondant mold can also be used to create ruffled roses. It is made of food-grade silicone and comes in various sizes to fill any gaps in your cake design.

With the right tools and some practice, you'll be well on your way to creating a beautiful and elegant ruffle rose wedding cake.

Preparing the cake

To prepare a ruffle rose wedding cake, you will need to decide whether to use buttercream or fondant. Both are viable options, but buttercream is messier and more challenging to work with. If you opt for buttercream, you will need a piping bag for each colour you plan to use. You will also need a petal tip, wax or parchment paper, cake forms or styrofoam dummies, and a rubber shelf liner to grip your paper rounds.

If you choose to go with fondant, you will need to roll out a mix of fondant and gum paste to about 1/8" thickness, or even thinner if you prefer. You can use a sharp knife to cut the fondant into strips, or use a tool like the FMM Multi Ribbon Cutter to speed up the process. You will need about six 11-inch-long strips that are about 1/2 inch wide.

Once you have your strips, you can start creating the ruffle rose effect. Place one strip at a time on a cel pad and use a ball tool to apply pressure as you slide the ball along one edge of the strip. This will create a natural frilled effect as the fondant becomes thinner. Keep the other strips covered with vinyl, a glass bowl, or an airtight container while you work.

Decide on the size of your flower, and use a paintbrush to apply piping gel to the area where you will place your first strip. Start arranging the strip, adding more piping gel as needed. Be careful not to press the frilly edge of the fondant into the glue, as you will need it to create dimension.

Continue with your circular pattern, brushing the area with piping gel and wrapping the fondant around. It usually takes about five strips to fill in the flower. You can fill in the centre with a rolled piece of fondant. Use a toothpick or Q-tip to manipulate the petals to your liking.

You can finish off your ruffle rose with a buttercream bead border around the top and a ribbon border around the bottom. Feel free to play around with the placement of your rose, as it will look beautiful front and centre or slightly off-centre.

Making the ruffles

Next, place one strip at a time on a cel pad and use a ball tool to apply pressure as you slide the ball along one edge of the strip. This will create a natural frilled effect as the fondant becomes thinner. Keep the other strips under a piece of vinyl, a glass bowl, or in an airtight container while you work.

Now decide on the size of your flower and brush on some piping gel where the first strip will be placed. Start arranging your strip, adding more piping gel as needed. Be careful not to press the frilled edge of the fondant into the gel, as you'll need this to create dimension. Continue with your circular pattern, brushing each area with piping gel and then wrapping your fondant around. It usually takes about 5 strips to fill in the flower, and you can fill in the centre with a rolled piece of fondant.

You can use a toothpick or Q-tip to manipulate the petals to your liking. Finish it off with a buttercream bead border around the top and a ribbon border around the bottom.

Assembling the cake

The ruffle rose design is a simple yet eye-catching way to decorate a wedding cake. It can be used as a side design or a cake top design for single-tier cakes. To create this look, you will need long strips of either modelling paste or flower paste (gum paste). You can make this process quicker by using a fondant and gum paste mix and cutting it into strips with a ribbon cutter or a sharp knife.

Before you begin assembling the roses, decide how big you want your flowers to be. Then, use a paintbrush to apply piping gel to the area where you will place your first strip of fondant. This will act as an adhesive. Start with the first strip of fondant and continue arranging your strips in a circular pattern, brushing each new section with piping gel before attaching it to the cake.

If you want to add more dimension to your roses, be careful not to press the frilly edge of the fondant into the piping gel. Instead, focus on manipulating the petals with a toothpick or Q-tip to create the desired effect. You can also fill in any gaps or spaces in the centre of the flower with a rolled piece of fondant.

Once you have created your desired number of roses, you can finish the look by adding a border. A tiny buttercream bead border or a ribbon border can be a great way to add a delicate touch to your cake.

Remember, this process may seem intimidating, but it is quite simple and goes quickly once you get the hang of it!

Frequently asked questions