I’m a huge fan of roses and cakes so of course I love a cake covered in roses!  I did a similar style rose for my daughter’s first birthday cake that had very tight roses (see Pink Lemonade cake).  This cake, however, was made by my talented sister in law for one of her darling daughters.  Isn’t it lovely?

Here’s a little tutorial on how to achieve this look…and one slightly different rose technique.

Basic Steps to Rose Building:

– Start with your cake and put a good crumb coat on.  For those new to baking it’s just a coat of icing that conceals the cake underneath.  This can be uneven and sloppy as long as you can’t see what color the cake is underneath.
– Add a M1 tip to your piping bag and fill with buttercream.  If you don’t have an M1 tip any large star tip will do.
– My sister in law started on the outside of the flower and worked her way in so that the flowers popped out a little in the middle.  This is a very cute look but if you’re going for a more authentic looking rose start in the center of the flower and slowly work your way around and around until you reach your desired size.  Try to end your rose at the same place every time.
– If you used large roses (as I tend to do) you’ll be left with a few gaps inbetween your roses.  That’s okay!  I have a simple solution for them.  Go in and add an extra swoop along side one of the roses.  Simply follow the shape of the rose and release pressure before lifting the bag.  Voila!

Simple tips to achieving beautiful rose success:

– Use a buttercream recipe that “crusts” well.
– Make sure you have a lot of icing on hand because these roses use a lot.
– Place your finished creation in the fridge to help the icing set and the roses hold their shape.
– If you want to make an ombre cake simply add a darker icing to your piping bag each row (or two) of roses.
– Don’t be so serious!  Honestly, these roses are very forgiving so just have fun with them!  Plus, if you mess them up you can just scrape them off and add them back to your piping bag and start again.  See, that crumb coating does have a purpose!

If you have any questions please let me know and if you try out this technique yourself I would love to see pictures!!