Cake Decorating: How to Make a Sugar Flower

Sugar paste or fondant flowers can add a little extra something to your cake and cupcake designs. Many people think sugar paste flowers are difficult and leave them to the experts, but really they are very simple and easy to master. So follow these easy instructions to impress your friends and family with your decorating skills.

In order to make a sugar flower you will need: a small 5-petal flower cookie cutter, a flower veiner, a non stick board to work on, a rolling pin, a small painter's palette, sugar paste or fondant icing, CMC/Tylo powder, and royal icing. All of these supplies can be found at cake decorating stores, and at some craft and art supply stores.

The first thing you need to do is roll out your sugar paste or fondant icing and use the cookie cutters to cut out your flowers. If you want the flowers to harden as they dry and keep their shape for a long period, for example if you need to save them for later use, you can add some Tylo powder to the paste and knead it in before you roll it out.

Now, dust the veiners with cornstarch so they won't stick to the sugar paste. Place the sugar flower you have just cut out into the veiner. Place the pointed half of the veiner on top and give it a slight push with the palm of your hand. Don't push too hard, just enough to leave the imprint of the veiners on the sugar paste. Your sugar flower should now look more like a real flower, with veins and not such a flat shape, when you remove the top pointed veiner part.

Carefully lift the sugar flower off of the bottom veiner and put it in a one of the wells on the painter's palette to let it dry. When it has dried completely add a small drop of sugar paste, fondant or royal icing to the center.

Now the sugar flowers are ready to be used to decorate your cake or cupcakes. You can make the flowers any color you want by adding food coloring to the sugar paste or fondant before you roll it out.

You can store flowers for up to a few months and they should taste and look just as good as when they were first made. Just be sure to keep them in an airtight container and be sure they are dried completely before you store them.