Making Sugar Flowers For Cake Decorating

I made these simple sugar flowers for a wedding cake. And I say 'simple' because the flowers were not only easy to make, they can also be made quickly. Plus they do not require any special sugar flower skills, which means anyone can make them.

2 white gum paste flowers on the corner of a cake

It took me less than 5 minutes to make each sugar flower. The only time-consuming part was for the drying time. I left mine to dry overnight. That way, I had the petals completely dry and set to be used on my cake.

A 3 tier square cake in white, with gold lace and white gum paste flowers

How to Make Simple Sugar Flowers

Main supplies for the sugar flowers:

Gumpaste – I used Satin Ice white gum paste for these flowers. In fact, I use this gum paste for all my flowers. It is my favorite when it comes to making sugar flowers (gum paste flowers).
3 petals flower cutter – The one I used for these flowers is a Wilton flower cutter. It was part of Wilton flower cutters set I purchased a couple of years ago.
Veining tool – If you notice the flower petals in the images above, you will see that each petal is veined. I used a peony leaf veining tool for this purpose. The veining tool had obvious veins and make very pretty texture on the petals of the sugar flowers.
Gold dragees – I used these for the flower centers. They are in shiny gold color and were store-bought. The gold centers for the flowers were to match the rest of the wedding cake decoration which was all white and gold.

And this is how to make the sugar flowers:

As in any sugar flowers or gum paste flowers, start with the gum paste. Roll it thin so that you get thin and natural looking petals.

Using the Wilton 3 petal cutter, cut out the petals. Each flower requires 2 sets of petals. Depending on the number of flowers you intend to make, it is worth making a few extra to allow for breakages.

Thinning the edges of a flower petal with a ball tool

Using the ball tool and floral sponge, thin the edges of each petal. The thinning and the slight frills that form from the thinning will give the petals a natural look.

A gum paste flower petal with the edges thinned

Here's how the petals should look like after thinning the edges.

Veining the flower

For the veining, you would need to do it for each petal, one at a time.

Peony leaf veining tool

Using a pink veining tool to imprint vein marks on gum paste flower petals

I veined one petal at the time on the largest patch of the veining tool.

I applied pressure only on the largest patch and held the other 2 patches of the veining tool upward so that they do not leave any marks on the rest of the 2 petals.

All 3 petals completely veined, individually.

Vein each of the 3 petals and set them on a flower former. Pinch the end of each petal so that the petals have curved and pointed ends. Let the sugar flower petals dry out a little for about an hour.

Assembling the gum paste flowers

A gum paste flower in white, on a flower former

Next is assembling the flowers. Place one set of petals on the other, making sure the second set of petals are positioned in between the first set of petals. Attach both sets with some fondant glue.

To make sure the pinched pointed edges of each petal remained pinched and pointed, apply a tiny bit of fondant glue. Re-pinch the petals so that the pinched ends stick together and remain that way.

The pinching will not only give the flower petals a pointed edge, but it also makes each petal curve naturally. Plus in my case, the pointed petals matched the overall design of the wedding cake I was making (the cake had pointed filigree lace pattern on each tier).

And finally, do flower centers. Again, brush some fondant glue in the center. Start with one gold dragee. Place one large dragee right in the center.

Using a purple brush to apply glue to the center of a gum paste flower

A 6 petals gum paste flower in white with gold bead center

A 6 petals sugar flower in white with gold bead centers

Then, add more dragees all around the first dragee such that they completely encircle the first one.

Once the flower centers are done, let the flowers to set completely overnight. And when the rest of your cake decoration is done, attach these pretty sugar flowers to the cake with fondant glue.

And that was how I made these simple sugar flowers.

Hope you enjoyed this tutorial.

Happy cake decorating!

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