Hey everybody! Today I want to start the process of teaching you how to make a simple gum paste rose; i.e, an edible, realistic looking rose for decorating cakes. The beginning of the process is simple: the rose base.

The reason I say “Simple” is because I’m going to teach you how to build the roses on toothpicks instead of wiring them to make them look like they have stems. Trust me – this is a simpler way to start as a beginner!

Also, to clarify– when I say “Basic”…take another look at the photo above. They may be basic, but I can’t honestly call them easy; they will require a commitment of time and effort!

These roses are beautiful and can contribute to some fabulous looking cakes, though. Observe: I made this cake is made with toothpick roses:

After you master this technique, it should be pretty easy to expand your skills into the “Roses on stems with calyxes and leaves” realm. In fact, who knows? Maybe if I get enough requests, I’ll even post another tutorial to teach you how to wire them myself! But I’ll have to hear from you before I do that.

For now, I’m sticking with simple roses on toothpicks, and I’m going to break it down into 5 parts so that you can track with me easily. 

You ready? Let’s go!

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Gum Paste Rose Bases

This is part 1/5 on making gum paste roses @naomicakes.com!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American, Canadian

Keyword fondant rose, rose

Prep Time 15 minutes

Author Naomi

Ingredients

• 1 golf-ball sized piece gum paste (see recipe notes)
• 1-2 tsp vegetable shortening
• plastic wrap
• 1 glass water
• 1 sm fondant/gum paste rolling pin (see recipe notes)
• 3 rose cutters (set) (see recipe notes)
• 1 piece styrofoam

Instructions

1. Smear a clean work surface with a little shortening, and knead the gum paste until smooth and pliable.

2. Roll the gum paste out to be about 1/4-1/2-inch thickness, and cut out tear drop shapes with the smallest rose cutter of your set, 1 per rose you intend to make. (I made 10 for this tutorial)

3. Remove the excess gum paste from around your tear-drop cut outs, wrap in plastic, and set aside. Cover the tear drop cut outs on your work surface in plastic as well, pressing it to the greased surface to seal and prevent the rose bases from drying out.

4. Remove one teardrop cut out from under the plastic, and cover the remaining pieces again. Using your fingertips, roll it into a smooth, 3D teardrop shape. Dip a toothpick into some water, and press it at least 1/2 way up into the base of the teardrop shaped piece of gum paste.

5. Stick the rose base, toothpick side down, upright into a piece of styrofoam to dry. Repeat with the other teardrops until all of the bases are formed.

6. Allow the bases to dry 12 hours or more before continuing to the next step.

Recipe Notes

Click on these links below to find the products you need!

Gum Paste

Rolling pin

Rose cutter set*

*My rose cutters in this tutorial are about the sizes of the smallest three cutters in that set. 

IMPORTANT: Any leftover gum paste will dry out if it's not kept well-sealed. I recommend wrapping it in plastic, putting it into a ziplock bag, and putting it into a sealed container to keep maximum freshness.

Tip: This tutorial is for making mini roses, as pictured in the cake in the photo above. If you want to make larger roses, you can just use a set of 3 large rose cutters and follow the same instructions.

Not too bad, eh? This is the fastest, simplest part. Get this done, and you’ll be ready for the next step… coming to you next week!

You can do it!

–Naomi