Ok everybody, we’ve made it to the last step of making our gum paste edible roses! If you’ve been following me for the past little while, you would have first learned to make the Rose Base, then the Rose Bud, and then the Medium Rose. Today we’re moving on to the next step: the full rose.
I’m going to teach you how to turn those small roses into large, beautiful ones – and next time, I’ll teach you how to colour them, like I did for this cake:
Again, this cake was made using the same type of roses that this tutorial teaches – with toothpicks at the base!
Ready to learn something wonderful? Here we go!
Large Gum Paste Roses (Edible Roses)
This is part 4/5 on making gum paste roses @naomicakes.com!
Ingredients
- pre-made medium sized gum paste roses enough for the number of large roses you want to make (see my previous tutorial)
- 1 golf ball sized piece gum paste see recipe notes
- 1-2 tsp vegetable shortening
- plastic wrap
- 1 glass water
- 1 small fondant/gum paste rolling pin see recipe notes
- 3 rose cutters set (see recipe notes)
- 1 foam mat (see recipe notes)
- corn starch in a tea ball or cheesecloth bundle in a tea ball or cheesecloth bundle, for easy application
- 1 ball tool/frill tool (see recipe notes)
- 1 new/clean* paint brush *must be new or only used for this process to be food safe
- 1 cell stick optional (see recipe notes)
- 1 veining tool optional (see recipe notes)
- 1 piece styrofoam
Instructions
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Lightly grease a clean work surface with some vegetable shortening, put a little on your hands, and knead the gum paste until smooth and pliable.
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Roll the gum paste out until it is quite thin; about 1/8" or a little thinner.
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Using the large sized rose petal cutter from your set, cut out 5-8 petal shapes per rose base (example, for 4 roses you would need 20-32 petals; I used 5 per rose for this tutorial). Remove the excess gum paste from around the cut-outs, shape into a ball, and wrap in plastic. Set aside. Cover the cut rose petal shapes on the table with plastic until ready to use.
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Lightly dust your foam mat with cornstarch to prevent the petals from sticking (I like putting it into a little homemade cheesecloth bag-like a cloth sieve- to make this most simple). Remove 1-5 petals from under the plastic at a time, and gently thin/frill the edges of each petal with the frill or ball tool (also dusted with cornstarch).
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From the centre outward, roll the veining tool (or press the petals in a silicone veining tool) across the petals to make the impression of vertical veins on each one.
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Allow the petals to rest for 20 minutes, just to take on a little bit of structure, before proceeding to the next step. For best results, let the petals rest for 20 minutes, vein side up, on cornstarch dusted spoons. Make sure the thin, wide edge of each petal slightly sticks up off the edge of the spoon, so that the petal takes on that "curled" look. DO NOT LET THE PETALS REST LONGER THAN THIS.
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Dampen the base of one petal with water on the veined side, and wrap it (vein side up) around your pre-made medium rose, with the edge of the previous petal in the middle of the new one.
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Moisten the tip of another petal on the veined side again, and tuck the edge of it underneath the first petal (again, vein side in), securing it to the rose at the moistened base. Repeat with the remaining petals, arranging them with your fingertips to look nice and full. Frill the edges out with a cell stick or your fingertips. (See photos in this tutorial for reference.)
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At this point, the roses will want to "open up." So, to keep their shape, stick the toothpick end into styrofoam upside down (see photos for reference) to begin to set. Allow the rose to dry completely for about 20-30 minutes, and then turn it over to sit upright and complete drying for at least 12-24 hours.
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The thoroughly dry roses will keep in a cool, dry place for several months in a closed container. Humidity will cause the roses to "wilt" and you may not be able to keep them if that happens.
Recipe Notes
Gum Paste
Rolling Pin
Foam Mat
Ball/Frill Tools
Paint Brushes
Rose Cutter Set/Silicone veiner*
Large Rose Cutter Set
*The veiner in this tutorial is hard to find these days, but the silicone ones are much better!
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.
Steps 4 & 5:
Step 7:
Step 8:
Step 9:
And now for lots of pictures! The sun came out, and I couldn’t help myself!!
Ta da! They’re beautiful. Next, I’ll teach you how to colour these beauties however you like.
Thanks for following along! See you next week,
Naomi
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