Let me tell you, making gum paste roses (which definitely requires both hands) and taking pictures of the process (alone) is not easy. Especially when the sun dips behind a cloud every few seconds, making my camera settings need to be adjusted frequently. I feel like I should win some kind of prize…
Anyway, on to the point of this post! I’m guessing you’ve been following this journey already, starting with the Rose Base, then the Rose Bud, and now the medium rose. Next, I’ll show you how to make this one bloom into a full sized rose; but as mentioned before, I wanted to keep each piece of the directions as a separate tutorial, just to make sure you don’t get overwhelmed. Roses aren’t hard to make, they just have a lot of detail to think about.
After you make the Rose Bud, this is the next step to making gum paste roses is this one. And, as I have in posts past, I’ll share couple more pictures of a cake I made with roses like this, for your inspirational perusing pleasure:
(Photo Credit: Figgie Photography.)
Yes. You can make that! Here’s step 3:
Medium Gum Paste Roses (Edible Roses)
This is part 3/5 on making gum paste roses @naomicakes.com!
Ingredients
- pre-made rose buds (enough for the number of roses you want to make) see my previous tutorial for this step
- 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, 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
-
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.
-
Roll the gum paste out until it is quite thin; about 1/8" or a little thinner.
-
Using the middle sized rose petal cutter from your set, cut out 5 petal shapes per rose base (example, for 4 roses you would need 20 petals). 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.
-
Lightly dust your foam mat with cornstarch to prevent the petals from sticking (I like putting it into a little homemade cheesecloth bag 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).
-
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.
-
Dampen the base of one petal with water on the veined side, and wrap it (vein side in) around your pre-made rose bud, with the edge of the previous petal in the middle of the new one.
-
Moisten the tip of another petal on the veined side again, and tuck the edge of it underneath the first petal (vein side in), securing it to the bud at the moistened base. Repeat with the remaining petals, and frill the edges out with a cell stick or your fingertips. (See photos in this tutorial for reference.)
-
Stick the toothpick end into styrofoam so that the rose can stand upright, and allow the medium rose to dry completely (12-24 hours) or at least for 1 hour before continuing on to the next step.
-
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.
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:
Steps 6 & 7:
Step 8:
There you have it: another step done!! If anything in this section is not making sense visually, the photos in my last two posts, the Rose Base and Rose Bud, will have more visuals for you. Make sure to check those out!
Thanks for following along! I’ll be back next week to teach you how to make the big, bright beautiful one – the full rose!
Bye for now,
Naomi
