You will need:

Edibles:

Equipment:

• flower paste: pink, deep pink and green
• petal dusts: cyclamen (Squires Kitchen) astral pink (Rolkem), autumn green (Rainbow Dust), citrus green (Rainbow Dust)
• airbrush food colours violet: pink and red (Cassie Brown)

• dimpled foam
• small fluid writer
• Dresden tool
• steamer
• cutters: Lindy's life-size hardy fuchsia set, Lindy's Persian petals set one, Lindy's small teardrop set (Lindy's Cakes), rose leaf set (FMM)
• veiners: Tea rose petal veiner, briar rose leaf veiner and curiosity rose leaf veiner (Squires Kitchen)
• craft knife
• 22 gauge white floristry wire
• stamens large and small
• white floristry tape half width

1

Thinly roll out the green flower paste and cut out a selection of different sized leaves using the rose leaf cutter. You will need about ten to fifteen individual unwired leaves. Place the leaves one at a time into a double sided rose veiner, press then release.

2

Place the leaves on some dimpled foam, positioning them so that they have movement. Leave to firm up.

3

To make the wired leaves, cut out more leaves in different sizes then thread a thin sausage of paste onto a wire and attach to the back of each leaf as shown. Vein as before and place on dimpled foam to firm up.

4

To colour the leaves, place on kitchen paper and dust with the suggested dusts, adding cyclamen to the edges of the leaves and citrus green to the central area.

5

Add half width white tape to the stem of each wired leaf to thicken. Next dust each stem with cyclamen.

6

Using a steamer or saucepan with a lid at a slight angle, steam each leaf to set the dusts and make the colours more vivid.

7

Tape the wired leaves together as shown. The leaves grow in pairs with one pair at right angles to the next pair. Blend the tape and colour using cyclamen dust.

8

For the stamens and pistils, cut off one end from each of the double ended stamens. You will need one pistil and six stamens per flower. Mix the astral pink dust with a little water and paint over the tips and white cotton stems of the stamens and pistils and leave to dry.

9

For each flower, tape one pistil and six stamens to a 22 gauge floristry wire as shown.

10

Thinly roll out the pink flower paste and cut four petals per flower using the life-sized hardy fuchsia set. Using the sharp end of a Dresden tool, repeatedly press into the lower edge of each petal to create a toothed edge.

11

Vein the petals using a tea rose double sided petal veiner and allow to harden in a cupped position on dimpled foam. Once the petals are firm enough to retain their shape but still flexible, stick the petals together as shown.

12

Next wrap the petals around the prepared stamens, so that they all interlock. Attach in place. Dust over the very top of the petals with the astral pink dust.

13

Half fill the fluid writer with pink airbrush colour and add five lines to each petal as shown

14

For the sepals, create a 'mexican hat' shape from the deep pink flower paste, using a small rolling pin to thin the paste of the the 'brim'. Then cut out the sepals as shown using the life-sized hardy fuchsia cutter.

15

Insert the wire holding the petals through the centre of the sepals and shape the style and ovary of the fuchsia by rolling the paste between your thumb and forefinger.

16

Allow the flowers to harden using kitchen paper to help support the sepals, then dust the stems and ovary with cyclamen dust and set the dust in steam.

17

Bend the stem of the fuchsias and insert into your cake so they hang down the cake in an attractive arrangement.

18

Add the loose leaves directly into the cake in a pleasing arrangement then complete by inserting the wired leaf stems.