How to make fantasy sugar flowers

Learn how to make this beautiful spray of fantasy sugar flowers in this tutorial by Lisa Slatter from her book, Twenty to Make: Sugar Flowers...

Image credit: Lisa Slatter

This tutorial is from Twenty to Make: Sugar Flowers by Lisa Slatter, Search Press. Lavishly presented in a very portable format, these astonishing creations include popular flowers such as roses, lilies, gerbera and orchids. Simple steps explain how to make each of the illustrated flowers, and an image of the unassembled constituent parts helps to make each project clear and simple. If you love this project you can get the book from our online shop WITH an automatic 10% off just for being you, PLUS free UK P+P!

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You will need

Materials

Gum paste: white
Powdered food colour: blue, lilac, yellow
Royal icing: green

Tools

28g wires: green (cut into quarter-lengths)
Small long-nosed pliers
Tiny dull round stamens: white
Five-point tapered cone tool
Meadow cranesbill cutter
Large oval plaque cutter: 70mm (2¾in)
Paintbrushes: size 2/0 round, 12mm (½in) flat
Piping bag and leaf tube: ST52
Stem tape
Pearl lustre spray with spray gun attachment

Instructions

Single layer fantasy flowers

Take a small pea-sized ball of white flower paste and make it into a cone by rolling the ball of flower paste on the heel of your hand.

Pinch the wide end of the cone with fingers and thumbs to flatten and widen the base, leaving the pointed end of the cone as a stem standing up in the middle, like a Mexican hat.

Roll the flattened base area with a mini modelling tool to thin and widen even more, rolling from right up close to the stem to the outside edge.

Place the meadow cranesbill cutter over the Mexican hat, then push down to cut out the flower shape as shown. Release from the cutter by pushing a ball tool into the centre of the flower.

With a mini modelling tool, roll each petal vertically from side to side to widen, thin down and shape the petals.

Push a five-point tapered cone tool into the centre of the flower to mark a star shape. Take a quarter-length of 28g green wire and bend a tiny hook at one end with the long-nosed pliers. Dip the hooked end of the wire into some sugar glue. Pull the wire down through the centre of the flower and secure the flower to the wire by rolling the back of the flower between your fingers.

Double layer fantasy flowers

Repeat steps 1 to 6 above, but do not insert the wire at stage 6. Put the flower to one side and roll out some white gum paste. Cut out a second flower shape using the same cutter.

Roll the petals from side to side as in step 5. Place on a foam pad and push a ball tool into the centre of each petal to cup them.

Use sugar glue to stick the new piece on top of the flower, interleaving the two sets of petals. Cut three stamens and attach them to a 28g wire with stem tape. Insert the wire and stamens into the centre of the flower, then secure the flower by rolling the paste at the back between your fingers.

Dust the centre of the flower with some yellow food colouring and the round brush. Use the flat brush to dust the edges of the petals from the outer edge inwards with some lilac or blue powdered food colour. Tape the flowers together with stem tape, trim the stem and then use royal icing to secure them to a fluted oval plaque sprayed with pearl lustre colour.

To hide the stem, pipe a few green leaves over it with green royal icing using an ST52 piping tube.