After completing Decorating Basics, Course 2: Flowers and Cake Design is one of two additional Wilton Method courses you can choose. In Flowers and Cake Design, you’ll explore sophisticated ways to bring your cakes and desserts to life!
Your Wilton Method Instructor will teach you to create breathtaking icing flowers such as pansies, lilies and the famous Wilton Rose. Then, you’ll discover the secrets of arranging them in a beautifully balanced cake-top bouquet.
Your amazing flowers will be framed by an impressive boarder treatment or basketweave design. With the skills you learn here and your ability to make flowers in advance using gum paste and fondant or royal icing, you can create beautiful blooms at your convenience, ready to place on any cake.
Topics covered in Flowers and Cake Design include:
- Basic Principles of Cake Design
- Gum Paste and Fondant 101
- Button Flower
- Pansy Making Royal Icing
- Making a Parchment Bag
- Flower Nail
- Rose Base, Rose Center
- Apple Blossom, Primrose
- Rosebud
- Daffodil
- Violet
- Using the Lily Nail, Lily
- Making Stems
- Guidelines for Flower Arrangments
- Floral Cake Design
- Reverse Shell
- Basketweave
- Wilton Rose
Additional Resources:
The following are additional resources to help supplement what you learn in the Flowers and Cake Design class:
Hints and Advice
Lesson One
- We recommend using Wilton’s pre-colored Fondant to color Fondant and Gum Paste. The color will hold better and is less messy than using Icing Colors. The texture, consistency and properties of the Fondant or Gum Paste will be maintained when making intense colors.
- When making the Button Flower, allow the Gum Paste rectangle (that you cut with the cutter side of the press) to rest uncovered for a minute or two before moving on to the next step. The more you use the mold the easier it will be to remove the gum paste flowers.
- When making Royal Icing the most common mistake is under-beating the icing. Even if the icing appears to be stiff, you should continue beating it until it loses its shine; you may have to add a few drops of water if it is too stiff. Do Not Beat on a high setting, be sure and follow the directions in the lesson plan. If using a hand-held mixer, you may have to stop mixing and let the mixer cool down part way through the process. Be sure to keep the icing covered with a damp kitchen towel or cloth while you wait for the mixer to cool off.
- We suggest using a glue stick to secure the Icing Flowers squares onto the Flower Nail template however, it is not the only medium you can use. Your Wilton Method Instructor may give you some other ideas, such as double stick tape or Royal Icing.
- Royal Icing breaks down quickly, so for the best results it will need to be re-beaten frequently. It is not necessary to use a mixer each time you re-beat it; stirring it with a spatula will work well most of the time.
- Remember the 3 Keys to Successful Cake decorating that you learned in the “Decorating Basics” Course. Always check yourself to be sure your icing is the proper consistency, you are applying the proper amount of pressure to the decorating bag, and that you are holding the decorating bag in the proper position before you begin a flower.
- Practice, practice, practice. The time you devote to at home practice will be rewarded with beautiful flowers. Practice makes perfect!
- Begin thinking about your final cake as you learn to make these new flowers. What colors might you want to use? The color wheel on page 4 of the Flowers and Cake Design Lesson Plan can help you select colors that work well together. Use the colors you choose for your final cake when you practice at home and you will have a head start when preparing for Lesson 4.
- Be prepared. Make a cake plan so you know what flowers, icing and supplies you need to take to class. Your final cake may not look exactly as you planned in your design, and that’s OK. Sometimes designs evolve as you create your masterpiece.
- Bring a camera with you to class. It’s fun to take pictures of your cake and the cakes of the other students.
FAQs
Our students ask great questions! Here are the questions (and answers) that come up most often in our Flowers and Cake Design course.
For a complete list of what to bring to each class, please refer to our Flower and Cake Design Student Supplies pageHow long can you keep Royal Icing?
Royal Icing can be stored in an air-tight, grease-free container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.
How long can you keep Royal Icing Flowers?
If stored properly, (in a covered container in a cool dry place) you can keep them for months.
How much water do I add to Royal Icing to make it thin?
Royal Icing is affected by many variables such as humidity, the type of Confectioners’ Sugar used, how long and to what consistency it was beaten, etc., so it is impossible to give you a hard and fast rule for how much water to add to thin it. Our best advice is to stir in water a few drops at a time until it reaches the desired consistency.
What can I do to help keep gum paste colored purple from fading and turning blue?
We suggest that you use Neon Purple fondant to color your gum paste; it will also help if you add a pinch of Neon Pink fondant as well. You will have less fading if you color gum paste and fondant using Icing Color. Keep your cake or flowers covered as much as possible before serving and avoid placing it in direct sunlight.
Does Meringue Powder need to be refrigerated?
It is not necessary to refrigerate Meringue Powder, but it can be refrigerated if you prefer.
What can I do to keep the gum paste from sticking in my button Flower Press?
We do not recommend treating the press with anything. The more you use it the easier it will release. Follow the directions on page 9 of the Flowers and Cake Design Lesson Plan. It may help if you if you add a note after the 2nd bullet of the 2nd picture that says, “Let the gum paste rest for a minute or two before proceeding.” Be sure to invert the gum paste so the top, dry side of the gum paste, is on the bottom when positioning over the indented side of the mold.
