Start Exploring Sugar flowers: A guide
Part one
Introduction
Sugar flowers, what are they? Can you eat them? How long does it take you to make one? Today I’m going to do my best to answer any questions you may have about sugar flowers and where to get started so that you can make them too. Firstly I’d like to state that I’m always learning so this may continue to be amended or have additional posts in the future to support it as time goes on and I learn new things. For now, I’m going to get you started with the information that I wish I had when I first started making flowers a few years ago.
What are sugar flowers?
Well to put it plainly they are life-like (realistic) flowers made of gum paste. Gum paste is a sugar “clay” traditionally made with egg whites, confectioner’s sugar, a gumming agent i.e. tylose powder, and vegetable shortening. This is a vegan blog tho right? Correct! I use good quality reduced aquafaba in place of the egg whites and organic confectioner’s sugar and it works perfectly. I will provide a recipe for the gum paste as a PDF.
What are they used for?
Sugar flowers are typically used in cake artistry to adorn cakes. More recently artists have been using them to create things that typically made with real flowers like bouquets and wreaths. However, they are fragile so those projects are typically only meant for photo styling purposes. Most of the time the flowers used to design cakes are kept by wedded couples as a keepsake. With that being said I’ll address the most common question I get asked. Can you eat them? Yes and no, yes because all the ingredients are edible, no because they really don’t taste great. Just enjoy them for want they are, true beauties.
Getting Started
Here comes the part that I wish I knew when I first started to learn sugar flowers. Start with fillers! Fillers are small flowers think blossoms and hydrangeas, leaves (foliage), and fruits like berries and apricots. Learning and perfecting these starters will supply you with the basic tools and skills needed to advance to bigger blooms with ease in the future.
The Flowers
Though small these blooms can still make a huge impact on the look of a cake.
Hydrangeas - will add fullness because in nature they grow in clusters and should be clustered to duplicate.
Blossoms- your more versatile option. They look amazing clustered or place with another flower or fruit.
The Foliage
Any greenery can make a cake look amazing on its own. Here is are my suggestions for starting out.
Olive leaves/branches- minimal and so stylish perfect for that simple white cake
Floral leaves- A basic leaf cutter and veiner will pretty much cover an assortment of leaves to use as fillers throughout any cake design. I recommend starting with something simpler and versatile but high quality.
The Fruit
Berries, apricots, and citrus can all be achieved essentially the same way with the same tools. All typically needed is a dresden tool and your hands. For blackberries, you will need the addition fo tylose glue which is really easy to make, with just water and tylose power. I like to make mine early so that it has some time to mature, this just means it will be smoother which is easier to work with.
The Goods
Now we are moving onto what you need to achieve beautiful handmade sugar flowers. There are lots of tools and brands out there so it can be overwhelming when you are starting out. No worries though, I’ve got you covered.
Stand mixer- I recommend that you get to have a stand mixer for can making gum paste because it will be hard to do by hand but with a lot of kneading I’m sure it can be done. The brand recommended is Kitchenaid but there are some cost more affordable good options in the market that may work for making the paste and other tough batters.
Modeling tools- These are the tools that are going to help you manipulate the gum paste into the fruits, flowers, and leaves. They are typically not found in your local craft stores so if you have a specialty shop that sells cakes decorating supplies you’ll want to start there. The standard tools cost could be anywhere from $60 to $100. The best place to shop online is Sugar Delites, it's a small business, and they ship pretty fast.
Celpin
Celpad
Celboard
dresden tool
veining stick
leaf veiner mold
Cutters for blossoms and leaves
Supplies- Supplies is another thing where you may have to go to specialty shops to find some of the items but some you in the grocery store.
floral wire
petal dust
paintbrushes
plastic bags
cake dummy
Workspace-This is probably the most essential thing for the success of your sugar flowers as well as your sanity. You want to have a works space that is clean and clear of any distractions. The surface should be smooth or have very little texture. I use a craft board which is kinda like a nicer cutting board and large wooden cutting board. Place your tools off to the side within reach, besure that are organize so that you don’t have to faff around while working.
Starting out can be tricky but is here to assist you with making mindful choices that are smart for your business your artistry. I would suggest getting started with the flowers, leaves, and fruit suggested before moving on to roses or dahlias. Of course like everything worth learning the more you practice the better you get. Please comment below and let me know you have any questions. More will be added to this guide soon!
As promised here is the recipe for vegan gum paste. You can download it here and print it out if you want. I use a chickpea aquafaba for my gum paste and highly suggest it. I would also recommend that you reduce the aquafaba the day prior to using it. This recipe calls for 75 g of aquafaba so start with 150 g and reduce to half.
If you would like to learn more about aquafaba I have a video all about it and it’s uses on Instagram. Should you have any questions about it please feel free to reach out on social media.