Rose Leaves Tutorial

Rose Leaves Tutorial

To make these realistic rose leaves, you will need the following items:

Flower/gum paste, rose leaf cutters, rose leaf veiners (I use Aldaval Veiners), rolling pin, florist wire and tape (I used a very fine gauge wire), cornflour, edible glue, petal dust - burgundy, confectioner's glaze, paintbrush.

Roll out your paste thinly but thick enough to insert a wire and cut out your leaf shape (my cutters leave an indent in the middle but this doesn't matter as it will disappear later!)

Cut your wire into pieces around 10cm long. Dip a wire in edible glue and insert carefully into the leaf about 3/4's of the way along the leaf.

Dust the veiners with cornflour to stop the paste sticking and lay your leaf on the veiner that looks like the back of the leaf, making sure the wire is in line with the leaf spine.

Place the other veiner on top and apply pressure, kind of squash it gently between your fingers! Carefully open the veiners and pop out the leaf - if you find it sticks, tease it out slowly with a dry paintbrush. Keep going until you have as many leaves of different sizes as you need.

Now use a paintbrush to dust the edges of your leaves with a hint of burgundy petal dust. (I used the colour in the bottom left of the picture)

Using a paintbrush, give each leaf a sheen using confectioner's glaze - I use a liquid but sprays are also available.

Now all you have to do is use florist tape to bind together your leaves in the arrangement you choose :)

Happy Making

BakerLou -x-

For other tutorials, please take a look through this blog or see our website

Tutorial - Simple Sugarpaste Roses

BakerLou Tutorial - Simple Sugarpaste Roses

These easy roses are perfect for putting onto cupcakes or celebration cakes and need no specialist equipment!

This tutorial will take you through the process of making these pretty flowers with photos every step of the way. I’ve found this to be the easiest way to learn a new technique so I hope you find it easy to follow. If you need any further assistance, please feel free to message me through my Facebook page or website.

EQUIPMENT

All you need for this simple method of rose making is as follows:

* Sugarpaste in the colour of your choice – approx 100g

 * A sharp knife

 * A sheet of plastic such as cellophane, a plastic file pocket or a freezer bag

 * Your hands!

 And that’s it! No special equipment needed at all.

METHOD

Knead your sugarpaste until it’s pliable and roll into a sausage shape – the fatter the sausage, the bigger your rose will be.

Cut off the end piece and discard, then cut six slices of roughly the same size. Cover the rest of your paste with cling film or pop in a freezer bag to stop it drying out.

Work with one piece at a time and keep the other slices covered. Lay the first slice on your work surface and cover with your plastic sheet. Push down hard with the palm of your hand (at the base of your thumb) to thin out the paste.

Next run your thumb firmly around the edges of the petal, half on the petal and half on the plastic. This will soften and thin the edges of the petal. To make the bud, start curling the petal inwards with your fingers, keeping it fairly tight.

Repeat the thinning process for the next petal and wrap around your bud, overlapping the seam of the bud. Use your fingers to gently curl the edges of the petals back and pinch around the base to keep in place.

Now all you have to do is keep thinning petals and wrapping around until you have the size of rose you want.

 Once you’re done you’ll notice that the base is now rather large. Don’t worry, that’s how it should be! Simply cut off the excess paste with your knife or a pair of scissors.

Leave to dry overnight or until needed (do not keep sugarpaste decorations in an airtight container or fridge as they will spoil!) and then attach to your cake or cupcake with a little Royal Icing or sugar glue.

Happy Making ❀

Tutorials Now in Store!

We now have three brand new tutorials available to purchase on the BakerLou website with lots more to come! Like all our step-by-step guides, each one is illustrated with photos for each step of the way with clear instructions. Feel free to visit our facebook page if you have any questions or you'd like to show off your work!

First up are these gorgeous Simple Flowers which are made without any cutters at all! Find the complete guide here.

Next, we show you how to make realistic and beautiful Wired Roses. Find the tutorial here.

And, last but not least, the pretty Open Rose - find it here.

We have quite a list of requests so expect a lot more tutorials on the way very soon, including more sugar flowers, baking and decorating basics and complete step-by-step cakes - we might even show you how to make one of our very popular Bottle Cakes!

Happy Making!

BakerLou -x-