The Contemporary Buttercream Bible (17 page)

D

E

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Tip

You can also use Oreo cookies, chocolate

sprinkles or any similar edible goodies, to fill

the middle of the sunflower.

Leaves

1 Using the same method as for the petals of the

sunflower, use a small leaf nozzle (Wilton 352).

Choose a point below the outer layer of petals and

position your nozzle so it is at a 20 to 30 degree

angle with one point touching the cake (A).

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A

2 Squeeze your piping bag until it creates a wide

base then gently pull away to create the leaf (B).

B

3 When you reach the desired length of the leaf,

which for a sunflower will be about the same length

as the petals, stop squeezing your bag then pull

abruptly (C).

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C

4 Repeat this process to pipe leaves at intervals

around the flower (D).

D

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To create this cake…

• 20 × 10cm (8 × 4in) round cake, or a dozen

cupcakes

• 500–750g (1lb 2oz–1lb 10oz) buttercream

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• Paste colours: yellow (Sugarflair Melon and

Autumn Leaf) brown (Sugarflair Chestnut), mocha

(Sugarflair Dark Brown) and green (Spruce Green)

• Piping bags

• Cake stand or covered cake board

• Small leaf nozzle (Wilton 352)

• Writing nozzle 1 or 2 (optional)

Plan the layout of your flowers, using paintings and

photographs as inspiration, to achieve a balanced

look. Cover the cake with plain buttercream and a

smooth finish (see Covering Cakes in Buttercream

Basics) and place on a stand or covered board.

Colour 200–300g (7–101⁄2oz) of buttercream yellow,

and 100–150g (31⁄ –51

2

⁄2oz) each of brown, mocha

and green. Pipe the sunflowers and leaves as

described in the tutorials then pipe some trailing

stems in green with a writing nozzle.

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Camellia and Hydrangea

Camellias and hydrangeas can both be piped

straight on to a cake or a cupcake, and use the same

piping principle. Camellia is a flower that you can

pipe using a minimal amount of buttercream but

gives an extraordinary look. The individual

elements of a hydrangea bloom form a flowerhead

which resembles a large pompom, and is an

absolute eye catcher.

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Aside from using fancy cupcake cases (liners), a

clever alternative for a floral theme are these

silicone plant pots, which you can buy from many

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cake supply shops, especially the larger online

retailers. This will give a real ‘garden’ look to your cupcakes. Rather than giving your cupcakes a plain

smooth covering, you can add more interest by

piping ruffles (see Piping Textures and Patterns)

around the edge before you add your flowers on

top. Choose a colour that will compliment your

flowers. We have found that this light green usually

works well.

Camellia

1 Pipe a guide circle the same size as you want your

flower to be. Using a small petal nozzle (Wilton

104), position your nozzle with the wide end

touching the guide circle. Hold the bag at a 20 to 30

degree angle and, without moving your piping bag,

give it a good squeeze until the buttercream creates

a fan shape. Stop squeezing then gently pull

towards you. This will be the first in your outer row of petals (A).

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A

2 Repeat the same process to pipe another layer of

petals (B). Make sure that the piping bag is really

close to your first layer so there are no gaps.

Depending on how big your flower is, you might

need to pipe few more layers of petals.

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B

3 Use green tinted buttercream to pipe some spikes

in the middle then yellow tinted buttercream to

pipe dots to give a create a realistic flower centre

(C).

C

4 Pipe some leaves using a leaf nozzle (see

Sunflower and Leaves in Piping Flowers) (D).

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