Rose and Hydrangea Cake

This summer I had to tackle sugar flowers in a major way. I’ve learnt to make a few here and there, mostly simple ones for cupcakes or to be stuck flat on to cakes. I set about teaching myself (basically reading this book over and over, learning step by step) some more complex flowers, including how to wire them properly, attach them to tiered cakes and create more interesting arrangements.

The thing about sugar flowers is while they always turn out super pretty and are in the end very rewarding, they often take many steps and days to produce because of the drying time in between each stage. They also end up mega fragile (I broke a fair amount of rose petals along the way) therefore I made a ton more than I needed for the wedding cakes.

It was my Mum’s birthday a couple of weekends ago and so I used the extras to make her birthday cake super special…if a little bridal. She didn’t mind. I made her a Victoria Sponge and used the flowers I had in a totally neutral colour palette, all white and ivory with a few tiny green hydrangea. I really loved how this one turned out – sugar flowers definitely get easier with practice…I’m hoping though that one day I’ll stop flinching every time I have to stick a flower in to a smooth fondant cake. Happy Birthday Mum x