Gum Paste Roses

I have a wedding coming up on the 17th of September. No, I am not getting married. I am actually doing my first "gig" in the cupcake business! I am nervous, of course, but the bride is as sweet as sugar and has given me alot of creative freedom. She has chose very simple yet classic cakes, chocolate, vanilla and red velvet. I am making mini-cupcakes (approximately 300) and one giant cupcake for the grooms cake. The wedding colors are red, silver, white and black. My partner in crime is helping me build a cupcake stand this weekend to hold all those cupcakes! I will keep you posted as the next few weeks go by on progress of cupcakes, decorations and the stand.

In the meantime, I have started making gum paste roses to add as decor to my cupcake display. Unlike my last gum paste flowers, I have started this project off with some documentation. Gum paste roses are somewhat easier than the lilies but I haven't even begun the dusting yet so we will see how it goes. Here are the first couple I made:

Gum Paste Flowers - Take one

I took a class from Dawn's Candy and Cake on gum paste flowers. Here is a few things I learned:

1) Gum paste tastes like marshmallow.
2) Gum paste dries fairly quickly.
3) Gum paste is not like playing with Play Doe or Fimo.
4) There are ALOT of steps involved in making gum paste flowers.
5) Making gum paste flowers takes much longer than I anticipated.
6) Common chalk (for kids) is food safe and you can use it to dust your gum paste flowers.
7) If your gum paste flower happens to break, you can use Superglue to repair it and when dried, Superglue is also food-safe.

I am sure there are alot more things I learned but after watching so many cake shows, I thought gum paste would be a walk in the park. It was more like a jog, uphill, in a rainstorm. Do I love it? Oh yes! Once I master it- I have a brilliant idea for a niche cupcake shop. So gum paste- bring it on!

My only regret with these lilies is that I didn't document the process with pictures- just the finished product.

Here- Taste this.

I have to say, my partner in crime is such a trooper. I force him to try my various cakes and frosting combinations. He dutifully opens his mouth and allows me to insert whatever I happen to have at the end of a spoon!

Fortunately, he gives me honest responses to how he feels in regards to the taste, texture and flavor profiles. Sometimes it's good. Sometimes, not so good.

The good news is that we had another success this weekend! Almond cupcakes with key lime buttercream, topped with a SugarRobot butterfly and fresh lime zest...