Rose Cake Tutorial

SO excited to share with you how easy it is to make the rose cake.  

Seriously, once you see you are going to run right out, buy a 1M tip, and make one.  

That or go back to work. Or bed.  Or whatever it was you were doing before I interrupted you.

Ok, here we go!

There were two main components to this cake.

The vertical layer interior and the frosting rose exterior.  

I am going to do a vertical layer tutorial at a different time, (updated: you can see it HERE) as I did not get any pictures of it this go around and it is IMPOSSIBLE to explain without pictures.  What I can tell you is, I did not make a sponge cake that I simple rolled up.  I actually made two separate cakes and assembled them into the vertical layer pattern.  

Now for the frosting rose tutorial!

I promise you, this could NOT be easier.  Bakers have been putting frosting roses on cupcakes forever by simply using a 1M decorators tip.  That is all I did!!  

(I need to mention... before I froze my cake I poured a simple syrup over it.  This helped to retain moisture as well as assist in binding the layers together... just be careful to not use to much!)

Start with your cake.  I put a good crumb coat on... as in, a crumb coat that conceals the cake underneath.  It can be sloppy and uneven, but you should not be able to see what color the cake is.

Put your 1M tip (or any large open star tip) into the pastry bag then fill it up with buttercream frosting. 

If you have an appropriately sized coupler you can use that, or you can just insert the tip into the bag and cut off the excess.

To make your rose, start in the center, then slowly move your tip in a circle around the center point.  I wanted a single rose to span the side of the cake so I looped around my center point twice.

Try to end in the same place each time.

Go all the way around the cake and complete with one last rose!

This is how it looks after completing the circumference of the cake.

Then go back and add the roses to the top using the same method.

When making flowers that big, you are bound to have some 'dead' space in there. Can you see that big empty spot up there?

My first instinct was to go back in and add dollops of stars... but I think I found a better way! 

Instead go in and make a swoop with your tip. (try and go in the same direction as the rose right next to it)

In the overall design it seems to fit in better then the star dollop!

At least, I hope so anyway. :)

Now... if you are really adventurous and want to add some color to your cake...

You can pick up some of these.

I did a light dusting of yellow then went back over it with the pink.  I have to admit, all white is still my favorite, but I love the flexibility of being able to add some color. 

I think a deep red would be stunning on a Valentines Day cake!  If you try that, be sure to send pictures!  Or just add it to my flickr group!

 

Here are my tips to finding success:

1. Use a good crusting buttercream recipe.  I used my new favorite and loved how it worked.  You will want to make sure the frosting is not creamy though... for the tutorial cake I used a creamier version and the roses did not hold their shape as well. 

2. Make sure you have enough frosting!  Those roses use a lot... I would make the whole batch of the above recipe.

3. Put your cake in the fridge after you are done with decorating to help them set up and retain their shape.

4. Have FUN with it!  Those roses are so forgiving.  But if you find that you really dislike how they are turning out, just scrape them off and start over!

 Cant wait to see what you do! 

And of course, if you have any questions, feel free to let me know.

***

You can also see this on Project Weddings!

Comments

[Jennifer]

WOW this cake is gorgeous!!!!!!!!

[Amanda @ TMI]

Thanks for including the instructions. My daughter turns one this month, and this is the perfect cake for her first birthday!

[Barbara]

I saw a pic of this cake the other day and though I would have tried without your tutorial do you know how nice it is to have it??! Simply beautiful. I would more likely serve it on a red plate for Valentine color than color the frosting; the white just looks so beautiful

[Maja]

It's amazing!!!
Thank you so much for this, I will make it for my freind wedding :)

[amanda areias]

Beautiful!! Simple and so elegant!

[Ciaochowlinda]

This is really an eye-popper. I'm scratching my brain thinking of a special event I could make this for.

[Maria]

Beautiful!

[brilynn]

I'd like to give those a try on cupcakes, they look great!

[terri]

beautiful cake just wondering how to do the vertical cake?thanks

[Sarah]

That is BRILLIANT. There are no other words.

[Gwendolyn McBee]

This is absolutely perfect for an upcoming cake that I have to make for someone. You shared it with us just in the nick of time. I LOVE this idea. It certainly beats making the roses where each petal is piped on separtely. Yeahhhhh I think I feel a happy dance coming on!! :-)

[Emily]

Yet another great tutorial! I just shared about your easy decorating techniques and your buttercream recipe on my blog this morning! you make it look so easy!

[Carine]

Thanks for the tutorial! This is a very beautiful cake!!

[megan @ whatmegansmaking]

thank you so much for this tutorial! I love the cake and can't wait to try it. That 1M tip really is amazing.

[Lucy Lean]

BEAUTIFUL!

[Amy's blah, blah, blogging]

Thank you for this and the buttercream recipe. Ever since you put the picture out there a couple of days ago I have been researching frosting roses. They all did it with a 104 and I was able to do that, but now I'm interested in trying it with this tip instead. Got a special girl celebrating this weekend and I think she needs some purple roses for her cake!

You are such an inspiration Amanda!

[BellaCouturista]

Beautiful! I can't wait to try it!

[shari]

Wicked wicked woman, making us wait............but I LOVE you!!!!! Thank you so much for the tutorial! Can't wait to amaze everyon with this cake. They already think I am an amazing baker, but this will FLOOR them!!!!!!!!

[Olga @ mangotomato]

this is beyond gorgeous!!!

[Tiffany Rosenberger]

This is AMAZING! Thanks so much for sharing. I love your blog.

[Lindsey Campbell]

This cake is so beautiful! I have a baby shower in a few weeks... I will definitely be giving this the ol' College try. They are having a girl, so the pink coloring will be perfect - although white is classic. I'll let you know how it turns out!

[Rachel V.]

Thank you thank you THANK YOU!!!! I can't wait to do this! So simple and beautiful. You are so generous to give this secret away. Thank you!!

[Rachel]

That's AMAZING! Now I want to make a cake for valentine's day. I'll be spreading the word about your gorgeous cake.

[Molly]

Hi Amanda,
First, I love your blog!! It's so fun to see what you create! Second, I noticed that you didn't use a coupler with the 1M tip...did this present any problems? Thanks!

[Caroline]

This is incredibly beautiful.

[Ashley Lee]

How gorgeous! Thank you SO much for posting this tutorial! My daughter's baptism is in two weeks and I have been trying to come up with an elegant design for a cake for afterwards. She adores pink and roses. After viewing your tutorial I have figured out what I'm going to create. I am going to make a pink rose cake! I'm so thankful for having a plan now.

How do you think mixing light pink and hot pink roses would look together on a cake? Or should I just stick to one color? Thanks again!

[Cat]

Hi there--I'm a new reader (just added you to my RSS feed) and I want to thank you so much for posting this! I've been itching (more than usual) for Friday in anticipation of your tutorial. I haven't been able to stop thinking about this gorgeous cake! It's such a stunning piece of work--I think I'm going to try it tomorrow.

Really looking forward to the vertical cake tutorial too. You do amazing amazing AMAZING work!!

[Georgia @ The Comfort of Cooking]

This is just so lovely! Great job, and thanks so much for sharing. I'm so glad to have found your beautiful blog and look forward to seeing more! :) - Georgia

[Rhondi]

Stunning! I love the white roses. Thanks for the tutorial! I can't wait to try it.

[candice]

♥ it...i have leftover mousse from work. gonna practice my roses right now. ha! i use that buttercream recipe too, but i substitute a tad of the shortening with butter. it's a good one.

[tina]

i am SO making this for my daughter's bday!!! thank you so much for sharing!

[Created by Christi]

I've never thought of using that tip this way, I hope I can pull it off, because this looks so amazing! Thanks for sharing!

[Kristin Clark]

It's official. I love you.
Thank you for sharing your cleverness!

[Rachel]

Thank you so much! I'm going to try it for our wedding anniversary.

[June G]

Love the color! Now, how did you make it vertical?

[Megan P]

have you ever thought about writing a book??? i think you would do a fabulous job, and i would definitely buy a couple copies for me and my sisters!

Megan

[marla {family fresh cooking}]

Truly, reading your post the other day kept me together during dental impressions. Thought I was gonna have a HUGE panic attack in the chair & your b'day post took me away from it all. Thanks for this tutorial, truly I know I could still screw this up ;)

[sweetie pie]

Really pretty! I like the all white version the best too. Thanks for the easy to follow directions.

[bridget {bake at 350}]

Oh, thank you for this! I NEED that 1M tip! NEED it! Must buy it....like TODAY!

And how cool is that spray? You know about all the good stuff!

[Jen @ My Kitchen Addiction]

I am just in love with this cake!! I still need to give it a try myself... It's definitely on my list. I'm thinking of red velvet w/ white cream cheese frosting roses for Valentine's Day :)

[Eliana]

Thanks so much for the tutorial! This cake is gorgeous.

[Allison W.]

Thank you so much for sharing this with us! I cannot wait to try it out for my soon-to-be sister in-law's wedding shower... and of course, my husband is very excited for the test run!

[Heather]

This is absolutely stunning.

[Fara]

Amanda this cake is DREAMY! LOVE it son much. Thanks for sharing!
Fara

[Danie B.]

So simple. So genius! Thanks for sharing your technique.

[Shaina]

My name is Amanda and I am amazing. I'm going to call you Amazing Amanda from now on. Now, let me know when we can swap decorating classes for cooking classes. No joke. I will cook your favorite food. You will show me how to wield a pastry bag with precision. Stop rolling your eyes.

[holly]

It looks easy enough..I just love the way this looks I can see this as a wedding cake-it just gorgeous!! Thanks for the tutorial:)

[Cherine]

Gorgeous cake!

[Renata Lacerda]

Wow, you kept your promise! Thanks for sharing! I must confess that I'm so curious to find out how you layered it vertically.... by the way, you could challenge your readers to try to find out how you did this awesome cake ;o) I would love to challenge myself!

[Katie]

WOW, thank you for sharing this tutorial!