Royal Icing...buttercream...roses ....ughhhhhhhhh!
Decorating By mmmcake0072 Updated 8 Oct 2011 , 12:07am by mmmcake0072
Have a customer who requested a replica of her in-laws wedding cake for their 40th anniversary. The cake is all buttercream with buttercream or maybe royal icing roses dead center of the bottom tier going all the way around the cake. Wilton teacher at the bulk barn told me to use royal icing roses, but heard that the royal icing will "dissolve" form the buttercream. My other delema is how wo stick the roses to the cake. They are on the side and I'm afraid that if I just use buttercream that they will side down the side of the cake.
Once your royal icing flowers have dried, they won't dissolve on buttercream.
OMG thanks for the quick response!! Think that I will make them allow to dry and flip upside down and royal ice a skewer to them to help support them!
You can use the royal icing on the buttercream with out a problem.
Indy, would tell you she always uses buttercream for her flowers, that once they dry out they are light weight and will hold up well on the side of the cake. To do that, just make buttercream flowers many days in advance, and let them sit out in the air. The moisture will evaporate, leaving you flowers that you can handle (gently) but will still be soft when bitten into.
I only have 3 days until the cake is due. Do you think the roses will be dry enough if I try the buttercream?
I only have 3 days until the cake is due. Do you think the roses will be dry enough if I try the buttercream?
I don't think so. Depending on your icing recipe and how much coloring you might need to use, your BC roses might need longer to completely air dry. Have you made buttercream roses before? If so, how long did it take to dry? I like to make them at least 5-7 days in advance, otherwise the centers will still be too wet and heavy. The outer petals will be dry, but still very fragile until after a few more days of drying.
At this point, I don't believe you have time for royal icing roses to completely dry either. Have you made RI roses before? Thin, flat drop flowers can dry within a couple of days, but not roses that are so thick in the middle. I'd consider a plan B this late in the game and hope you can find enough royal icing roses in the correct color(s) to purchase locally.
You can quick dry royal icing flowers in the oven with just an oven light on. I wouldn't try it with buttercream, but I have done it with royal icing. With a rose you'd probably need a good 12 to 24 in the oven.
Do you have a dehydrator?
I made the royal icing roses today, hoping they will dry out. No dehydrator, but I do have a de-humidifyer for the basement.....same thing??? I really hate to dissapoint this customer. She was so last minute, but with trying to be so sweet for her in-laws. Could not do the fruit cake due to time constraints, so I'm trying to get as close to the cake as possible.
I think your royal icing roses will be just fine. I have done them 1 day before the cake was due and they were dry and easy to stick to the cake with a dot of buttercream. They were a little soft on the bottom, but it didn't hurt anything at all.
The top side was dry enough to touch last night so I lifted them and put them on a cooling rack. Woke up this morning and they seem totally dry!
The top side was dry enough to touch last night so I lifted them and put them on a cooling rack. Woke up this morning and they seem totally dry!
AWESOME!!! I knew it! 
So glad it worked out for you!. I bet the buttercrem would have been fine in 3 days too, if you use a shortening recipe.
I only have 3 days until the cake is due. Do you think the roses will be dry enough if I try the buttercream?
I frequently made my BC roses in the morning and applied the dried roses to the cake in the afternoon. 3 days is WAY more than enough time. Here is a pic with some hints on how to do cascading flowers (scroll to the bottom of comments): http://cakecentral.com/gallery/1496730
THank you soo much!! Going to use the royal icing roses since they are already made, but next time will use the buttercream ones for sure!!! Thank you all again!!
Also, for future reference, to make the butter cream roses firm up quicker you first use a crusting butter cream recipe and then add several tablespoons of meringue powder to the butter creaming part of the recipe. This causes the butter cream to be a severely crusting butter cream that dries even faster. Matter of fact, a severely crusting butter cream is quite effective making flowers that normally can only be made with royal icing and not butter cream. Just thought I would add that tidbit! Good luck!
Sent out the cake and all seemed well!! Hope the hubby who arrived in some super shiney red sports car remembered the rules for driving. I almost had a heart attack when I saw him pull in!! Fingers crossed.
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