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How to make cabbage rose/peony gumpaste flower?

post #1 of 37
5/25/09 at 5:38pm
Thread Starter 
I'm working on a cake for a customer that wants one styled after the attached file. It has peonies (she called them cabbage roses) on it. Does anyone know where to find instructions on how to make these? They definately have a more cabbage look than a normal rose.

Thanks,
Sharon
LL
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post #2 of 37
5/25/09 at 6:56pm
I'm not sure but those are my favorite flowers and I'd love to know too.
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post #3 of 37
5/25/09 at 7:14pm
I just saw this cake on the cover of "Real Simple Weddings". I found it online as well.

http://www.realsimple.com/holidays-entertaining/weddings/cakes-catering/wedding-cakes-season-00000000009680/page2.html

It is in fact a gum paste peony. I have been trying to find instructions on it as well. I hope someone can lead us to the right direction.
The food pyramid is missing a food group
*CHOCOLATE*!!!


http://www.ibrakeforcupcakes.blogspot.com/
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The food pyramid is missing a food group
*CHOCOLATE*!!!


http://www.ibrakeforcupcakes.blogspot.com/
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post #4 of 37
5/25/09 at 7:38pm
A cabbage rose is an actual flower different from the peony. I know the article calls them peonies, and while the structure looks similar, the pictured flower has petals that look very different from the peony I know. The peony has very ruffled petals that have a very irregular scalloped edge. The flowers in your picture look like they have smooth rounded petal edges.

At any rate, Cakes by Design has instructions for a peony at their website . (on page 28 of the pdf file) They also sell the peony cutters.

Nicholas Lodge has a DVD on making peonies, though he also has the ruffly, scalloped version.

This may be somebody's version of a peony. but the one I see and make most often looks more like the following
hth
LL
LL
Housework makes you ugly.

It's marshmallow, not marshmellow! Aaargh, I have the strangest pet peeves!
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Housework makes you ugly.

It's marshmallow, not marshmellow! Aaargh, I have the strangest pet peeves!
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post #5 of 37
5/26/09 at 12:11am
Wow artscallion thanks for that info. I have saved it and am going to study each flower. Maybe try each one.

Vasmg. With the cabbage rose I would place a small round polystyrene ball in the centre and curve the petals around it and you should get the perfect shape.
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post #6 of 37
5/26/09 at 12:35am
I made, this flower very easily. I did not have any polystyrene balls so I rolled up some foil and made different sized balls. I then covered them in rolled out fondant and smoothed out.

I did not use any wires, I just kept adding cupped large rose petals to get the right effect.

Let the outside petals slightly dry before you add them to keep their shape. I used soup spoons for this.
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post #7 of 37
5/26/09 at 8:28am
What a fabulous PDF file!!!! I'd never have found that on my own. Thanks for sharing.
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post #8 of 37
5/26/09 at 11:59am
Thread Starter 
yummycupcakes - that's the exact cake they want.
artscallion - thanks for all the WONDERFUL information.

sara91 - These are the type of flowers she wants. Did you lay the fondant petals over the balls, dry, and then put together to make one or keep layering over one ball? I'm assuming it'd work well with gumpaste also.
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post #9 of 37
5/26/09 at 12:17pm
Hey Sara,

can you post a pic?

I'd love to try this.
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post #10 of 37
5/31/09 at 8:29pm
Thread Starter 
Ok, this is what I've got so far (ugh). I took a ping-pong ball, used the Jem 5 rose cutter and started covering it with gumpaste. This is my frist one. Maybe it'll look better tomorrow (hahaha).

Ideas? The sides aren't supposed to be ruffled. I tried drying on spoons but my spoons evidently don't have enough curve OR I wasn't understanding the directions.

Maybe it needs to be thicker? Maybe I need to express order somewhere?

Thanks,
Sharon
LL
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post #11 of 37
5/31/09 at 8:49pm
wow the pdf posted is amazing!
more cake pictures at www.tayloredcakes.shutterfly.com!
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more cake pictures at www.tayloredcakes.shutterfly.com!
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post #12 of 37
5/31/09 at 9:18pm
Hi Sharon,

Maybe try thinning out your paste a little more. And try and use something like cotton or sponge between the layers of your paste so it forces the flower to open a bit while drying.

Regardless, dusts are really the key to everything so once its dry try dusting and it will look awesome.

Good Luck!!!
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post #13 of 37
6/1/09 at 4:01am
I agree your paste could be much thinner. Do you have a gum paste ball tool to cup the petals? Then maybe dry them over something the size of a tennis ball, rather than a spoon. If you cup them first, they'll form to the ball shape without ruffling or bunching.
Housework makes you ugly.

It's marshmallow, not marshmellow! Aaargh, I have the strangest pet peeves!
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Housework makes you ugly.

It's marshmallow, not marshmellow! Aaargh, I have the strangest pet peeves!
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post #14 of 37
6/2/09 at 10:22am
I made peonies using my cutters and hated the way they looked. I ended up using teardrop shaped cutters and ruffled the edges a lot using the small ball end of my ball tool. I really like the way they looked when done. Maybe someday, I'll get around to posting pictures.
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post #15 of 37
6/2/09 at 10:33am
I'd love to see a pic tracycakes thumbs_up.gif
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