How To Make A Layered Petal Cake
I had quite a few cakesters ask how I made the Pretty & Petite petal cake, so I decided to make a tutorial to share.
You may find along the way an easier method since this was my first attempt at this technique. I hope it helps!!List of Materials
- Colored Fondant
- Small Rolling Pin
- 5 Petal Cutter (mine is made by Ateco)
- Sharp Cutting Tool
- Ball Sculpting Tool
- Foam Pad
- Paint Brush
- Water
- Fondant Covered Cake
Gather your materials. Your cake should have a base cover of fondant on it at this time.
Roll the fondant out fairly thin – the thinner the fondant the more “frill” you will get from the petal. Use your 5 petal cutter to cut out your petals. I rolled out enough fondant to do several flowers at once to save time. They will stay soft if you keep them under plastic wrap.
Use your sharp cutting tool to separate the petals. You can do this after you frill, but I found before to be easier.
I used the small end of my ball tool to run along the edge of the petal. If your tool is plastic and has a seam, be sure to use the side of the ball so it doesn’t tear the fondant. Running half of the ball on the petal and half on the foam pad will give you a great result. I used the pointed tip as a “handle” while I worked with each petal.
Cut the point of your petal away with your sharp tool so you can line them up along the cake more evenly.
Take your brush and water and run it around the area of the cake here you want to place your petal. Be sure to only wet where the top of your petal will go so the whole thing doesn’t stick to the cake. If this happens, you won’t get the airy result you’re looking for. Think of a Post-it notepad. Only the top of the page is sticky.
Place your petals along the side of the cake, being sure you try to keep your line straight. You can use a toothpick to lift the petals up here and there for a pretty effect.
Wet the area above the row you just placed, being sure again to only wet the area where the top of the petal will touch.
Start your second row of petals above the first. Be sure to position this row so that the petals cover the seams of the first set. The way you would stack bricks.
I’ve used to different color petals here so you can see the brick effect. Practicing on a glass or bowl is a great way to work on your technique before using it on a cake. Thank you for looking and good luck!!
Thank you SO much - you've explained each step perfectly and I can't wait to try it. Your cake is absolutely beautiful too! :)
Thanks so much Chris.....I want to try this technique on my next special cake for one of my special friends or family members.......Love the shading you did with black, Greyson and white shades ! Thanks for your time to post this !!!
I love this cake. Thanks for showing how you did it. Very much appreciated. Excellent work. :-)
Thank you!! Your cake is gorgeous. To document each step is not easy and you really nailed it. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and expertise.
First off BRAVO!!! What a marvelous creation. Thank you for sharing this many perhaps would not have; what an open heart you have. Second: ITS A TUTORIAL woooohooooo you totally rock! I can't wait to try this cake and the tutorial feels like it was a video not a thing missed. Indeed CC members will enjoy this treat. :) :)
I have thought and thought and tried to come up with something spectacular for my Grandmothers 100th Birthday cake. She is a delicate beautiful flower herself and I THANK YOU for this idea. I hope you don't mind if I borrow this. It is simply BEAUTIFUL and perfect for this momentous occasion!!!! You'e the greatest!!!
Thanks for the tutorial i can't wait to try this :)
this is a great technique-thanks so much for sharing with us! Recently on Cake Boss he made (and his employee) a million of these petals and put them all over the tiered cake-made 3 for a movie set. It was pretty-but yours with the layered and ombre color effect, plus the band and flower on top makes me want to make one. Beautiful and so well done!
Beautiful cake and great tutorial! What a great idea to practice on a glass! I never would have thought of that.
A really elegant cake & a wonderful tutorial.
Thank you SOOO much for taking the time to put this together!! I can't wait to try it!! BTW, your cake is GORGEOUS!!!
My granddaughter turns one in March and this cake done in shades of pink would be a great addition to her celebration! Thank you for such clear instructions. Brilliant idea to practice on the glass.
thank you so much.Practicing on glass is a great idea!
Beautiful cake! Thank you for the tutorial!
I'm looking forward to trying this but I have to ask -- where did you get that fabulous 5 petal rose cutter??? I've never seen one like that!!! :D
Beautiful! Can't wait to try this out.
Beautiful cake design idea.. thank you for sharing.
Thank you so much for posting this!! My sister turns 15 next week and this is perfect for her! I'm going to make one in purple this weekend and the instructions you give are so clear. I can't wait to get started now! Thank you!
Awesome tutorial. Thanks for sharing.
can I ask how you put it all together on the side of the cake though? Do you just stick each petal with icing and then but a ball of fondant in the middle. It looks fab though. Well done. I have been trying fro 4 weeks now to make a big rose and that is exactly the kind I wanted. THANKS
Lilian
Thank you so much for taking the time to share this with us!! :) :)
so so pretty, thank you so much for sharing the tutorial.
great looking cake i cant wait to try it!
Looks so pretty, I will definately try it. I find your tutorials so helpful.
Thank you so much for sharing your techniques. I just love this cake and you did such a beautiful job!! I am going to try my hand at making this beautiful cake I hope it turns out as pretty as yours. Again great job!
Thanx for sharing this, it's so beautiful that i already used it for the b-day cake of my daughter.
Wow! very elegant beautiful cake will definitely make dis cake for my beautiful neice. Thanks,its gorgeous!
This is BEAUTIFUL - and you explained it so very thoroughly! I can hardly wait to try your technique. Thanks so very much for sharing so much! :)
Thank you all so much for your kind words!!! I really wanted to make sure I captured every step in the process so you weren't left with any questions. It's important to me that you all have great success when you try this technique! :) I used two basic 6" round cakes for her, and just water to attach each petal to her surface. (no other fondant or gum paste) I'm so happy you all like this cake, and hope that you PM me links to your beautiful masterpieces when you use this method :)
Christie
Thnx , couldnt have asked for a bettr tutorial. I am absolutely going to try it. Great job, loved the colour combination too!
Thank you so much for showing us how to make this...it is a stunning cake but yet fairly simple to make...
Great tutorial! Can you tell us how you did the flower on the side? I'm guessing a flower cutter, but do you have all different sizes?
So beautiful! you're really talented thanks for sharing.
Hi! First I have to say I love this cake so much. Your technique is so pretty. Could you please tell me the SIZE & where you got your 5 petal cutter. I have not been able to find it. Also, as others have requested, would you mind explaining how you did your stunning flower? Is this also done with the 5 petal cutter only in different sizes? Tank you so much.
Great tutorial, thank you
Thank you! Thank you!
thank you
Wao!this is great. It's almost like pastillaging. thanks for your kindness.
THANK YOU SO MUCH! I did this cake this weekend and because of your post it turned out GREAT! Only mine was red :) Thanks again!
This will be my next cake trial. I LOVE IT!!! Great work.
Thank you
I always loved this design and just could not do it, but, now that you have explained it so clearly i can't wait to try this. Beautiful cake, job well done!!
Great tutorial and beautiful cake. Thank you for sharing.
I have that cutter and its a five petal rose cutter from Ateco :) Lovely tutorial by the way <3
Thanks so much this is too pretty!!!
Thank you for sharing with the tutorial. Your directions were easy to follow and I actually used the design to create a cake for my niece's wedding shower this last Sat. I did it in shades of turquoise on a 12" bottom tier topped with a black ribbon and turqouise flower. Then a 8" layer with a white drape of fondant and another turq. flower. Topped with black pick that simply said"LOVE" I decorated with stick on pearls and another turq. flower. Everyone raved about the petals, they had never seen anything like it. I felt almost like a pro thanks to you! God bless.
P.S. Practicing on jar is a BRILLIANT idea!
Can this same technique be done with the petals but attaching to buttercream vs. fondant? I plan to make this for a 10 year old and know she would prefer the buttercream vs. the fondant. Thanks!
Beautiful, will be trying it soon!!!
Thank you for sharing!!1
What a stunning creation.....great tutorial, am planning on trying this very soon. One question, what shade of colors did you use for your petals?
TiffanyY -I don't see why you couldn't use this technique on a nice, stiff butter cream. You would have to make sure the cake didn't get too warm, though, or your petals would most likely shift around. :) fchin - Thank you so much!! No secret in the color :) I used straight out of the bottle Wilton BLACK gel color. I always use a whitener in my fondant, though. Believe it or not, it makes a big difference in the appearance. I have used both the one made by Wilton, and the one made by Americolor. No preference as they seem to do an equal job. I whiten my fondant first, then gradually add small amounts of black fondant. Once I get midway, I start to add small amounts of white to to the black fondant. Hope I've helped you out!!
I see some people have asked...what size 5 petal cutter did you use? This cake is BEAUTIFUL. Thank you for sharing.
Awesome! Huge help, thank you so much!
This is great! Thank you SO much! I'm making this cake for someone who wants buttercream. I made my flower with the petal cutter. I did a little practice run with BC and placed the petals on with gum glue. Worked fine. My questions is.....the delicate flower, which I made from gumpaste. I'm not sure how to attach it to the side of the cake. Should I just put a huge slab of BC and stick it on? I'm so afraid it's going to fall off.
Thanks!
I would attach it with a stiffened buttercream. I only attached this one with water and held it for a bit - it stayed with no problems :) Can't wait to see your cake!!
I used the smaller 5 petal cutter from the 2 piece Ateco set, which it 3.2" :)
Hi! This is soooo beautiful! Thank you! Would this technique work on a square cake as well? I am still learning and was wondering about it?
I think the technique would work fine on a square cake, as long as you know how you want your corners to look, and carefully space and place the petals so it all comes together for you :)
Do you have a tutorial on how to make that flower ? I would loved to know ....Gorgeous cake !
Thank you for the lesson. I can't wait to try this out. Gorgeous cake!!!
Thank you for the great tutorial! I am hoping to replicate your design on a 3-tier 16th birthday cake. Due to the amount of petals needed for the job, do you suppose it would be all right to prepare the petals about 4 to 5 days in advance before the final application on the cake? Thanks again so much!
Thanks have been looking every where for this.Beautiful. Is there a tutorial for the flower anywhere. Thanks again :)
Thanks for this!!! Very helpful! Cant wait to try it out!
Thank you for the tutorial! I didn't have any 5 petal cutters so I used circle cutters and then cut them in half, then balled the edges. I had fun making my first layered petal cake! Here it is: http://cakecentral.com/gallery/2354916/pink-layered-petal-cake :D
Thanks a lot for this. I have no formal education in pastry but I'm really passionate about it. I've learned a lot from your tutorial. Thank you for inspiring :)
Awesome,thanks for sharing
What a great tutorial, thanks! There is a cake I am dying to try and this tutorial has helped me with the petal method. :)
Thank you so so much for the well-written tutorial! Your cake is elegant and I can't wait to try this technique. Bravo.
Thank you for sharing! Can't wait to try this.
Thank you for the great tutorial. I am going to make one this weekend and will upload on this page by Monday. God bless you!