Although there’s a ton of texture going on here, the design could not be simpler to create. I used a mix of simple fondant flowers, buttercream piped flowers, and sprinkles to make this cascading bouquet of blooms come to life. Incorporating all three of those elements helps to give depth to the design, but I’ve also created this cascading floral look with just buttercream and both ways look incredible! Whatever techniques you use, as long as you nail this floral placement, you really can’t lose. 

If you do include the cute little fondant flowers, I do recommend making them at least a day ahead, just because they’re much easier to work with when they’re firm. I made them with this plunger cutter set and loved how quick they were to cut out in a variety of sizes and colors. Allowing them to dry in a semi-sphere mold (or even on the inside curve of a bowl!) really helped give the petals the perfect shape. Probably the easiest fondant flowers I’ve ever made!  

And as far as the buttercream flowers go, all they really take is the right piping tips and a fun color palette. Including the Fuschia background color I used for the cake, this color palette consists of seven different buttercream colors! I do tend to get a little carried away when color mixing sometimes (it’s therapeutic!) but keep in mind that you can create this look with less colors, or really any color palette you want. With that in mind, feel free to follow the tutorial below closely or use it as inspiration for your floral cake creation. You do you! 

Here’s a quick video to show you the decorating techniques before you read all about them below:

Be sure to check out my YouTube channel to see even more cake decorating videos, tutorials, and recipes. Hit the Subscribe button while you’re there so you never miss a new video!

You Will Need 

• A 6-inch cake, filled and frosted in a solid color of your choice
• 3 1-inch balls of fondant
• Small rolling pin
• 1 tsp vegetable shortening
• Flower Plunger Cutter Set
• Flower drying mold
• 1 batch of vanilla buttercream
• Food color gels of your choice
• Bowls and spoons for mixing
• Piping bags
• Wilton Tip 1M (x2)
• Wilton Tip 4B (x2)
• Wilton Drop Flower tips: 190 and 225
• Sprinkles of your choice (I used the Sea Glass Mix by Sprinkle Pop)

Step 1: Make the Fondant Flowers

At least a day ahead (so the fondant flowers have time to dry), color the three 1-inch balls of fondant according to your chosen color scheme. I used Americolor Lemon Yellow, Fuschia, and Regal Purple for the colors shown below.

Coat a flat surface with a little bit of vegetable shortening, then roll the fondant out to about ⅛ inch thick.

Use the flower plungers to cut out a variety of floral shapes, gently pressing the plunge button to create the dot center on each one.

Finally, set the flowers to dry in a semi-sphere mold or the inside of a bowl so that the petals dry with some upward lift.

After about 24 hours, your fondant flowers should be dry and fully ready to use on your cake.

Step 2: Prepare the Buttercream 

Divide the vanilla buttercream evenly amongst separate bowls, one per color in your palette. Then color each bowl with your favorite color gels. For the color palette shown below, I used Americolor Fuschia, Lemon Yellow, Regal Purple (for both the light and dark purple), Turquoise (for both the light and dark turquoise), and Peach.

When your buttercream colors are ready to go, fit your piping bags with tips and fill each one with a different color. I fit the Fuschia and dark Regal Purple piping bags with Wilton Tip 1M, the Lemon Yellow and dark Turquoise piping bags with Wilton Tip 4B, the Peach bag with Wilton Tip 190, and the light Regal Purple and light Turquoise bags with Wilton Tip 225.

Feel free to use any variety of floral piping tips and colors you’d like for this look! 

Step 3: Decorate the Top of the Cake 

On the top of your frosted cake, start by piping some scattered rosettes with Wilton Tip 1M in a crescent moon shape.

Use the piping bags fitted with Wilton Tip 4B to pipe stars that follow the same crescent moon shape, allowing plenty of space to fill in with more florals.

Fill in most of the space with your drop flowers using Wilton Tips 190 and 225. If you’ve never piped a drop flower before, they’re super easy! Simply hold the piping tip at a 90 degree angle (straight down) about ⅛ inch from the cake surface. Then, twist the tip in a clockwise motion while you squeeze to swirl the petals before releasing.

Next, add the fondant flowers wherever you’d like, standing them at different angles. They’re super light weight, so they should stick right onto the buttercream without shifting or falling over.

Finally, fill in the empty spaces with spherical sprinkles of varying sizes. I loved adding some of the sprinkles to the buttercream flowers to give them a pretty center!

Step 4: Create the Floral Cascade 

To make these beautiful blooms look like they’re cascading down the side of the cake, repeat the above steps for piping, adding fondant flowers, and attaching sprinkles – only this time at a diagonal angle. Starting near one of the edges of the crescent moon shape you created along the top, pipe scattered rosettes diagonally down the side of the cake.

Pipe more stars with Wilton Tip 4B in that same diagonal direction down the side, then fill in most of the empty space with the drop flower tips to complete the general cascading shape.

Accent your cascading florals with fondant flowers and sprinkles until you are totally satisfied with all the textures going on.

This is one of those cake designs I get totally lost in and just keep adding things until I feel like it’s time to step back and marvel. These floral textures get me every time!

So pretty, right? I can’t wait to see your cascading floral cake creations – be sure to tag @sugarandsparrowco on Instagram to show me! We could all use something pretty to look at nowadays, so no matter what your reason is for making this cake design, it’s sure to bring some life to this crazy season. Hope you’re all safe, well and staying creative (or doing whatever brings you joy these days)!

The post Cascading Floral Cake Tutorial appeared first on Sugar & Sparrow.

In addition to making sure the blooms you’re purchasing for your cake are organic and haven’t been sprayed with pesticides, it’s important to know ahead of time which flowers to avoid. I’ve found that in some cases, the florist won’t even know! So before I teach you how to incorporate fresh florals into your cake designs, make them last, and keep them from leaking their stem juices into your precious cake, I wanted to share a list of flowers that are safe for your cakes (and in some cases, even completely edible!) and which ones to avoid completely:

Flowers That Are Safe: Pansies, Lavender, Violas, Violets, Roses, Marigold, Cornflower, Carnations, Chrysanthemums, Day Lily, Hibiscus, Peony, Chamomile, Freesia, Gerber Daisy, Lisianthus, Queen Anne’s Lace, Primrose, Sunflowers. Here’s a longer list (and what parts of each flower are actually edible!).

Flowers To Avoid: Lily Of The Valley, Daffodil, Poinsettia, Azaleas, Calla Lily, Hyacinth, Oleander, Wisteria, Rhododendron, Hydrangea, Mistletoe, Holly, Sweet Pea. Here’s the long list.

Now that you know which flowers work best for keeping your cake tasty and non-toxic, here’s my method for decorating cakes with fresh florals:

You Will Need:

• Fresh florals (organic, pesticide-free, and from the safe list)
• Floral scissors or pruning tool
• A frosted cake
• Floral tape
• Scissors

Step 1: Wash And Trim The Flowers

Under a sink with cold water running, gently wash your flowers to make sure there aren’t any bugs or dirt lingering in the petals. Locate where you’d like to trim the stem (I usually keep it 2-3 inches long) and place it under the water. Snip the stem at an angle and keep the trimmed portion under the water for another few seconds. I consider that the flower’s final drink.

Pat the flowers and stems dry with a paper towel carefully.

Step 2: Wrap The Stems

Cut a piece of floral tape that’s about 2-3 inches long. Wrap the tape around the stem, focusing on covering the majority of the stem and where it’s been pruned. The goal here is to create a barrier between the cake and the stem, especially the bottom of the stem, and prevent it from leaking flower secretion (ok yes that’s gross sounding but also a good band name!) into the cake layer.

Wrapping the stem in this way also keeps the flowers fresh for longer, because it helps hold the moisture and nourishment within the stem.

Step 3: Decorate The Cake

Now that you’ve created a good barrier between the cake and your floral stems, plus you’ve set your mind at ease by choosing flowers from the safe list, it’s time to arrange them on your cake – my favorite part! I usually take some time to loosely plan where to place the flowers (off the cake) before committing to an arrangement. Once you’re happy with a plan, stick the covered stems into the cake one by one. Simple as that!

For larger flower bouquets, a great trick for keeping those stems from contaminating your cake is to create a small (1-2 inch) fondant ball and stick your stems into that before placing the whole thing on top of your cake. I’ve definitely used that trick for fuller floral arrangements and it works like a charm. You’ll still need to wrap your stems with floral tape before sticking them into the fondant holder to keep the moisture contained.

And if you’re really wanting to keep those flowers fresh, you can always try using one of those plastic tubes you get from the florist. You can fill them with a little water and stick your flowers into it like a vase before submerging it into the cake. I’ve never tried that method, but I hear it works great.

Storage And Timing

Keep in mind that each flower will have a specific lifespan once you wrap the stem, so the best way to be sure how long it will remain fresh is to ask your florist beforehand. In my experience, I’ve had really good luck storing cakes with fresh florals in the refrigerator. Typically, fresh flowers will last around eight hours in the refrigerator and remain fresh for a few hours outside of the fridge environment. Even though I’ve had good luck with the fridge, I always like to prepare and place the flowers at the very last second possible (sometimes even on-site at the event) to ensure the freshest blooms. Because after all that prep work and stressing over a cake, the last thing you want to happen is wilting. 

Have you tried any of these methods before? Know any tips that aren’t on my list? I’d love to know your secrets for working with fresh florals too! Let me know in the comments.

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