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Pretty Petal Cake~ A Cake Decorating Tutorial

March 18, 2011 By Melissa D. 78 Comments

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Today I’m going to demonstrate how to create pretty petal cake in buttercream! This elegant technique is surprisingly simple!

Learn how to make a gorgeous Buttercream Petal Cake in this MyCakeSchool.com free tutorial!

 

 

I absolutely love working with buttercream. Whether piping, or applying simple texture with a spatula, the decorating options are endless. We have done countless tutorials on piped and textured methods of decorating, and today’s technique is one of my favorites!

In today’s tutorial, I am demonstrating a technique that not only looks like beautiful buttercream petals, but it is SO easy to create. This is a perfect technique for all skill levels of decorating. I’m not sure what to call it, so I’m calling it the petal effect! Your friends and family will be so impressed with this petal cake design, and the simplicity of the method will be our little secret. Enjoy!!

Let’s get started!

I am working with  Vanilla Buttercream, a smallish angled spatula with a rounded edge,  and a piping bag fitted with a medium sized round tip (I used a Wilton Tip 12). First, pipe a vertical row of dots…

Beautiful Buttercream Petal Cake Tutorial by MyCakeSchool.com.

Next, spread the buttercream dots with a spatula as you see in the picture. I used a small offset spatula with a rounded edge (but you can use a spoon if you’d rather!). This creates the look of petals!Lovely Buttercream Petal Cake Tutorial by MyCakeSchool.com

Repeat, Repeat, Repeat… one vertical row at a time. Buttercream Petal Technique by MyCakeSchool.com! Free Tutorial!

You can experiment with your spacing..Beautiful Buttercream Petal Cake by MyCakeSchool.com- Free Cake Decorating Tutorial!

or you can even stagger if you’d like (This looks like fish or dragon scales!)How to Make a Buttercream Petal Cake- Tutorial by MyCakeSchool.com!

That’s all there is to it! Now that you know how, grab a cake & beautify it!  I crumb coated my tiers, stacked them, and then started piping and spreading.  It takes a little while to make it all the way around, but the results are so worth it!

I topped off mine with a gum paste flower—but really, it would have been fine without anything at all.  We also have a cake decorating video for our members to demonstrate the making of this cake & flower. You can find it in our Buttercream Techniques section.

Elegant Buttercream Petal Cake Tutorial by MyCakeSchool.com! Online Cake Classes & Recipes!

Have a great weekend!

Related posts:

  1. Cake with a Frosted Lid!~ Blog Tutorial
  2. Featuring a Blue and White Quilted Cake with Topper-
  3. Buttercream Ruffle Cake Tutorial

Filed Under: Blog Tutorials, Bridal Showers, Buttercream Techniques, Wedding & Elegant Tagged With: petal cake, petal effect

« Royal Icing
Buttercream “Petal Effect” – A Cake Decorating Video »

Comments

  1. Erin March 18, 2011 at 8:03 pm

    I LOVE it! One question….how do you do the last row and have the “swipe” go under the first row? I hope that makes sense!

    Reply
  2. Joanie March 18, 2011 at 8:33 pm

    Wow, that looks beautiful. Same question as above…how to you finish the last row.

    Reply
  3. Norma March 19, 2011 at 1:10 am

    Sooo pretty :)

    Reply
  4. mokhalatte March 19, 2011 at 11:56 am

    Melissa you rock for real!!!!! I’m doing it on an anniversary cake for today!!!! Thank you!!!

    Reply
  5. Melissa Diamond March 19, 2011 at 12:27 pm

    Thanks everybody! Mokhalatte–yes, this one was for you! :0) —

    Erin & Joanie–I should have included a shot of the back. You do have to fudge it a little bit where the first and last lines meet up—but it is a pretty forgiving design and most would not notice a difference. Still, I decide in advance what the back of my cake will be (if I have a preference), and that’s where I begin & end my piping for all of my tiers.

    If you pipe your first row of vertical dots, and flatten all the way across (rather than leaving the left side of the dot elevated as in all of the other rows), you’ll find it easier to pipe and spread your last row of dots in a way that disguises the beginning and ending point. Hope that makes sense! Also, if you are using a crusting buttercream, you’ll find that it’s easier to manipulate the icing once it crusts if you need to.

    Reply
  6. Joanie March 19, 2011 at 11:39 pm

    Thanks for explaining how to work the final row. I am definitely going to be doing this asap. I love your school….I am having so much fun! You have so many wonderful ideas! Take care.

    Reply
  7. lesavaughn March 20, 2011 at 12:23 am

    I can’t wait to try this. How long did it take to do a single tier?

    Reply
  8. Melissa Diamond March 20, 2011 at 1:25 am

    Thanks Joanie–

    Lesavaughn— it really went pretty quickly. The larger tier probably took me 15 minutes or less (not including the crumb coat).

    Reply
  9. anna March 20, 2011 at 11:24 am

    I love this design. I did it on some cupcakes – just went circular. It was adorable :)

    Reply
  10. Melissa Diamond March 20, 2011 at 1:17 pm

    Anna–I bet that they were so pretty!

    Reply
  11. Lauren @ Crave. Indulge. Satisfy. March 20, 2011 at 9:48 pm

    Oh my this is one gorgeous cake! What an awesome technique, and it looks pretty simple too! I can’t wait to give it a try!

    Reply
  12. graziella March 21, 2011 at 12:06 am

    Hey… Good idea… I haven’t started yet (lack of time…) but my mind is still working..hey hey… lol I like both tutorial and video: tutorial and writings are really really useful to me (mainly when I miss some words when you speak), my english is not so perfect… TK U for all… graziella http://www.grazou007.unblog.fr

    Reply
  13. Lei Lei March 21, 2011 at 1:40 am

    WoW! I love this! You come up with the cutest things and I love it that you share it!

    Reply
  14. Melissa Diamond March 21, 2011 at 9:51 am

    Thank you Lauren, Graziella, and Lei Lei!!

    Reply
  15. etta March 21, 2011 at 12:10 pm

    Nice! Thank you for this!!!
    Kisses
    Etta

    Reply
  16. Sabrina March 29, 2011 at 9:38 pm

    How do you finish your last row? Show that in a picture please.

    Reply
  17. Melissa Diamond March 29, 2011 at 9:55 pm

    Hi Sabrina–I have an explanation a few comments up, but if I were you, I would take a look at the video for an explanation. You’ll find the video in the “Piping Techniques” section.

    The short answer is that you are probably always going to have one vertical row in the back that is not quite like the others…but it is easy to make it blend in enough that nobody would notice until they were really looking for the end point.

    Reply
  18. Lauren April 16, 2011 at 8:04 am

    This is so cute :) Looks like it would make great fish scales if you did the alternating rows….
    ^.^

    Reply
  19. ButterYum May 7, 2011 at 11:49 am

    Awesome – I love when clever minds come up with new ideas like this one. I’m going to remember this neat technique for sure!

    :)
    ButterYum

    Reply
  20. Darlita June 23, 2011 at 8:23 am

    This is so pretty! Your work is amazing! While I love to bake…I can definately use more help and techniques in the decorating department. I’m defintely going to become a member:) Stunning!

    Reply
  21. K October 7, 2011 at 4:02 pm

    I just found your blog via pinterest and I am so charmed! I love the name and your creativity. This is so simple yet such an effective look, thank you so much for sharing!

    Reply
  22. Tonya Munoz October 24, 2011 at 2:18 pm

    I am new to the “school” and just love all the great ideas and techniques. Thanks so much for sharing!

    Reply
  23. Stephanie November 3, 2011 at 1:33 pm

    HI, I love this and am planning to do this for a 90th birthday! Was wondering if I have to use a “crusting” buttercream? I always use a swiss meringue because I prefer the taste. Do you know if this will work with that? Thanks!!

    Reply
  24. BeBe November 3, 2011 at 1:39 pm

    Hi Stephanie, yes, it should work great for you.

    Reply
  25. shirley elkin November 6, 2011 at 5:47 pm

    I’m still having a problem in printing just your recipes. Is there a simple solution to this?

    Thank you,

    shirley

    Reply
  26. Melissa Diamond November 6, 2011 at 11:47 pm

    Hi Shirley— You can just highlight exactly the words (recipe) that you want to print and then when you click print, choose the option to “print selection”. That should do it! Let me know if you have any other questions.

    Reply
  27. Jeanne Winslow November 7, 2011 at 11:36 pm

    Melissa,
    Love this technique. I had a little 5 inch tier from another cake and I needed to do something for the little thing. This was perfect! Added a couple of white chocolate roses and a sprinkle of cocoa and Voila – So pretty.
    Thank you so much.

    Jeanne

    Reply
  28. Miss Tori November 11, 2011 at 4:19 pm

    I’ve done this too, but instead of using the offset spatula, I drag out the dot with just my round tip. Saves so much time and looks just as good!

    Reply
  29. Tara November 11, 2011 at 5:44 pm

    Can this be done with non-crusting buttercream as well? I tried with RLB’s white chocolate cream cheese buttercream and that was a no-go; ended up piping large rosettes instead. Thanks!

    Reply
  30. BeBe November 11, 2011 at 7:33 pm

    Hi Tara, it works fine with the non-crusting Swiss meringue buttercream .

    Hi Miss Tori, that is good to know, I’ll be trying that

    Reply
  31. Beth November 16, 2011 at 9:54 pm

    I love this cake! My mom and I are having our birthday dinner (her bday was the 13th and mine is the 18th) this coming sunday and I am going to do this cake for sure! thank you so much for the tutorial I really appreciate it you are really good at this!

    Reply
  32. Melissa Diamond November 16, 2011 at 10:49 pm

    Thanks Beth– Happy Birthday to you both!!! I hope that you have a great time! ;0)

    Reply
  33. Jamie November 17, 2011 at 3:48 pm

    So pretty! Please tell me what the consistency of the frosting is? I would like to give it a try! Thanks!

    Reply
  34. Melissa Diamond November 17, 2011 at 4:17 pm

    Hi Jamie– medium consistency is what I use ;0)

    Reply
  35. Joan December 4, 2011 at 6:32 pm

    I am new to this school but I love the look of the cake and I will surely try that technique. Thank you Melissa.

    Reply
  36. Danie @ Sist3rs.net January 7, 2012 at 8:28 am

    I make more cupcakes than cakes but this one is at the top of my list to try in January. Thanks!

    Reply
  37. Christy S. February 26, 2012 at 2:17 pm

    Love, love, love this! I will definitely be trying this soon!

    Reply
  38. Kari G March 23, 2012 at 1:06 pm

    Did you do the whole top tier and then put it on the cake? Or did you finish the rows once it’s assembled?

    Reply
  39. Sorina May 28, 2012 at 1:09 pm

    Jesus!!!! Marvelous!!!! LIKE!!!!!!!!

    Reply
  40. Josie May 31, 2012 at 10:06 pm

    This technique is so simple, elegant and beautiful!!! Can it be done using cream cheese icing? Thanks.

    Reply
  41. Melissa Diamond May 31, 2012 at 11:51 pm

    Hi Josie–I think that most cream cheese frostings are a little too soft. If you really want cream cheese flavor, I would mix a little cream cheese frosting that you are using for your filling into regular vanilla buttercream. Either that, or you could check out Cakecentral.com’s crusting cream cheese frosting (which contains shortening). —

    Reply
  42. Mandi June 29, 2012 at 10:50 am

    I did this on my son’s cake yesterday using a cream cheese/buttercream mix and it turned out beautifully. The only small bit of trouble I had was that the circles wanted to run down the cake if I worked too slowly in smearing them. It helped when the frosting was chilled.

    Thanks for this! It’s awesome!

    Reply
  43. Melissa Diamond June 29, 2012 at 11:39 am

    Hi Mandi– Good thinking to chill the frosting a bit! I’m glad that it worked well for you :0)

    Reply
  44. Vaishnavi Reddy July 24, 2012 at 7:55 am

    Hi Melissa,
    I absolutely lovvveeeeee your site…could you do a video tutorial on how to do tiered cakes….I’m going to try the petal effect on my cake today:))) will let you know how it turned out!

    Reply
  45. Louise Hache August 3, 2012 at 12:13 am

    Help!! I want to make a cake like this one for my twin girls in pinks and purples that fade towards the top but I only have one size 12 tip. Can you do this without a tip just by snipping the end of the pastry bag??

    Reply
  46. Melissa Diamond August 3, 2012 at 12:36 am

    Hi Louise– This sounds pretty! I think that you should be fine to just snip the ends of the bags. I’ve never tried it without a piping tip, but as long as your snip is nice and straight (and the same size from bag to bag) I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. Just do a practice run on some waxed paper first to make sure that you are happy with it.

    Reply
  47. Eirene August 27, 2012 at 1:35 am

    Hi,

    This is great! I just want to ask if I could use whipped cream frosting for this?

    Thanks so much!

    Reply
  48. BeBe August 27, 2012 at 10:29 pm

    Hi Eirene, I haven’t tried it with whipped cream so I am not sure, maybe it if was stabilized. Let is know if you decide to give it a try.

    Reply
  49. Monica September 6, 2012 at 1:54 pm

    I do this technique with the tip itself . I make lots of cupcakes for the bakery every morning. I started making daisies and always managed to drag the tip too deep and the effect comes out like this. Since I have to make a lot, it started as a mistake but I liked the effect it gave the daisies. You don’t need to go back with a spatula. Just bubble it and drag it fast.

    Reply
  50. LittleApronBaker September 12, 2012 at 6:38 am

    Would this technique work with whipped chocolate ganache? I want to try it on a chocolate cake but much prefer the taste of the whipped ganache to a chocolate buttercream. Thanks! Shannon

    Reply
  51. BeBe September 12, 2012 at 4:22 pm

    Hi Shannon, if your whipped ganache is thick enough to hold its shape it should work fine. However, we have never tried the “petal effect” with whipped ganache.

    Reply
  52. francisca January 14, 2013 at 8:56 am

    Hola, quiero saber la receta para la crema de vainilla, muchas gracias me gusto mucho la idea y quisiera hacer para mi cumpleaños.

    Reply
  53. kate February 6, 2013 at 7:33 pm

    i feel like a total bonehead after reading this. i tried this technique, but did horizontal rows, not vertical. at least i have this sunday to redeem myself! thank you for this clear tutorial!

    Reply
  54. BeBe February 6, 2013 at 8:27 pm

    Hi Kate, it will be perfect this time!

    Reply
  55. Claire From NY February 12, 2013 at 9:28 pm

    WOW! Thank you so much! I love love love this. I will definitely be doing this for Valentines :-)

    Reply
  56. cake it is March 1, 2013 at 11:14 am

    I am so glad I found this tutorial. It pays to peruse your website. I just made your giant rose swirl and I’m going to be doing it again tomorrow for a birthday cake for a little girl. I think I want to spice it up a bit by using this technique on the sides of the cake. Thanks for the tutorial.

    Reply
  57. Melissa Diamond March 1, 2013 at 11:21 am

    Thanks Claire!

    @Cake it is– So happy to hear it! ;0) –Have fun! Sounds like a great idea for a design.

    Reply
  58. Luz Helena Molinares March 24, 2013 at 2:43 am

    Very delicate

    Reply
  59. BeBe April 12, 2013 at 6:54 pm

    Hi Sonia, I think you could, just don’t know how long it would hold.

    Reply
  60. Katie August 19, 2013 at 9:44 am

    Hi! I wanted to try this technique for my daughter’s cake I have to make this Friday, but I’m not a buttercream fan. Can I use regular cake frosting?

    Reply
  61. Melissa Diamond August 19, 2013 at 10:11 am

    Hi Katie– You can use this method with any type of frosting . The only exception would be a frosting that is so soft that it cannot hold it’s shape well when piped (for instance, whipped cream would be difficult.) — Have fun! ;0)

    Reply
  62. Niki August 27, 2013 at 11:06 am

    Thank you soooo much!!!!!

    Reply
  63. Detalles Zori November 26, 2013 at 9:09 pm

    It´s so beautiful and easy!!! Thank you for sharing ;)

    Reply
  64. Rubycoolz January 6, 2014 at 6:41 pm

    Thank you!!! I’m going to use this for dino ‘scales’ for the 3D cake for my son Wolfgang’s first birthday!!! Have a trial cake this week to practice on so YAY!

    Reply
  65. BeBe January 6, 2014 at 7:46 pm

    That will be so cute!

    Reply
  66. Sherri March 31, 2014 at 8:12 am

    I just did tis technique for my nieces’s wedding shower this week-end, and I got RAVE reviews! Everyone loved it. My only tip to watch is to make sure to keep your dots level as you go around the cake. At one point mine had gradually started to run down hill, so I gradually brought it back up. But few noticed it but me. We are often our own worse critic…

    Reply
  67. Melissa Diamond March 31, 2014 at 9:48 am

    Sherri, so glad that you made the cake and it was a hit!

    Good tip about keeping straight, & so funny, because I had the same issue. It wasn’t until after I finished my cake above & took photos that I realized I switched from 5 petals deep to 4 petals deep on my top tier, lol. (Of course, front and center!) — Haha, oh well…you are right–I’m sure that your guests did not notice one bit that yours dipped a little. Thanks for the feedback ;0)

    Reply
  68. Hope May 23, 2014 at 8:38 am

    Can you use regular buttercream icing? Medium consistency?

    Reply
  69. Melissa Diamond May 23, 2014 at 10:29 am

    Hi Hope, yes- medium consistency buttercream frosting is great.

    Reply
  70. Neha tahlani December 17, 2014 at 10:44 pm

    Hii just wanted to knw cn we use whipped cream instead of butter cream…will the same effect comi in whipped cream

    Reply
  71. Natalie January 19, 2015 at 9:52 am

    Can you use this technique with cream cheese frosting?

    Reply
  72. BeBe January 19, 2015 at 11:02 pm

    Hi Natalie, Yes, you can as long as the cream cheese is piping consistency.

    Reply
  73. Diane DeMaio April 21, 2017 at 5:39 pm

    Thanks for sharing your talent.
    I just love baking. Your cakes are unbelievable. Looking forward to
    watching more of your tutorials.
    I pray I can learn to follow your
    talent. I hope mine can look like
    yours. Just beautiful and perfect.
    Diane ??

    Reply
  74. Melissa Diamond April 21, 2017 at 10:40 pm

    Thank you so much, Diane. I hope that you enjoy this technique! xo

    Reply
  75. Tracey Riordan May 19, 2017 at 10:27 am

    Hi, I’ve been a member for a little over a year now and I’m really enjoying your website and all it has to offer. I am going to try this technique on a square cake and was wondering if the consistency of the buttercream should be a crusting buttercream. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

    Reply
  76. Melissa Diamond May 19, 2017 at 11:05 am

    Hi Tracey- Your buttercream does not have to be a crusting recipe in order for this technique to work. Any medium consistency frosting will be fine!

    Reply
  77. piper croston March 1, 2019 at 4:34 pm

    I have looked all over the internet trying to figure out how to make the petal look. I am making a Game of Thrones Dragon Scale cake for the season finale. I hope it works :)

    Reply
  78. Melissa Diamond March 1, 2019 at 4:37 pm

    @Piper- Glad you found your way to the tutorial, have fun experimenting!

    Reply

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