Today I’m going to show you how to make an elegant fondant ruffle rose! This is a beautiful fondant cake design, and the elegant fondant ruffle technique is much easier than it looks!
Keep this beautiful ruffled flower design in mind for all sorts of special occasions from birthdays and bridal showers to wedding cakes!
In this quick step by step cake tutorial, I’m going to demonstrate how to create these gorgeous fondant ruffle roses! Whether you are creating just one rose or several, the results are always impressive!
How to Make a Fondant Ruffle Rose Cake
I started off by rolling out a 50/50 mix of fondant and gum paste to about ⅛″ thickness….go even thinner if you can. I like thin ruffles!
After rolling it out, I cut the fondant into strips. I used my trusty adjustable FMM Multi Ribbon Cutter (aff.) which sped things up a bit. I use this often for borders and ribbons.
Of course you can also just can use a sharp knife and measure out your strips of fondant or even just eyeball it!
I used about six, approx. 11 inch long fondant strips, which were about ½ inch wide.
One at a time, I placed a strip on my cel pad , and using a ball tool, I applied pressure as I slid the ball along the edge of one side. This is going to naturally give a nice frilled effect as the fondant becomes thinner.
The other strips of fondant were waiting for their turn under a piece of vinyl that we bought from the fabric store. You can also keep them under a glass bowl or in an airtight container while they wait.
Now for the fun part— Decide how big of a flower you want to make, and use a paint brush to brush on some piping gel where your first strip will be placed. The first strip of fondant determines how large of a flower you are going to have.
Then, start arranging your strip. You may have to add a little more piping gel here and there. (Sugar glue or tylose glue works well too.)
Don’t press the frilly edge of the fondant into the glue–you’ll need that fluffiness for dimension.
Continue with your circular pattern, brushing the area with piping gel and then wrapping around your fondant.
It only took about 5 strips before my flower was almost full. The last little space in the center of the flower I decided to fill with a rolled piece of fondant.
So pretty! Our fondant ruffle rose is really taking shape! You can use a toothpick or Q-tip to manipulate the petals however you like.
I finished it off with a tiny buttercream bead border around the top (using a tip 3) and a ribbon border around the bottom.
I couldn’t decide if I liked the ruffle rose better front and center like this…
Or just off center like this…..
I think that I like it at both angles! My favorite part about this fondant ruffle rose is that once you have cut your fondant strips, the process goes very quickly! It’s a great way to add the elegance of a fondant/gum paste flower without the wait!
I hope that you liked this technique–& I hope you’ll consider adding a little frilliness to one of your creations very soon. Until next time, happy caking!
Wow!! That is soooo cute!! I never would have thought to do it that way! Thanks for sharing!!!
jaw on floor….yet again!! So pretty…James just may have to like a pretty flower on his father’s day cake!! This would be so pretty on top of a cupcake too….nice Madame M…nice….
Thanks, Melanie! Trisha–that is too funny! Just what every father wants :0)
This is so beautiful… I will be trying this for sure. Perfect timing, too, as the Peonies are in bloom here and are just amazing!
too cute!!!
That is so pretty! It’s girly and frilly and I love it! Melissa you have the best ideas!
Hello Melissa,
Have you heard of Maisie Fantaisie from UK?
She made this frill flowers too. Thanks for sharing this, now I can add a little frillyness on my cakes :-)
Cheers,
AMAZING! I keep seeing all these beautiful layered flowers on cakes and wonder how they are made, now I know! Great tutorial, can’t wait to give this a try! Is this the same technique for doing a ruffle all the way around the cake that I have seen so many pictures of too….the layered ruffles, my new favorite cake decoration. LOVE!
Love this!! It’s beautiful! It’s even prettier than the one on the shirt! Can’t wait to try it!
You will never know how glad I am to have found this school! You are a wonderfully gifted teacher. I have not worked much with fondant but I will try this. Wish I could put it on butter cream or white Ganache.
That looks great. I have to try to make that soon.
Just love where you get your creativity. I love it.
This is so beautiful!
Very nice. So beautiful. I like it! Thanks for sharing!!
THis is awesome, I always wanted to make these gorgeous flowers and now I know HOW.
Thanks for taking the time to put this tutorial together. It looks gorgeous
Amazing!!!
Melissa, how sweet is this!!! Cant wait to try it out myself!!
Beautiful! I cant wait to try it!
I absolutely LOVE this!! Will certainly be trying it out for one of my lovely cousins`birthdays!!!
Very pretty! Something very simple and so elegant! Can’t wait to try it!
I cannot wait to try this out! I am so happy that you decided to share your beautiful techniques with us and not “trademark” like some other people, how rude!! Keep on baking!! xxoo
Next week I start part 3 of the Wilton decorating course..Gum paste and fondant so I awas very impressed with what you made.. It looks very simple. I hope it is.. Lovely.
Love it! GREAT job!
Melissa – I’ve seen a tutorial for the puffy technique – I can’t remember where, but I know it’s been done. Maybe by the inventor. It’s pretty easy – time-consuming though.
I love this ruffle flower! I’m going to incorporate something like this in my July wedding cakes. I understand it’s the year of the ruffle!
I wish I had a ribbon cutter like yours. I have the Wilton one and it’s takes an engineering degree to figure the danged thing out.
Wow, its very beautiful! So simple, but stunning :)
That was so beautifully done. You give me inspiration. Thank.
how pretty and delicate,,love it
This would look wonderful on a cupcake – can’t wait to try it.
Adorable…definitely going to try it!! :D
Here is the link to the cake we made with your tutorial!!!! Thanks so much for posting this!! It has been a huge help!!
http://www.thecakeclass.com/2011/06/hot-pink-and-zebra-cake.html
I drawn so many designs that I wanted to try with this type of flower and wasn’t sure how to go about it. Thanks for sharing this! I can’t wait to try it!!
Thank you everybody! Your comments mean so much! :0) — Melanie, your cake looks awesome! I’m glad that the tutorial helped!
Thanks so much Melissa, I love it! I was just wondering does piping gel work like a glue for fondant all the time? I live far away from supplies stores and haven’t been able to buy CMC or tylose powder to use….Could I just be using clear piping gel? Also, do you know if there is a place online I could get a good foam board for shaping the flowers and frills on? Thanks so much, you are a cake genius!
That looks FANTASTIC, Melissa!!
what a great idea! I can’t wait to try out this new flower!
Splendid
Thanks! Amanda, yes, you can often use piping gel for attaching lightweight fondant or gum paste decorations to fondant. You can even rub a little water onto your fondant decorations to make them stick if they are lightweight enough. Some people use pasteurized egg whites as a glue too. I usually stick to sugar glue (combo of tylose and water), piping gel, water, or even light corn syrup..depending on what I’m working on.
I absolutely loved this idea, makes such a statement yet its simple enough. Can’t wait to try this out. I absolutely love your Cake School and have learned so many things from you Melissa, keep up the great work, you explain everything so well that its easy to try to do it myself. Thanks!
Could you create this flower and place it on a buttercream frosted cake also?
Oh, that’s lovely. I’ll have to try that. It might be fun to do that with a lot of little roses on a cake and also as one on a cupcake.
Gorgeous! So simple yet so stunning and elegant! I’m definitely going to try this.
Linda – you mentioned a puffy technique – love to see how thats done! Melissa is that something you could teach us?
Love all your work! :)
beautifull, and I love when you can do something without having to buy more supplies. I gotta try this one for sure.
You make some amazing cakes! I am so glad I found you on facebook. Thank you for tutorials!
would this work on buttercream?
Wow definitely trying this one
hi, i made this flower and everybody was in shockbecause it was so beautiful !!thanks so much for share your tutorials. your work is amazing.
i love it,,, thank you so much for all the great videos,
I sent you a pic of a ruffle cake that I loved,,, it was a light mint green cake,, you were going to try to figure out the technique,, i hope you do soon,,
Melissa, how would you attach this to a buttercream cake? Would you use some buttercream, or just press into the cake already frosted? I would love to use this for a birthday cake, but no one in my family likes fondant covered cakes.
this looks very ‘Vogue’ and so simple, I can’t wait to try it, thank you x
Thanks so much for this tutorial! This is the first time I’ve ever worked with gumpaste, so I was a bit nervous. I made it for my Gramma and she’s loved it! Here’s my cake:
http://cakecentral.com/gallery/2119121
Thanks again!
Julie
Looks stunning and easy! Will surely try it soon.
Thanks!
I think it’s very beautiful..And the side shot is the best..Thanks for the tut it’s going to be the cake I make for my Mom’s upcoming birthday! I love roses in that style..
Love it! Thank you so much
Beautiful!
Gorgeous!! Cant wait to try this!!!
GENIALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
You have such a great blog! As a pro cake designer, I really appreciate your clarity in your posts. You give great info with easy to follow photos. Keep it up! This flower is lovely by the way….
I can’t wait to try this! I LOVE it! My sister’s birthday is this week…so it will be great for practice!!
Melissa, this is just beautiful :) Can’t wait to try it.
Naheed–you’ll have to e-mail me a picture if you try it :0) Alyssa–glad that you are making it–would love to see! — Julie B– you did a GREAT job! ;0) —
Thanks so much for all of your comments!
Hi Melissa, can this flower be made ahead and
attached to a buttercream frosted cake? Thanks, vicki
Hi Vicki–Yes, it could be….the only thing to keep in mind is that if you dry the flower on a flat surface, and it is placed on a round cake, there may be some parts of the flower that are not touching the cake. I’m not sure if you would like the way this looks…unless there is very little overhang. — You can prevent this by drying your flower on a cake dummy (or other round form) that is the same size as the cake it will be placed on. Also, I would use a little melted candy melts (light colored) or stiff royal icing, or dampened pieces of fondant as a glue.
Thanks Melissa, should I build it on a fondant base to then attach or just build it by attaching the ruffles to each other without a base? I am a beginner so just not sure. Vicki
Thanks Melissa, should I build it on a fondant base to then attach or just build it by attaching the ruffles to each other without a base? I am a beginner so just not sure. Thanks again.
Hi Vicki— I think you could make it work either way. I would probably try without the base circle just to save a step …as long as each ring slightly overlaps the last, (and with the help of a little sugar glue or water) it will be sturdy when dry. However, if you just feel more comfortable using a thinly rolled circle of gum paste or fondant to attach the ribbons to, that would work too!
Wunderschön und so Einfach !!
So beautiful! I love the love these vintage ruffle flower shirts that keep popping up everywhere! So pretty transfered on the cake!
THANKYOU THANKYOU! I have been looking all over for how to make these. I just about started crying when I found this (i know, very dramatic!) But seriously, thankyou so much for showing us how : )
KM Couch–thanks so much!! ;0) So glad to hear that! Have fun experimenting!
Thank you, thank you, thank you! Love it!
You are welcome, Lyndi!! ;0)
thank so much i just tried this for my parents anniversary cake and think it turned out pretty good
wow it looks great . . i am definitely going to try that . .
@Cherry, so glad that you tried it! I’m sure that your parents were impressed :0) — @Ana–thanks!!!
WOW you made this look so easy it’s beautiful, i must get some more tools and give it a go :)
I’m so glad I just came across this! I was looking for one more cake idea for my bridal show coming up – and THIS IS IT!!! So beautiful, thank you for the tutorial!!
You have magic cake hands! I attempted this on a cake and it didnt quite turn out. I will try again soon and see if I cant perfect it!
I love this! Thank you for sharing.
Genial !!! thank you :)
This year it will be MY husband who gets this cake for Father’s Day! I can’t wait to make it though, so I may do just that this weekend. Then he’ll get a more appropriate Father’s Day Cake! ; ) Thanks Melissa! (and Trisha for the idea!)
it is beautiful!
Is it possible to use this pretty flower on swiss buttercream?
Amazing.I love it!x
Really awesome. Going to try this on a cake I have planned for next week :-)
Thanks everyone for your comments! Nnda—I haven’t tried this with swiss meringue buttercream. The safest bet is fondant. Buttercream may be tricky –if you try it, I would make sure to roll the fondant/gum paste extremely thin so that the weight won’t carry it down the side of the cake. I’m a big fan of trial runs…even if on a frosted plate and on a much smaller scale. —
@Analia– Thanks! Let us know how it goes!
Melissa, thank you for your tutorial! Does the fondant on the cake need to be “set” before placing the ruffles? Or do you recommend doing this when the fondant is still soft? Thank you!
Hi Jenny– I don’t remember waiting long…but if the fondant is really soft, you could let it set at least long enough that you don’t have to worry so much about accidentally making an impression as you work. The ruffled flower strips are so thin that you don’t have to worry too much either way–they should stick right on with a little sugar glue.
Thank you Melissa! This amateur will be attempting your beautiful replica in a couple of days. *fingers crossed* Thank you for sharing!!
Oh goodness, this is just gorgeous! I love the look of it on the side of the cake (especially off centered!) But I think ill have to attempt this on a few cupcakes, since I just prefer them to cakes and well, would’nt little flowers just be the cutest things? (:
Hi Andi, thanks for your nice post. Yes, a small version of the flower would be so cute on cupcakes.
ME ENCANTO HABIA BUSCADO LA IDEA Y AL FIN LA ENCONTRE GRACIAS ………….GRACIAS ……SALUDOS DESDE CHILE
Elegant and stunning!!! Can’t wait to try it out myself.
This is so lovely and the easiest way I have seen to make this ruffled fondant rose. Very nice tutorial, thank you so much!
This was awesome! Thank you for posting this! Here’s a link to a video of the Mother’s Day cake I made with it, & I also posted in the member gallery! http://youtu.be/D6IewXWYat4
Hi Christy! Thanks so much for sharing your cake with us, it is BEAUTIFUL! I’m sure that your mom loved it!
can you do this flower around a whole cake for us and help us how to figure out the in between filler flower ruffle that is so popular now?
Hi Melissa,
Ever since I suscribed to your school, I still haven’t got time to try out one of your techniques because of lack of time (working mom, sick parent, etc…) I’ve decided that this could be my second try out- the first one will be for my pre-teen daughter’s birthday and I will do the bike and balloons cake.
QUESTION: what size of a cake did you use for this flower cake technique?
Thankyou in advance and keep the good job by helping others – the way you do, sharing your knowledge… :)
flower cake technique?…. Thankyouinn advance
Hi, this was a 6 inch round cake with 3 layers.
Thankyou BeBe… you girls ROCK!
Why did you work from the outside in?
Hi Kitty– I’m sure that either way would work if you’d rather work inside out… it’s just what made sense to me that day ;0)
This is absolutely gorgeous! I wonder…can you apply this type of quilled frilled flower onto a Buttercream Cake? I guess it needs to be firm and crusted first, right? I love PINK, so I am in Love with this flower and really cool technique!!
Gratitude! Finally a tutorial that makes perfect sense. Gratitude!!!!
thank you so very much for sharing that, always wanted to know how its done, brilliant x
u have shown a very easy way of making rose, thanks
Perfect !
I use it for my decorated cupcakes and the result was amazing! Thank u so much!!
This is my article :) what do you think about it ?? ;)
http://douceursdemina.canalblog.com/archives/2013/11/07/28380882.html#c58512601
Hi Mina, Your cupcakes look fabulous! You have a very nice blog with delicious looking desserts!! Thanks for posting.
Thank youuu :)
I have just posted an article about how to make a sugarpaste rose and a ruffle flower :)
I have also posted a link to yours
http://douceursdemina.canalblog.com/archives/2013/11/08/28386504.html
Thanks for your explanations ;)
Wow, super cool!! I have seen other ways that seemed more complicated, yours is the easiest one I have found. Thank you so much for sharing!!
Thanks Ana! ;0)
Thank you so much. Really wanted to learn how to make this flower
So pretty … had to pin! Thank you so much for the tutorial :)
Thank you! it looks easy to do and looks very elegant…
Thank you so much for your comments! xoxo
It’s so beautiful, elegant and clever, it would look lovely on a wedding cake as well.
Its funny,I was looking at this ruffled cake in a shop, and it also had a ruffled flower on the side,so that when I saw your tutorial I thought this is how it was created :) mystery solved!Thank you so much,you make it look so easy!I will try this on my granddaughter 18th Birthday cake this September.
Thanks Liz!
@Celeste- Thank you, that’s so funny. Happy that you plan to try this!
Thanks a lot for sharing really nice.I wanted to make it on a wedding cake for next month and you have saved me.what if I wanted the ruffles allover even after having a big rose? Do I just frill around it to cover the cake all through?
Thank you !! I was trying to make this so complicated!!
Will these ruffles attach well to a buttercream coated cake or does it work best applying the ruffles to a fondant covered cake?
Hi Teresa– I’m afraid that this would be a bit too heavy–I probably wouldn’t risk it for fear that it would slide. If you are able to roll your fondant extremely thin, and your cake is frosted in a crusting buttercream, you may be able to make it work (or at least a smaller version), but I would definitely do a trial run first to be on the safe side. (The safest bet is to create a fondant or gum paste flower that is anchored into the center of the flower and pushed into the cake.)
I tried it tonight and the flower keeps on drooping. its not as easy as it looks :)
Hi Nadisha, did you use a 50/50 mix of fondant and gum paste, or fondant mixed mixed with tylose. Fondant being too soft could have caused the drooping.
Hi! I love all your tutorials! Always good pictures and clear instruction. I was wondering if the ruffles would hold up if refrigerated while stored overnight after fully drying? Do you have suggestions if needed to be made a day before?
Thank you!!
Hi Sarah, thank you!! I have never had trouble with fondant drooping in the refrigerator, but if you’ve never refrigerated your fondant before, do a little trial run with a piece of fondant to make sure that it holds its shape after several hours. I say this because even though I’ve refrigerated fondant cakes (including this design) many times with no issues, your brand of fondant or location/humidity levels, refrigerator etc. may be different than mine. *If your fillings are not perishable, your cake would be just fine left in a cool room in your home.
Just fyi, I’ve refrigerated Satin Ice fondant and gum paste as well as Liz Marek’s recipe with no issues. Hope this helps!
Melissa… LOVE your cake!!! Help… ASAP??? I’m making a wedding cake for this Saturday (Yikes) and need to know what size is your cake? Trying to fig out how much fondant I’ll need (oz.) to make large flowers mostly, plus a few smaller filler ones, to cover the side of 14″ dia. cake that’s 4-1/2″ high.??? Thnx in advance! Oh! also, how long approx. before the ruffles are dry enough to stay in place w/o drooping once they’re actually on the cake? Using Wilton fondant (not “Decorator Preferred, just reg.) I’ll have the AC going constantly and was hoping I wouldn’t have to put this 4-tier in the fridge… or will it dry out too much by Sat. that it’ll be hard to cut?
Where can I buy the ruffer cutter You make doing ruffer so easily only a begging at cake dectoring .
HI Dorothy, It is a FMM Sugarcraft ribbon cutter. Here is a link to Amazon where it can be ordered, http://www.amazon.com/FMM-Sugarcraft-Ribbon-Cutter-Stitcher/dp/B001EVWPQG/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1447645080&sr=8-4&keywords=fondant+ribbon+cutters
Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and expertise. This is just what my daughter wants as the basis of a design on the bottom tier of her wedding cake. I now feel confident enough to experiment with this technique.
So pretty and fairly simple! Thanks for sharing!
This tutorial made so much sense! Easy to follow instructions, THANK YOU! I have a wedding cake that had this design on the picture and I had no ideas what it was. I will definitely attempt this next week.
I got blown off with this this morning when i saw it…i tried it today…not so full though but i will keep trying …you are the BEST.
Hi – I got very excited by your ruffle rose, which looks simple enough that even someone as useless as me could do it! Along those lines – I’m using black fondant and I have gum tragacanth to mix with it (never used gum trag before). Given your experience, would this work? And do you have an idea of how much gum trag I should use? I have 500g of black fondant. I’m a ruffle rose virgin, so all help gratefully received!
Gina
Hello Gina! Yes, you can use gum trag. I really just go by the feel of it…I never measure it out although a general rule of thumb is a rounded tablespoon per pound of fondant will give you gum paste. However, I would use less than that since you probably want to shoot for a consistency in between fondant & gum paste…so that it won’t dry as hard as gum paste would.
I would just knead in a small amount, and you’ll notice a change in the elasticity of your fondant. Thinly roll it, and if it is still too soft to do anything with it, just let it sit for maybe 10 min (checking on it now and then) until you can easily pick it up without it stretching becoming distorted (but still very pliable.). You’ll want to keep the other strips covered as you work so that they won’t become too firm or dry.
Good luck!
Thanks, Melissa it was great to get such a fast reply – and one that made so much sense. I’m icing my cake tomorrow, I’ll keep you open on my ipad so I can read and stay sane!
Gina
Thanks for the post. Would this ruffle work using homemade marshmallow fondant on its own. Have no idea in Australia where to find tylose power at short notice. Do I need to use glue to stick them on or can I adhere with just water, thanks.
Hi Sue, I haven’t tried this with just straight fondant– I think that if you roll it very thin, and let it begin to set, you may be able to make it work. You’ll just have to check on it every 10 minutes or so to make sure that it isn’t getting to firm that it loses pliability. (If you tried to use it immediately it would be too soft to cooperate with ruffling or holding it’s shape.) – If the petals are thin enough, you could probably make it work with just a little water or piping gel. If you need to, you can also take a small amount of white fondant, knead the smallest amount of water into it to create tacky pieces that can be used to adhere the ruffles.
Can this be done in buttercream? If so, do you have a tutorial on that technique?
Hi Brenda, Yes, Melissa does have a video using buttercream, link below. Be sure to read her updated comment at the end of the written text on a quicker way to dry the center of the flower.
https://www.mycakeschool.com/video-tutorials/buttercream-ruffled-roses-cakea-video-tutorial/