Buttercream Ruffled Roses Cake

I'm excited to share today's Buttercream Ruffled Roses Cake with you for a few reasons... its elegant, it is not nearly as difficult as most would imagine, and it's a technique that I previously thought was only possible in fondant!

Hooray for new buttercream techniques ;0)

Ruffles in all forms continue to be extremely popular in cake decorating, and I love the trend of incorporating large fondant ruffled roses around the sides of cake tiers.

Table of Contents

Fondant Ruffle Roses Option

I made a tutorial a couple of years ago on how to apply a single, large fondant ruffled rose to the side of the cake: Easy Fondant Ruffled Rose Cake But I have to say that I've been inspired by the trend of carrying several ruffled fondant roses all the way around the cake!

We later did an elegant Tiered Ruffled Roses Cake in Fondant as well!

Since I have a soft spot for buttercream & piping, I wanted to try this look in buttercream. I was so HAPPY to find that it is not nearly as difficult as I thought it would be!

Buttercream Ruffle Roses

The buttercream ruffled/ribbon roses that you'll see in my video are very similar to the ones that I have made in past cupcake tutorials, and even in my cascade of buttercream flowers tutorial.

This video just takes the technique one step further...and involves drying the small centers 2 days in advance. (See our note at the bottom of the page for an alternative to drying the centers!)

I hope that you enjoy it!

Materials:

My tiers are 8"/6", (each 4" tall)

I frosted my cake with High Ratio Buttercream Frosting- You could also use our Classic Vanilla or Fluffy Vanilla Buttercream.

Piping Tips Used: Wilton 104 petal tip for the roses, and Wilton 3 small round tip for the borders, and a Wilton 2 tip for scrollwork accents on the top tier.

Rose Nails

Waxed Paper cut into squares

*I used 7 roses around the sides of my cake and so I needed to dry 7 centers, plus another 3 centers for the top tier--for a total of 10 centers. (Dry a few more than you think you'll need.) -

Sugar Pearls- Optional

The usual: You'll need a cake board cut to the size of each tier, your supports of choice (I use bubble tea straws for 2 tiered cakes), and your cake base/pedestal

Freezing Option for Centers

***In a time crunch? If you are unable to dry your centers in advance, you can instead freeze the centers for 15-20 minutes or until firm.

Place on the cake and proceed as usual! The centers may have a bit of condensation as they warm to room temperature, but the shine will evaporate. This is a great time saver and a technique that I also use in our Buttercream Floral Wreath Cake Video Tutorial!

Enjoy the Video

Thanks so much for stopping by, we hope that you enjoy this elegant buttercream ruffled rose technique- it really is a lot of fun and we love the look! Keep this design in mind for birthdays, bridal showers, and even weddings!

The bottom tier would be beautiful in pink also- anything goes! ;0) Have fun with it!

68 Comments

Hi Sadia, we made two batches

Beautiful cake. You guys are just simply awesome! Question...if I make the buttercream roses ahead of time, how long can I keep them. After I make them, can they be refrigerated, or can I just keep them in a shoebox with a top in a cool place?

Thanks Bebe!

If you wanted to use SMBC for the roses, perhaps freezing the centers might be an option? Also what about freezing the high-ratio centers...if you were short on time? What do you think?

Great tutorial, Melissa and BeBe! Very elegant with clear directions! I really appreciate the audio being loud enough. Thanks.

Beautiful cake, can't wait to try it!!

Good morning girls,

Love this! Quite elegant! Is your 8" cake 2 or 3 layers?

Hi Terri, it is two 2 inch layers, with frosting 4 inches tall

I love this cake! I am going to make it.
Any suggestions or opinion on making this a single tier cake and keeping it as beautiful on top?
I'm thinking I could put those 3 center clustered on top, off center and with some height and do some scrollwork and pearls as you did. Hmmm, trying to come up with something beautiful, simple, that won't detract from the beauty of the sides.
Appreciate your thoughts.

Hi! I think that what you are describing would be very nice-- I don't think that the 3 flowers will compete too much with the sides...but sometimes it's hard to know until you see it in person. If you place them on top and find them too distracting, then I would just leave the top smooth with scrollwork and pearls. Sounds beautiful! Let us know how it goes! ;0)

Hi Melissa! This is my first day as a member and I saw this buttercream decoration and knew it would be perfect for my friends 80th birthday!I may have to bring the cake to the computer and decorate on my computer desk, but I will get it done.Would you add color after it dries by using a shimmer dry or mixed with alcohol?I am so excited to be a member. Your video was excellent

Hi Nancy-- thank you for your nice words and welcome to the site! I'm glad that you like the cake!

If you'd like to add a little edible shimmer dust, you could actually apply it either way. I would probably just apply it dry with a soft brush onto the crusted buttercream. However, it is possible to paint on crusting buttercream as well. Good luck!!