Hello! In Part Two of our Orchid Video, you will watch as the orchid is transformed from a blank white blossom to one that is popping with color and personality! ;0)
I’ll also create some buds for you and demonstrate adding the flowers to the cake. Please see below the video for complete list of materials. Enjoy!
Click HERE to pop back to Part 1 of this video
Materials~
*For this cake, I made a four layer (5 inch tall) 8″ cake. It is topped with a 4″ (width and height) frosted styrofoam cake dummy.
Fluffy Vanilla Buttercream (mine is tinted with Americolor Lemon Yellow)
Cardboard Cake Circles (I used one beneath each tier, cut down to size)
Dowels or bubble tea straws (I used three beneath my little 4″ tier)
Cake Board/Base/Pedestal (I just used our pedestal)
Spatula–I used a small, offset spatula (9″, tapered) to texture the buttercream, but you can get a similar effect with others.
Orchid Materials:
Satin Ice Gum Paste (you could also create a gum paste-like consistency by kneading a good amount of tylose into your fondant.
Orchid Cutter Set- Mine is a 3-piece set by Sunflower Sugar Art or ORCHID TEMPLATE
Foam Pad
Ball Tool
Flower Former (optional…you can make due without. For instance, wrapping a glass with foil and making a slight depression.)
Rack (I dried my orchids in a former over a rack so that the wire could hang down beneath the blossom. You could also do this over a bowl, glass or any number of things.)
Floral Wire- I used 24 for my flower and used 22 gauge to thicken the stems. You don’t have to use these exact gauges. You could use 22 or 24 for everything. Just look for something nice and stable but easily pliable.
Colors:
I used Buttercup Yellow petal dust for the center of the flower
I used White Petal Dust mixed with Super Pearl Dust for the white petals
Americolor Red Red coloring gel (applied with toothpick) for the markings in the center
Miscellaneous-
Artists Palette (you could also use a plate) for mixing dusts and paint
Vodka or lemon extract (I used vodka to create the yellow petal dust “paint”. The alcohol makes the paint dry quickly.)
Miscellaneous Small Paint Brushes– I use paint brushes for everything (especially paint brush handles.) — I also used for painting my orchid center.
Aluminum Foil- I used to create forms to dry the throats of the orchids
A Few Extra Notes~
I would allow at least a few days dry time for these flowers. In my video, they were dry and ready to go in about 1 ½ days, but that is not always the case. It is much better to play it safe. Also, I recommend adding the flowers to the cake (especially for buttercream frosted cakes) close to the time of the event, just in case the petals absorb the moisture from the frosting and soften. Out of curiosity, we did test this though and after two days of sitting on the buttercream (and even after refrigeration) the gum paste was unchanged.
Please let me know if you have any questions!!
Love this!!!! I ordered the cutters this morning before watching and luckily got the right ones. Thanks for this special site.
I love this! I just love all your tutorials:)
@Joan, so glad to hear it! @Patti– Thank you!!
Thank you Melissa for this video. I’m going to buy the cutters and try it out ;)
Thank you so much for this tutorials, i have this cutterset, and i`m going to make some of this for a weddingcake. Now i think i can make the flowers, thanks again…:-)
got to order me some cutters…lol…very breathtaking…hope to make one soon…once again, great tutorial ;)
Beautiful… I love orchids!
Hello! Love your tutorials. One very basic question — I am just starting to make sugar flowers— so if the wire is covered with the tape you used it s ok to put the wire directly into the cake?
Than you for taking your time for this!
Hi Yuka, Melissa puts the wired flower into a straw, the small ones that are used to stir a drink. The brand we have are called Sip-Stirs. You can find them in the grocery store where barware is sold. You could use a regular size drinking straw if you need to put several flowers into one straw. This keeps the wires from touching the cake.
Thank you melissa for the detailed demo. I am going to make the orchid today and will let you know