PINK ROSES WEDDING CAKE

Colours make the world go round. In my world. 

Two days before the cake was to be picked up was a period of intense focusing, ups and downs, debating, changing of plans and finally, the night before, a feeling of relieved exhilaration. 

I made a brocade design over the fondant covered delicate yet rich velvet butter cake and topped them with  three romantic hues of pink roses.

However the colours did come at a cost. There was plenty of gum paste kneading and mixing of food colours until I was satisfied with each hue. But it will always be my favourite part....creating colours.

I was so relieved the bride loved it. Although she had requested for a replica of the wedding cake that I had made before I couldn't concede to her request. On the last day I had to make a drastic change of plans because I realized that the cake was too large and the roses not large enough. I had also made the roses all of the same size which meant that I did not have the variation of sizes that I did before to enable me to give the arrangement a pleasing natural garden look. Lack of experience made me overlook the fact earlier.

Where once the roses I made would be inconsistent in size due to my inconsistent and unconventional methods this time around each rose was of an almost equal size ever since I had attended the gum paste roses class. I will have to learn to make bigger roses in future. The class was a boon because I can now make very beautiful roses but a bane in my attempt at replicating my last wedding cake. Ignorance was a kind of bliss then.

But when you're at your wits end it helps having loving family rallying around you. Full of helpful suggestions and support I managed not to lose it all. Finally we decided to give the cake a simple topping of roses. I must say, and I say again, colours make all the difference. It brings an otherwise plain and simple cake to a totally different level. I almost didn't want to give the cake away. Perhaps that's how the father of the bride feels when the time comes to give the bride away.

But all is done and over and I now appreciate my pre-wedding cake life more than ever. Yay. 

This time I had dusted the edges of all my roses with two shades of pink petal dust. Particularly Coral Pink. Then I did what my gum paste teacher told me I should not do to gum paste roses. I steamed them. That set and sealed the colour in and the pink did not fade as pinks and purples always tend to even after a mere 24 hours. I was jump-for-joy pleased. Otherwise the pink roses would have been a pale almost pinkish shade of white by the time the bride came to pick the cake up. Lesson learnt. Defy your teacher for a good cause. :)

And I will never again make sugar flowers without brushing on petal dust. It brings the flowers to life. They glow and look so very beautiful. Like a blissful bride on her wedding day.

The leaves I had made the same way and of the same colour when I had made this cake. I resisted buying a rose leaf veiner because it was quite expensive so I used the Wilton veiner that came with an old set I had bought ages ago.

I had also made some tendrils of simply twirled craft wire around a pencil. I loved doing that. And the results were cute. The white filler buds I had made this time around instead of buying them as I usually do. They were so easy and adorable to do.

 

The only item I did not make this time around were the white with yellow centre filler flowers because I did not anticipate using them. It was a good thing I had some spare from the  last wedding cake.

I love wedding cakes of colours that take my breath away. Don't you? My best wishes to the lovely bride and groom.

My fondant rolling for a ten inch cake was made so much easier with a lovely inky blue silicone mat that Sarah-Jane of siliconemoulds.com had included in the squishy parcel she sent me with the financier and jumbo cupcake moulds amoung other fun things some weeks ago.  Thank you Sarah. It was such a great help otherwise I would probably have had almost a foot of extra fondant hanging over the base of the cake :P All I had to do was to swipe a teeny bit of vegetable shortening over it for a smooth and effortless job.