Fresh flowers on a cake can have a beautiful visual impact and will take your cake to the next level of awesome! This blog post takes you through a few tips on flower selection and how to insert them into a cake. Happy flower arranging!
Which flowers should you use?
- As a general rule, roses are always stunning as are dahlias, gardenias and marigolds and they look amazing on a cake. My new favourite rose is the Columbian rose – it’s a large rose and looks stunning on a naked cake. I generally stay away from strong-smelling flowers as they linger on the cake and can affect the taste.
- Talk to your florist about which flowers are safe to use on a cakes as not all flowers are appropriate for cake decoration. Some flowers are naturally toxic for consumption and others are inappropriate because of pesticide use.
- If in doubt, stick with any flower that is sold as an edible garnish. Flowers that are edible include roses, gardenia, pansies, violets and dandelions. If a flower is edible you can serve the cake with the flowers and guests can eat them!
- It is not a requirement that the flowers need to be edible to put them on a cake but do be sure to remove non-edible flowers and their foliage before serving the cake.
How do you prep the flowers?
Wash the flowers thoroughly (inside and out) and set them aside to dry completely. If you’re in a hurry, pat them dry with a paper towel.
Strip your flowers of most of the leaves and remove any large thorns/ spikes if the flowers have them. Cut stalks of your flowers so that they’re only a couple of centimetres long.
Have fun experimenting with different looks and styles that suit your cake design. You can leave them as single flowers or you can group them and tape them together using florists tape (sold in cake decorating supply shops, Lincraft, Spotlight or your local florist).
Wash the flowers thoroughly (inside and out) and set them aside to dry completely. If you’re in a hurry, pat them dry with a paper towel.
Strip your flowers of most of the leaves and remove any large thorns/ spikes if the flowers have them. Cut stalks of your flowers so that they’re only a couple of centimetres long.
Have fun experimenting with different looks and styles that suit your cake design. You can leave them as single flowers or you can group them and tape them together using florists tape (sold in cake decorating supply shops, Lincraft, Spotlight or your local florist).
How should you insert fresh flowers into your cake?
Wrap the stems in florists tape (this should be done for each single stem or your group of flowers). Grab a straw (or you may need to buy bubble straw from your local cake decorating shop if you are using a thick bunch) and insert that into your cake where you want the flowers to be placed. Insert the stem into the straw. Why do we do this? So that the stem does not touch the cake – your cake is protected by the straw.
If you will be adding a more generous amount of flowers, you can look into flower holders for your cake decorating. Holders can hold the flowers and keep them from adding or wicking humidity to the cake. Hidden tubes of water to submerge the bottom of stems can also keep your flowers fresh and prevent the flowers from wilting or drying out while displayed on the cake. These are available from your cake decorating supply shop or florist.
Wrap the stems in florists tape (this should be done for each single stem or your group of flowers). Grab a straw (or you may need to buy bubble straw from your local cake decorating shop if you are using a thick bunch) and insert that into your cake where you want the flowers to be placed. Insert the stem into the straw. Why do we do this? So that the stem does not touch the cake – your cake is protected by the straw.
If you will be adding a more generous amount of flowers, you can look into flower holders for your cake decorating. Holders can hold the flowers and keep them from adding or wicking humidity to the cake. Hidden tubes of water to submerge the bottom of stems can also keep your flowers fresh and prevent the flowers from wilting or drying out while displayed on the cake. These are available from your cake decorating supply shop or florist.
Image credit for prepping the flowers: Pinterest - Baking with Gab and RD.com. All other images are those of deliciously yours
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