Sugar flowers Daisies

With Easter just around the corner, I thought I would share with you this simple to make, pretty sugar flower to adorn any Easter cake, whether you are making a big cake for sharing or just a few cup cakes, these sugar flowers will certainly impress your family and friends.

To make the sugar flowers, you will need:

White and yellow petal paste.

Fuchsia pink petal dust (optional)

Egg white (for the glue)

Daisy cutters (different sizes)

Cocktail stick (for rolling)

Ball/softening tool

Sharp knife or craft knife

2” square of tulle netting or similar

Small bath/ kitchen sponge

Start your sugar flowers by working the yellow sugar paste until it is soft and pliable, this is for the centres of the sugar flowers,

Roll a small piece of the sugar paste into a ball, and then gently pull the tulle netting over the paste, thus creating the textured effect at the centre of the sugar flowers.

Make plenty of sugar  flower centres and vary the sizes, they should be no bigger than the centre part of the sugar flower daisy cutters you are using, then put these to one side so they can dry out.

Take some of the white sugar paste, knead and work it until pliable and soft, (a little like chewing gum but not sticky).

Roll the paste out on a flat smooth surface; you need it to be quite thin but not too fine as we need to roll it again later.

Cut out the shape using the daisy cutter, and then cut down the length of each petal with the sharp knife.

Frill both halves of each petal with the cocktail stick, roll the cocktail stick gently across the sugar flowers petal   lengthways, indenting the petal more in the middle.

Place the daisy onto the sponge and cup the centre of the sugar flower with the ball tool.

Using the egg white, stick the yellow centres into the middle of the petals, If you wish you can tinge the ends of the sugar flowers petals with the pink petal dust.

Carefully attach the sugar flowers to your cake using icing, fondant or butter cream to stick them.

These sugar flowers are totally edible, and bring a touch of springtime to any cake.

You can also put these sugar flowers in a bouquet or spray of sugar flowers, simply make them as shown here and attach to a wired calyx instead of directly onto the cake.

To make the calyx

Make a small hook in one end of a 26gm florist’s wire.

Colour some sugar paste green, work it until it is pliant and soft.

Take a small piece(pea sized) and roll into a ball and then shape it into a cone, flatten out the wider end between your finger and thumb to form a flat disc, your calyx should resemble a Mexican hat.

Roll the edges out very thinly using either a pencil or knitting needle.

Using a blossom cutter, place over the rounded end and press down.

Soften the edges of the calyx with a ball tool, dip the hooked wire into the egg white and wipe off the excess, pull the wire through the centre of the calyx, leave to dry.

Attach the sugar flower daisy to the calyx with a little egg white and leave to dry out thoroughly before incorporating into a spray or bouquet of sugar flowers.