Tips to Make Buttercream Flowers

Decorating a cake is a special way to let someone know you care, and one of the classic decorations to do is the buttercream flower. However, finding the right recipe and tools is just the first step.

Next, you will have to figure out how to make buttercream flowers and make them look beautiful as well. Luckily, doing this is not as hard as you might think.

With a little patience and some dedication, you can have beautiful flowers adorning your cakes in no time. Just check out the recipe and tips below, and you will be well on your way.

Image Source: Lourdes Morales / Pinterest 

Buttercream Recipe

This is a great recipe to make a delicious yet sturdy buttercream that can help you create all of your flow designs. This recipe will make approximately 2.5 cups of buttercream.

Ingredients                                                                                                                     

• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 3 ½ – 4 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 – 2 tbsps. heavy cream

Directions

1. Set your butter out for 30 minutes to an hour before blending.
2. In the bowl of your mixer with a paddle connection, beat the butter on medium speed for two or three minutes, or until smooth.
3. Turn the mixer to low, and slowly add 3 cups of sugar in batches. When the sugar is all in, then move the speed up to medium-low and blend until smooth.
4. With the mixer back on low, include the vanilla and heavy cream and blend until thoroughly combined.
5. Now that everything is combined blend on medium until smooth.
6. Lower the speed and add the remaining sugar until the buttercream is as stiff as you need it. Turn the machine back on and process again until soft.

Nutritional Facts

• Calories: 289
• Proteins: .2g
• Carbs: 37.5g
• Fats: 16g

However, if this recipe does not suit you, there are many other buttercream recipes out there.

Tools You Will Need to Create the Flowers

Like with any creative endeavor, there are always tools of the trade. Here are the tools you will need to create stunning buttercream flowers.

• Piping Tips – There are specific tips that are called petal tips that you should use if looking to make the best buttercream flower possible. You can find piping tips at any crafting store.
• Piping Bags – Piping bags are crucial as they will be how your icing is conveyed to your cake. Buttercream is a heavy icing, so try to find the sturdiest bags possible.
• Couplers – These are pieces that attach to your piping bag so that you can switch out tips faster and continue using the same bag.
• Flower Nail – Flower nails are like little turntables for your buttercream flowers. Using these will give you a full range of motion as you pipe your flower.
• Parchment Paper – Don’t pipe onto the cake. Rather layout your flowers on a sheet lined with parchment paper. This will give you more freedom with the design and keep there from being any disturbance or your fondant or icing.

Tips to Make Buttercream Flowers

There are many different types of flowers that you can pipe in buttercream, and each will have a unique technique. But for the technique to work, there are a few tips that we suggest you take a look at.

References

When you are piping those flowers, do what most artists do and have a reference picture close at hand. For a flower, the better the resolution and the closer it is, the easier it will be to get, not only the flower design but also the color right.

Choose Wisely

This goes not only for the taste of the buttercream but the type of buttercream as well. There are multiple varieties to choose from like Swiss Meringue and American. So choose a recipe that you know tastes good and matches your experience level (for instance, the basic is the best for beginners).

Vary Your Sizes

In order to give your cake dimension and character, make sure to create versatility in the size of your buttercream flowers.

Work with Different Colors

When you are coloring your buttercream gel food coloring works best. Then make sure that you use various colors even when dealing with the leaves. Alternating tones and shades will provide visual interest and make it look more realistic.

Image Source: Sugar and Sparrow

Summary

So as you see, buttercream flowers are easy; it is choosing the type and colors that are more time-consuming. Making sure you have the right buttercream recipe, and all the tools you need will help lessen the anxiety of the process. 

Once you have those, all that is left is for you to create some stunning buttercream flower-covered cakes.