Tutorial: Fondant Flower Applique 101

I haven't made a scrollwork cake in a while so when Auntie Girlie asked me to make Kristine's 18th birthday cake, I was ecstatic! She wanted an ultra fancy cake with all the bells and whistles. I pulled out my sketchbook and started designing all sorts of cakes. I came up with 8 cake sketches and this is what she picked:




I've decorated with fondant appliques before, but this time I wanted to kick it up a notch. I was trying to figure out how to add some "bling" to the cake. First, I tried to put some sugar sparkles in the center. Nah...wasn't sparkly enough. Can't use silver dragees (can't buy them in CA). Then, I tried adding a cubic zirconia stud earring in the middle of the flower. VERY nice but at $20 a pair, it wasn't gonna fly with Auntie G (I would need 8 pairs)... so back to the drawing board. But on a recent trip to the craft store I saw some flatback crystals and immediately knew they were gonna work. Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous! They added just the right amount of sparkle to the cake and they complemented the tiara topper just perfectly. Add some cake jewels and we've got a knockout of a birthday cake!

Here's what you'll need:
- mop brush

- small round brush or filbert brush
- fondant rolling pin
- powder color (petal dust, pearl dust or metallic luster dust)
- flower cutters

- round pastry tip (Ateco 801 or 802) or large piping tip
- fondant
- clear alcohol (lemon extract, almond extract or vodka)

- swarovski flatback crystals (not shown)

1. Roll out the fondant to the desired thickness and use the flower cutters and pastry tip to create the shapes needed for the floral applique. Assemble the flower in the following order (see below). Brush the center of each flower with some clear alcohol to glue the pieces together. Top with the round fondant center or push in a flatback swarovski crystal.

NOTE: If you choose to attach swarovski flatback crystals, make sure to tell the cake recipient to remove the floral appliques before serving the cake. The swarovski crystals are NOT edible.

2. Dip the mop brush in some powdered color and lightly dust over the flower applique until the desired color is achieved.

3. Once the floral applique is dried and easy to handle, attach to the cake. Fondant appliques will stick to most types of frosting. Simply push the fondant applique in place. For fondant-covered cakes, you can either attach it with some royal icing or clear alcohol.

4. To store fondant appliques for future use, keep in a cool dry place away from moisture.