How to make a sugar rose

A rose by any other name is rumoured to smell as sweet and the same applies to sugar roses, the tiny edible cousin of the real mcCoy. As cupcake toppers, clustered on cakes and perched in a homemade ice cream sugar cone, they look good enough to eat (and you can).

We chatted to Chef Sam, the lovely lady who won first place in our 2011 festive cake icing challenge, and she gave us the low down on how to make sugar roses. Don’t be put off by the mention of specific tools, with some ninja skills you can get by with a sharp knife.

You’ll need

Green and red/pink fondant icing
Petal and calyx cutters (or a sharp knife)
Edible glue
A piece of wire

How to make a sugar rose

1. Roll some green and red (or pink) fondant icing and using the petal and calyx cutters (or a knife) cut out 7 or more red/coloured petals and 1 green calyx (a.k.a flower shape).

2. Roll a small ball of red or pink icing into a teardrop, dip the wire into edible glue and attach.

3. Brush each petal with glue and attach to the teardrop, starting at the end of each previous petal, twisting the wire gently as you go.

4. Brush the calyx with glue and slide up the wire to press around the base of your rose. Once your rose has set, brush with edible gold dust, if you like.

And, with those easy steps, you have yourself a sugar rose.

Look out for more articles by Chef Sam in the coming months, and check out her website for some inspirational baking ideas.

PS This was the cake that won Chef Sam R1,000 to spend on the world’s best kitchen tools, nice hey?