How to make a Red Flower with a Quilled Centre

Quilling is going to be a big trend in cake decorating this year. The art of folding, pleating, twirling and shaping flower paste and fondant icing can achieve some impressive looking decorations for your cakes and cupcakes.

If this is a skill you want to learn this year then take a look at our simple steps to make a flower with a quilled centre, so that you can start making your own show-stopping quilling cakes, and build your expertise up from there.

Using different colours of flower paste to build up a pattern, design or shape will look amazing against a cake covered with black or white fondant icing as the colours will really stand out.

So let’s get started with your quilled flower…

You will need:

• 250g Renshaw Flower and Modelling Paste in Carnation Red
• 250g Renshaw Flower and Modelling Paste in Forget-Me-Not Blue
• Ball tool and foam modelling pad
• Flower cutter

How to make the quilled flower:

• Take your coloured Flower and Modelling pastes and knead each colour separately until pliable. Wrap each tightly in cling film to prevent drying out prior to use.
• Lightly dust your surface with icing sugar or apply a thin film of white fat (TREX) to prevent sticking.
• Roll out a small amount of red flower paste to a 2mm thickness.
• Take a 5 petal flower cutter and cut out the flower.
• Place the flower onto a foam pad.
• Using a ball tool, gently roll over each petal to soften the shape and make the petal more three dimensional.
• Once you have gently rolled all 5 petals, set the flower to one side.
• Roll out some blue flower paste to a 2mm thickness.
• Using a sharp knife, cut a strip 1cm by 6cm.
• Take the strip and start to roll it up from one end, creating a tight spiral effect.
• Roll all the way to the end of the icing and attach the end to the spiral using a dab of cooled boiled water.
• Now you have your tight circular spiral, dab a spot of cooled boiled water on to the centre of the red flower and place the spiral on it. Hint – A cocktail stick may help in this process.
• Leave the flower to dry fully before applying to the cake using a small amount of royal icing.
• This technique can be used in various Renshaw Flower and Modelling Paste Colours.

Once you’ve started off with quilled flowers, see where else your techniques can take you, and try out some different designs like hearts and feathers using different colours of flower paste to create fantastic cake toppers and 3D effects that will inspire others to make.

We’d love to see any of your cakes and bakes where you have used the quilling technique to decorate them. Share your quilled cake photos with us on Facebook (Renshaw Baking), Twitter and Instagram (@renshawbaking).