Gum Paste Rose with “Easiest Rose Ever” Cutter
Making gum paste roses doesn’t need to be super complicated. You can use my step-by-step picture tutorial below to make a gum paste rose with the “Easiest Rose Ever” cutter. This rose is easy and fast to assemble. Definitely a beginner-level edible rose that looks professional!
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Materials:
- Gum paste
- Small container
- 1 Tbsp water
- Paintbrush (only used for decorating food)
- Fondant
- Gel food color (if fondant is not the desired color)
- Plastic wrap and/or Ziploc bag
- Powdered sugar
- Cornstarch
- Rolling pin
- “Easiest Rose Ever” Cutter
- Foam flower pad
- Ball tool
Making edible glue
Take a small amount of gum paste (i.e., the size of a pea) and break it into very small pieces. Place the pieces into a container with approximately one tablespoon of water and dissolve the gum paste. I typically do this about an hour before decorating to allow enough time for most of the gum paste to dissolve. This mixture can then be used to attach fondant and gum paste pieces together. To use it, simply brush a small amount of the mixture onto the fondant/gum paste decoration and push it against another piece of fondant/gum paste. Make sure to use a paintbrush that is isolated to food and not one that has previously been used for painting.
Making the fondant/gum paste mixture
To ensure the rose holds its shape (i.e., has sufficient petal definition), make a 50-50 fondant and gum paste combination. Gum paste dries quickly and hard, so it’s really great for decorating with intricate details. Fondant, on the other hand, dries out more slowly and it’s easier to color than gum paste. This combination will give you more time to work with the petals before they start to harden (due to the fondant), but the rose will harden completely after drying (due to the gum paste).
Use equal amounts of fondant and gum paste. The amount will vary based on how many roses you plan to make. I would advise making more than you think you’ll need so that all of your roses can be the same color. It’s difficult to match the color if you need to make a second batch. To color the mixture, you can either use pre-colored fondant (I would highly suggest this if making red roses) or you can add gel icing food coloring to the mixture. Knead the fondant, gum paste, and coloring together until there are no more streaks. If the mixture gets sticky while kneading, add a little powdered sugar to the mixture and continue kneading to combine.
The fondant/gum paste mixture should be wrapped in plastic wrap and kept in a Ziploc bag until you’re ready to use it. This will keep it from drying out.
Other Ways to Make Edible Roses
- Royal Icing Decorated Kawaii Rose Sugar Cookie
- Gum paste Rose – Individual Petals
- Piped Buttercream or Royal Icing Rose
- Rose Russian Piping Tip
- Rosette
Rolling out fondant
Dust the counter/rolling surface with a small amount of cornstarch and knead the fondant/gum paste mixture to make sure it’s pliable before rolling it out. This keeps it from cracking if the gum paste mixture has been sitting for a little while. Begin with a small amount of the gum paste mixture so that it can be rolled very thin. If you look closely in the photos, the wood grain of my counter is visible through the gum paste mixture.
To roll it out, flatten the ball slightly with your hand and then roll it out with a rolling pin. I like to use this small rolling pin for better control. Place the rolling pin in the center of the gum paste mixture and roll out toward the edge. Move the mixture slightly in between rolls to ensure it’s not sticking. If it starts to stick, add a little cornstarch under the sheet and continue rolling. When it is rolled to approximately 1/16” thick, press the “Easiest Rose Ever” cutter into the gum paste. Gently slide the cutter back and forth to ensure the gum paste is cut and repeat a second time with the same size cutter. The cutters I bought come in a pack with 3 different sizes so it’s incredibly easy to make roses of different sizes. Remove the “roses” from the excess gum paste and remember to put the unused gum paste mixture into the plastic wrap so it doesn’t dry out.
Making the rose
Place one of the rose cutouts onto a foam flower pad and use the ball tool to gently press along the edge of each petal to make them ruffled. Take the edible glue and brush a line of glue along the length of the fondant slightly above the middle.
Then, fold the bottom row of petals over the top row and brush another line of glue at the bottom (i.e., along the straight edge of the rose). Begin to tightly roll the rose. As you are rolling, gently push the ruffled petal edges out to make the rose fuller.
After rolling the first part of the rose, repeat the same process with the second piece of fondant. Add it to the rose, by slightly overlapping it with the seam of the last piece. The petals should fall in between the petals of the previous row. Use your fingers to gently push the ruffled petal edges out to make the rose fuller. Look at a picture of a real rose for inspiration.
Allow the rose to dry overnight (or until completely hardened) before placing on a cake. The base of this rose is flat, so it’s very easy to place a large amount of them on flat surfaces. If you want varied heights, for roses of the same size, feel free to cut part of the bottom off the rose so it sits lower. Do this while the gum paste is still soft.
This technique for making edible roses is so easy that you will be able to churn out roses to decorate a whole cake in no time! Let me know how it goes if you make roses using this method!
