Frilly Peony

Frilly Peony

Award-winning cake artist, Veronica Seta created a gorgeous tutorial for our Fabulous Finishes issue. She shares a gorgeous peony tutorial in our ACD Extras feature. For more incredible tutorials, subscribe to American Cake Decorating magazine.

To create the frilly interior of the peony, roll out some conditioned gum paste to 3 mm in thickness over a groove board. Cut out several carmelia petals and add a 28-gauge white floral wire through the vein.
Make several cuts in the carmelia petal as shown below, place the petal onto a foam pad and using a ball tool, thin the edges of the petal. Wrap the outer edges of the petal over on themselves to create a conical shape as shown. Allow to dry. Repeat these steps to create 20 petals.

Dust the petals with magenta petal dust. Go lightly and build the color towards the center of the petal. Bunch the petals together to create a cluster, as shown, and tape together with green floral tape.
Roll out some conditioned gum paste onto a groove board and cut out 5 small peony petals. Add a floral wire through the vein and press between a petal veiner before thinning the edges and dusting with magenta petal dust. Allow to dry.

Repeat the above step, however, this time, use a medium-sized peony cutter. When dusting, go a little lighter this time, and be sure to leave the tip of the petals white.
Lastly, create 5 parge peony petals, using the same process as before. This time, very lightly dust the petals with the magenta dust, focusing the color at the base of the petals. Curl the edges of the petals inwards slightly, before allowing to dry completely.
Condition some white gum paste and roll out thinly on a groove board. Cut out several carmellia petals, and add a white floral wire using a little gum glue. Press the petal with a double-sided leaf veiner and thin the edges slightly. Allow to dry before dusting with some moss-green petal dust and a little rouge petal dust along the edges.

Attach the petals, one at a time, starting with the smallest peony petals, securing the petals in a layer and evenly spaced around the center. Add a second layer of medium-sized petals and a final layer of the largest petals. Secure all the way down the length of the wire with green floral tape.

To create a calyx for the flower. Create several small leaves using a daisy cutter, and using the individual petals as a leaf. Dust the same way as for the leaves. Group together 5 leaves to create the calyx under the flower and secure with floral tape.

Veronica Seta is an award-winning artist from Naples, Italy. She is most known for her stunning floral arrangements and sugar flowers. To see more of Veronica’s work, subscribe to American Cake Decorating magazine.

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