There’s something about buttercream flowers that I really love. On a cake, on a cupcake, whatever they go on, they just make everything that much more beautiful.
Since I’m making a vanilla layer cake, what better decorations are there?
First, start with making the flowers. These can be made Days in advance and placed in an airtight container in the refrigerator or freezer. In fact, they should be made at least one day in advance because they will be easier to handle when they are cold or frozen.
Put together a batch of American buttercream. Decide on the colors for the flowers, and divide the buttercream into bowls corresponding the the colors. Leave one color white and another color will be green for the leaves and buds. I like to add a little bit of brown to my green bowl to make the color looks more natural.
I used different shades of pink for the flowers. I piped some roses in different sizes, as well as a few peonies. After piping all of the flowers, place them on a small baking sheet and leave them in the refrigerator or freezer overnight.
While your are piping the flowers, Wilton has an amazing Decorating Bag Holder that allows you to place the filled bags you’re working with in as well as the nail you are using to pipe the flowers on. It’s the greatest invention ever!
I made a Vanilla 3 Layer Cake to decorate with buttercream flowers. To make this cake, I baked the layers in Wilton’s new pan line, Texturra Non-Stick Performance Bakeware. The pans in this bakeware line have a unique texture to encourage airflow and has a non stick coating for easy release.
The Texturra line has a variety of pans including 9 inch cake pans, different sized baking sheets, muffin pans, 9×13 baking pans and loaf pans. So, whatever you are baking, there will be something to fit your needs.
Before I used them, I decided to oil and flour them as I do all baking pans, ensuring that what you are baking will not stick. Then, I divided the batter between the pans.
I’ve never baked in pans quite like these. One feature of the pans is that they are non-stick. This is an understatement.
Usually when I use non-stick pans, I still have to use a knife to go around the edges of the pan to fully release the cake layers.
With these Texturra pans, you can clearly see that the cake layers are not even touching the sides of the pan when you are removing them from the oven. That was a first for me.
Also, after the cake layers were just about cooled, I decided to invert them to remove the cake for the pans. The cake layers completely slide out of the pans on their own. There was no need to nudge the layers with a knife to loosen. I was completely taken aback.
These are the most non-stick, non-stick pans I’ve ever used! And it makes clean up so easy! There was no cake left stuck to the sides of the pans like others sometimes do.
After the layers are completely cooled, make the white buttercream frosting. Frost each layer, then cover the whole cake with the frosting as well. Using a turntable, an offset spatula and a scraper to ensure smooth sides.
To add the flowers, with a Wilton piping bag, pipe a ring of the matching frosting on the top of the cake. Place the flowers along the ring arranging them in a decorative way. The flowers should be hardened from the freezer or refrigerator, so you will be able to pick them up with your hands.
After all of the flowers are on the cake, fill a piping bag with a coupler attached and leaf green buttercream. Put on the leaf piping tip. Fill in some of the gaps at the bottom of the flowers with buttercream leaves. Remove the leaf piping tip and add a round piping tip. Fill in the rest of the gaps with green dots. These will be the buds. You can also pipe a few buds cascading down the sides of the cake.
When all of the gaps are filled, place white buttercream in another piping bag. Add a smaller round piping tip and pip white buttercream on top of the green buds.
The cake is now beautifully decorated! Next time you’re baking a cake, but sure to use Wilton’s Texturra Non-Stick Performance Bakeware line.
Recipe:
Cake:
3 cups buttermilk
3 eggs
1 cup oil
2 tbsp vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups sugar
4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
Buttercream Flowers:
1 stick butter
1/2 cup shortening
1.5 lbs powdered sugar
2 tbsp heavy cream
Shades of Pink food gel
Green food gel
Brown food gel
Frosting:
2 sticks of butter, softened
1.5 lbs powdered sugar
3 tbsp heavy cream
2 tsp vanilla
Flowers:
Beat butter and shortening in a stand mixer. Add powdered sugar and cream. Divide into 5 bowls. Make 3 bowls, 3 shades of pink, one bowl white and the last bowl green with a small drop of brown for leaf green.
Place each color in a piping bag with a Coupler. Use piping tip #104 to make the roses and peonies. Use piping tip #352 for the leaves. Use piping tip #12 for the buds and #5 for the white dot that goes on top of the green buds.
Cake:
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. In a standing mixer, mix oil and sugar. Add egg, vanilla, salt, and baking soda. Add flour. Pour in buttermilk and mix. Divide into 3 buttered and floured 9 inch pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until browned. Cool on wire rack
Frosting:
Cream butter in a stand mixer. Add powdered sugar, cream and vanilla. Beat until smooth.
Assemble:
Place one cake layer on a Cake Board. Frost that layer with the vanilla buttercream. Add the second and third cake layer and repeat the process. Add more frosting around the cake and smooth with an off set spatula and scraper until the sides and top are smooth.
Pipe a ring of the buttercream on top of the cake. Place the cold flowers on top on the ring as tight as you can. Add leaves at the bottom of the flowers with the green buttercream.
Fill in the gaps making buds with more if the green tinted buttercream. Add white dots on top of the green buds.
*I received free products from Wilton in exchange for my honest review of them.
