How to Make a Sugar Gerbera Daisy

Plant a garden on your next party cake with sugar dough gerbera daisies.

Gerbera daisies are bright, entertaining shapes that look positively awesome sitting on top of a fancy cupcake or clustered in the center of a cake. They take some time to make and more time to dry, but they result in effusive compliments for the pastry chef—and great pictures to post on your blog. Shaped gum paste flowers are sugar dough mixed with gums, a food quality concoction. So the daisies are edible, but they are bland and not very tasty.

Things You'll Need

• Gum paste Gum glue Rolling pin Scissors Metal strainer Metal spatula Pointed metal or plastic tool Large daisy embosser Small daisy embosser Flower formers Aluminum foil Nontoxic (edible) luster dust or petal dust Small, clean art paintbrush Cornstarch

Instructions

1. Follow the directions to make the sugar dough gum paste and substitute food coloring for some of the liquid to get the color you want for your flower. A nice bright orange is easy. Yellow, hot pink, red or even purple will pop as well. You will need a small piece of the gum paste colored yellow for the center of every flower, so make a smaller batch of yellow gum paste and put it in a baggy to keep it pliable until you need it.

2. Cover the work surface and rolling pin with cornstarch so the gum paste won’t stick. Roll out the colored paste as thin as you can get it with the rolling pin or pastry roller. Cut out one layer of petals by pushing the large embosser into the paste, lifting it carefully and releasing the shape.

3. Slide the metal spatula gently under the flower shape and transfer it to the flower former. Drape the gum paste flower over the flower former—the shape will conform to it, giving it the scoop of a real flower. Use aluminum foil molded over an egg or another upturned cup shape if you don’t have flower formers. Daisies are shallow flowers, so don’t make the form too deep.

4. Brush some gum glue in the center of the draped flower and make another flower to place on top of it. Press them together lightly in the middle, where you put the glue. Bend a few petals upward so the flower looks natural, and use crumpled foil to hold the petals there while they dry.

5. Lift the double daisy off the form when it is dry and turn it over. Roll out more paste and use the small embosser to make several small daisies. Cut the petals of each daisy in two with scissors, and then cut the small daisies in half. Brush on gum glue to stick them around the inside center of the flower in a double layer.

6. Take a small pinch of the yellow gum paste, roll it in a ball and push it against the metal strainer to impress texture. Brush a bit of gum glue on the back and stick it in the center of the daisy. Use the pointed tool to poke more bumpy texture into it, and then dust the middle of the flower with petal dust. Let the flower dry for a day or more so it hardens well before you use it on a cupcake or cake.

Tips & Warnings

• When you remove gum paste from a plastic bag after storing it, you will need to rework it to pliability before it is elastic enough to use. The paste can be stored in the refrigerator in a sealed plastic bag to keep it from drying out if you need to assemble your flower in stages.

• The thicker you roll the gum paste dough, the longer the flower will take to dry. This flower won't go bad, so rushing it through before it dries isn't necessary and could cause it to collapse.

References

• Make Fabulous Cakes: Gum Paste Gerbera Flower Tutorial
• Baking 911: Gum Paste