I have been having the hardest time with roses. I can't seem to get the BC the right consistency to hold the rose shape. And my gumpaste/fondant roses look like, well I don't know what. I have read every thread on CC for doing the roses, but I just can't seem to get it. Is there a video that shows just how to do it. I am not real good at reading how to do something, but if I can see it done a few times it might help. Or maybe I am just not suppose to do this. But I love baking and decorating. And if someone out there can tell me exactly how to do the BC for roses, I would very much appreciate it.
you have to get the icing stiff...if you were to turn the bowl upside down, none of the icing would come out. it takes a whole lot of practice when doing bc roses. as for fondant...it's easy to work with, but even easier when you and gumpaste to it. here are some tuturials for roses.
http://www.ladycakes.com/baggie_rose1.htm
http://www.ladycakes.com/fondant_rose.htm
I've made the Duff-style gumpaste roses on this site, and have found them to be very nice. Not botanically correct, more like a ribbon rose, but the end result is much nicer than my BC roses! And they are a snap to make. I would suggest you give them a try.
This is the link to the thread for duff style roses if you want to try them.
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-482163-.html
I am not artistic, just a wee bit on the crafty side. However, I've learned over the years that if I figure out my strengths and go with that, I can get pretty good results in whatever I do. If buttercream roses never agree with you (and I think that they might someday) there are other alternatives that you might be able to use.
I've noticed in my short time on this website that the cake decorators who blow my mind tend to have a signature. Sure, they probably can do a whole lot of things really well, but I think they like to work to their strengths. So can you! Keep trying the buttercream rose, and take the class, I say. But also pay attention to what you love doing and what you seem to be best at. Work on your weaknesses but play to your strengths. What do you do best on a cake?
Back when my kids were young and I desperately needed my craft time on a regular basis, people actually thought I did some pretty good work in various mediums. Why? Because I figured out what I was best at and focused on that.
Don't give up!
A little trick I learned from a CC'er was to use a hershey kiss as your "base"....it totally made a difference in how my roses turned out. I usually make my roses ahead of time anyway and let them air dry so this works perfect for me! Basically you use the kiss instead of the mound of icing before you begin the petals. HTH and thanks to the CC'er who suggested KISSES!!!!
Here you can find a video on how to do ribbon roses, they are very easy, even I can do them...
http://www.cakejournal.com/2007/06/how-to-make-ribbon-rose-in-40-sec.html[/url]
"CakesOnly"....
If you like using you tube, I noticed that there are a bunch of videos on there of people showing how to make buttercream roses:
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=buttercream+roses
I also found a step by step tutorial at bake decorate celebrate:
http://www.bakedecoratecelebrate.com/techniques/rose.cfm?cat=9
My advice (from the wee bit of experience I have had): Just try to do it. It's almost like you have to instinctively just do it and see what works for you. You can keep scraping the frosting back in to a collection bowl, and then refill your bag when you are in need of more frosting. (cover the bowl with a damp paper towel so that the frosting doesn't get crusty). Have fun!!!
This may help you out...Good Luck "CraZeeDuck"(Donna)
i agree with suggestions to do the wilton course....for several reasons,
you get hands on experience, with a real live model to teach/show you.....also the wilton instructor can also tell you what youare doing wrong...
i learned from my wilton Mama.....and begged to come back and sit through it again several months later for a repeat lesson.....
she was happy to oblige and i'll always be grateful,
sally
P.S. If you follow the link to "You Tube" just double click on the picture of the video you want to watch and it will start playing......
Thank you all for your advice. The thing is I have taken Wilton l, ll, lll and fondant and gumpaste, but I just couldn't get the roses. I am ok on many of the other flowers just not roses. And they were the main reason I took the classes. Thanks again, I will keep trying.
I've done so many cakes, I've lost count. Yet, only two people in about 12 years of cake decorating have specified that the cake had to have roses. I don't do many wedding cakes, they're all party cakes, so this is probably why roses are rarely requested! Really, give the Duff-style roses a shot, or the ribbon roses. Everyone will know what they are, and the time and aggravation factor will be greatly reduced. I agree with ziggytarheels...concentrate on your strengths!
Thank you all for your advice. The thing is I have taken Wilton l, ll, lll and fondant and gumpaste, but I just couldn't get the roses. I am ok on many of the other flowers just not roses. And they were the main reason I took the classes. Thanks again, I will keep trying.
I was just wondering if you could explain in a little more detail what is causing you trouble with your roses. Do you feel like they just look ugly or have jagged flower edges? Or do you get stuck making the center petal? Just thought it might be worth discussing more if it could help you get the advice suited to the particular problem. The following might not address your issues, but maybe it is?
I was reading over at the Wilton forum last night and people were talking about their problems with the cracked edges on the petals. Some people said that the frosting actually ripped as they were trying to pipe the petals so they couldn't even make the rose at all. I initially had that problem so bad that I couldn't even make the center bud . The icing would just break or do crazy things, which was so frustrating, I thought I wouldn't be able to make roses at all. There was some speculation about the new formula of crisco being the problem. But I thought that it was interesting the other reasons why you can have jagged or cracked petals:
1- some air bubbles in the frosting (possibly from over-whipping the icing?)
2- not putting enough pressure on the bag. someone said, really squeeze that bag when making the petal, and I guess it also goes hand in hand with learning how to turn the nail too.
3- (this was my AHA moment) sometimes the tips (esp. #104) are too narrow at the narrow end. A couple people said that you should try opening up that narrow end of the tip a little more by sticking a butterknife in and gently wiggle it. I'm going to try this out because I had really good consistency icing at my Wilton I class, and I still got jagged rose petals. I did notice that the edges were paper thin, so maybe that's the problem???
Hey: I just found a streaming video on the Wilton Web site where they show you how to make the Wilton Rose. This is so cool.
http://www.wilton.com/decorating/basic/rose_video_56.cfm
P.S. Did you have better luck making the Victorian Rose. I heard this is easier because you use a different tip. I'm taking course II right now but we haven't gotten to that lesson yet. I'm just now trying to figure out the rose bud. I think I love roses and will do whatever it takes to figure out how to make them all!
Part of my problem is I just can't get the consistency right. The center cone looks right, but when I start to add pedals it starts to lean all over the place. I have tried less liquid but then it won't even come out of the bag. My roses are always kind of flat. I have tried the hershey kiss method and even frozen the cones, but alass no success. And as far as the gumpaste roses, don't even get me started on that. I guess I will have to buy ready made roses for a while. I could just cry. 
I am not going to give up, I will just have to keep trying. Thank you all for your advice.
you have to get the icing stiff...if you were to turn the bowl upside down, none of the icing would come out. it takes a whole lot of practice when doing bc roses. as for fondant...it's easy to work with, but even easier when you and gumpaste to it. here are some tuturials for roses.
http://www.ladycakes.com/baggie_rose1.htm
http://www.ladycakes.com/fondant_rose.htm
I love these links....THANKS SO MUCH!!
Part of my problem is I just can't get the consistency right. The center cone looks right, but when I start to add pedals it starts to lean all over the place. I have tried less liquid but then it won't even come out of the bag. My roses are always kind of flat. I have tried the hershey kiss method and even frozen the cones, but alass no success. And as far as the gumpaste roses, don't even get me started on that. I guess I will have to buy ready made roses for a while. I could just cry.
I am not going to give up, I will just have to keep trying. Thank you all for your advice.
I'm still learning how to make roses. They are not easy! I notice that my roses lean too, as I'm putting on petals. But unless it's completely flopping over, I just keep working around it and once you get all the petals on, it's more balanced and stable. Sometimes I even have to jiggle it to get it to stop leaning so much. So I think a little leaning can be normal. I put them in the fridge as I finish them.
Here's how I figure out the ideal icing consistency for roses. I test the icing by loading it in an icing bag with a #104 tip, then squeeze and see if I get the cracked/jagged edges. If so, it's too stiff, so I squeeze it back in the bowl and add just drops of water, mix, reload bag, etc. I have to do this but once I have it right, I have a lot of fun and so far, it's enjoyable enough to be worth the hassle. I also constantly refer to the directions for each step of the rose. I am always forgetting something, it seems.
(FYI: About the Wilton Class buttercream frosting: My Wilton II instructor told me that she talked to Wilton about the new crisco formula, and someone told her to add 1 more tablespoon of water to the class buttercream recipe. That seems to work for me, although I thought my icing was just a smidge too soft. So I'll be more cautious next time and add slightly less)
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