I know how to make regular fondant roses but I am doing a cake that they want topped with three large roses. To make them bigger, do I just keep adding more layers of the flower cutter petals or do I need a bigger size cutter? Help please!

Welcome to Cake Central. Depends on how large is 'large' You can add more petals for a bigger rose. But for a full bloom large rose, it helps to use a larger center and larger petals.

You can actually use many plain round cutters for rose petals. I generally use styrofoam or cotten rose centers, so I just add gumpaste to the outside of the center to make it larger (let it dry well before you try to assemble your flower)

I am not quite sure I understand. Is there a how to somewhere on how to do a full blossom rose. I dont understand how you could use anything other than fondant for the center and still get the right shape. Obviously I am an amateur. Then do you do a layer of smaller petals and then gradually use larger ones....... sorry for all the questions

Full blown roses have their stamens and pollen showing. I like to use thread that has been wrapped around two fingers about 40 time, folded into a figure 8, secured with a wire (28 gauge), and then the opposite end cut. Tape the thread at the base and onto the wire to bunch the thread together.

For the pollen, I like to use powdered, plain gelatin with yellow powdered food coloring added to it. Sometimes I add a little bit of orange to cut the bright. The little bead jars that stack make great storage for the pollen. I keep the yellow, orange, black, etc., handy all the time with these.

After you have made your thread centers, dip them lightly in your gum glue, clean off some of the glue on paper toweling, open the threads with a pick or quill and then dip them in the pollen. Let this dry for a few hours or over night.

To make the open rose, start adding petals around the base as you would for the closed rose, just don't make them as tightly wound. The petals will stick to the florist tape. Try to set the petals high enough that you can't see the tape, but just barely taller than the stamens. The petals will start out more open and then the last set will be very open.

I love these types of roses because they are quicker to make, need fewer petals to achieve a pretty rose, and they are a little different that what is usually made.

I hope I have explained this technique well enough. If not, ask for more information and I will do what I can to help. I will see if I can find a picture of some roses that I have done to better show you what I mean.

Michele

Here is a photo of some open roses. I hope this helps.

Michele