I'm a newbie, and have been learning to make gum paste flowers. I have seen a few pictures and posts where people mention fondant flowers. Which is better to use for making flowers? Thanks in advance for your advice!

For the more realistic looking flowers I like using gumpaste. Ifthe flowers are to be used as cut outs and stick ons, then fondant works fine. HTh

I was taught to use 3 parts fondant and one part gum paste. That depends on how quickly you want it to dry. The more gum paste the quicker it dries.

IMO gumpaste flowers are more realistic. Fondant just cannot be rolled and ruffled thin enough to look real. But (did everyone see the but?) fondant has it's place. It makes really cute rolled roses and other stuff that gumpaste is too fragile for. IMO.

I hope this information helps.

Straight Fondant:
Used for covering the cake and making cut-outs, appliques, etc.
Will stay soft for the longest time.

50/50 blend Fondant and Gum Paste
Used when more body is needed.
Used for draping and swags because it will hold its shape without stretching better than fondant alone.
Sets up faster and firmer than fondant alone.
Can be used for some flowers with minimal ruffles.

Straight Gum Paste
Used for flowers and other applications when you want to be able to roll it very thin and have it dry quickly and completely.
Used for most flowers especially those that require a lot of ruffling, like orchids.

Thank you. I learned something new today.

Thank you everyone. What I can't figure out is why you would ever want to use fondant or 50/50 fondant/gumpaste to make flowers? What gain is there over straight gumpaste? Sorry.... Just trying to figure things out.

I am by no means an expert on flowers, but I like to use a 50/50 gumpaste/chocolate modeling clay mix. It makes for a really nice sugar dough that it easy to use. It gives you lots of time to work with it and you can roll it really thin. The yellow rose in my pictures is made with it. HTH

jqorso, your yellow rose is stunning! I absolutely LOVE it! Is this mixture of gumpaste and chocolate only for indoors? I'm guessing the chocolate will not stand up to heat, right? I have never used modelling chocolate yet, but am anxious to try it.

If the flowers are more whimsical or stylized, rather than perfectly realistic, fondant is often preferable because it's more edible. Gumpaste is quite hard and doesn't taste good. Also, because the fondant takes longer to dry, you have more time to work with it before it hardens.

Most of the flowers you see on my cakes are made out of candy clay. I like to use a Hershey's kiss for the center saves time and my customers get a nice chocolate surprise in the middle. I have used fondant in a pinch. It's a little harder to get a really thin petal with fondant versus candy clay.