AW is from theknot.com bulletin boards - do you use that here? (Attention Whore - hahaha)

Anyway I'd just like to draw your attention to the newest cake I've posted, I just made my first roses (followed the instructions in Course I book - in class we've only done the base and I got impatient) and put them on my grandmother's birthday cake this weekend.

I wish the edges weren't so scraggly, I have heard that is because the BC needs more water(?) but this is the exact recipie from the book, not any deviations! Why would I get these results then???

Nice job!

I thnk the scraggly-ness makes them look more authentic! I think you did a good jobMatter of fact, Im starting my Wilton 1 class next Monday and pray mine look this good!

I personally like the scraggly edges myself! They look great to me...no different than the ones I've done. I prefer to do royal icing roses myself...need to master the BC ones when I get time to practice.
Keep up the good work...practice makes perfect!

Those look awsome, I find it easier doing royal roses!
Keep up the good work
Denise

I think you did very well for your first roses. The jagged edges can be caused by your frosting being too stiff, I have found that even though the recipe is followed exactly, sometimes the consistency does not come out exactly the same. Also, you can add a little piping gel to your buttercream frosting and this will help with the jagged edges.

You can also use just a touch of corn syrup, to make the icing slightly more 'elastic'.

Great job on the roses!

Nice for your first time!! Wanta come to my house & help me do some??? I am fixing to start making 80 royal icing roses!!!!!!! Am I crazy or what??? I have a cake order for this Sat. for the cake on the front of the book Wilton Wedding Cake "A Romantic Portfolio". It calls for 70 fondant roses. The bride/groom didn't ask me to do this cake till 3 wks ago.. didn't have enough time to do fondant so I'm doing royal. I do not want to fool with BC!!

Your roses look great!

Mine still have scraggly edges, but I've had no complaints. They look more real.

thanks for looking and the tips...we learned the 'center' part of the rose in class yesterday and my teacher told me my icing WAS too stiff, so i'm going to try out this piping gel thing you guys are saying as well. thanks again!!!

They look great. I have done many buttercream roses using the 104 tip. and have recently tried it with the 97 tip. I love how it comes out. first rose came out okay, second not so well. check out my first attempt at the rose using the 97 wilton tip.

Looks great .. way to go!!

They look fantastic.

The piping gel trick works great. I always have that issue with mine. Thinning it down works, but then it almost gets too thin after I've been using it. So I throw a dollop of piping gel and it works perfectly. Piping gel seems to work better than the corn syrup. You seem to need much more corn syrupm, but it does still work.

How much is a 'dollop'?

I usually put about 1/4 tsp...depending on how much frosting I have, you can try it at 1/8 tsp. and see if it is smoother, and add more if you need it. I have found that it is much easier to add more than to try to fix it if you add too much.

I had the same problem with some roses. I made like 5 and my hand was hurting. Icing was too stiff. I've never heard of putting piping gel in icing for your flowers only for string work or lettering. I'll have to give that a try as well.

I always make stiff icing it always turns out soft by the time I use it for roses.

kriss,

The same thing happens to me. My frosting is always softer when I use it because of my hot hands. In my last class, my students would laugh because I could thin down their frosting just by holding the bag that it was in.

I didn't think about that. Now that you have mentioned hot hands. that has to be my problem. try doing chocolate.(I'm melting, melting (chocolate, icing) )


kriss

They look great, I am also always on the knot my screen name is the same there.

smediagirl what is (knot)?

hehe sorry that is www.theknot.com it is a wedding web site that girls get together and talk on all across the world, the can review vendor in their own town. I just got married and they saved me thousands of dollasrs with tips and such. No vendors are allowed on so it is nice to talk freely, and give honest reviews of how the people did at out wedding.