For those or you that make your own roses for your cakes, please offer me your expertise. I have a wedding cake due at the beginning of Oct that has approximately 100 roses , For me that is A LOT!
ANd so I need your help: Do I make these roses out of royal or BC? If I use BC, how long will they stay fresh?
It's probably a dumb question, but I have never had to make this many roses in my life!!
Thank you for your your help!

I would say RI. that way you can do them ahead of time and they are easier to place in the cake. You can store them in a box after they dry completely and use them later. Just make sure to give them a few days to dry before storing them.
Edna

My question to you is this: Are the roses going to be eaten with the cake or taken off. If they are going to be eaten I suggest making them at the MOST a week in advance. If they wont be offered on the plate up then make them out of royal. Those you can do a few weeks in advance.

There is no reason to not serve royal icing roses with the cake. My husband and daughter love to eat those things! They are 100% edible, and I would definitely use RI so that you can make them way in advance and not have to stress when the cake is due. Be sure to make quite a few extras in case of breakage.

My son loves RI flowers too.. I would be more weirded out eating roses in buttercream that are a week old..No offense..

I made an all buttercream 3 tier wedding cake, with all buttercream roses as the bottom border of each tier, at the beginning of August. I made a total of about 100 roses the day before the wedding and set them on trays to dry a bit and then apply to the cake after I set it up. They were firm, but still soft enough to eat. It was a ton of work, but I had planned for the time. I had hoped the roses would be served with the cake, but the person who cut the cake ignored the rose border on each tier. The roses got sent to the kitchen on the empty cake plate and were thrown away. That made me sad.
I have made buttercream roses far in advance to allow them to dry completely and they did just fine. I don't care for royal icing.

I was worried too about making the BC roses so far in advance, but have heard that all that sugar in the icing acts as a preservative, I just wasnt sure for how long..
So I was thinking about using the RI, but the bride wants an IVORY cake. So how do you get that many roses the same color? Howtheheckmuch icing will it take to make that many? How do you keep the RI moist enough to make that many roses over the course of the next few weeks, etc?

well it will be a great experiance doing that many, it will hone your skills.

i've done so many ...i think i can do one in about 30 seconds....listen, they really go so much faster...and nicer..IMHO...if you can master the stick method...you can flat whoop em out then....

there's a video on you tube...she's making purple roses....it really shows how fast you can do them (on the stick)...you'll love it after you master it.

I agree with the majority to use RI. It's so much less stressful to have these done ahead of time. As for the ivory colour, you could just buy icing colour in ivory. I've just bought some myself this past weekend but have not had a chance to try it out. As for storing RI, you have to store it in an airtight container that has not come in contact with any grease (wash out all items with hot water and soap that will come in contact with RI as it will break down the icing).

My instructor taught us to also use a damp paper towel (wrung out really well) and put that on the icing followed by some saran wrap over the top of the container and then the lid. I think it lasts for a couple of weeks in the container if memory serves (I haven't used it in a while!).

P.S. My kids all love the stuff too! They think it's like eating candy!

Even if you have to make several batches, you should be able to match the color from batch to batch if you measure and jot down the exact amount of colorant used to make the first batch...whether it be 2 drops or 1/4 teaspoon of this, 4 drops of that....write it down as you add it...if you feel you have to add more...write it down.

For instance,(and this is by no means an actual blend) I'm making maroon: I add

1 teaspoon hot pink
2 drops brown

hmmm...needs something to deepen it somehow...

4 drops red red

looks about right. I allow it to rest, covered with a slightly damp towel for about an hour(colors intensify)

3 drops hot pink ...just right.

The next batch...
1 teaspoon plus 3 drops hot pink
2 drops brown
4 drops red red

It should give you the same results as the first batch.

As far as royal or b/c...I decide depending on how they'll be placed on the cake. I have better luck with r/i when they're on the sides of the cake and those I make as far in advance as possible and allow them to dry completely then store them in a container away from ANY lighting...some colors will fade more than others when exposed to lighting...direct or indirect. If they're to be placed on the tops/bases I use either depending on the projected time leading up to the day of decorating that cake.

I use BC for everything. My icing sits out on the counter (in a covered container) for a couple weeks or more. BC roses can be made a week or a day ahead of time, AIR DRIED (!), and placed on the cake just fine, as an earier poster mentioned.

Once you get into the flow of rose-making, you can probably whip those out in way less time than you think.

Not sure why someone would be "weirded out" eating a rose made a week ahead of time ... how old ARE those Oreos in your pantry?

Both of them can be made fast. The question is, does she wants to make them ahead and save some time the day she does the cake or not.
I like both buttercream or RI roses. But if I do buttercream, I like it fresh. I guess is a matter of taste. And the other thing is the design on the cake..Wich is my question in all this thread.
The placement of the Roses make a difference on the materials you use..Do you have the cake photo so we can see it?
Edna

My MIL taught me to make BC roses and them freeze them. She still makes roses for a few people in her area and they last a very long time.
Freeze them on a cookie sheet, then to store them, put them in tupperware with waxed paper in between each layer. But be gentle.

Well..I dont know about the other girls...but I dont do buttercream roses that are going to go on the sides of the cakes.. Im in Florida, humidity can cause those to slide from the sides. So for side roses I usually stick to RI..
Edna

The trick will be to keep the buttercream roses on the side of the cake. If you make RI roses you can attach them to the sides.....buttercream....difficult

Some people love it, some people dont. My son and husband loves it. But I guess that's very particular to a person tastes buds. At the end of the day, If i have to decide between taste and the cake looking good, I will go for the look. At least the cake still has buttercream so you wont loose flavor.
Edna

I don't flavor my r/i. I haven't had anyone tell me they don't like them..."they're just like candy!" is the usual response. It tastes just like those little candies that are carded in the cake decorating section H-A-P-P-Y B-I-R-T-H-D-A-Y or those litte icing characters that are carded...just sweet crunchy candy.

The only reason I don't make b/c roses ahead of time is because I heavy handed and have hot hands and r/i allows me to position them without worry that I'll crush 'em or make 'em turn into mush...I'm Mrs. Heat Mizer.

What if I replaced a little water with some vanilla, would that work?

Also, as this is my 1st time attaching this many (RI) flowers; For those of you that have experience with flower, how do you recommend to do this - RI attached to BC for side flowers??

You can use buttercream to attach them..they stay but they need to be dry. The oils extracts wont work as RI doesnt like grease before is dried
Edna

I attach r/i to b/c with b/c

I can't profess to be an expert on this. I have done cascades of smaller flowers using only BC to hold them, but never roses. I do agree that you should use BC to attach. RI will not harden if it comes in contact with BC or any grease before it is set. I don't think it will hold the flowers.

I will tell you one quick story, though, and tonedna eluded to it...

My mom did cake decorating too. She loves to tell about her biggest disaster being her first wedding cake (and her sister's too, thank goodness!). It was all white with peach roses cascading down like you are describing, and she had to deliver them in August in Virginia (high heat/humidity=disaster!)

Anyway, their car at the time did not have AC, and the roses started sliding. Fortunately, she had plenty of toothpicks, and she used most of them! From then on, she and I both carry a "first aid kit" with us whenever we deliver a cake!

Not to scare you, just to prepare you! Good luck!