Getting a little frustraded...googled, cc'd how to's...but I am not sure if its the consistency of my BC or what, but getting started on the BC rose is stumping me. It keeps falling over and not looking, how should i say, clean? any advice? I would be happy to video tape real quick to show you what I am dealing with...I am practicing with a chocolate BC I found here on CC. Please, anyone link me to a great video, or step by step pictures, come to my house and hold my hand lol! I am getting aggravated with a "simple BC rose" YEA real simple!

Maybe its just because its my first attempt. Seconds after posting this I made a semi-decent looking one! But tried it repeat it, nope, messed it up again lol!! ugh still, any tips at all would be great. I do not feel I can even call myself a decorator without knowing how to do this rose...EVERYONE can do a rose...right?

Nope, I have trouble with BC roses as well, I found this great video on youtube and its helped me alot

Here's the way I teach students to make the rose.

1. Use a stiff buttercream (that means your small metal spatula should stand up in the icing without falling over when you jiggle the bowl/container)

2. Use tip #12 and make a Hershey Kiss (that means make a fat base and not too tall or your rose will fall over - usually 1 1/2 times the opening of the #104 tip)

3. Use tip #104 and pipe a Tee-Pee around the top of the Hershey Kiss (just like you are an indian sleeping in your tee-pee, you don't want a hole in the top or it will rain in your tee-pee)

4. Tip 104 with the fat side pointing down pipe 3 petals pointing the thin side of tip 104 at the 12:00 position.

5. Again, use tip 104 and point the thin side of the tip at the 1:00 position pipe 5 petals

6. Same as #5 but pipe 7 petals

Voila! You now have a perfect rose.

bwhahahahahahaha ok, just realized something, I WAS HOLDING THE TIP UPSIDE DOWN!!!!!! Will try some more! I am a bit OCD, so you may find me posting at 5am saying I finally got it! I will not be able to sleep until I can get a few decent ones in a row! lol! thanks

It's not as easy as people may think. I tried them in class and was horrible. I need to practice, but haven't managed to build up the courage to do so.

Cookie4, I have tip 103, what difference will that make from the 104? smaller rose maybe? Its what they had at the hobby store, they were severely understocked around christmas time hmm...i wonder why???

Get some Hershey kisses! They are almost the perfect thing to practice on; if you mess up...people have something to eat.

That being said, my hand can't do the Wilton stiff icing and look good.

My roses can look beautiful, but they are always lopsided.

This is when you make them colorful and not representing the real thing.

I also prefer tip 124. I don't know if this will help, but when I worked in a bakery & was whipping those roses out in record time, I used my shell border tip to make my rose base, it was more sturdy. And when making that many it helped to not have to mix up more color into the bc & keep filling the bag.

My bc roses always look like cabbages. I have just accepted that fact and only make & use gumpaste roses!

Hi, this helped me a lot 5 yrs ago. I was going to start teaching wilton at michales, so i knew i had to have it down pat. and i do. I just kept watching this video and practiced , practiced , practiced. I make my rose icing between medium and stiff. It works really good. I can,t make them if my icing is too stiff and neither can the students. hth just keep playing it over and over. if you hold your tip at 12 o'clock for the first three petals. then 1 o'clock for the five petals and then 2 o'oclock for the last seven , they will turn out really great. but again , practice. i had to keep doing this until i got it right. lol! holding the tip and 1 and 1 o'clock, makes the petals flare out and this will keep your rose from looking like a cabbage.


http://www.wilton.com/technique/Roses

We only called them cabbages when the center bud wasn't slightly opened but collapsed in on itself making it look more rounded like a cabbage!

Great ideas from everyone. Yes, the only difference between 103 and 104 is the size. Remember - the smaller the number the smaller the tip opening.

If your roses are cracking and look a little strange try using a swipe of a prepared icing on the bag then fill with whatever icing you have made. There's just something about that mystery ingredient in the prepared stuff that gives your roses a beautiful edge.

BTW - making a rose with the fat side of the tip upward makes what I call a 'clunky rose' which is kinda cute on a kids cake. Sooooo many ideas and soooo little time to try them all!!!!

Confectionscc, how did it go? Were you up all night conquering it?

I'm still working on mine, too. I did discover that I was wrapping the center one to far down. Somehow I missed that you don't start it at the base but about half-way up the cone.

Cookie4 gave great instructions, the only thing I would add is:

1- Be sure to keep your pressure even, its easy to wind up squeezing harder with your fingers than with your palm which can make your petals uneven.
2- Be sure to rotate the flower nail at the same speed your icing is coming out of the bag. If you turn too quickly, you get a jagged edge and if you are too slow the petals will look thick.

You can also make the base for the rose with the same 104 tip. No need to change tips or have two bags. Just squeeze the icing onto the nail and slowly move the bag up. That's how I learned to make bc roses. I believe I still have a video in my signature for how I do mine.

The thing is, everyone does their roses differently and there is no right way or magic trick. The only trick is practice practice practice.

And I've learned to avoid cracky edges on the petals, just make the frosting softer. The consistancy of the frosting isn't the only thing that will make the rose fall over. It also depends on how fat you make the base. If the base is too skinny, it'll flop. Just imagine building a tower. You want a sturdy base.

I call them a cabbage when all the petals are piped with the tip at 12 o'clock. It is easy to do this when you first start. Then as you open your tip to 1 and 2 oclock, it will look like a rose. Believe me. I only sent the wilton video to help you see how to get started. Yes, you can pipe the base with the 104 tip also. Then on with the petals. I do this at home. but not in class of course.

ConfectionsCC, thank you for posting this question.
Years ago I went thru the Wilton classes and learned the butter cream rose, and was ok at it. At least they looked like roses. But then I didn't do cakes for several years, and when I started again, I learned how to do the fondant/gum paste rose. I tried to make a butter cream rose the other day, and had the same problem as you. But after reading thru this thread, I am pretty confident I will be able to do them again!!