I took a cake decorating class yesterday, and I learned how to make buttercream roses.  I have the technique down, but every time I make a buttercream rose, it comes out looking "flat".  Not much height for some reason.  And all the leaves "wilt" over.  And sometimes, honestly, the whole rose just seems to melt down and turn into a blob.  I am using Duncan Hines vanilla icing.  I am not holding the piping bag very long and the weather here is COLD, so I am not sure why this stuff is melting.  I am getting really frustrated.

add a lot of cornstarch to that icing -- till it's the consistency you want which of course is a lot stiffer -- I added at least a half cup if not more the last time I used it --

when you are building/piping the cones onto the rose nail that you will later add your petals to, make two or three one upon another -- build it way up high-- so with the newly stiffened icing it will stand up for you as you and hold row upon row of petals

stiffen the icing -- if memory serves I added a half cup per half container so make it nice & firm & thick --

you got this!

oh and as you build the initial cones up higher you'll probably want to make a new one around the bottom to support and enclose and give a firmer footprint --

is that building a word picture for you I hope

K8Memphis -- Alright, so all I need to do is add a half a cup of cornstarch to each container of Duncan Hines vanilla icing.  Cool!   I am going to see if that works!!!!!!!!!  (I'm sure it will =) ).  Thank you for your help  =)  I feel like if I can get roses down, I will be able to do almost anything when it comes to cake decorating!

i think that piping roses is one of the necessaries to be able to feel in your heart you are a truly for real cake decorator even if your thing is fondant and gumpaste -- piping roses is a must in my book -- took me a long time to learn --

add a half cup -- add more if necessary

lemme know how you're doing

When I was teaching I usually gave each student a Hersey's Kiss and told them their mound needed to be the same size & shape as the Kiss.   I remember one gal who ate the kiss before I had a chance to tell them what it was for!  It helps to have a visual so get yourself a bag of them ;)  

I don't know if it is still on this site but some years ago I posted a recipe for air-dried b'cream roses.  I'll see if I can find it by searching on google for you.

Well could not find the recipe and I no longer have it.   I know that the *less* fat/shortening used the more it will dry.

NO need to add meringue powder!  It is just an extra expense and a way for Wilton to sell more product.

So make up a recipe using 1 Cup shortening to 1 pound powdered sugar and a bit of flavoring.  Only add water if it is much too stiff to pipe through the tip and then use a tablespoon at a time until you can pipe w/o it killing your hand :).  

K8Memphis -- I bought some more icing today and I added the 1/2 a cup of cornstarch, and now there is much less wilting of the petals, actually no wilting, and the rose does not melt into a big blob anymore.........  But I still am not able to get any height on my roses.  They are relatively flat.  But you definitely DID help me to get 90% of the way to where I want to be!!!!!!!!!!!!  =D  Thank you so much.

Kakeladi -- You have a point there about making one's own frosting.  I am a little on the lazy side and would rather just buy the correct frosting from someone else, but since I am not getting height on my roses, I may just end up experimenting with different frosting recipes until I find one that works for me.

oh good -- one step at a time -- did you try my other tip for you in posts 2 & 3?

K8Memphis -- I have been stacking three cones on top of each other before making the petals, but somehow, the stacked cones seem to melt down (or something!) as I am making the rose.  I do build up the base so that the cones I am stacking are stable, in the way you suggested in one of your above posts -- but, it's weird -- it seems like no matter how many cones I stack in the center of the rose, somehow they all "melt" down / shrink down and my roses all end up being the same (low) height no matter if it is one, two, or three cones that I have stacked.  I think I might post a YouTube video in this thread soon to show ya'll what I am doing ~ and maybe someone will then be able to see/point out what I am doing "wrong"!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Oh -- and I don't think the problem is not enough cornstarch in the icing.  That 1/2 cup is really helpful but if I add more than a 1/2 a cup, it becomes really hard to push the icing out of the rose tip.  My hand starts to hurt.  So I am not going to add more cornstarch, LOL.

Watch global sugar arts YouTube on roses, he's awesome! :-)