Easy Fondant Roses for Mothering Sunday Cakes

This Sunday is Mothering Sunday, the British equivalent  to Mother's Day in the States.   Like  most special occasions, I think Mothering Sunday requires a celebration cake.   Roses are the traditional Mother's Day gift so I thought I'd show you how to make fondant roses to decorate that special celebration cake. 

These roses are easy to make.  If you make a mistake, you can squish the rose and start all over again.  No stress!  Buy a box of fondant icing from the supermarket.   I used a tiny bit of paste food colouring to tint my fondant.  Take a small amount of fondant icing, add a VERY small amount of paste colouring and knead until the colour is distributed through the icing.   Work in small batches and keep the unused fondant covered in plastic wrap so it doesn't dry out.   

Roll bits of icing into little balls, about 1/2 inch round.  Place a piece of plastic wrap on the work surface, put the fondant balls on top of the plastic wrap so it doesn't stick to your work surface. Flatten the balls into round-ish petals.  The petals should be thicker at the bottom and thinner at the top.  I gently pinched the top edge of the petals with my fingers so the fondant would look like the delicate edge of a real rose petal.

Take the first petal and tightly roll it into a scroll shape.  This will be the center of your rose.  Take the next petal and carefully wrap it around the center petal.  Gently press the base of the rose to make the petals stick together.

 Add two more petals making sure to overlap the previous petal.  (See the photo above)   

For the second row of petals, use five slightly larger balls of fondant for five slightly larger petals.  Pinch the outer edge of the fondant to form the shape of the petals.  Place the petals under the first row of petals, using just enough pressure to make the fondant stick together.   You will notice the rose has a fat bottom.  

With a small sharp knife or a pair of kitchen scissors, trim the extra fondant from the bottom of the rose.  Gently curl the petals of the rose with the tip of your finger to make them look ...well like roses!  I also made some leaves by rolling out green tinted fondant, cutting them out with a cookie cutter, and pressing the back of a knife into the fondant to make veins.

That's about all there is to it.  I am going to let my roses sit uncovered in a safe place to firm up a bit.  They will keep in an airtight box for a long time so you can make them well in advance.  Now comes the really difficult part, deciding what kind of cake to bake!