How to Decorate a Cake with Buttercream Flowers

Ever wondered how to create intricate, floral designs to cover your sweets in delicious edible greenery? We’re here to teach you how to create two types of buttercream flowers, so your layer cakes, cupcakes and other baked items look as good as they taste. Our vanilla buttercream frosting is perfect for piping rose and hydrangea floral designs.

Turning your dreams of beautiful floral decorations into reality is easier than you think. All you need is buttercream frosting, a few basic piping supplies and the guide below. Read on or watch this video to learn how to make buttercream roses and hydrangeas.

What you’ll need:

  • Buttercream frosting (1-2 colors)
  • Piping bags
  • Parchment paper
  • Piping nail
  • Piping tips
    • Petal tip (#101-#104)
    • Closed star tip (#1B, #2D)
  • Tall glass cup
  • Cake, cupcakes or other baked good to decorate

Steps:

Roses

1. Prepare a piping bag with buttercream frosting and a petal piping tip (#101-#104). For basic tips on how to fill a piping bag see our “How to Fill a Pastry Bag for Piping” tip.

Buttercream roses

2. Prepare a piping nail with a small dot of buttercream and place a square of parchment paper on top.

      • Pro tip: If you don’t have a piping nail, you can pipe the rose onto the bottom of a champagne glass or wine glass.

3. Hold the piping nail in one hand and the piping bag in the other. Ensure the tip is angled inward slightly and the thin end of the tip is pointing up.

Buttercream roses

4. Begin piping, rotating the piping nail as you pipe, to create a small cone as the base of the rose.

Buttercream roses

5. Move the tip halfway up the cone you created and pipe another layer around the cone.

Buttercream roses

6. Move the tip to the base of the cone and pipe an arc of frosting a third of the way around the base. Repeat this twice more, beginning at the halfway point of the previous arc.

Buttercream roses

7. Continue creating petal layers by piping overlapping frosting arcs around the center petals, beginning in the middle of the previous petal. Each time you create a new layer, angle the thin end of the tip outward slightly to create the effect of petals opening up.

Buttercream roses

8. Remove the parchment paper from the piping nail and place it on a baking tray.

Buttercream roses

9. When you are finished making your roses stick them in the freezer for 10 – 15 minutes until the flowers are firm. Once frozen, peel away the parchment paper and place on the item you are decorating.

Buttercream roses

Hydrangeas

1. Prepare a piping bag with a large closed star tip (such as #1B or #2D). For basic tips on how to fill a piping bag see our “How to Fill a Pastry Bag for Piping” tip.

2. Fill piping bag with one color of buttercream frosting around the outside and a lighter color in the center.

3. Pipe a few test flowers onto a plate or another flat surface to make sure the colors are coming out blended.

4. Hold the piping bag perpendicular to the surface of the baked good, placing the tip close to the surface.

5. Begin piping until flower is of desired size, turning the bag 90° and pulling away from the surface as you stop piping.

6. Continue piping flowers next to each other in a tight grouping, until surface is fully covered.

Pro tips:

Prep for success: Only fill your piping bag with as much buttercream that fits in your hand. This will improve your control over the bag and prevent discomfort. Before piping use a bench scraper or your hand to push the buttercream toward the tip of the bag so there are no air pockets in the frosting. Twist the end of the bag close, so no frosting spills out as you begin to pipe.

Making structured flowers: A stiff buttercream frosting might aid in creating petals that will stand up on their own. Add in additional powdered sugar or ½-1 teaspoon of cornstarch to thicken your frosting as needed.

Freeze for ease: To easily transfer flowers, pipe them onto a square of parchment paper and then freeze them for 10-15 minutes. Once they are firm and frozen, you can easily peel your flowers off the parchment paper and place them onto your baked item.