How to Make a Rose With Cake Icing

Last Updated: November 3, 2022 References

Rose flowers are a beautiful decoration to work with when decorating a cake. While they look complicated when you see piped roses in bakeries, piping a rose onto a cake is simpler than it may seem. This basic tutorial will introduce you to the world of icing art, with a simple style of rose to make at home.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Preparing the Icing

1
Fill the piping bag with your colored royal icing. Add the rose tip to the bag before filling.^{[1]
X
Research source}
- If you don't have royal icing, read the article on making royal icing.^{[2]
  X
  Research source}
- Note that when piping, it is good to put the icing bag in your dominant hand; this way you'll get the best motor control over the piping.^{[3]
  X
  Research source}

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Piping the Rose

1
Prepare the rose nail. Pipe a small amount of icing onto the top of the rose nail, and then press a small square of wax paper onto the icing, using the icing to hold the paper and nail together.^{[4]
X
Research source}
2
Make the rose's center. Place the tip of the pastry bag with the rose tip onto the rose nail, with the wide end touching the wax paper. Spin the nail in a full circle to make a cone shape. You will need to synchronize your hand movements so that you're moving as fast as the icing is coming out.^{[5]
X
Research source}
3
Make the first layer of petals around the cone. Make each petal a little bit higher than the center, and make each third the circumference of the rose center, so that you can have three petals total.^{[6]
X
Research source}
4
Make the second layer of petals. This layer will have five petals total. Keep on making the petals higher than the others so that they arc upwards and outwards. Also, try to overlap the petals to make them look natural.
5
Make the final layer of petals. This one should consist of about seven evenly spaced petals. If you want a larger rose, you can continue to add layers.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Using the Icing Rose

1
Carefully slide the rose and the wax paper off the nail. Then, put it on a baking sheet or other flat surface. Give it 24 hours to harden.
2
Finished. It can now be added to a cake or other baked good as decoration.

Community Q&A

Question

Could I make the rose on the cake directly?

Community Answer

Yes, but it's generally easier to do it on paper. It also prevents you from ruining your cake if you mess up on the rose.
Question

Can this be done in any color?

Community Answer

Yes. As long as it does not interrupt the cycle, you may choose any color that exists.
Question

How long will the rose take to make?

Community Answer

It depends on your coordination, but just the rose itself should take roughly 5 to 10 minutes.

Warnings

Don't make the rose so big that it falls off the wax paper.

⧼thumbs_response⧽
Helpful 58 Not Helpful 27
Take care not to poke yourself with the rose nail.

⧼thumbs_response⧽
Helpful 45 Not Helpful 34