Cake

7016b15b 16a17a17b 17c18a 18bSteps 16a-b.Press each wired petal into the floral veiner. Take theball tool and subtly frill the edges on the foam pad. Takethe bulbous cone tool and make lines pulling outwardsto create small tips. Lay flat to dry overnight.Steps 17a-c.Once your petals are dry, take the Mauve petal dustand shade the bottom of each petal. There are manydifferent colour variations of cosmos, so play aroundwith colour! Take your first four petals and gentlybend the wire back, holding the petal firmly and beingcareful not to break the petal from the wire. Tape eachpetal, one by one, with the floral tape. Space the petalsaround the stamen evenly. Tape the remaining petalsunderneath the first set, filling in the spaces. Shade theback of the flower with the Mauve petal dust.To decorate the cake:Cover all tiers in white fondant, except for the 8” tier.Cut out an 8” circle of white fondant and place on topof the 8” cake, covering the top only. Set the cakesaside.To create the rustic wood effect panels:Steps 18a & b.The 12” cake will need 20 panels that are 2” wide x 9”tall. The 6” cake will need 10 panels that are 2” widex 6” tall. Using white fondant, cut all panels with atemplate or a ruler to the desired size. Allow to dryovernight. Only let dry until firm, some elasticity is stillneeded. Gum paste is also an option as it would onlyhave to dry for 4 hours. These panels must be quitethin.Tip: Flip all panels over halfway through the dryingprocess. The panel should be stiff enough that it doesnot bend when you pick it up.Paint on some wood grain-like brush strokes with ivory,brown and white.Steps 19a & b.Once the panels are firm, gently bend vertically andhorizontally to create small surface cracks. This willmake the rolling step work more effectively. You willneed to cut out a second set of panels in dark brownfondant. Roll it out to ¼” as they must be thicker thanthe white panels. I prefer to cut about five panels ata time as these need to remain soft. Brush the brownpanel with a small amount of water and adhere onematching woodgrain painted panel to it.Steps 20a & b.Take the small rolling pin and roll over the two attachedpanels slowly to make more surface cracks. Once youhave achieved the desired look, trim the edges back tothe original size using the template or ruler. Set thesepanels to dry until they are completely hardened.19a 19b20a 20b