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How to make gum paste pansies

by Louise 15 Comments

gum paste pansies

One of my favorite things about Spring is seeing flowers bloom. Maybe it has something to do with my background in Botany but I find all the colors and intricate details of flowers fascinating! Pansies are one of my favorite flowers. They are so colorful and pretty 🙂

I will show you how to make gumpaste pansies today. My technique is very simple with no fancy cutters or expensive tools.

gumpaste pansy 13

This is what I used:
Yellow gum paste
Dark purple gum paste
Light purple gum paste
Black edible marker with a fine tip
Blue or purple petal dust
Paintbrush
Gum paste glue or corn syrup
Foam mat
Balling fondant tool to thin out each petal
Leaf veiner (I ordered a set of these from Ebay for very cheap)
Flower forming cups (I used Wilton’s large size)
Rolling pin
Medium heart cutter from the Wilton heart cutter set
Medium oval cutter from the Wilton oval cutter set
Powdered sugar to dust your work area

Note: My tutorial will show you how to make a yellow pansy with shades of blue, using petal dust. However, you can also use purple and yellow gum paste petals to make your pansies. If you look at my pictures closely, you will see a variety of pansies. Some are just yellow with blue petal dust…some are yellow and dark purple….some are yellow and light purple. That’s the beauty of pansies… They are found in so many vibrant colors!

Step 1:
Roll out yellow gum paste. Use the heart cutter to cut out 1 heart shape. Use the oval cutter to cut out 4 oval shapes.
how to make a gumpaste pansy 1

Step 2:
Transfer these shapes onto a foam mat. Press the leaf veiner onto the oval shapes until you can see a leaf pattern.
how to make a gumpaste pansy 3

Step 3:
Press the leaf veiner onto the heart shape until you can see a leaf pattern.
how to make a gumpaste pansy 2

Step 4:
Use the balling tool to thin out the outer edges of each oval. It gives it a slightly ruffled look which I love in petals.
how to make a gumpaste pansy 6

Step 5:
Use the balling tool again to thin out the outer edges of the heart.
how to make a gumpaste pansy 5

Step 6:
Brush some petal dust on 2 ovals and 1 heart shape. Only brush the centers on the petal. Don’t brush the whole petal. Leave the remaining 2 oval shapes as is.
how to make a gumpaste pansy 7

Step 7:
Use your black edible marker to draw lines on the pieces that were dusted with petal dust. Only draw lines near the center of each petal. They should not extend over the entire petal.
how to make a gumpaste pansy 8

Step 8:
Arrange the petals the same way I did, as shown in this picture.
Then, brush very little gum paste glue or corn syrup behind each petal until all the petals stick together.
how to make a gumpaste pansy 9

Step 9:
Make a small ball out of yellow gum paste and press it into the center of your pansy, using gum paste glue or corn syrup. Also, make 2 little yellow loops out of gum paste and stick those in the center, using gum paste glue or corn syrup. I find it easier to stick the loops first and then add the yellow ball in the center.
how to make a gumpaste pansy 10

Let these flowers dry overnight in flower forming cups (lightly coated with shortening). And you are done!
gumpaste pansy 10

You can use these pansies as cupcake toppers like I did or you can use them to decorate cakes.

Happy caking!

Abeer

Previous Post: « Hummingbird Cupcake Recipe
Next Post: How to make a fondant Birdie »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Roxana Craik

    April 23, 2013 at 5:55 PM

    Thank you, i get it, I’m in England and we don’t use the word ‘shortening’ very often 🙂
    I’m making them for my Nana’s 80th birthday party, will they keep OK for a few days in a sealed food bag?

    Reply
    • Abeer

      April 25, 2013 at 3:33 PM

      @ Roxana…Lol ok.
      And yes, these should be fine in a bag. I like to place them in a box with a lid coz they are less likely to break rather than putting them in a bag. These can last months. I have had some for 3 months now and they are still fine 🙂

      Reply
  2. PROF RITA RAMSINGHANI

    April 20, 2013 at 3:47 PM

    AMAZING CREATIONS

    Reply
  3. Roxana Craik

    April 16, 2013 at 9:07 PM

    Hello. I have just found your website and i love it. I’m new to cake decorating and your tutorials make things so much easier even though they are very impressive! I just have a question to ask about the gum paste pansies, you say to leave them over night, ‘lightly coated in shortening’ what do you mean by this?
    Thank you
    Roxy x

    Reply
    • Abeer

      April 17, 2013 at 4:58 PM

      Hey Roxana,
      I am glad to hear you are enjoying CakeJournal.
      When I wrote: “Let these flowers dry overnight in flower forming cups (lightly coated with shortening)”……i meant that once you assemble your flower, you place it on a flower forming cup. However, that flower forming cup should be rubbed with little shortening to prevent the flower from stickig to this cup.
      I hope this clarifies the issue 🙂

      Reply
  4. Swathi

    April 10, 2013 at 8:38 PM

    Abeer you made it like that very easy, great tutorial.

    Reply
  5. Ann@Anncoo Journal

    April 9, 2013 at 8:00 AM

    Thumbs Up for your creation! I want to try to make these one day 🙂

    Reply
  6. Elle

    March 19, 2013 at 7:58 PM

    These are beautiful – I thought they were real when I first saw them. Absolutely gorgeous.

    Reply
  7. Ann

    March 19, 2013 at 12:07 AM

    You r very good teacher these look lovely very easy to follow look forward to some more thank you

    Reply
  8. Louise@cakeandcalico.com

    March 17, 2013 at 7:42 PM

    Wow! You must have such a steady hand – I’m in awe. I can manage some fairly passable sugar paste roses but these pansies are in a different league. Thank you for the tutorial.

    Reply
  9. lyndsay

    March 13, 2013 at 4:23 PM

    beautiful!! great tutorial, thanks abeer! ^__^

    Reply
  10. Kate @ Only Cake Pops

    March 8, 2013 at 3:26 AM

    Wow! Ingenious! They look absolutely lifelike. Don’t you feel guilty about eating them? 🙂

    Reply
  11. Cat

    March 8, 2013 at 12:07 AM

    Wow, I just love this tutorial! Such a beautiful flower & such a lovely result. 😀

    Reply
  12. Renee

    March 7, 2013 at 2:26 PM

    These are beautiful Abeer. And you make it look easy. I’ll have to try them soon!

    Reply
  13. Gabrielle

    March 7, 2013 at 1:37 PM

    Looking forward to trying these. You make it seem easy. Thank you!

    Reply

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Kristen is the author of Cake Journal and a graduate of the Professional Baking program at Renton Technical College. She has worked as a pastry chef at a top Seattle restaurant and loves sharing her passion for baking amazing cakes on this site.

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