WAFER-PAPER BIRCH TREE

Wafer-Paper

Birch Tree BY AAISHA SUMBUL Use wafer paper and gum paste to create a woodland scene.

LEVEL:

COMPONENTS

Edibles:

10-inch square cake, covered in white fondant 6-inch round cake, covered in white fondant Airbrush colors: autumn gold, brown, green, and red Gum paste Petal dust: leaf green, red, dark brown, and pale yellow

Equipment:

Wafer paper Water Airbrush Paintbrushes Circle cutters Floral wire: 26 and 30 gauge Paper towel Floral tape: white and brown Small Styrofoam buds Soft foam pad Dresden tool CREATE THE BIRCH TEXTURE

1. Roughly tear strips of wafer paper approximately 1 inch in width. Size may vary to give a more natural look.

2. Brush the fondant-covered cakes with water and place the strips on the fondant vertically around both cakes.

Make sure to leave the edges slightly open to give a more natural bark look.

3. Using an airbrush, color the space between the strips with autumn gold, followed by brown. Then, highlight some parts with green on the bark to give a more natural look. 4. Using a fine paintbrush, highlight the edges with more brown and add detailing texture.

5. For the tree trunk front, cut wafer paper the same circumference as your round cake, apply water, and stick it onto the front. 6. Airbrush with autumn gold and use brown to highlight and give a texture look. 7. Using circle cutters of different sizes, make markings on the cake so it looks like a wood rings and paint it brown.

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Aaisha Sumbul is an award-winning cake artist, chocolatier, sugar florist, and the owner of Choconest and Edible Bouquet. Previously based in Nairobi, Kenya, she won several awards at The Cake Festival Cake competitions. Aaisha is the brand ambassador of the Cake Collective for India and East Africa. She loves hosting cake collaborations that have some message to society like tribal culture, women’s rights, melanite, and Ocean Day. She has done many online and offline demos, classes, and workshops internationally on her forte: sugar flowers. Her love for waferpaper flowers is beyond imagination and she loves modeling and trying new things in sugar craft. Aaisha owns a food-grade brass stamp line called Impressions by Aaisha Sumbul and routinely gets featured internationally for her work and tutorials in different magazines and newsletters. Aaisha is also the Kenyan Cake Festival Igniting Skillshare Ambassador and has enabled the 2022 novel global skill-share series that will hopefully grow exponentially and impact baking and decorating skills in Kenya.

facebook.com/ashisumbul facebook.com/impressionsbyaaishasumbul facebook.com/Choconests

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of white gum paste into a teardrop shape. Insert a hooked 30-gauge floral wire dipped in edible glue and pinch it at the bottom to make sure it is secured. The seeds should be dry in 2 hours or less depending upon the humidity. 2. When dry, dust the bottom part of the seeds with leaf green petal dust on a paper towel. Make a bunch of 3 to 4 seeds and secure them with white floral tape. 3. For the leaves, airbrush wafer paper a soft green. 4. Cut 30-gauge floral wire into 1½-inch-long segments with pliers. 5. Cut a strip of the green wafer paper around 8 inches long.

Brush a light coat of water on the white side of the wafer paper and place the wires on one side, about ¾ of an inch up from the bottom. Carefully fold the second half over, press firmly to make sure they adhere together, and set them aside to dry. 6. After drying, cut the strips in the shape of eucalyptus leaves.

7. Arrange the leaves and bunch of seeds on a 24-gauge floral wire with white floral tape.

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MAKE THE SEEDED EUCALYPTUS LEAVES

1. Between your palm and forefinger, roll a tiny piece

ROLL THE BERRIES

1. Airbrush wafer paper red and cut it into small square pieces. 2. Gently brush the back side of the squares with water and cover round Styrofoam buds.

Cover each bud with 1 to 2 layers. 3. After they dry, dust the buds with red petal dust and cover the wire with brown floral tape.

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CREATE THE COTTON FLOWERS

1. Cut wafer paper into square pieces, gently brush them with water on the plain side, and cover round Styrofoam buds.

Repeat the same process to create 2 layers per bud. 2. To form a flower base, join 4 buds together and wrap them with brown floral tape. 3. Color some wafer paper with brown airbrush color and cut them into leaf shapes. 4. Turn the leaves over and place them on a soft foam pad. With the help of a Dresden tool and starting on the center of the leaves, put gentle pressure on the leaves and press toward the pointed ends to give them shape and character.

5. Apply a little water with the paintbrush on the bottom edge of a sepal and place it against the wire of 1 of the

Styrofoam buds. Repeat the process 3 more times. 6. Take another strip of browncolored wafer paper, apply water on the white side, and fold it horizontally to have a thick strip with brown on both sides. Cut semicircles out of the strip, slightly more elongated on 1 side. 7. Apply a little water at the bottom and place them in between the buds.

8. For the center, cut a small shape similar to the sepal and make 3 to 4 incisions halfway down and fold them.

9. Apply a little water to the bottom and insert it into the center of the 4 buds.

10. Dust the bottom of the sepals and the tips with dark brown and the inside of the sepals with pale yellow.

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ASSEMBLE THE SPRAY

1. To create twigs, cover floral wire with brown floral tape. 2. Create a spray with all the various twigs, leaves, buds, and flowers as desired. ACD

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Tip: YOU CAN PLAY AROUND WITH DIFFERENT ARRANGEMENT OPTIONS.