Orange Crush by Elena Wilkinson The latest in

Orange Crush

EDIBLES

SK Sugar Flower Paste (SPF): 200g (7oz) Daffodil (Yellow), 10g (1/4oz) Nasturtium (Peach), 20g (3/4oz) Pale Green and 50g (13/4oz) Soft Peach SK Professional Dust Food Colours: Daffodil (Yellow), Edelweiss (White), Holly/Ivy (Dark Green), Leaf Green, Nasturtium (Peach), Rose, Thrift and Vine SK Professional Paste Food Colour: Edelweiss (White) SK Essentials Edible Glue SK Quality Food Colour (QFC) Dust: Pink

EQUIPMENT

Floral wires: 22-, 24-, 26- and 30-gauge white Wire cutters SK High-Quality Paintbrushes: nos. 1, 2 and 10 Half-width floral tape: Nile green and brown Templates: page 87 Cutting wheel Grooved, non-stick board with holes Non-stick rolling pin Food-grade foam pad SK Modelling Tools: Large Ball and Veining Modelling tool: dresden CelStick: 3mm (1/8") SK-GI Silicone Veiner Amaryllis: Narrow Orchard Products Calyx Cutter: 1.9cm (3/4") Posy pick: large Looking for a summer y centrepiece for a wedding or celebration? The latest in Elena’s Rainbow Sugar Flower Series features a bright and bold arrangement of orange lilies and carnations.

LILIES

Stamens and Pistils

1Cut four lengths of 30-gauge white floral wire evenly into thirds to give you 12 pieces.

2Take a tiny piece of Nasturtium (Peach) SFP and push the end of a cut wire through it. Roll the ball between your finger and thumb to work it along the wire length until it covers about 6cm (23/8") of the wire. It is easier to work the SFP up the wire, from the bottom to the top. Try to make the bottom part of the stamens slightly thicker than the tip (A).

3Place the stamen on the flat side of the non-stick board and roll over it with your fingers, gently pressing the stamen against the board to achieve a very thin stamen that is smooth and neat. 4 For the pollen, pinch and remove the SFP from the very top of the wire. Using a pinch of fresh Nasturtium (Peach) SFP, secure it to the end of the wire and gently press between your finger and thumb to flatten slightly into a tiny oval. The pollen part should be slightly thicker than the stamen itself. Carefully bend the wire into a slight curve to add some movement (B).

5Repeat steps 2–4 to make another 11 identical stamens. There will be six stamens used for each lily. Leave them to dry for an hour.

6Dilute a little Thrift dust with some cooled, boiled water to create a paint. Take the no. 1 paintbrush and draw a short vertical line on each pollen (C).

7Dip the no. 2 paintbrush into edible glue and wipe off the excess. Apply

A B C

D

E

F

G

H

a little glue to the opposite side of each pollen and dip it into some pure Daffodil (Yellow) dust. Shake off the excess and set the stamens aside.

8Cut a length of 30-gauge white wire into two individual pieces, about 10cm (4") long each.

9Repeat steps 2–3 to make a pistil, this time making the pistil 1cm (3/8") longer than the stamens, working the SFP approximately 7cm (23/4") along the wire. Repeat to create a second pistil.

10 Touch the tip of each pistil with some Edelweiss (White) paste food colour using the no. 1 paintbrush.

11 Take six stamens and one pistil and secure them together in a bunch using half-width Nile green floral tape. When doing this, you will want to tape the uncovered part of the wires towards the bottom. To start, tape the stamens together first, making sure all the curved ends point upwards. Tape the pistil underneath the stamens to finish. Repeat to assemble the remaining stamens and pistil for the second lily flower.

Petals

1Trace the two lily petal templates onto a piece of paper and cut them out individually. Also cut a 26-gauge white wire into three equal pieces.

2Roll out a marble-sized ball of Daffodil (Yellow) SFP over a groove on the non-stick board. Place the no. 1 lily petal template over the paste, with the groove running up the centre, and cut out a petal using a cutting wheel.

3Dip the end of a cut wire into edible glue and wipe off the excess. Push the glued end into the central ridge at the back of the petal. When you have pushed the wire halfway up the petal length, gently press all the way along the ridge with your fingers to secure (D).

4On a foam pad, use a large ball tool to soften the edges of the petal. 5 Place the petal between the two halves of the Amaryllis veiner and press together firmly to texture (E). Remove the petal from the veiner and lay it flat on the non-stick board.

6Position the very tip of the small CelStick straight on the edge of the petal. Pressing gently, roll the stick backwards and forwards to achieve a frilled edge. Keep going all way around the petal until completely frilled (F).

7Drag the dresden tool inwards from the edges of the petal to curve them slightly towards the centre (G).

8Curve the petal backwards using your fingers so the curved ends are facing up, and then place it over a thick rolling pin or familiar curved surface. Leave the petal to firm up but not dry completely.

9Repeat steps 2–8 to make another two identical lily petals using the remaining cut wires.

10 When the petals are firm enough to hold their shape, it is time to dust them. Dip the no. 10 paintbrush into the Nasturtium (Peach) dust and shake off the excess. Dust the colour over a wired petal, working from the tip downwards. Try not to touch the edges – leave about 2mm (1/16") uncoloured from both sides of the petal. Apply a few layers of dust colour (H). Repeat with the other wired petals.

11 Dip the no. 10 paintbrush into the Rose dust colour and shake off the excess. Apply a layer of Rose dust on top of the Nasturtium (Peach) dust layer to achieve a deeper shade. Repeat with the other wired petals.

12 Once all the petals are dusted, place them under some cling film

TO P T I P

For convenience, you can use the end of a paintbrush to frill the edges of the petals.

or in an airtight tray to prevent them from drying out completely.

13 Repeat steps 2–12 to make and dust three more petals, this time using the no. 2 lily petal template.

14 When all your six petals are prepared, it is time to assemble them around the stamens and pistil. To do this, take very small piece of Pale Green SFP and roll it into a cone shape about 1.5cm (1/2") long and 1cm (3/8") wide.

15 Take one stamens and pistil bunch and push the wired stem down through the centre of the wide end of the cone until it slightly covers the base of the petals. Wet your fingers and gently secure the cone around the petals, making sure to stretch and smooth the SFP down the stem a little.

16 Take the first wider no. 1 petal and attach it to the soft cone by threading the wire down through the centre and positioning the petal flush against the side of the cone. Make sure the bottom of the petal coincides with the bottom of the cone. Secure the wire to the main stem using some Nile green tape.

17 Attach the remaining two no. 1 petals around the rest of the cone in the same way as step 16, so you end up with a triangle of petals. Press the base of the petals gently around the bottom of the cone.

18 One at a time, tape three narrow no. 2 petals behind the first petal layer following the same technique as in step 16. Position them in between the gaps to make the flower look more natural.

19 To finish, touch the very ends of the petals with a little Rose dust. Apply a mixture of Leaf Green, Edelweiss (White) and Vine dust food colours to the back of the flower, working from the bottom upwards to about halfway. Apply some Leaf Green dust to the bottom of the flower.

20 Repeat steps 14–19 to assemble the second lily flower using the remaining components.

CARNATIONS

Inner Petals

1Trace the carnation petal template onto a piece of paper and cut out.

2Cut a 22-gauge white floral wire into three equal pieces and make a closed hook at one end of each wire.

3Push the hooked end of a wire into the centre of a small 1.5cm (1/2") ball of Soft Peach SFP. Work the ball between your finger and thumb to create a long narrow shape down the wire. You want to end up with a 2.5cm (1") long and 4mm (3/16") wide shape (I). Repeat to make another two flower centres. Set each aside to dry overnight.

4Very thinly roll out a small piece of Soft Peach SFP over a groove on the non-stick board. Using the template, cut out a petal with the ridge running through the centre of the SFP. Keep your offcuts.

5Using the broad end of the dresden tool, pull the SFP outwards to make the round top edge of the petal serrated (J). Leave the sides of the petal as they are.

6Place a veining tool over the surface of the petal and roll back and forth continuously to texture (K). Make sure no flat area has been left untextured.

7Pinch both sides of the petal’s pointed end towards the middle to create a sail shape (L). Set the petal aside and cover with cling film to prevent it from drying out. I

J

TO P T I P

To add a more natural, textured look to the edges, I recommend using the very pointed tip of a petal cutter. Place the narrow tip of the cutter on the edge of the petal and cut out tiny V-shapes without any gaps in between, leaving the sides of the petals straight. K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

8Repeat steps 4–7 to make and texture between 24–36 in total. You will need 8–12 petals for each flower centre. Keep the finished petals covered as your work.

9Paint a little edible glue on one of the flower centres you prepared earlier. Wrap one of the textured petals around the centre, squeezing the very tip of the petal so that it looks tight enough. The tip of the flower centre should not be visible.

10 Continue attaching more petals (between 8–12 in total) around the previous ones until you end up with a wide centre, about 2cm – 2.5cm (3/4" – 1") in diameter, depending on how open you want your flower to be (M).

11 Repeat steps 9–10 to assemble the other two flower centres using the remaining petals. You can vary the number of petals used for each flower so they don’t look too uniform.

Outer Petals

1Cut six 30-gauge wires into four equal pieces, giving you 24 cut wires.

2Roll out a marble-sized ball of Soft Peach SFP thinly over a groove on the non-stick board. Using the same carnation template, cut out a petal with the ridge running through the centre. Keep your offcuts.

3Dip the very end of a cut wire into edible glue, wipe off the excess and push it into the ridge about halfway up the length of the petal (N). Gently pinch the ridge to help adhere the petal to the wire.

4Repeat steps 5–7 from ‘Carnations: Inner Petals’ to texture and shape the petal.

5Repeat steps 2–4 to make and texture between 15–21 outer petals in total. You will use 5–7 petals for each flower. Keep the finished petals covered as your work.

6Take one flower centre and attach an outer petal over the inner petals using Nile green floral tape (O). Make sure you position the flower level with the base of the inner layer and tape over the wire directly beneath the petal. Continue attaching more petals around the flower centre, approximately 5–7 petals in total. You will end up attaching two layers of outer petals around the centre, just make sure the petals are positioned in between the gaps of the previous layer to look more natural.

7Once the outer petals are secure, tape all the wires together with Nile green floral tape to create a thick stem. Now use your fingers to curve the top edges of each outer petal backwards.

8Repeat steps 6–7 to attach the remaining petals to the other two flowers. You can vary the number of petals used for each flower, so they don’t look too uniform.

Calyxes

1Roll a marble-sized piece of Pale Green SFP into a cone shape, 2cm (3/4") long and 1.5cm (1/2") wide.

2Press the large ball tool into the wider end of the cone to create a shallow concave shape (P). Lightly pinch the edges flat.

3Using the pointed end of the dresden tool, divide the top of the concaved circle into 5–6 sections (Q). Next, pinch each section into slight points (R).

4Place the calyx on the foam pad and make the pointed sections slightly longer. To do this, run the large ball tool over the centre of each calyx section and out towards the edges. Make sure you don’t flatten the body of the calyx.

5Push the main stem of a flower down through the middle of the wide end of the calyx until it sits flush with the base of the flower. Secure the calyx around the flower, using a little glue if needed.

6Repeat steps 1–5 to attach a calyx to the other two carnation flowers.

7To finish, roll out a pea-sized ball of Pale Green SFP thinly on the non-

stick board and cut out a calyx shape using the 1.9cm (3/4") Calyx cutter. On the foam pad, use the small end of the large ball tool to soften and stretch the individual calyx sections (S).

8Paint a tiny amount of glue over the very bottom of one of the concaved calyxes secured to the main flowers. Push the flower stem down through the centre of the small calyx piece, threading it up to the base of the larger calyx and secure in place. Leave the pointed ends of the small calyx sticking out.

9Roll out a thin carrot shape, about 1cm (3/8") long, from some Pale Green SFP. Place it on the non-stick board and press down on it with your finger to flatten into a little leaf.

10 Apply a little glue to one side of the leaf and attach it to main stem, 2cm (3/4") down from the bottom of the flower.

11 Repeat steps 7–10 to attach a small calyx and leaf to the other two carnations.

12 Brush the three carnation flowers with a touch of Pink and Nasturtium (Peach) dusts. To enhance the petal edges, apply a little Rose dust colour. I like to touch a few of the petals with a mixture of Edelweiss (White) and Vine dust.

13 Cover the entire surface of each calyx and the small leaves with some Leaf Green dust. Also apply a little Holly/Ivy (Dark Green) dust to the bottom part of the calyxes and the flower stems to add depth. To enhance further, lightly touch the very base of the calyxes and underneath the small leaves with some Thrift dust.

TWIGS

1Cut a 22-gauge white wire in half. Also cut some half-width brown floral tape into numerous small pieces, measuring 1cm – 2cm (3/8" – 3/4") long. Make at least 14 tape twigs in total.

2One at a time, twist each cut piece of tape into a tight short stick, fold it over itself and twist again to give you a protruding twig (T, U). Leave the bottom end open.

3Take one of the cut wires and begin covering it with brown tape, working from the top to the bottom. As you work your way down the wire, attach up to seven twigs to the main stem, positioning them at different heights (V).

4Repeat steps 2–3 to create the second branch with the other cut wire. Once finished, bend each twig in a few points to give them a natural look.

TO P T I P

You can add a frost-like effect to your twigs by applying a little edible glue to the sticks and sprinkling on some caster sugar. Just remember to shake off the excess.

ASSEMBLY

1To start, tape the two lilies together with half-width Nile green tape. To achieve a more natural look, position the lilies at different heights.

2Take the three carnation flowers and position them around the lilies. When you are happy with their placement, secure them to main stem of the lilies with half-width Nile green tape. Once secure, continue taping all way down the stem to the bottom of the wire.

3Finish the arrangement by adding the twigs, taping them to the main stem and positioned around the flowers in different directions.

4Cut the main wire of your arrangement to fit into the large posy pick and secure with some leftover SFP or royal icing. Push the pick into your preferred position on the cake.

TO P T I P

Use smaller posy picks to attach the flowers to the cake if you're having trouble. R

S

T

U

V