Wilton Flowers & Cake Design - Week 1

This past week I started the Wilton Flowers and Cake Design course. I’m taking this class at the Apple Valley (Minnesota) Michael’s. I took Decorating Basics at JoAnn Fabrics but I decided to switch to Michael’s for this class for several reasons, mainly because the location is a little more convenient for me. I know each location is different, but one nice thing about taking the class at this particular Michael’s is that they supply the class book for free. It’s only $5, but a nice bonus none the less.

For the first class we were instructed to bring some neon ready-made fondant and some ready-made gum paste. We learned a little about the different materials. We learned that gum paste dries harder than fondant so it’s better for flowers or objects that need more structure. Fondant won’t try completely solid as it is meant to be able to cut through. I'd never worked with, or tasted, fondant before so it was all useful info to me.

The instructor also went into methods for choosing colors for cakes. Using a color wheel, he talked about at least four different ways to select color combinations from the wheel that will/can work for cakes. 

After that we got to try making two different kinds of flowers. First was the button flower which was made using a mold. The flower comes out in three parts.

These were a complete pain in the butt to get out of the mold. They look pretty cute when they are done... if you don't completely maim them while trying to remove from the mold.

Once they are dry, you stack them together.

Next we tried violets. 

These were fun but a little challenging. The hardest part is ruffling the edges of the flower petals. Takes just the right touch and I think I'll need a little practice on these in order to not tear or stretch out the petals too much.

That's pretty much all we got to on week 1. Next week we'll be learning some buttercream, and possibly royal icing, techniques and flowers.