How to Make a Sugar Flower Chrysanthemum (Mum) for Your Cupcakes and Cakes

There are many ways to decorate a cupcake : Candies, sprinkles, decorative sugars, marshmallows, molded fondant...or sugar flowers.
You can make sugar flowers with fondant, buttercream icing, marzipan (almond paste) or royal icing.

These are some of the buttercream icing flowers we made for the Teacher Appreciation luncheon, for the end of the school year. I am looking forward to summer, how about you? The fun yellowy-orange shade of each floret reminds me of a garden bursting into bloom! 

Step 1: Materials and Ingredients

Materials:
Tips: #5 and #81 (Master Tip Set)

Icing color: Your choice (I chose a yellowy orange color, I mixed the shade by hand)
Petal Guide (you can print the one I have posted)
Prepared Flower Nail (attach wax paper square with petal guide underneath)

Ingredients:
Buttercream icing, medium consistency, in your choice of color

These are pretty standard items for cake decorators. Don't rush out and buy a cake decorating set unless you honestly and truly plan on decorating a LOT of baked goods.

Step 2: Ice the Nail

1- Prepare a bag of buttercream icing with tip #5 and another bag of same buttercream icing color with tip #81.

2- Pipe a small 'mound' of icing with the tip #5 at the center of the flower nail, as indicated by the big orange dot in diagram 2.

3- Insert tip #85 (with the indent facing up) to the bottom edge of mound. Squeeze bag and extend to the edge of inner circle and release pressure pulling slightly upwards at approx. 45 degree angle. Do this in a lower case 't' as indicated in diagram 3.

4- Repeat the petal process as indicated in diagram 4. Then, fill in the gaps with more petals, as in diagram 5.

5- Repeat the process for the next layer by piping petals slightly shorter, positioning them between the base petals and on top of the last layer (don't forget to insert the tip slightly into the mound, squeeze the bag, pull and release pressure at approx. 45 degree angle).

6- Repeat the process with 4-5 layers, getting shorter every layer. I usually only do 4 layers.

Step 3: Ready for Cupcakes!

Let the flower dry, then gently lift off of the waxed paper and add to your cupcake! They can be made big or small, in any color! I love these easy to make little sugar flowers.