Buttercream Botanicals for Beginners: Simple Techniques for Creating Stunning Flowers, Foliage, and More

Discover how to turn any cake or cupcake into a showstopping work of art with realistic, modern flowers and plants made from a rainbow of colors of buttercream frosting.

Flowers are the most popular cake embellishments, but making them look natural and professional can be tricky. Professional cake artist Leslie Vigil has been teaching beginning bakers and decorators for years how to create authentic roses, daisies, peonies, dahlias, chrysanthemums, marigolds, tulips, ranunculus, plus succulents, cactus, and greenery out of buttercream, giving them the skills and confidence to embellish cakes and cupcakes like a pro.

In Buttercream Botanicals, she'll do the same for you, starting with her tried-and-true signature cake and buttercream recipes and demonstrating expert methods for adding color, blending shades, and working with the most effective tools. Leslie will also show how four core piping techniques form the base for creating a huge variety of botanicals. Decorated cakes and cupcakes are the perfect centerpiece for any seasonal holiday or celebration, including birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, showers, and graduations.

Working with buttercream is easy and accessible. Troubleshooting tips and tricks throughout the book will make piping shapes and designs a breeze.

In addition to thorough step-by-step tutorials for creating beautiful blossoms and more, the book also includes:

• Instructions for making edible flower pots for a complete eye-popping display
• Pro tips for designing appealing compositions on cakes and cupcakes such as wreaths and bouquets
• Faux tapestry techniques using simple piping techniques
• Ways to create various icing textures and effects, such as stucco

Grab a piping bag and make your cake dreams a reality with Buttercream Botanicals.

ISBN-13: 9780760376126

Media Type: Paperback

Publisher: Quarry Books

Publication Date: 11-08-2022

Pages: 128

Product Dimensions: 8.55(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.45(d)

Leslie Vigil’s stunning botanical creations made from buttercream have earned her an international reputation as a top cake artist. Although she has loved baking since childhood, Leslie began a career in child development before enrolling in Le Cordon Bleu culinary school in Pasadena, California. Honing her skills at a local bakery, she soon developed a reputation for creating gorgeous cakes featuring realistic flowers, plants, and foliage. Not content to just pipe roses, she experimented and perfected a range of modern botanicals in buttercream. After featuring them on social media, some posts went viral, and she quickly developed a loyal online following. Leslie eventually decided to strike out on her own, making custom cakes and teaching in-person and online workshops. She and her cake artistry have been featured on BHG.com, BuzzFeed, Insider, My Modern Met, This is Colossal, Design Boom, and Bored Panda. Leslie lives in Ontario, California. Instagram: @_leslie_vigil_ Website: leslievigil.com

Table of Contents

Introduction 8

Essential Supplies 10

Piping Bags, Flower Nails, Piping Tips, Gel Colors, and More for Piping Buttercream Botanicals 12

Getting Started 18

Buttercream and Cake Recipes, Working with Color, Getting Acquainted with Piping Tips, and Piping Exercises 20

The Fundamental Four Techniques 46

Introducing the Four Go-To Techniques for Piping Botanicals

Technique 1 The Blossom Technique 48

Phlox, Fruit Blossom, Plumeria, Hibiscus, Pompom Dahlia, Small Sedum Succulent

Technique 2 The Rose Technique 62

Classic Rose, Peony, Ranunculus, Echeveria Succulent I, Echeveria Succulent II, Pine Cone

Technique 3 The Mum Technique 80

Chrysanthemum, Sunflower, Aster, Sempervivum Succulent, Agave Succulent, Poinsettia

Technique 4 The Leaf Technique 94

Leaf I, Leaf II, Autumn Leaves, Echeveria Succulent III, Hellebore

Prepping the Cake Canvas 102

Easy Ways to Ice Cakes and Create Faux Stitching and Textile Patterns

Adding Final Touches and Creating Arrangements 114

Creating Filler Elements and Building Eye-Catching Compositions

Resources 125

Acknowledgments 125

About the Author 126

Index 127

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