Flagship · Intermediate · $147
The flower fall couples ask for by September.
Layered, geometric, and unmistakably the centrepiece. The dahlia is the showpiece flower of autumn weddings, the one that makes a fall tablescape feel finished. Master the layered petalwork, the dusting, and the repair technique that saves you when something cracks.
Skill Level
Intermediate
Lessons
5 lessons
Length
~2.5 hours
What You'll Learn
The five skills behind a layered showpiece.
A dahlia is layers. Dozens of petals, each one the same shape, all working together. The skill isn’t the petal, it’s the build, and the dusting that ties it together.
01
The geometric pointed petal
The signature pointed-tip petal that distinguishes a dahlia from any other layered flower. Rolling, cutting, and shaping for consistency across dozens of identical petals.
02
The layered build
How to assemble layer after layer without the flower collapsing under its own weight. The technique that lets you build a dahlia tall and full while keeping it light enough to sit on a cake.
03
Three-tone dusting
The deeper colour in the centre, the lighter shade on the outer petals. Building gradient through dusting, not gum paste, because for a flower this layered, dusting is faster.
04
Finishing techniques
The final passes that take a dahlia from “neatly built” to “almost real.” Tip detail, edge work, and the small dusting decisions that make people lean in.
05
Repairing broken petals
Dahlias have a lot of petals. Sometimes one breaks. This module shows you how to fix it without re-doing the entire flower, the technique most courses never even mention.
Why The Dahlia
The fall wedding flower that books on its own photograph.
Walk through an autumn wedding cake portfolio and the dahlia is always there. Burgundy, rust, dusky pink, peach. It’s the one flower that, more than any other, signals “this is a fall wedding.” And cake artists who can make a real, dimensional dahlia get the bookings.
The dahlia is also the flower that teaches you patience. Layered flowers reward consistency over speed. Dozens of nearly-identical petals, each one slightly tilted to make the whole flower come alive. Once your hands can do this, every other layered flower becomes easier.
“She has a way of making complicated techniques feel approachable.” · Rachel M · Dreamcakes, Austin
And this course doesn’t skip the part everyone else does. Petals break. They do. The repair-techniques module shows you exactly how to fix one without rebuilding the whole flower, the difference between a wasted evening and a saved cake.
The Curriculum
What you'll watch, module by module.
Five focused modules plus a full downloads vault. Approximately two and a half hours of paced video. Yours to keep, forever.
Module 01
Before You Start
2 lessons
- ▷Welcome & introduction
- ▷Classic gumpaste recipe video
Module 02
Building the Flower
4 lessons
- ▷Colouring gum paste for the dahlia
- ▷Cutting and shaping the geometric petal
- ▷Layering inner petals
- ▷Layering outer petals for fullness
Module 03
Dusting & Finishing
3 lessons
- ▷Two-tone dusting (centre to outer)
- ▷Tip detail and edge work
- ▷Final finish for realism
Module 04
Repairing Petals
1 lesson
- ▷Fixing a broken or cracked petal without rebuilding
Module 05
Arrangement Ideas
1 lesson
- ▷Arrangement ideas for fall wedding cakes
Downloads
Tools, recipes, arrangements
3 downloads
- 📄Tools & Materials List
- 📄Dahlia Arrangement Recipes
- 📄Sugarpaste Recipe
when you're ready
Yours to keep, forever.
Pay once. Watch in your kitchen, on your phone, or with a friend. No subscription, no expiry, no platform that disappears.
The Dahlia
$147 one-time
Lifetime access. Watch as many times as you like.
- ✓Five focused modules
- ✓~2.5 hours of paced, in-depth video
- ✓The geometric petal-shaping technique that defines a real dahlia
- ✓Two-tone dusting taught from scratch
- ✓The repair-broken-petals module most courses skip
- ✓Tools list, arrangement recipes, sugarpaste recipe PDFs
- ✓30-day money-back guarantee
If the first lesson doesn’t land for you, email me within 30 days and I’ll refund you in full. No questions, no friction.
What Students Say
“You are the one who first inspired me that a cake can be decorated this way. Even today, when I feel clueless about where to begin or stuck about the design, I refer to your page and watch your old tutorials. Thank you not just for teaching me flowers, but for being my inspiration.”
Anumeha Singh · Finespun Cakes Academy student
What You'll Need
Almost nothing.
You can start this course with what’s already in your kitchen and at most one quick trip to a craft shop.
The essentials
- ✦Gum paste, store-bought is fine to start
- ✦A ball tool (or a clean paintbrush handle)
- ✦A foam pad (or a folded kitchen towel)
- ✦Floral wire, 24-gauge for the petals
- ✦Florist tape, white or green
The nice-to-haves
- ✦A small rolling pin
- ✦A veining or Dresden tool
- ✦A pair of small needle-nose pliers
- ✦A set of petal dusts, any soft-pink and yellow
- ✦A small paintbrush for dusting
Once you’re enrolled, I’ll send you my full Sugar Flower Starter Kit PDF with affiliate links to everything I personally use. You don’t need it to start, but it makes the second flower easier.
Your Teacher
Hi, I'm Alexandria.
I founded Finespun Cakes in Toronto in 2015 and have spent the last decade designing wedding cakes and teaching sugar flowers to over 1,000 students worldwide.
I trained at Le Cordon Bleu, studied under Ron Ben-Israel in New York, won an American Cake Award, and was named one of Wedluxe’s Top 10 Wedding Cake Designers in Canada.
My courses are taught the way I wish someone had taught me, with every step shown, no gatekeeping, and no rushing through the parts that actually matter.
a smarter way
Why buy one course when you could have all of them?
The Dahlia is included in the Finespun Academy at $29/month, along with every other course, over 100 studio recipes, all seven studio tools, and live time with Alexandria every month.
After five months in the Academy, you’ve already gotten more than the price of this single course. Most members stay much longer.