Hey there fellow cake friends and welcome to this Gumpaste Lilac Tutorial!
I can’t believe how easy these sugar lilacs are and that’s why I’m so excited to share them with you today.
The original lilacs I learned how to make were from one of my favourite books Modern Sugar Flowers- Vol. 1 by Jacqueline Butler and beacuase of this (and several other reasons) I can’t recommend this book enough.
These are my take on them after making a couple (hundred).
They require:
- Minimal sugar flower tools
- No silicone veiners
- No sugar flower experience
So, without further delay, let’s get to the gumpaste lilac tutorial!
Gumpaste Lilac Tutorial Video
Tools & Ingredients
- My Best Gumpaste Recipe
- 26 Gauge Green Wires
- Wire Cutters/Needlenose Pliers
- Small Scissors
- Ateco Modeling Tool Set (Includes Cone, Dresden, and Knife Tools)
- Navy Blue Progel Colouring
- Grape Violet Sugarflair Colouring
- King’s Robe Petal Dust
- Claret Petal Dust (Fuchsia Purple no longer made)
- My interpretation of the lilacs from one of my favourite sugar flower books- Modern Sugar Flowers- Vol. 1
- Flat brush
- Parchment Paper
- Silicone placemat for worktable
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Gumpaste Lilac Tutorial Instructions
Creating Your Lilac Blossoms
1. First, cut green 26 gauge floral wires into thirds, hook one end and close the hook. You need as many wires cut as flowers and buds you intend to make.
2. Next, colour your gumpaste light lilac by mixing ProGel Navy Blue colouring and Sugarflair Grape Violet colour with your white gumpaste. I start with a small piece of gumpaste that’s highly saturated which I call a master colour then add small pieces of it to white gumpaste until I’m happy with the colour.
3. Take a pea sized amount of gumpaste. Roll it into a ball on your palm using the index finger of your dominant hand then roll one end into a cone. Then, using your cone tool insert it into the fat part of the gumpaste cone, working it up the cone tool gently about one centimetre.
4. Snip 4 times around the open cone with a pair of small scissors creating 4 petals then open up the petals. Next, pinch each petal to get rid of the squared end, then flatten each petal in between your fingers.
5. Using the wider end of your dresden tool, press down in the centre of each petal to thin it out and create a concave line down each. Gently pinch the ends of each petal between your index finger and thumb to bring them to a slight point before manipulating and giving the petals movement by curving some upwards, some downwards, and twisting some.
Creating Your Lilac Buds
1. To make your buds roll a pea sized piece of gumpaste into a cone as you did before. Insert the hooked end of a 26 gauge green wire that has been dipped in gum glue into the pointed end of the cone then leave a small bulbous portion on top and work a small bit of the gumpaste down the wire about an inch by rolling it between your index finger and thumb.
2. Take your knife tool and indent the bud in 4 even increments going from the base of the bulbous part to the tip so it looks like 4 unopened petals.
3. Allow all flowers and buds to dry at least 24 hours before proceeding to dusting.
Dusting Your Flowers & Buds
1. For dusting, slightly dilute your petal dusts Fuchsia Purple and Kings Robe with a touch of cornstarch. After that, mix them together a bit, you’ll be using both colours mixed and you can dust them on separately as well to give the flowers some interesting colours. For example, I like some warmer flowers and some cooler, likewise I will vary the amount of dust on each flower.
2. Catch the dust on the raised edges of your gumpaste lilacs by brushing your colour in the opposite direction to the crevices you made with the dresden tool. Make each flower’s colour different, you can have some with just a touch of dust and some with very deep colouring.
3. In addition to your flowers, you’ll dust your buds by saturating the tips and bulbous part mostly with colour then, most importantly, blending it downwards so it has a soft ombre effect from the top to the bottom.
4. Lastly, you’ll tape flowers and buds in groups of 7-10 for small filler bunches, or however you’d like for your cake design!
Planning on giving this Gumpaste Lilac Tutorial a try?
I’d love to see your work!
If you post them on social don’t forget to tag me @finespuncakess so I can share your work!
I can’t wait to see what you create.
Happy Sugar-Flowering!
Pin this image to your favourite cake board to make them later!
