Jessicas Cakes

Sweet Blooms

October 4, 2011 at 4:35 pm

My love affair with gumpaste flowers started almost two years ago. I had long admired cake designers like Sylvia Weinstock, Ron Ben-Israel and April Reed, but didn’t aspire to creating the lush extravagance of Sylvia Weinstock’s work or the elegant profusion of Ron Ben-Israel. April Reed’s look was sleeker, more minimalist, but still, I admired and moved on.

Then, a couple of years ago some gumpaste showed up on some of my cake designs. Just small additions here and there, no real thought to focusing on anything other than cake, frosting, some fondant and, okay, perhaps some carving. But those insistent little blossoms starting to poke their heads into other areas. I started teaching them in class at school which led me to wanting to do more varieties which led me to taking a class or two which led to teaching more in class which led to… you get the picture.

They’re fun. They challenge me and I keep finding new ones I want to make. I have become obsessed with mastering a certain floral nemesis called LISYANTHUS!!!

Of course there’s probably a few of you out there thinking “sure, it’s pretty, but who really wants it in sugar?” Well, that’s a good question. Who would really want a flower made of sugar? Why should you?

Here are my reasons: They never die, they can be tinted to match your wedding colors without resorting to paints or dyes. I am not bashing the well done tinted fresh flower, mind you, but we all know what happened to the poor maligned carnation after the incident with the green and gold glitter. And then there’s the daisy, it’s been getting the cold shoulder for ages. It’s a sweet little flower and quite pretty when used well. Here’s a big reason: Gumpaste Gardenias never turn brown.

Other reasons to think about gumpaste flowers: they are always in season and they aren’t poisonous nor likely to harm your guests. Can’t say that about a live Lily of the Valley or Holly Berry can you?

I couldn’t have added the new page Sweet Blooms to my website without the photographic genius of Katrina of Studio Laguna, the generosity of Ashley of Ashley Fox Designs for her studio and garden, not to mention all the props she let us pilfer for the day, and the ever talented Jesse of Creature Works who rearranged pages and made sure everything looked pretty.

For the full look of what I’ve added please visit the Sweet Blooms page. There will be more blooms and greenery to come so if you don’t see something you like,  just ask. It’s all sweet work to me.