The Happiness Project and the Rose Bouquet Cake

I have been wanting to make a Rose Bouquet Cake but I keep putting it off, finding reasons not to do it. It’s the “rose” part that I get intimidated in. The intricate details of the petals, how labor-intensive it is, and to actually make 20-30 pcs., in different sizes. Aysus!

Here’s a photo of the Rose Bouquet Cake in one of my bake books:

So you see, this project is not as easy as the other ones I previously made.

A friend kept on encouraging me to try new designs, and to conquer this monster fear. I told her I will get it done once I finished taking the Gum Paste Class at the culinary school where I usually take classes. We were hoping that I take it this month but turns out, they’re not offering it. So I said, “Maybe next month.”

I got new bake books from Singapore and was too excited to start on new projects when I was reminded by the book I am currently reading (The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin). One of the things that can evoke happiness is to tackle a nagging task. So tackle the nagging rose bouquet cake. Get it done and over with before you move on to dreaming, I mean, making new ones...

Today, I had an extra 4-inch Choco Decadent Cake sitting around the kitchen that immediately I decided, “Let’s do this!” I will just have to settle on the rosettes I did from the Garden Cupcakes I made:

And the quest begins...

I covered the cake with green fondant so that in any case I messed up the stems, it won’t be as noticeable. Next comes the stems. Rolling them was kinda tricky. A consistent stem diameter should be achieved. I initially used a chocolate lollipop mold but since it was taking so much time, I just rolled away like there’s no tomorrow! I made sixty 4-inch stems.

For the rosettes, I combined Christmas Red and Burgundy gel color. It’s easy to make. Just make rectangles, fold and roll with the overlapped portion at the top. I made 55 rosettes.

I started covering the cake with the stems. Make sure that the stems have the same length. And since I didn’t level the cake, I had to cut the stems at the start of the cake dome.

Using royal icing tinted with green as glue, I started covering the cake with my red rosettes starting from the ends of the stem.

Beginning the second row until the topmost portion, they should be placed in between 2 rosettes.

 

See how the green royal icing made the difference instead of using just white?

Since the rosettes I made were of different sizes, there were spaces that needed smaller ones. And I ran out of fondant that I had to prepare new ones. I used a different brand of gel that I got a different colored rosette. Learning: check availability of materials you will use before embarking on a project. Good thing it was on top of the bunch that the color difference didn’t matter much.

After 5 hours, here’s my finished product:

Way far from the one in my bake book, but garnered a lot of likes on my FB account. More than enough that I get to practice making some more this coming week..

And yes, this project brought me that satisfaction that I can do things if I get myself to focus, and believe that I can do it. Yes, it wasn’t as pretty as I hoped for, but pretty enough to make me feel better, and get that boost I needed when it comes to my decorating/design skills.

And I got 2 check marks today: tackle a nagging task; go to sleep happy. This is definitely the day’s highlight!

P.S.

I got orders for Mother's Day, and here's a photo of another finished product. The other one sent by the one who ordered :-)