How to Decorate a Sheet Cake With Red Roses

Icing Roses

1). Fill your piping bag with the red icing. Be sure the rose tip is securely on before filling the bag.
2). Hold the piping bag in your writing hand and the rose nail in the other hand. Squeeze a small blob of icing in the middle of the nail. This does not have to look pretty; it is the base for your flower and will not be seen.
3). Hold the icing bag with the thin edge of the tip facing up; the opening should be completely vertical. Pipe around your blob, turning the rose nail in your hand; keep the piping bag steady. You have essentially created a cone.
4). Hold the bottom, wide end of the piping tip against the bud, about halfway up. The narrow end of the tip should be held upright. Begin piping, pulling the narrow tip away from the bud, then back against the bud. This creates a slightly open petal. Repeat around the flower bud; you should be able to fit two or three petals on this layer of the flower.
5). Repeat making petals, pulling the tip further away as you get more layers on the flower. Small flowers require fewer layers of petals; they look like newly opened flowers. Large open roses need many layers, the last few pulling far away from the center.
6). Remove the rose from the rose nail by slipping a pair of scissors underneath it and "cutting" it away. Carefully place it on the cake in the position you want. Pipe a few green leaves under the roses if you wish.

1). Sprinkle powdered sugar on the table and knead your fondant until it becomes smooth and pliable. If it is not red already, put a few drops of food coloring on the fondant and knead it in. Pull off a small piece and roll it into an egg shape; press it down into the table with the narrow pointed end facing up.
2). Roll out the remaining fondant until it is roughly 1/16 of an inch thick. Use your knife or cookie cutter to cut out a five-petal flower shape; you will need three of these shapes.
3). Roll your ball tool or your finger over the outer edges of the petals; this gives them a soft look. Pick up the flower shape and gently press your finger into the middle, cupping it. Set it back on the table and lightly brush water in the middle with your finger. Put your egg-shaped roll of fondant in the middle of the flower shape.
4). Brush each petal with a bit of water from your finger. Pull the top petal up and wrap it around the egg-shaped cone. Pull the top left and then bottom right petal up and wrap it around. Repeat with the top right and the bottom left. The bottom of the petals should be firmly wrapped around the middle cone, while the tops of the petals slightly pull away from the middle.
5). Repeat with the remaining two flower shapes. These petals should pull away from the center cone more as the petals are unfurled.
6). Allow the flower to dry before placing it on a cake.