Gumpaste Sweet Peas Tutorial
The sweet pea is a fun flower to recreate in gumpaste. This simple, easy and effortless tutorial to make gumpaste sweet peas has a detailed step by step with progress pictures to guide you thru. You can use my homemade gumpaste recipe or commercial gumpaste recipe both work equally well. Use them as a focal flower on the cake or as a filler flower in a bouquet.
Gumpaste sweet pea tutorial
For this flower, you will need to cut out three parts as shown in the image below. The two large petals are what you get when you buy the Sweet Pea Cutter Set – The small little petal cutter you see is a rose cutter. The smallest rose cutter in the set.
Sugar flower basic – Common to all sugar flowers
- Sugar flowers must be made with gumpaste not fondant or fondant with CMC or fifty/fifty.
- Edible Glue works best for flowers – Take 1 tsp. of CMC or Tylose Powder, add about 4 tbsp. of water. Set aside for a few minutes. The mixtures will thicken. Add a few more drop of water to bring to consistency
- Florist wires – the higher the gauge the more delicate or thinner the wire. Gauge 30 is more delicate than gauge 18, while gauge 18 in necessary for heavy flowers like roses, gauge 28 and 30 work best for filler flowers that are light.
- Thin the edges – This is done by placing the ball tool half on the white soft board and half on the petal and then rubbing the ball toll across the edges of the bract. Place on the foam pad to dry
- Steaming the finished sugar flowers – This is done by holding the flower over the steam of boiling water. Do not hold too close to the steam or; for too long as the petals will melt. It takes a few seconds of steam for each flower.
Step by step instructions (Save/Pin)
Making the center
- Cut each 24 g wire into 6 or 7 inches long – (I cut my 14-inch wire into 3)
- Make a small hook at the end of the wire.
- Dip the hook in glue, wipe off any excess.
- Knead a small ball of gumpaste and attach it to the hook. Shape it into an oval almost flat a little less than 1/2 an inch in length.
- Tip – This does not need to be perfect as it will be hidden inside the petal. But it does need to be small and somewhat flat.
- Let dry completely (8 to 10 hours or overnight).
- Tip – This is what holds the flower to the wire so do not rush the drying process. Make sure it’s attached to the wire well and dries hard.
Let’s make the first small petal – The sweet pea bud
- Roll the gumpaste to about 1/8 inch thickness.
- Thin the edges with a ball tool
- Brush the center lightly with glue
- Place the petal around the prepared wire.
- Press it firmly on the inside towards the wire making sure you can’t see the inside gumpaste.
- Keeping the edges a bit open
Make the second petal or small sweet pea flower
- Roll the next petal same as before about a 1/8 inch thick
- Thin the petal edges with a ball tool (see ‘Basics’ notes above)
- Vein the petal with a silicon impression mat or the veining tool as I have used below.
- Using a smaller size ball tool create a slightly wavy edge to the edge of the petal.
- Add glue to the center and towards the lower part of the petal.
- Place the small bud in the middle and gently press down so it sticks.
- Fold the edges around the bud leaving the top more open and the bottom closed (see image below)
Making the third petal – Full sweet pea flower
- Roll the last petal to about 1.8 thickness (follow the same process as the second petal)
- Thin the edges with a ball tool.
- Vein the petal with a silicon impression mat or the veining tool as I have used below.
- Using a smaller size ball tool create a slightly wavy edge to the edge of the petal.
- Add glue to the center and towards the lower part of the petal.
- Place the bud in the middle and gently press down so it sticks
- Fold the edges around the bud leaving the top open and the bottom closed (see image below).
Make the calyx
- Roll a little gum paste in light green color.
- Cut out a calyx using the smallest calyx cutter or use a tiny daisy or star shape.
- Attach to the flower with edible glue by simply threading it up the wire.
Make as many gumpaste sweet peas and buds as you need for your project and let them dry completely. Preferably overnight or at least a few hours.
Dusting the sweet peas
Choose colors that compliment your cake. Here you can see I have used the colors that are from my cake. I have a daffodil yellow, green sparkle, and indigo blue. These are not natural colors nor is my sweet pea today. ( I have never seen a turquoise sweet pea yet) For example, If you make a white gumpaste sweet pea then you can use a light rose pink or peachy pink for the edges.
- First, dust the center with a light dusting of yellow.
- Dust the edges with a darker shade of the sweet pea flower. Here I am using green and blue because I do not have a darker turquoise. I first used the ‘sparkle green’, then I used a light dust with the ‘indigo blue’.
- Dust the calyx with a green or darker green.
- Do this to all the flowers.
Steam the flowers
- Once all the flowers have been dusted, you may steam the flowers. Hold the flowers over the steam from the water boiler.
- Tip – This helps set the color and also prevent any excess dust from staining your cake later.
Tape the gumpaste sweet peas together into a spray
Ideally, you want to use a light green florist tape to make the spray. Here I am using a dark green as per my design (so they compliment the black lines on the cake)
- Wrap each flower and bud with green florist tape from the top to the one third or a little more than half.
- Tip – tapping individual flowers will make sure the end spray is secure and does not move around.
- Take 26 g wire the length of the spray you want. Start by taping the wire with a green florist tape.
- Starting with the bud start creating the spray.
- You can add one, two or three buds followed by the small and big sweet peas.
- Here, you can see I have arranged a few sprays – not all have the same combination or mix up of flowers and buds.
Once you tape the flowers and buds you should have a spray that looks like this. From here, you can then move the flowers and buds to create an effect that best suits your desing.
You use sweet peas as a focal flower on its own like I have on this cake. Or you can use it as part of the bouquet amount other flowers as I have in this cake
