Gum Paste Calla Lily

The calla lily is taught in Wilton Course 3: Gum Paste and Fondant, and is also covered in the book that comes with the Gum Paste Flower Cutter Set. By borrowing elements of each set of instructions, a pretty convincing lily can be produced. You’ll need white and yellow gum paste (under plastic cups to keep them from drying out), purple shaping foam, thin pink shaping foam, a 9” fondant roller, a Styrofoam block, a container of gum glue adhesive (a pinch of gum paste dissolved in a tablespoon of water), small brushes, yellow sugar (or cornmeal), a 6” piece of 20-gauge florist’s wire, florist’s tape, a dusting pouch filled with a 50/50 mix of cornstarch and powdered sugar, Crisco (in case you need to knead some into your gum paste to revive it), the petal and leaf impression mat, a large lily cutter, a lily former, a gum paste storage board to use as a work surface, Color Dust in Goldenrod and Lime Green, White Pearl Dust, and the veining tool and ball tool from the Wilton 10-piece Fondant and Gum Paste Tool Set. 

 Start by rolling a ½” ball of yellow gum paste.

 Roll it into a log shape, elongating one end so the whole length is 1 ¼”.

 Dip an end of the wire into the gum glue.

 Insert the wire into the wide end of the shape; push it in about 2/3 of the way.

 Paint about ¾ of the shape with gum glue, starting from the tip.

 Dip it into the yellow sugar (if you’re going for a more realistic look, use cornmeal).

 Insert the wire into the Styrofoam block, and allow it to dry overnight.

 Dust the back side of the gum paste storage board with the dusting pouch.

 Roll out a piece of white gum paste to 1/16” thick. Remove the pink rings from the roller, and roll it out a little thinner.

 Cut out a shape with the lily cutter and tear away the excess.

 Dust the petal section of the impression mat.

 Place the shape on the mat with the pointy tip in one of the four corners, and press down on it with the thin pink foam.

 Move the petal to the purple foam, and with the imprinted side up, soften the edges by running the ball tool from the tip ¾ of the way toward the base. The ball tool should be half on the petal, half on the foam.

 Draw a line from the base to the tip using the narrow end of the veining tool.

 Dust the lily former…

 …and drape the petal around it, tip side down.

 Paint the inside of the outer petal with gum glue and press it into place.

 Paint the base of the yellow center with gum glue and stick it by the wire back into the Styrofoam block.

 Gently curl over the edges of the lily, including the tip.

 Insert the center into the lily, wire end first. Gently press the base of the lily against the center.

Wrap the wire with florist’s tape. Cut off about 6” of tape, and pull an inch or so at one end to activate the adhesive. 

 Start by wrapping the wire about ½” away from the lily.

 When the tape starts to stick to itself, slide it up against the lily…

 …and continue wrapping to the end of the wire.

 Dust the lily with White Pearl Dust.

 Dust the inside around the center with Goldenrod Color Dust…

 …and the base with Lime Green Color Dust.

 Here is the finished calla lily. Definitely appropriate atop any spring cake!