The Iced Queen: Gum Paste Sunflower

I'm always amused to see the number of page views the post about gerbera daisies gets; I think it's got to be one of the most popular flowers of all time! It's also one of the easiest to make from gum paste. The sunflower is nothing more than a variation of it; if you can make one, you can make the other. You'll need 4" flower forming cups (one for each flower), brown gum paste and yellow gum paste stored under plastic cups to keep them from drying out, Color Dusts in Goldenrod and Brown, a dusting pouch filled with a 50/50 blend of cornstarch and powdered sugar, a 9" fondant roller fitted with 1/8" pink rings, the large daisy cutter from either the Wilton Course 4 Student Kit or the Gum Paste Cutter Set, thin purple shaping foam, Crisco (to knead into the gum paste to revive it if need be), a gum paste storage board, a container of gum glue adhesive (a pinch of gum paste dissolved in a tablespoon of water), small brushes, the ball tool and veining tool from the Wilton 10-piece Fondant and Gum Paste Tool Set, and the impression mat featuring the sunflower center.

Start by dusting the back side of the storage board to use as your work surface.

Roll out the yellow gum paste to 1/8" thick.

Cut out two shapes with the large daisy cutter. You might want to press down on the back of the cutter with the fondant roller to be thorough.

Tear away the slack and put it back under the cup. If you've cut out both shapes at once, keep one under a flap on the storage board.

Neaten the edges by flipping the cutter over and running your finger along them, from the center to the tip.

The cut-out should just fall out of the cutter easily; if it doesn't, it can be prompted with the large modeling stick from the gum paste tool kit.

Widen the petals slightly by running the large end of the ball tool from each petal's tip to the base.

Then, indent each petal slightly by running the large end of the veining tool, heel side down, from the tip to the base.

Dust the flower forming cup…

…and place the cut-out in it. Repeat the steps with the ball tool and the veining tool on the other cut-out. Apply some gum glue adhesive to the center of the cut-out in the flower forming cup…

…and place the other cut-out on top of it. Offset the petals so all are visible; don't stack them directly on top of each other.

Using one of your larger brushes, dust the whole flower with the Goldenrod Color Dust.

Dust the sunflower center portion of the impression mat with the dusting pouch.

Make a ball about 3/4" round out of the brown gum paste and press it in (you may need to pinch some away and re-roll the ball to get it to fit exactly; it should be level, not convex or concave).