Royal Icing Tudor Rose

Continuing with projects inspired by the London Olympics, today's post is the Tudor Rose. This is a motif commonly seen in heraldry, but there is an actual version that grows in the dirt, too, which is the one I'm attempting to replicate. All you'll need to pipe this red-and-white rose are stiff consistency royal icing in white and red (I recommend Super Red by AmeriColor to color your icing a true red), a cheap brush from the craft store, a dusting pouch filled with a 50/50 mix of powdered sugar and cornstarch, parchment paper squares, a flower nail, a glue stick, a Styrofoam block to rest the nail in, round tip #12, and tip #97, which is used to pipe Victorian roses. That's a tip #97 on the left; on the right is a standard petal tip #104 (teardrop shaped)

Start by sticking a parchment square to the flower nail with a dab from the glue stick. 

 Pipe a base for each rose, and allow the bases to firm up. The bases are basically shaped like Hershey's Kisses, and are made by holding the round tip #12 perpendicular to and just above the surface, squeezing until the icing is the size of about a nickel, and slowly moving the tip upward and away from the surface before stopping pressure and pulling the tip straight up and away.

 Remember how important it is to allow the bases to firm up; you don't want them to flatten out under the weight of all those petals. Warning: graphic photos of icing gone wrong here.

 Work on each rose one at a time by returning them to the flower nail with a dab from the glue stick. Handle them only by the parchment paper. Start by piping the center petal that wraps around the tip of the base with the tip #97. You can read all of the specifics regarding angle, pressure, distance of each row of petals to the next, number of petals, etc. if you go to the Wilton site and read about The Wilton Rose.

 The main difference in using the tip #97 is the petals will curl over at the edges a little, which I think makes them look so much more realistic than the standard petal tip. Start by piping three overlapping petals around the center wraparound petal.

 Then, you'll want to make a striped bag. Paint a generous stripe of red icing for a couple of inches along one of the bag's seams and all the way into the coupler, if you're using one.

 Fill the bag as much as you'd like with white icing…

 …and make sure the narrow side of the tip is lined up with the stripe.

 Pipe a row of 5 overlapping petals, angling them slightly more outwards than the row of 3 petals…

 …and finish with a row of 7 or more overlapping petals, angling outwards even further (but not lying flat on the parchment; there should still be plenty of clearance between the flower and the paper). How pretty would these be on red velvet cake? But not very British, I'm afraid.

Victorian Rose using Tip #97

If I didn't know better, I'd swear Wilton was trying to keep the very existence of the Victorian Rose a secret. Are they worried it'll pull focus from their signature flower, The Wilton Rose (insert registered trademark symbol here)? Well, if they're not, they should be; unlike The Wilton Rose, the Victorian Rose actually looks like the real deal. There's no mention of the Victorian Rose in Decorating Cakes: A Reference & Idea Book. There is, however, a tiny little text box in the Flowers and Cake Design book that accompanies the course of the same name that reads: "For a Victorian Rose, use tip #97 and pipe following the directions for the Wilton Rose." So, if by now you're wondering what all the fuss is about, I'm going to show you. Pull together the following setup: a piping bag loaded with stiff consistency royal icing (or buttercream, if you're so inclined), fitted with a coupler and a round tip #12, a tip #97 on standby, a non-toxic glue stick, a rose nail (rose template decal optional; I have several rose nails each bearing every available template decal), one parchment paper square for each rose you're making, and a Styrofoam block, so you'll have someplace to set the nail when your phone rings.

 Here is a closeup shot of the tips you'll be using. #12 is on the bag, and on the left is tip #97. You'll notice the hole is "S" shaped; one curve of the "S" is wider. The wide end is kept against the base while you're piping; the narrow end is held outwards. It's this curve that gives the petals their curled-over shape that really sets this rose apart.

Incidentally, this is what a standard rose tip looks like; teardrop-shaped:

 Begin by piping your bases. Put a dab from the glue stick in the center of the nail, attach a parchment paper square, and hold the #12 tip perpendicular to and just above it.

 Squeeze hard and slowly pull back on the tip; your goal is to form a shape comparable to a Hershey's Kiss. When the shape is just about right, stop pressure and remove the tip.

 Here is a variety of bases, ready to go.

Allow them to firm up for a while; I go into the reason why in this post (graphic stuff not for the faint of heart). Basically, the rose on the left had a firm base, the rose on the right did not:

 As you may know, there are a million tutorials for piping the Wilton Rose, including the official one on the Wilton site. Check it out for the tip angle, pressure, nail rotation, etc.; I lose my mind trying to explain that sort of information in a unique way. What I will show you is the formation of the rose as the 4 steps occur. First, here's the center petal that wraps around the top of the base:

 That's followed by the three overlapping petals…

 …and then five just below that. Note the distinct shape of the petals' edges:

 Here is a side view. It's a bit blurry, but you can definitely see the curl on the petals.

 Finally, here is the rose with the layer of seven petals piped at the base.

At this point, I'm pretty much going to drill holes in all my old standard rose tips and turn them into earrings. Or a tiara…