Wilton Revisited

I was asked to bake cupcakes for an upcoming baby shower and I am so excited! This is the first time I've been asked by someone not in my family, like my mom. It's a catered event, but the caterer doesn't bake, so my mom's friend called on me. Okay, okay, so it's a friend of my mom's. So what? It's a start, right?

It's a girl, so I'm baking all things girly. White and pink cupcakes with pale and hot pink frosting. (Still trying to master hot pink frosting, but I'm getting there.) And, I've decided to start playing around with royal icing and making Wilton flowers. My mom and I took the Wilton cake decorating courses, all three back to back years ago, and I want to try and do a little more with my cupcakes. Cupcakes and icing aren't enough. I need a little something more.

So, over the weekend I pulled out my Wilton II book, had my mom whip up royal icing while we were at the movies, and got all of my old tools out of storage. I was super rusty in the beginning, but toward the end I started getting the hang of it. The only thing is, these don't look exactly like the Apple Blossom photo, but it's a good start. 

What you need. A Wilton II book, a ton of little squares of wax paper, the Apple Blossom template, a nail head to place the template on, the appropriate tips for the flowers (101 and 1), a flower holder while they dry, and of course royal icing.

I kept the main flower white because the frosting will be two tones of pink. I tinted a small amount yellow for the flower centers. Also, you must keep royal icing wet. It dries out quickly so wrap them in damp paper towels when not in use.

 And here we go....

Making one petal at a time.

An Apple Blossom had a center and four dots around the flower. 

 Here are a few of the finished product.

 

I plan to keep making them so I have lots to chose from, if I decide to use them for the cupcakes. I thought either one in the center or three scattered around the top. Or, they may just be plain cupcakes with either sanding sugar or glitter sprinkles. I will post the finished product next week.