The Kew Book of Sugar Flowers: How to Make Beautiful Floral Cake Decorations

Description

In the Kew Book of Sugar Flowers, sugarcraft specialist Cassie Brown teaches you how to craft stunning, authentic-looking flowers and foliage using flower paste (gum paste). Learn how to create beautiful bouquets and stunning sprays, from the early stages of germinating your ideas - taking inspiration from nature and making moulds from real flowers and leaves - to creating floral cake decorations with an exotic or wild flower theme for a special occasion. Through clear and concise step-by-step instructions, Cassie explains every facet of crafting sugar flowers, from gaining an appreciation of the flower itself, to preparing the flower paste and colouring it to wiring the flowers into an attractive and realistic bouquet. There is a veritable garden of delights to choose from, from ornate orchids to delicate daisies. The method for crafting each individual flower is demonstrated in stunning detail beginning with an 'exploded flower' photograph that illustrates each of the individual components and working through the techniques and tricks that Cassie herself applies to create her stunning floral displays. The Kew Book of Sugar Flowers is the perfect book for the established sugarcrafter looking to develop their skills and take their cake-decorating capabilities to the next level. Readers with a particular interest in flowers and plants will also love this book for its painstaking recreation of flora in flower paste (gum paste), and the book is endorsed by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew giving extra credibility to the stunning realism of the flowers that Cassie Brown has recreated. Foreword by Eddie Spence M.B.E. Eddie Spence MBE has enjoyed an illustrious career in confectionery and cake design and his superior skills have earned him the opportunity to decorate many cakes for the royal family, including Her Majesty the Queen herself.

Cassie Brown is a multi-award winning cake decorator and sugarcrafter, and has written articles for cake magazines including Cake Craft & Decorating, Cakes & Sugarcraft, and Wedding Cakes. Since 2012 Cassie has been a professional cake judge at Cake International, the UK's leading cake decorating, sugarcraft and baking show held annually, and she now undertakes consultancy work with the biggest brands in the cake trade. She is also a craft ambassador for several different craft companies. She teaches workshops in cake decorating and sugarcraft both internationally and from her home in Worcestershire, UK, where she lives with her husband and three children.

A beautiful book! Instructions are clear and precise. Step by step photos so very easy to follow. Includes cutting templates. Ideas for every occasion. I absolutely love this book! -- Samantha Williams Haggett * Customer review * I was amazed by the variety and quality of the flowers in this book, the instructions are well laid out with step by step detail of what to do and an accompanying photograph. There's also an initial photograph showing you how many petals etc., you should have when you are finished. It also gives a detailed list of what you will need to make each type of flower. Whilst you do need specific tools for some of the flowers, if you are a beginner there are some flowers that only need basic tools such as scissors and a scalpel to produce a very professional effect. At the end of the book there is also a page of templates that you could trace and cut out for the petal and leaf sizes. It really is a stunning book and I can't wait to make my next celebratory cake. -- Su Williams * Customer review * This expert guide to making sugar flowers is informative and comprehensive. Each flower tutorial includes clear instructions and lots of step-by-step pictures to make sure they're easy to follow at home. As well as classic favourites like lilies and roses, Cassie also includes some more unusual varieties like celosia and chilli peppers. One of the most interesting aspects of this guide is the 'Before You Begin' section which shows where inspiration can be found and how you can turn that initial inspiration into your own sugar creation. She advises dissecting your example flower to divide it into its component parts, and each tutorial shows an example of a real deconstructed flower alongside the finished sugar version. Cassie even shows how you can use these pieces to make your own moulds and veiners so you can be sure your flowers look just like the real thing. * Cakes & Sugarcraft * A beautifully presented book; The Kew Book of Sugar Flowers by Cassie Brown is both inspiring and educational, containing all the guidance you will need to create a series of sugar flower arrangements. Essential reading for anyone looking to advance their skills, each page in the book is laid out in a clear and concise manner with easy to follow step-by-step instructions and a brilliant exploded component petals diagram which perfectly illustrates how each flower fits together. Learn how to create and colour over 25 seasonal flowers with a selection of complimentary foliage. Later in the book, Cassie demonstrates how to use each of these flowers in combination to create stunning arrangements for your cakes. -- Andrew Hill, Editor * British Sugarcraft News - The British Sugarcraft Guild members' magazine. * One thing I have tried and failed many time over the years is to make Sugar Flowers. This book was so descriptive in images and text that I had to try and make some. For the first time ever I was able to. This book is recommended to anybody who wants to add flowers to their creations. Trust me, in using it you will succeed! -- Dale Dow * Customer review * This is a lovely book full of stunning flower decorations for your cakes, everything is explained clearly and the instructions have pictures so it's easy to follow it's well written and beautifully illustrated -- Maggie Bacon * Customer review * This is a wonderful book, with clear step-by-step instructions for the creation of a wide range of sugar flowers, leaves, shoots and embellishments. Materials, tools and techniques required are all covered, and templates are provided. Simply stunning! -- Myra Armson * Customer review * Stunning book, really shows the detail of flowers and also materials, moulds and tips plus step by step guides right through to precise detail to get realistic results. This book is excellent and if you do other crafts would also be a great guide for true representations. I would certainly recommend. -- Hazel Markland * Customer review * This book is beautifully presented with a really good range of Sugar flowers to create. The step by step instructions are excellent with great clear photography.....all too often some books seem to 'skip' bits which can make for disjointed instructions , but not this one! I would say it's a book for a confident beginner or more experienced sugarcrafter.... fabulous projects . I was pleased to find a section on wiring up the flowers into sprays as well as often this is overlooked. Definitely recommended!! -- Michelle George * Customer review *