All images via Miss Ladybird Cakes

One of my absolute favourite things to do (aside from make cakes) is to work with flowers! For bouquet month, I thought I would explain a little bit about how we prep the flowers for the cakes, because let’s be honest, some of these cakes pretty much have an entire bouquet on top of them!

It is very important to us to make sure that the flowers we use are made food safe, they aren’t eaten of course but any parts that are inserted into the cake for stability need to be prepped. I have come across some of the industries best who think it’s okay to place the stem directly into the cake, but I feel very strongly against this. We go to great lengths to make sure our cakes are made in a hygienic and clean kitchen, that is council approved and monitored. It shouldn’t stop there when it comes to the flowers. If you are ordering a cake or hiring a florist for your event, there is nothing wrong with asking, or requesting this attention to detail and hygiene.

  • We take the flowers and get them as clean as possible without harming the bloom itself. A damp cloth or run under water. When using pieces like succulents make sure you get into every tiny little crevice as those guys can hide little pockets of soil.
  • Remove any dead or wilting leaves away from the stem and calyx.
  • Trim stems to around 5cm long.

  • Cut a piece of florists wire, I like to use the thick ones so its nice and sturdy. You want to make sure the wire is longer than the stem.
  • If its a nice, strong flower like a Dahlia, you can insert the wire into the under side of the flower, being gentle not to go straight through the flower as you push in (and into your thumb…it happens a lot). If you are using something delicate like a Lysianthus, you can make a hook at the end of the wire and thread the hook through the base of the flower instead. This also works well with foliage.

  • Using clean hands, take some Parafilm (available from your florist.. and not to get mixed up with Cake Decorator’s floral tape that is used for sugar flowers) and stretch to “activate” it between your fingers and wrap around your stem and wires, with a stretch, wrap, twist,  stretch, wrap, twist action. Working all the way down to the end over the stem and over the wire. The parafilm has now covered the stem so there is no contact of the stem with the cake once inserted.
  • Your flower is now ready for placing on the cake!

If you are at all worried about using this method for placing flowers on your cake you can opt to use a toothpick instead and remove the stem completely. This method is also great for things like succulents. However I find this slightly clumsy when working with some blooms and I cant always get the “Movement” I want with the final decoration.

Ms Zebra Says: Who knew there was so much that went into including flowers on a cake?! Thank you Miss Ladybird Cakes for not only informing, but teaching too on how to include them at home!

About the author Miss Ladybird Cakes: With 10 years experience in creating beautiful cakes,
Miss Ladybird Cakes aims to make something that is both beautiful to look at, and beautiful to taste.