https://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/sugarpaste-roses • Posted by FW Media
Roll about 75g (2¾oz) of the paste into a long, thin sausage shape about 1cm (3/8in) in diameter and cut into marble-size pieces, weighing about 7g (1/8oz) each. You will need nine pieces per large rose.
Lightly grease the plastic sleeve with white vegetable fat (shortening) to prevent the paste from sticking. Roll one piece of cut paste into a smaller sausage and the rest into balls. Place all the pieces between the plastic sleeve and press down on each piece slightly to flatten it.
Press down again more along one side, leaving the other side fairly thick.
Take the small sausage shape first and roll one end inwards to make the centre of the rose.
Wrap three petals around the centre roll so that they overlap one another. Squeeze the base of the rose slightly if necessary to keep the rose together. If the paste is too soft or sticky, leave it for 10 minutes for the CMC to develop and harden the paste. If it’s still too sticky, knead in a little more CMC.
Next wrap the outer five petals around the three-petal layer, again tucking each petal into one another.
Squeeze the rose at the base to hold all the petals in place.
Ease back the petals of the outer layer so that they look more like real rose petals.
Continue squeezing the base of the rose and then pull away the excess paste. Set the rose aside on a tray lined with a sheet of baking (parchment) paper. To make the small roses, repeat the process used for the large roses but without adding the five petals for the outer layer. Once the three petals are attached around the centre of the rose, simply peel them back as before and then pull away the excess paste from the base. You can make the roses well in advance and store them in a box (not an airtight container) in a cool, dry place.