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by Beth Parvu of Ohio Layout & Editing by Diane Shavkin NY |
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I saw my first columbine flower in the mountains of Colorado. I have since grown columbines in Colorado, Michigan and Ohio. The blue ones are significant in that they are Colorado's state flower. Columbines are also known as Aquilegia and Granny's bonnet and can be multi-petalled and with a wide variety of spur lengths and petal sizes. You will need
the following:
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Bake cakes. Assemble cakes with buttercream. Add supports in bottom cake. Apply rolled fondant to cakes and stack. Stamens: To make stamens: arrange several white seedhead stamens so that the heads are set at uneven levels. Cut in half and glue each half to a 28g wire using Tacky glue. When dry color with yellow color. Basic Franklin Method (Lin Cook, and Frances McNaughton) |
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Roll fine Platinum flower paste - allow surface to dry. |
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Take a small ball of flower paste and insert a dry white 33g wire a distance almost equal to the length of the short cutter. Squeeze firmly and roll back up to the tip of the wire. |
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Flip rolled out paste over, cut out petal: place cut out petal on face of DPM poppy petal veiner. |
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Lay the paste covered wire on the petal, cover with the back veiner and press very firmly. This will fix the wire to the petal while veining it and removing the need to thin the cut edge. Repeat with the long petal but only measuring for slightly longer that the length of the spur. Place spur on DPM poppy petal veiner leaving rounded petal section hanging off the narrow end of the veiner. Place coated wire down spur, press very firmly with back veiner. |
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Coloring: Dust short petal with chosen color while still soft. The short petals are usually the same color as the spurs. Dip the petal into leaf glaze, drain off as much as possible and immediately pat off the excess onto a tissue. (NOT KITCHEN PAPER TOWEL). Put each petal to one side for a few seconds for the alcohol to evaporate - the petals can then be handled without being sticky. Pinch tip and base of petal and bend wires at right angles. |
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Dust the spur
of the long petal wtih the same color as the short petals. The rounded
section of the petal can be colored or left white. Widen rounded sections
of petal slightly with Jem petal veiner. Dip and blot as for short petal.
Spur: When the alcohol has evaporated and the long petal can be handled, roll spur between fingers and pinch base of rounded section together keeping the wire in its original position. Holding the pinched base in one hand, gently bend wire at right angle with other hand. Stroke rounded tip of petal back. |
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Assembly: The short and long petals are placed around the stamen center alternately. Tape two short petals onto the stamen center using 1/4 width green florist tape. |
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Tape a long petal in between and add another long petal and a short petal. Dampen the outside edge of the rounded part of the long petal to stick to the previous outside edge so that the joined edges point towards the stamens. Repeat adding long and short petals until all five of each petal has been attached. Remember to dampen both rounded edges of last long petal. When all petals are in position, change to 1/2 width green florist tape and carefully tape down stem. |
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Stroke spurs into position and trim if required; ensuring top edges of long petals curve back and short petals have pinched tips. Curve stem behind flower head so flower faces forward. |
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| Make 21 Columbines.
(Pictured are different angles of the flower as placed upon the cake.)
Make 16 gumpaste flower painting - attach to rounded petal of cake. |
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| Attach columbines
to indents of petal shaped cake with royal icing.
Make rocks, let dry, and paint. Attach rocks with royal icing around bases of cakes. Make small, loose arrangement of 5 columbines tied with white bow.  |
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