DIY Project #2: Rose Swirl Cake Tutorial

      Okay..so as many of you probably have noticed there

has been quite the surge in popularity with the whole "shabby chic" look for wedding, showers, and parties.  From my experiences in the past, the themes of events seemed to be "the more elaborate the better!"  But now, I think people are embracing the whole "simple but elegant" mindset and are favoring more rustic, old world elements when it comes to decor.  With that said, I've been noticing a lot of wedding cakes on Pinterest and various photography sites that feature these beautiful cakes that look like they are covered in roses.  They are GORGEOUS!! I just love them because they have this simplicity about them (not a lot of intricate piping, no bling, etc), yet they are also ornate... and at the same time (especially when they are done in shades of cream or peach) they have this exquisite old antique look.  So, of course, I thought to myself, "I could SO do that..." So I began researching a little, and as it turns out it's not that difficult at all!! 

   What I love about the Rose Swirl Decorating Technique:

        1) It has a LOT of bang for the amount of work involved, and is really not excessively complicated.
             
        2) You DON'T have to have a super steady hand like you do with very precise/intricate 
           piping designs.

        3) It is a very forgiving design, and if you mess up, you can totally fix it and no one would know!

        4)  It gives your cake a very elegant and antique look!

   I really didn't have an appropriate occasion to try out this cake for a while, but then when my husband and my 2nd wedding anniversary came up last month on June 18th I knew that was my chance! While he was at work, I started baking away!

First, I baked two 10 in round cakes.  I always let mine cool for a few minutes in the pans before transferring them to cooling racks.

Next, I transferred my cakes over onto my Pampered Chef stackable cooling racks!  I love these!! If you would like to order some of these, visit my website:  www.pamperedchef.biz/bethbanco and click "Shop Online."  You can have them shipped to you anywhere! 

 Then I moved my bottom layer cake onto my cake base. I always use this HUMONGOUS spatula to transfer my cakes from one place to the other.  My mother in law gave this to me for Christmas.  She's awesome. I have never seen one like it before, but I LOVE it!!

The next step is to give your cake a nice crumb coat.  This just means to frost the cake with your choice of frosting until you can no longer see the actual cake color.  You want to make sure that the crumbs stay trapped in this coat of frosting and don't get any into your top layer.  It is always a good idea to let your crumb coat sit out for a little bit and crust (harden slightly) or you can put 

it in the freezer for a few minutes so it sets. 

 

After your crumb coat sets, it is time to start swirling those roses!  I wanted my cake to have a nice antique look to it, so I tinted my frosting with a slight antique peach color.  After you tint your frosting with food coloring, put it in your piping bag with a 1M tip and start swirling.  I started at the bottom first and worked my way around the circumference of the cake and slowly added 

rows of roses until I got to the top.

As you can see, there are a few small places that get missed when you swirl the roses...and it's totally okay!  You can just swirl a little extra in the gaps or pip a little star tip patch in the hole, and no one will ever know!

And there you have it... 

a beautiful antique rose swirled cake!!

If you want to go even more adventurous, you may want to try out an Ombre Rose Swirl Cake, which is exquisite as well!!  This cake was made by Christina from  Christina's Sweet Nothings.  Happy Baking friends!