Gumpaste Peonies | A Beautiful Sugar Flower Made Simple

In this tutorial: What You'll Need · Prepare the Styrofoam Base · Cut and Frill the Petals · First Layer · Second & Third Layers · Fourth Layer (Outward-Facing) · Drying & Shaping · Coloring

The peony has become one of the most popular flowers for wedding cakes — and while it looks complex, the process is really just the same 10-petal technique repeated four times. In this tutorial, Chef Alan Tetreault of Global Sugar Art walks you through every layer, from building the wired styrofoam base to frilling the edges, cupping each petal, and assembling a full, lush peony that dries beautifully and holds its shape.

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What You'll Need

• Gum paste — Chef Alan uses Choco Pan gumpaste (exceptionally smooth, rolls very thin without tearing)
• Colette Peters peony cutter set — 4 sizes, smallest to largest
• Pasta machine (recommended) — for rolling uniform, thin sheets (#6 on an Atlas machine)
• Cel pad (soft side) — for thinning and frilling petal edges
• Ball tool or medium cel pin — for frilling and cupping
• 1½-inch styrofoam balls — one per flower
• 20-gauge floral wire — white or green
• Floral tape — white or green
• Hot glue gun
• Needle tool or long pin — for piercing the styrofoam ball
• Water brush or small artist brush
• Cornstarch — for dusting the board
• Drying rack with hooks — for hanging flowers upside down between layers
• Small pieces of craft foam — for propping outer petals during drying
• Cel former (large, deep) or a paper cup with a hole cut in the bottom
• Tweezers
• Petal dust — Chef Alan uses Hybrid Luster Dust in cranberry
• Pliers — for bending wire

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Step 1: Prepare the Styrofoam Base

▶ Watch this section (0:11)

1. Take a 1½-inch styrofoam ball and push a needle tool through the center to create a channel.
2. Cut a piece of 20-gauge wire, figure about half the total length plus an extra inch.
3. Bend about 1 inch of one end into a small hook.
4. Push the hooked end into the ball and secure with hot glue — add a drop down the channel, push the wire in, and cap with a bit more glue.
5. Push the other half of the wire into the bottom of the ball.
6. Wrap both wires together with floral tape to create a single strong stem.

Let the glue dry completely before proceeding.

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Step 2: Cut and Frill the Petals

▶ Watch this section (3:15)

For each layer, you'll need 10 petals of the same size. Chef Alan recommends cutting them fresh for each layer rather than cutting all 40 at once (they dry out while you wait).

↪ Cutting

1. Roll gum paste thin on a pasta machine (down to #6 on Atlas).
2. Dust the board with cornstarch and make sure the paste moves freely.
3. Cut with the appropriate size cutter — smallest first, working up to largest.

↪ Frilling and cupping

1. Place each petal on the soft side of a cel pad.
2. Use a ball tool or cel pin, half on the paste and half off the pad, moving back and forth to frill the edges.
3. For the outer layers, really work those edges — more ruffling = more realistic.
4. Cup each petal by pressing down the center and pulling toward you.

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Step 3: First Layer (10 Petals)

▶ Watch this section (5:20)

Use the smallest cutter.

1. Wet the bottom half of all 10 petals (from the midpoint down to the tip).
2. Place the first petal over the top of the styrofoam ball — this ensures no styrofoam is visible in the finished flower. Don't press the bottom half down — leave it loose so it looks like a natural petal.
3. The remaining 9 petals go around the ball, overlapping slightly, all at the same height. Press the bottom of each petal firmly into the styrofoam.

Flip the flower upside down and press any loose petals into place with a dab of water. Hang on the drying rack for ~5 minutes.

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Steps 4–5: Second and Third Layers

▶ Watch this section (8:27)

Use the next size up cutter for each layer. Same process:

1. Cut and frill 10 petals.
2. Flip half of them over — this means the little notch on each petal alternates direction, creating a more natural, less uniform look.
3. Wet the bottom half.
4. Attach all 10 around the flower, overlapping by about half. Go right up to the wire.
5. Press firmly at the base and add water to any loose spots.
6. Hang upside down and dry for 5 minutes.

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Step 6: Fourth Layer (Outward-Facing)

▶ Watch this section (14:34)

Use the largest cutter. This layer is different:

1. Frill the edges aggressively — lots of ruffling and movement.
2. Cup the petals in the opposite direction — they should face outward, not inward.
3. Attach all 10, pressing them right up to the wire.

Because these outer petals face outward, they'll want to flop backward. To prevent this:

1. Place the flower in a cel former (or a paper cup with a hole in the bottom) so the cup supports the outer petals.
2. Let it sit upside down for 5–10 minutes.
3. Flip right-side up and use tweezers to tuck small pieces of craft foam between the last two layers of petals, propping the outer petals up.
4. Let dry another 15–20 minutes.

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Step 7: Drying and Shaping

Once the foam supports have done their job, remove them with tweezers. The petals should hold their position.

If you have time, let the flower dry completely before coloring — but Chef Alan demonstrates coloring on a semi-dry flower to reduce the risk of breaking fragile dried petals.

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Step 8: Coloring with Petal Dust

▶ Watch this section (19:44)

Chef Alan uses Hybrid Luster Dust in cranberry for a soft pink accent:

• Brush the dust lightly along the edges of each petal only.
• In nature, white peonies often have just a hint of pink at the center that fades as the petals open outward — mimic this by concentrating color on the inner layers.

↪ Using the peony on a cake

1. Bend the wire at the base.
2. Push it directly into the cake (use a straw or cel stick as a sleeve if the wire is exposed).
3. For a bud, use a flower that only has the first and second layers of petals — it's the same flower at an earlier stage of assembly.

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This tutorial is part of Global Sugar Art's library of free cake decorating videos by Chef Alan Tetreault. Browse all tutorials →