Our gumpaste snowdrop tutorial shows you how to make this exquisite little portent of early Spring.
They are simple to create yet make the most delicate and pretty addition to a late Winter or early Spring wedding cake.
There are over 100 different varieties of snowdrop but this gumpaste snowdrop tutorial demonstrates one of the classic varieties.
Gumpaste Snowdrop Tutorial – Materials:
- 24-gauge green wires cuts into quarters
- white gumpaste
- green gumpaste
- edible glue and brush
- yellow pollen (gelatin powder mixed with yellow dust color)
- snowdrop cutter or freesia cutter
- small carnation cutter, small primrose cutter or any small five petal cutter (2cm or 3/4 inches)
- foam pad
- bone tool or small ball tool
- green floral tape
- small sharp knife.
- sugarcraft tweezers or needle-nosed pliers
Gumpaste Snowdrop Tutorial – Method:
- Start by making a hook on the end of one of your 24-gauge wires.
- Roll a small ball of white gumpaste (about 3mm) and insert the hooked wire into the bottom of the ball of paste. Pinch at the bottom to secure it to the wire. (If you find this too fiddly, don’t worry – you don’t have to make the hook on the end of the wire. It will sit nicely in the ball of paste if you put the wire straight in since it’s just a tiny ball of paste.)
- Make up a small amount of yellow pollen by mixing gelatine powder with yellow dust color. Add a little edible glue to the top of the white bud. Then dip it into the pollen mixture. Set aside to dry for a number of hours or overnight if possible.
- Roll out white gumpaste and cut out a snowdrop shape for each flower you wish to make.
- Place the snowdrop petals onto a foam pad. Take one of the petal sets and roll a bone tool over the edges to thin then draw the bone tool (the bigger end) from the tip of each petal towards the center to curl the petal inwards. Set aside for 15 minutes or so to firm up just a little.
- Roll out some white gumpaste and cut out a small 5-petal blossom shape for each flower you wish to make.
- Then using a small sharp knife, remove the fifth petal from each cut-out.
- Next, take one of the wired centers you made earlier and dab some edible glue on the underside. Then thread the wire through the center of one of the blossom shapes and gently press the petals around the wired center so that they adhere well. Set aside for a while to firm up a little.
- Once it has set a little, take one of the snowdrop shapes, dab a little glue in the center, then thread it up through the wire of the snowdrop center. Press around the center a little to secure it in place but leaving the petals pretty open at the same time.
- Next take a tiny ball of green gumpaste (about 3mm) and thread it up the wire to attach it to the end of the snowdrop. Press it up against the underside of the flower and taper it to the wire. Hang upside down to dry.
- Once dry, bend the heads of the snowdrops at a 45 degree angle using a sugarcraft tweezers or needle-nosed pliers to give them the classic snowdrop look.
More Winter Sugarcraft Tutorials:
- Gumpaste Willow Tutorial
- Gumpaste Mistletoe Tutorial
- Gumpaste Ilex Berries & Twigs Tutorial (Winter Berries Tutorial)
- Gumpaste Holly Tutorial (Leaves & Berries)
- Gumpaste Snowberries Tutorial
- Gumpaste Christmas Rose Tutorial (Hellebore Tutorial)
- Easy Gumpaste Poinsettia Tutorial
