My Mom's favorite flower is the daisy so naturally these sugar daisy mini cakes were inspired by her. Happy Mom's Day! I'm loving mini cakes as an alternative to cupcakes. They're just as easy to bake and have more surface area for decorating (and buttercream!)

Why I love these sugar daisy mini cakes

I can't believe I made sugar flowers! These sugar daisy mini cakes are just the beginning of my love affair with gum paste. Unlike fondant, gum paste dries hard like clay. I vote we change the name from gum paste to sugar clay, who's with me? I've included Nicolas Lodge's world famous gum paste recipe so you an give it a try. A sugar daisy is a great place to start. And the best part? You can work on the daisies and leaves days, even weeks, in advance. Then store them for a last minute treat request. I love them on these vanilla mini cakes, but they'd be adorable atop a lemon cupcake, too!

How to make sugar daisies

Prepare and age a batch of Nicolas Lodge's gumpaste. Bring to room temperature if it was stored in the fridge. Dust a flower center silicone mold with corn starch. Press a small ball of gum paste into the dusted flower center mold. Remove excess so flower center will have a flat back. Pop out the flower center and let dry completely. Form another medium sized ball of gum paste. Using a non-stick fondant rolling pin, on a non-stick surface dusted with corn starch, roll gum paste to 1/8” thick. Using a 2” PME daisy cutter, cut daisies and store immediately in a large ziploc bag to prevent drying. Don’t worry about imprinting them with the plunger. One daisy at a time, place on a foam flower pad and using a bone fondant modeling tool press gently down on each petal with the ball end of the tool at the tip of the petal. Rock the tool back and forth to transform the flat petal into a cup shape. Repeat the process for all petals. Transfer the daisy to a craft paint palette and gently press down on the center of the daisy and adjust the petals until you like the shape. Let dry completely. Dust the flower centers with yellow and lime green petal dust. For a brighter yellow center, use a bit of gel food color and vodka to paint a bright yellow center. Using edible glue and a small brush, adhere the flower centers to the daisies. Let dry completely. Dust around each flower center with lime green petal dust using a small detail brush.

How to make sugar daisy leaves

Color a bit of gum paste with green gel food color. Using a non-stick fondant rolling pin, on a non-stick surface dusted with corn starch, roll gum paste very thin. Using a leaf cutter or freehand, cut leaf shapes and store immediately in a large ziploc bag to prevent drying. One leaf at a time, place on a foam flower pad and curl the leaf by gently rolling a chopstick parallel to the length of the leaf. Transfer the leaf to an uneven surface, like large bubble wrap or crumpled paper and adjust until you like the shape. Let dry completely. Dust the center of the leaf with green petal dust that’s darker than your gum paste color to add dimension.

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