Ruffles! They take about a million years to create (If you have ruffling experience you will KNOW what I'm talking about) but OH how gorgeous they are. I've fallen especially in love with random imperfect ribbon type ruffles lately which are just a little bit different from what’s become the ruffle norm of either sticking to one small neat repeated shape or the more formal neater type of ribbon ruffle.

Whether it's ribbons or shapes, neat or imperfect, here are my ten top tips for creating any type of sugar ruffles and getting a good result.

1        If you're working on a tiered cake dowel and stack the tiers (and set the cake on its cake board) before applying the ruffles as stacking after ruffling (or moving a ruffled cake onto a board) can be tricky unless you leave some ruffles off and complete the job after stacking. I tend to avoid doing things this way if I can because my ruffles tomorrow won't look quite the same as my ruffles today, so if the job isn't completed in one single shift I can usually tell where the 'join' line is.

2        Use a 50/50 mix of sugarpaste and flower paste. This allows you to roll thinly while leaving the end result not quite as rock hard and brittle as flower paste alone (plus the mix doesn’t dry out too quickly when you’re working).



3        My favourite mix is 50/50 Couture sugarpaste with Renshaw flower paste. I don't tend to use Renshaw for making flowers (too hard, brittle, quick to dry and unforgiving) but I love it for something like this. It’s nice and white too, which means it’s a decent colour base you’re starting with.

4        When it comes to colouring anything goes. You can keep your paste beautifully white (as pictured above) or use a block colour however a little bit of subtle marbling or a gentle ombre can add depth and interest.

5        Be sure if you’re colouring your paste to make more than you think you’ll need and colour it all at the same time. If you run out when you’re 90% finished you’ll never manage to properly match the shade you made earlier and you’ll kick yourself for not doing it. I used around 750g for the blue 10” cake (pictured at the top) but coloured about 1kg to be on the safe side.

6        Roll thin, but don’t go quite as thin as when you’re making sugar flowers.

7        Using a pasta roller saves a huge amount of time and saves killing your wrists and arms too. I have a pasta roller attachment on my Kenwood which I use - when I’m making flowers I roll as thin as I can (number 9 setting) but for ruffles I stop at number 8.

8        Allow the ruffle strips (or shapes) to dry out a bit before sticking them on your cake. Put them on the cake too soon and they’ll flop, leave it too long and they’ll crack. I usually roll and cut some then while I’m waiting on them drying I roll/cut some more. By the time I’ve finished doing this the first lot are ready to apply to the cake. Then I roll/cut a third batch and by that time the second lot is ready to use etc etc.

9        Plan in the time to do the job. Depending on the size of your cake tier you could be looking at anything up to five hours. If you're packing the ruffles tightly together or your tier is tall this time will increase.

10      If you’re quoting for a client's cake remember to price accordingly. Ruffles look magic, but they don’t appear by magic 😬🌟

So there we are. My ten top tips. Of course sugar ruffles are one thing, but it doesn't stop there! How about wafer paper ruffles or edible fabric ruffles? Both equally as fabulous and individual in their own right.

I made a video tutorial showing how I created the purple edible fabric ruffle cake that's pictured below. It's available to watch on replay in my Creative Cake Decorating facebook group which is free to join if you aren't a member already. You'll find it in Guide 3 in the group (titled 'Edible Fabric Ruffles') if you're interested in watching.