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    Decorated Treats » Tips & Techniques

    Gum Paste Hibiscus Flower Tutorial (How to Make)

    Published: Aug 9, 2020 · Modified: Feb 25, 2024 by Priya Maha

    Learn how to make gum paste hibiscus with this easy tutorial. Each petal is individually cut, wired and veined for a truly pretty, natural looking flower. It makes a perfect decoration for tropical themed cakes.

    A white gum paste hibiscus held in hand.

    Made using gum paste, you can make this flower in any color you like. See how I used these pretty tropical flowers on a beach birthday cake and sea themed wedding cake.

    And for more gum paste flowers, check out my tutorial on how to make gum paste roses, gum paste hydrangeas, gum paste plumeria and gum paste poppies. You might also want to check out how to make easy flowers using fondant with this fondant flowers tutorial. And for a comprehensive guide on coloring gum paste flowers and attaching them to cakes, check out my post on how to color gum paste flowers and guide for attaching wired and fresh flowers on cakes.

    Jump to:
    • ❤️Why you will love this tutorial
    • 🧾Supplies required
    • ✂️How to make
    • ❤️More tutorials you will love

    ❤️Why you will love this tutorial

    • It comes with step by step images and steps, and is easy to follow.
    • It makes very pretty, life like hibiscus flowers.
    • You can make these flowers in advance.
    • They are much cheaper to make on your own and to purchase elsewhere.

    🧾Supplies required

    • Gum paste - I used Satin Ice gum paste in white. 
    • Hibiscus petal cutter
    • Sepal/Calyx cutter - I did not have one for hibiscus flower so used a rose calyx cutter instead.
    • Petal veiner - Again, I did not have a specific veiner for the hibiscus petals. Instead, I used my hydrangea petal veiner.
    • Floral wire - I used 22 gauge wire for each petal as well as the pistil.
    • Artificial floral sigma and stamen - I used 2 types of stamen, gold-colored ones for the sigma and beige ones for the flower stamen.  
    • Green petal dust - I used Rose Leaf petal dust for the sepal.
    • Cake decorating brushes - to dust the sepal.
    • Pizza cutter or sugar craft knife - to cut the sepal.
    • Floral tape - I used green floral tape to tape all the petals and the pistil in place and a bit of white tape for the pistil.
    • Fondant glue

    ✂️How to make

    Step 1: Cut the petals

    Knead the gum paste until soft and pliable. Dust your workspace with cornstarch (you can make your own dusting pouch with this easy tutorial). Roll the gum paste to about 4mm. Use the hibiscus petal cutter to cut the petals. You will need 5 petals for each flower.

    Note: It is always advisable to make extra petals as contingency in case any of the petals break while assembling the flowers.

    Hibiscus petal cutter.
    Gum paste cut using a hibiscus petal cutter.

    With a small rolling pin, roll each side of the petal thin. Do not flatten the bottom of the petal.

    A hibiscus petal gum paste cut out.

    And then, use the same petal cutter to re-cut the petals.

    Cutting gum paste with a petal cutter.

    By now, the rounded large end of the petal is thin but the long narrow end remains thick. The thickness is necessary as the petals need to be wired individually.

    Cut gum paste in the shape of a hibiscus petal.

    Step 2: Frill the petals

    Next is to frill the petals. Place the petal on a piece of sponge or soft foam. Use a ball tool and start with the center. Gently press the tool onto the petal and thin it by moving the tool in a circular motion.

    Note: It helps to frill the petal on a soft surface like a foam or sponge to prevent the gum paste from tearing when working with the ball tool.

    Using a ball tool to shape a gum paste petal.
    Using a ball tool to shape a gum paste petal.

    Make the petals thinner as you move towards the edges to give them natural looking frills.

    Using a ball tool to shape a gum paste petal.

    Step 3: Vein the petals

    To vein the petals,  I used my hydrangea petal veiner. It was large enough for my gum paste hibiscus petals and so was perfect to create the veins.

    You can use any other similar veiners you like.

    A gum paste petal on a blue veiner.

    And when imprinting the veins, press only the wider end of the petals and make sure the narrow end is not flattened. You need it to be thick to insert the wire.

    Pressing a blue veiner on a gum paste petal.

    This was how the gum paste hibiscus petal should look like after veining.

    Veined sugar hibiscus petal.

    Step 4: Wire the petals

    Next step is to add wire to the petals. I used gauge 22 wire. Apply some fondant glue to the wire and insert about 1.5cm of it into the thick narrow end of the petal as shown.

    Wire inserted into a gum paste petal.

    And then, using a small rolling pin, thin the sides of the of the petal where the wire was inserted.

    Wire inserted into a gum paste petal.

    Leave the wired petals to set and dry in a flower former until they are completely dry. 

    A wire inserted petal on a flower former.

    Step 5: Make the pistil

    Once the petals are done, make the center of the gum paste hibiscus. The center is known as pistil and the upper part of the pistil has sigma and stamen. For the pistil, use gauge 22 wire, and for the stamen and sigma, use gold and white artificial stamens.

    The gold ones shown below formed the sigma.

    Flower stamen for gum paste hibiscus.

    Fold them into 2 and group these together and attach them to the wire using a white floral tape.

    Flower stamen for gum paste hibiscus.

    Next, roll a thin strip of gum paste, apply fondant glue to the wire, place it right in the center of the strip and roll it up.

    Flower stamen for gum paste hibiscus.
    Flower stamen for gum paste hibiscus.

    Roll the pistil until the gum paste is smooth and the pistil thin.

    Flower stamen for gum paste hibiscus.

    For the stamen, use beige colored artificial stamens. Cut them short into individual pieces as shown.

    Flower stamen for gum paste hibiscus.
    Flower stamen for gum paste hibiscus.

    And then, dip each stamen lightly into fondant glue and poke them into the top part of the gum paste covered pistil to form stamens.

    Flower stamen for gum paste hibiscus.

    Once done, bend the wire slightly let all the components of the flower set and dry completely before assembling them into a flower.

    5 wired petals on a hibiscus and stamen.

    Step 6: Assemble the petals and the pistil

    To assemble the gum paste hibiscus flower, arrange the petals around the pistil and secured them in place with green floral tape. 

    Holding wired gum paste hibiscus petals together.

    Make sure the petals are well distributed before taping.

    Holding wired gum paste hibiscus petals together.

    This was how the flower should look like after taping. 

    Gum paste hibiscus petals tied together with floral tape.

    And this is the top of the flower.

    A white gum paste hibiscus held in hand.

    Step 7: Make the sepal

    The next process is to attach the sepal for the flower. For this, I used a rose calyx cutter. Roll a piece of white gum paste thin, cut out the sepal.

    White gum paste calyx and a calyx cutter.

    Make a small cut on one side of it. 

    White gum paste calyx.

    Attach it to the flower with some fondant glue. 

    Gum paste hibiscus with calyx.

    And then, roll another piece of gum paste and cut out the following shape with a pizza cutter or a sugar craft knife.

    Cutting a calyx for gum paste hibiscus.

    Attach it to the bottom of the gum paste hibiscus to complete the hibiscus sepal.

    Gum paste hibiscus with calyx.

    And this is how the flower should like once the sepal is attached. 

    A white gum paste hibiscus.

    The final step in making this flower is dusting the sepal. If you also wish to dust the flower petals, do it before attaching the sepal.

    For the sepal, use rose-leaf green petal dust.

    Green floral dust.

    When dusting, take care to not spill or smudge it over on the petals. 

    The calyx of a gum paste hibiscus dusted in green.

    And that completes the gum paste hibiscus.

    A white gum paste hibiscus.

    Here was how the flower looked like on my sea themed wedding cake (Click here to see how I made the rest of the sea cake).

    A 3 tier round cake with tropical beach theme, gum paste hibiscus and plumerias.

    Hope you enjoyed this tutorial.

    ❤️More tutorials you will love

    • The bottom tier of a cake decorated with pink and purple flowers, leaves and stems.
      Fondant Flowers for Cakes (with Stems and Leaves)
    • White gum paste poppy flower with black and green center.
      Gum Paste Poppies (How to Make)
    • Purple gum paste roses in a bouquet.
      How to Color Gum Paste Flowers (Quick & Easy Technique)
    • Colorful sugar flowers on a cake.
      How to Make Fondant Flowers (Easy Sugar Flowers)

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    A white gum paste hibiscus held in hand.