Welcome to the Cake Decorators Q&A
Drooping Peony
Hi, I was hoping for some help and advice on a problem I had with a cake I made last week. The cake had a peony on it which I made using the same method in Paul’s tutorial for the ruffle rose wedding cake. I have made this peony before and had no problems. I had left the petals overnight to dry before assembling the flower. The peony was fine and upright when I handed the cake to a friend on Friday, however, when I saw a picture of the cake on Sunday the petals had all drooped. I asked where she had kept the cake since Friday and she said it was in a spare bedroom hidden a wardrobe away from her daughter. The wardrobe is near a radiator which had been on over the weekend. I’m assuming this could be the cause of the problem (because it wasn’t in a cool ventilated place) but I’m also concerned that it could be something I’ve done and wouldn’t want it to happen again. Sorry for the long question but I really would like to get to the bottom of it because I was devastated when I saw what had happened. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you x
Hi jrj
It could be a moisture problem, humidity can make some flowers wilt. If the room had been very cold, turning on the radiators may have caused moisture in the wardrobe as it started to warm up. I can’t see how you’ve done anything wrong because the flower had set before you delivered it.
I always put my flowers in a card board box. I get some condensation problems in my house which is an absolute pain. The flowers inside the box stay fine and a handful of rice to act as moisture absorber helps too. A list of do’s and don’ts is a great idea.
