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Watch the video: “Brushed Embroidery Cake Decorating Technique” by Cake House
Brushed embroidery is the quiet showstopper of cake design: ethereal, lace-like textures sculpted with nothing more than royal icing and a damp brush. In this tutorial, a Carlo’s Bakery decorator shows how to make stenciled and freehand flowers on fondant—then build leaves, dot stems, and a finishing border for a polished reveal.
What you’ll learn
- How to set up your tools and fondant-covered cake for brushed embroidery
- When to stencil versus freehand your flower outlines for a natural composition
- The brush technique: dampness, stroke direction, and pacing to beat dry time
- How to add inner blossoms, leaves, dot “stems,” and a clean border to complete the look
Introduction to Brushed Embroidery: The Art of Edible Lace
What is Brushed Embroidery? At heart, brushed embroidery is a pipe-and-pull technique. You pipe a line of royal icing along a petal or leaf edge, then—using a slightly damp, flat-topped brush—pull the icing inward in short strokes. The result reads as feathery lace. The decorator in this video works on a fondant-covered cake (smooth and firm), uses white royal icing, and favors a brush with sturdy bristles and a flat top for control. It’s delicate-looking, but once you get the feel, it’s quick and forgiving. embroidery machine for beginners
Why Choose This Technique for Your Cakes? Beyond its elegance, brushed embroidery is adaptable. You can stencil large blooms, freehand smaller ones, and mix leaves and tapered dot lines to create flow. Because you work one petal at a time, you control drying and texture—ideal for adding detail without overcomplication. It’s also friendly to monochrome designs where texture does the heavy lifting.
Gathering Your Tools & Materials
Essential Equipment Checklist Here’s what appears in the video setup: a fondant-covered cake; a piping bag of royal icing (white in the demo); a set of flower cutters (large, medium, small) used as stencils; a cup of water; and paintbrushes with sturdy, flat bristles. The decorator also switches between a #6 tip for larger petals and a #4 tip for smaller details—matching scale to tool.
Preparing Your Royal Icing The video doesn’t specify a precise consistency, but you can plainly see the icing holds a line, then softens when brushed—so think medium consistency: not runny, not too stiff. Keep a paper towel nearby to tap the brush dry after dipping. Work close to your water cup so you can re-dampen quickly, but avoid a soggy brush that will wash out the icing’s structure.
Pro tip Keep your brush just damp. Tap on a paper towel between petals. You want glide, not drips.
Step-by-Step: Creating Your First Stenciled Flower
Making the Fondant Imprint Lightly press a large flower cutter into the fondant to make a faint outline. It’s just a guide—don’t cut through the fondant, and don’t press deep enough to deform the surface. The light imprint becomes your track for piping and brushing.
Piping and Brushing Each Petal Load a #6 tip with white royal icing and trace one petal. Stop there. Don’t outline the whole flower first—the icing begins to set quickly, and you want it fresh for brushing. Dip the brush, blot, and pull the icing from the inner edge toward the center in soft, short strokes. Repeat, petal by petal, around the flower for consistent texture.
Quick check If your brush leaves water halos or collapses the petal edge, it’s too wet—blot more before touching icing.
Watch out Piping the entire flower before brushing can cost you the blend. Work one petal at a time to keep the icing workable.
When you complete all petals, you’ll have a soft, feathered bloom with a lacey edge.
Mastering Freehand Brushed Embroidery
Piping and Brushing Without a Stencil Inside the big bloom, freehand a smaller flower by mimicking the outer shape. Pipe a short curve for one inner petal and brush it inward the same way. Repeat around the center, keeping petals proportional to the outer flower so the composition feels cohesive.
Adding Inner Details and Smaller Flowers You can drop a few icing dots into the center (as shown) or leave it clean for a minimalist look. The decorator then demonstrates a full freehand flower—outer petals piped and brushed, with a smaller inner set and center dots—no cutter needed. This variation makes the cake feel organic and intentionally composed.
From the comments
- Some viewers asked about the icing’s sheen. A reply explained the studio was very hot that day, which contributed to a glossier look than the typical matte finish.
- Another viewer asked if this technique works on crusted buttercream. The video doesn’t cover that surface, so it’s not specified here.
Adding Variety: Different Sizes and Elements
Using Smaller Cutters and Tips Switching scales creates rhythm. The instructor moves to a medium cutter, imprints a new flower, and swaps to a #4 tip for finer lines that suit the smaller outline. She repeats the pipe-and-brush routine, maintaining delicate edges by keeping the brush only damp. This keeps the mid-size bloom crisp but still airy.
Incorporating Leaves and Decorative Dots Leaves are freehanded with the exact same method: pipe a simple leaf shape, then pull the icing inward along the inner edge to suggest veins and movement. To connect elements and fill negative space, the decorator pipes tapered dot trails—larger to smaller or vice versa—reading as stems without drawing literal lines. These small gestures make the whole design feel botanical and alive.
Pro tip Dot trails do more than fill space—they guide the eye. Start near a flower’s negative gap and aim dots toward another focal point.
Final Touches: Borders and Finishing Your Masterpiece
Piping Elegant Borders Once satisfied with the embroidery elements, the instructor pipes a clean border at the base (buttercream is shown, though royal icing is also fine). A crisp border frames the work and signals a finished, professional cake. Keep pressure even and movement steady for uniform beads, shells, or a simple rope.
Showcasing Your Brushed Embroidery Cake This technique reads beautifully in white-on-pastel for classic wedding or shower cakes, but you can tint your royal icing any color you like. Mixed flower sizes, a few inner blossoms, and just enough leaves and dots will keep the composition dynamic without clutter. The decorator’s final note says it best: it takes practice, but once it clicks, it looks like you spent hours.
Watch out Avoid over-brushing. If you pull too far into the petal, you’ll lose the defined edge that makes the embroidery effect pop.
Composition Builder: A Simple Flow You Can Copy
- Anchor with one large stenciled flower.
- Add a freehand flower offset, slightly smaller.
- Tuck a medium stenciled flower near the first to balance scale.
- Weave in 3–5 leaves where gaps appear.
- Finish with 2–3 dot trails to connect movement and fill negative space.
Technique Clinic: Brush Control
- Damp, not wet: dip, blot, then touch icing.
- Pull from the inner edge toward center in 3–5 short strokes.
- Reload dampness every petal; re-blot every time.
- If the icing tears or craters, it’s setting—pipe the next petal sooner and brush right away. magnetic embroidery hoop
Tool Spotlight: Piping Tips in Play
- #6 tip: great for larger petals—you’ll see the edge after brushing.
- #4 tip: suits smaller blossoms and medium cutter outlines where detail is tighter.
- Consistency: the icing should hold a piped line but still respond to the brush; the video doesn’t specify a recipe, so test a spoonful first.
Troubleshooting
- Icing looks too glossy: The comment thread noted a hot studio made the surface appear melty. In cooler conditions, royal icing typically dries more matte.
- Petals look muddy: Your brush is too wet. Blot more and refresh only with a quick dip.
- Edges vanish: Don’t pull all the way through the piped line; leave a crisp rim.
- Uneven petals: Practice even pressure while piping, then standardize brush stroke length.
Quick check If your petal keeps collapsing, try shorter brush strokes and slightly thicker icing. magnetic frames for embroidery machine
Design Expansions
- Inner blossoms: One small bloom inside a larger one adds depth fast.
- Centers: A few dots are enough—avoid overfilling.
- Leaves: Use fewer, larger leaves instead of many tiny ones for a cleaner read.
- Color: The demo uses white icing, but any color works; consider tone-on-tone for subtlety.
A Note on Surfaces The tutorial works on fondant. A viewer asked about crusted buttercream; the video does not demonstrate that surface, so we can’t confirm method or results from this source alone.
Studio Observations from the Comments One viewer noticed unusual gloss; a reply attributed it to a very hot environment during filming. It’s a reminder to consider room conditions—heat and humidity can influence both fondant and icing appearance.
If You Love Texture-Forward Techniques While brushed embroidery is pure cake artistry, if you also dabble in fabric craft, you might recognize familiar composition thinking: scaling motifs, managing edges, and building flow. In textiles, different hoops keep fabric taut; here, fondant gives the stable canvas and royal icing provides the stitch-like texture. embroidery machine hoops
Checklist Before You Start
- Cake covered smoothly in fondant
- Royal icing loaded into a piping bag (start with white)
- #6 and #4 round tips (or comparable sizes)
- Flower cutters (large, medium, small)
- Cup of water + paper towel for blotting
- Flat-topped, sturdy-bristle brush
Practice Plan (15 Minutes)
- On a scrap of fondant or parchment, pipe five petal arcs with a #6 tip.
- Brush all five using the dip–blot–pull routine, aiming for identical stroke length.
- Repeat with a #4 tip to calibrate smaller brushes and strokes.
- Try a leaf: pipe a single curve and pull inward twice to suggest a center vein. mighty hoops
Styling Ideas
- Monochrome white-on-pastel for bridal elegance
- Soft gray or blush icing on white fondant for a vintage cameo vibe
- Scatter of small freehand blooms along one diagonal for a modern asymmetry
- Add a modest pearl border to finish, as demonstrated
Time & Pace The decorator pipes and brushes one petal at a time to outpace royal icing’s set time. This also helps maintain that crisp outer edge. If you’re new, plan to work in short bursts: one flower, short pause, then another.
Care & Transport Allow the cake to sit undisturbed so the royal icing sets. The video doesn’t specify set time; in general, protect the surface from humidity and avoid touching the textures until firm. A tall box with internal supports helps prevent accidental brush-ups in transit. snap hoop monster
Comparing Cake “Embroidery” to Fabric Embroidery
- Edge definition matters equally: the piped line here plays the role of a satin stitch’s edge.
- Tension analog: instead of hoop tension, your brush dampness controls pull and feathering.
- Motif scaling: vary sizes for rhythm—large focal bloom, medium support, small accents. magnetic hoops for embroidery
Wrap-Up Brushed embroidery turns simple florals into refined, lace-like textures with minimal tools. With a fondant canvas, medium-consistency royal icing, and a damp, flat brush, you can stencil for precision or freehand for organic flow. Practice the one-petal rhythm, keep your brush barely damp, and finish with leaves, dots, and a neat border. That’s it—an elegant cake that looks like couture with surprisingly few steps. magnetic embroidery hoops