How to make an Easy Buttercream Palette Knife Cake - Floral Basket

Buttercream Flower Basket Cakes have long been a beloved design, traditionally crafted using the Basket Weave technique with buttercream. However, in this tutorial, we're breaking away from convention by palette knife painting a Basket of Flowers using just a small palette knife and some delicious buttercream.

What's even better? We'll be employing a Simple Petal Stroke technique, making it perfect for Beginners. So, let's dive in and get started on your journey to creating a stunning buttercream masterpiece!

Materials Needed:

1. Any Stable Buttercream: Choose a quality buttercream that holds its shape well. The better the consistency, the easier it will be to create intricate flower details.

2. Artist Palette Knife (Small): Invest in a small palette knife for precision. The right tool can make all the difference in achieving delicate flower strokes. You can usually get these from your local Artist's or Hobby Craft Store. I buy my palette knifes from Hobbycraft!

3. Gel or Oil-Based Colours: Select a variety of colours to bring your flowers to life. Gel or oil-based colours work best as they won't compromise the consistency of your buttercream. Colourmill are a good option here!

4. Dark Brown Buttercream with Cocoa Powder: If you're looking to add depth and richness to your buttercream design, include cocoa powder for a delectable chocolate buttercream option which will give realistic looking weaves for your basket.

Step-by-Step Guide:

1. Prepare Your Buttercream: Begin by whipping up a batch of your favourite buttercream, just ensure that it has the right consistency for piping and painting.

2. Colour Your Buttercream: Divide your buttercream into separate bowls and add gel or oil-based colours to achieve the desired shades for your flowers. Mix well to ensure even distribution of colour on your buttercream.

3. Prepare Your Cake: Before you start painting, ensure that your cake is smoothly frosted and ready to be transformed. Top tip:  A chilled cake can make the painting process more manageable.

4. Mark the Basket's Outline : Use a cookie cutter to mark a circle on the frosted cake. This will be your Basket's Outline and you are going to paint inside this space.

5. Load Your Palette Knife with Buttercream: Pick up a small amount of chocolate buttercream as shown in the video on the underside of the Palette Knife and smooth it on a glass plate or any smooth flat surface. Then gently apply on top of the cake. Watch the video at the end of this blogpost to learn how to palette knife paint the petals in detail.

6. Start Painting: Begin by painting the outline of your basket. Once you're satisfied with the basket shape, move on to adding vibrant flowers using multicoloured buttercream of your choice. Experiment with different colours and petal strokes to create a diverse and visually appealing bouquet.

7. Add Details and Depth: Use varying shades of buttercream to achieve realistic looking buttercream flower petals. I have used pink buttercream and uncoloured buttercream to add details and depth to the design. This step will make your flowers pop and the basket come to life.

8. Pipe Buttercream to add stamens:  Pipe some Yellow coloured Buttercream to add stamens to the flowers and finish off the design by painting more petals surrounding the stamens.
9. Finishing the Design: Finish off the design by either piping some leaves using Green Buttercream or by painting some Buttercream Leaves with the palette knife.

Try to experiment different flower petals strokes so you can create your own unique Buttercream Basket of Flowers. 

Play the below video to watch the Full tutorial on Buttercream Palette Knife Painted Floral Basket Cake

Hope you have enjoyed this tutorial.

If you have any questions, please email me [email protected]

Much Love,

Neetha x