This wafer paper butterfly bridal shower cake topper with wafer card calla lilies would also make a pretty decoration for a wedding cake, or even an elegant birthday cake for women.
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The butterflies are made by putting two printed wafer paper butterflies back-to-back by attaching them together with piping gel, and cutting them out after they dry together.
The callas are simple wafer card, which is a thicker version of wafer paper, and they’re shaped using steam.
Or shop on ACakeToRemember.com
Make the butterflies.
Start with a sheet or two of edible butterflies that you can cut out and put back-to-back. As long as they’re symmetrical you’ll be able to attach them together to create a double-sided butterfly with color on both sides.
You can shop for those here on my website: Edible butterflies on ACakeToRemember.com
For most cake or cupcake decorations, you don’t need to put the butterflies together like this, but for a focal item like a large cake topper, it can be good to do it this way so that you can fold the wings up.
Choose two butterflies that are the same shape and cut them out.
Brush piping gel onto the back of one of the butterflies, then press the other butterfly on top, making sure to line up the edges as well as you can.
Let the piping gel dry, and when it’s set up, cut the butterflies out using regular scissors.
Let the butterflies set up completely before storing them.
When you use them, you can fold them up to raise the wings into an upright position by carefully bending them into place.
Wafer paper supplies.
Shop for materials to make wafer paper flowers on Amazon:
- Wafer paper, white or colored
- Silicone flower center molds
- Petal veiners
- Petal dust
- Floral wire
- Tylose glue
- Fluffy paintbrushes
- Flower former
- Craft scissors
- Liquid Food Coloring
- Food-grade glycerin to make wafer paper conditioner
- Corn starch
- Flower paper punches
- Steamer to shape wafer paper
Make the calla lilies.
I have a photo tutorial on how to make wafer paper callas here if you’d like to see that: How to make wafer paper callas
Using wafer card, cut out shapes for as many flowers as you’d like. I used a pencil to trace the pattern onto the wafer card, then cut the shapes out by cutting inside the lines to eliminate the pencil lines.
Using a steamer, hold the pieces up to soften them, then carefully shape them into a cone by wrapping the edges around each other.
Fold the edges down when they’re soft enough to create a soft edge, but be careful not to get the wafer card too wet. It can soften up too much and melt.
Reshape the flower as you’re working on it. When you get it to a good shape that you like, place it down and let it dry out.
Make some gumpaste stamens, or use artificial calla centers, and insert them into the callas. Attach them with royal icing or melted candy melts.
You could also make gumpaste callas if you prefer that. I have an article here that goes over how to do that: How to make gumpaste callas
Arrange the flowers and butterflies.
Put the flowers on the cake in the arrangement that you like. For this arrangement I used a dozen callas and four or five butterflies.
Attach the butterflies to the cake or the callas using some icing or corn syrup if needed to get them to stick.
You could also place some butterflies around the base of the cake or on the edges, they don’t have to sit on the flowers.
This is a simple and classic design, and it works for a lot of different occasions when you need an elegant cake.
Here’s a video of the whole process:
