The foundation of exquisite sugar flower making lies in the paste you use. The choice of paste can significantly influence the final outcome of your creations. Renshaw, a renowned brand in the baking world, offers a range of products that are ideal for crafting intricate sugar flowers.

Renshaw's Petal Paste is a CMC or Tylose-based product. This paste is slower to dry than some alternatives, making it perfect for projects that require a little more working time. Available in 300-gram sticks in white, this paste can be coloured using a pro-gel paste colour of your choice. Whether you're aiming for a delicate pale pink or a vibrant red, the Petal Paste provides a versatile base for your creations.

Renshaw also produces a Gum Paste, known as Flower and Modelling Paste in the European and English markets. This paste dries out more quickly than the Petal Paste. The rapid drying time can be beneficial for certain flowers, such as roses, where thin petals need to hold their shape.

For those who need a little more working time, particularly when rolling out thin petals for roses, a combination of Flower and Modelling Paste (or Gum Paste) and Roll Fondant (or Sugar Paste) can be the perfect solution. A formula that works well is 85 grams of Gum Paste to 15 grams of Roll Fondant. This combination extends the working time, preventing the paste from drying out too quickly.

For example, to create a pale pink rose, you could start with 85 grams of pre-coloured pink Flower Modelling Paste and add 15 grams of white Roll Fondant. This not only adjusts the working properties of the paste but also subtly lightens the colour.

Creating a deep, blood-red rose requires a slightly different approach. Starting with 85 grams of bright red Gum Paste, you can add 10 grams of purple and 5 grams of chocolate brown. This unusual combination transforms the bright red into a rich, deep red, perfect for romantic Valentine's Day roses or dramatic wedding cakes.

The beauty of this approach is that it allows for consistent colour reproduction. Once you've developed a formula for a particular shade, you can recreate that exact colour time and time again. This consistency is invaluable, particularly for large projects like wedding cakes where uniformity is key.

In the world of sugar flower making, the paste you use is just as important as the techniques you employ. By understanding the properties of different pastes and how to manipulate them, you can create stunning sugar flowers that are truly works of art.