If you make drop flowers in advance, you can place them exactly where you want—even on the sides of your cake.

Using Meringue Powder in your icing will speed the drying of your drop flowers.

Casually ice your 8 x 3 in. round cake and add a tip 21 shell bottom border. Then, place the flowers along the border and all over.

Fit the decorating bag with tip 2D and fill 1/2 full with medium consistency icing. Hold the decorating bag 90° straight up; the tip should be lightly touching surface.

Squeeze, letting icing build up to make the flower. Stop squeezing, then lift tip away.

Decorate the flower center: Hold the bag straight up with tip 3 almost touching the flower. Squeeze out a dot of icing, keeping your tip buried in it. Stop squeezing, then pull tip up and away. Your dot should have a rounded top.

Fit the decorating bag with tip 2D and fill 1/2 full with medium consistency icing. Hold the decorating bag 90° straight up; the tip should be touching surface.