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Sugar Flowers · Family 104

Classic Piped Rose with Wilton 104

The fourteen-petal rose that has been the standard since the 1950s, piped on a flower nail.

Everything else on this site is a shortcut; the 104 rose is the reference. It is built on a flower nail in fourteen strokes, each one a curved petal that wraps the last, and it produces a rose with a tight bud centre and open outer petals that no drop-flower tip can imitate. It takes about four minutes the first ten times and about ninety seconds after that.

Tip
Wilton 104
Icing stage
Stiff peak
Difficulty
Intermediate
Teeth
1
Symmetry
7×
Cure
24 hours
Finished size
58 mm
Released
26 August 2026

By The Sugar Bench · Released 26 August 2026

Method

5 steps, pressure stated at each one

Hand position and bag pressure are stated for every step, because that is where most failures happen.

Classic Piped Rose with Wilton 104 — Step 1: Prepare the nail and a paper square

Step 01 of 05

Prepare the nail and a paper square

Dab a pea-sized blob of stiff buttercream on a 40 mm flower nail and press a 70 mm square of baking paper onto it. This gives you a rose you can slide off later without touching the petals.

HandNon-dominant hand holds the nail stem, dominant hand on the bag; nail tilted 20 degrees toward you.
Bag pressureVery light on the blob - the paper only needs to stick, not sink.
Classic Piped Rose with Wilton 104 — Step 2: Pipe the bud

Step 02 of 05

Pipe the bud

With the 104 narrow end up at 45 degrees and the wide end touching the paper, pipe three petals at 12, 4 and 8 o'clock, each 22 mm long and curling inward. Rotate the nail 120 degrees between petals; keep the bag still.

HandNail rotates, bag stays put. Wrist locked, elbow does the small movement.
Bag pressureLight at the base, fading to zero at each petal tip so the edge is thin.
Classic Piped Rose with Wilton 104 — Step 3: Add the middle ring

Step 03 of 05

Add the middle ring

Move out 4 mm. Pipe five petals at 2, 5, 7, 10 and 12 o'clock, each overlapping the bud by two thirds and 4 mm taller than the bud petals.

HandRotate the nail 60 to 72 degrees between petals, always in the same direction so the overlap stays consistent.
Bag pressureLight-medium at the base, releasing earlier than in the bud ring.
Classic Piped Rose with Wilton 104 — Step 4: Open the outer ring

Step 04 of 05

Open the outer ring

Move out another 6 mm and pipe six petals, leaning the tip 15 degrees outward from vertical so the petals flare. These are the petals that decide whether the rose reads as a rose or as a cabbage.

HandTilt the whole bag outward, not just the tip - tilting the tip alone gives petals with heavy bases.
Bag pressureMedium at the base, zero well before the edge.
Classic Piped Rose with Wilton 104 — Step 5: Chill and transfer

Step 05 of 05

Chill and transfer

Slide the nail into the fridge for 20 minutes, then lift the paper square onto the cake and peel it away. Press the rose down with the flat of a palette knife for one second so it bonds to the crumb coat.

HandLift the paper by opposite corners; the rose stays put because it has crusted to the paper.
Bag pressureOne second of firm, flat pressure - any rocking breaks the bottom petals.

Scroll sideways for each step →

The nail is not optional

A 104 rose is piped on a 40 mm flower nail because the nail lets the rose rotate under a stationary bag. Piping it directly on a cake means walking the bag around the flower, and the petals come out with different thickness depending on which side of the flower you are on. Transfer the finished rose to the cake with a small palette knife after a 20 minute chill, or leave it on a square of baking paper to crust.

Stiff peak, and a 30 minute rest

Mix to stiff peak, colour, then let the bowl stand covered for 30 minutes at room temperature. Freshly mixed buttercream is full of small air pockets that make petal edges foamy; the rest lets them rise out. If the icing still feels airy, press 200 g at a time through a fine sieve with the back of a ladle.

Fourteen petals in three rings

Ring one is a tight three-petal bud at 12, 4 and 8 o'clock, piped with the narrow end of the tip up at 45 degrees. Ring two is five petals at 2, 5, 7, 10 and 12, each overlapping the bud by two thirds. Ring three is six petals, 6 mm further out, leaning 15 degrees outward so the rose opens. Any rose that looks like a cabbage has ring three standing upright instead of leaning out.

Deep centre, pale edge

Colour 200 g to #5A1B2E for the bud and 250 g to #E9A6BC for the outer rings. Keep them in two bags. Petals from the pale bag should be piped 1 mm thinner than the bud petals, which is done by releasing pressure slightly earlier at the petal edge rather than by changing the mix.

Crusting and storage

24 hours at 18 C gives a firm rose that can be boxed in layers separated by baking paper. Piped buttercream roses keep three days at 18 C in a sealed box, or two weeks frozen at -18 C if you freeze them on the nail and then bag them hard. Never thaw in the fridge: condensation ruins the petal edges.

Failures and fixes

Symptom Cause Fix
Rose petals all the same length, looks flat Each ring piped at the same distance from the centre. Ring two starts 4 mm out from the bud edge and ring three 6 mm beyond ring two; mark the nail with a pencil dot at 4 mm if you keep losing the spacing.
Petals have heavy, blunt edges Pressure was held all the way to the end of each stroke, or the icing was medium peak. Release pressure when the petal is 80 percent piped; re-check the icing stands straight on the spatula.
Edges look foamy and porous Freshly mixed buttercream with trapped air. Rest the coloured bowl covered for 30 minutes, then push through a fine sieve before bagging.

Before you bag up

  • Icing to stiff peak, rested 30 minutes
  • 104 narrow end up at 45 degrees
  • Bud: 3 petals at 12, 4, 8
  • Middle ring 4 mm out, outer ring 6 mm beyond
  • 20 minutes chilled before transfer

This card describes a method, not a formulation tested for allergens, shelf life or food safety; the ingredients, hygiene and safety of anything you give to someone else are your responsibility. Nothing here is sponsored and there is no affiliation with any tip or ingredient manufacturer. See the terms page for the full note.

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