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Rosettes · Family 124

Crescent Rose with Wilton 124

A full open rose built from seven crescent petals, no flower nail needed.

The crescent rose is the intermediate bridge between a rosette and a wired sugar flower. It uses the 124 petal tip - wider than the classic 104 - and builds an open rose directly on the cake surface in about ninety seconds. Because every petal is a separate crescent, the finished flower has real layered depth instead of a coil, and it still survives the fridge.

Tip
Wilton 124
Icing stage
Stiff peak
Difficulty
Intermediate
Teeth
1
Symmetry
9×
Cure
24 hours
Finished size
65 mm
Released
20 September 2026

By The Sugar Bench · Released 20 September 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.

Crescent Rose with Wilton 124 — Step 1: Load the 124 correctly

Step 01 of 05

Load the 124 correctly

The 124 has a wide, thin blade - drop it into a coupler so the curve opens to your left if you are right-handed. Fill a 40 cm bag with stiff-peak buttercream striped with the pale tone on one wall, and tap the bag twice on the bench to settle the icing against the tip.

HandCurve opens to the left, seam of the bag facing away from you, cuff at your elbow.
Bag pressureNone yet - the bag should be packed with no visible air gap above the coupler.
Crescent Rose with Wilton 124 — Step 2: Pipe the bud

Step 02 of 05

Pipe the bud

Hold the wide end of the blade against the surface and the narrow end pointing up-left at 30 degrees. Squeeze a 20 mm crescent for petal one, then rotate the tray 90 degrees and repeat for petals two to four. Keep them touching at the base so the bud is solid.

HandWide end down and touching, narrow end up. The bag rotates around the flower; your wrist stays fixed.
Bag pressureLight and even - heavy pressure on a petal tip makes a wing-shaped flare instead of a petal.
Crescent Rose with Wilton 124 — Step 3: Open the rose

Step 03 of 05

Open the rose

Move out 8 mm from the bud centre and pipe petals five, six and seven at 1:30, 4:30 and 7:30, each overlapping the bud by half its width. Use slightly more pressure at the base of each petal and release as you reach its edge, so the petal edge is thin.

HandTurn the turntable with your non-dominant hand rather than walking the bag around the flower.
Bag pressureStart medium, fade to zero at the outer edge - a constant pressure gives petals with blunt, heavy rims.
Crescent Rose with Wilton 124 — Step 4: Add the two outer crescents

Step 04 of 05

Add the two outer crescents

For a garden-rose look, add two final crescents at 10:30 and 2:30, 4 mm lower on the cake so they sit under the earlier petals. This is what creates the shadow line that makes the rose read as three-dimensional from a metre away.

HandAngle the blade a few degrees further open than before; the outer petals should lean outward, not up.
Bag pressureLight at the start, medium through the middle, zero at the end.
Crescent Rose with Wilton 124 — Step 5: Crust and set

Step 05 of 05

Crust and set

Leave the rose at 18 C for 24 hours. Do not refrigerate a stiff-peak crescent rose for longer than 20 minutes, or the butter fats separate and the petal edges turn greasy and translucent.

HandTransfer the whole cake or tray; never lift a rose with a knife.
Bag pressureNone - the petals are self-supporting once crusted.

Scroll sideways for each step →

124 versus 104

Both are curved petal tips, but 124 is roughly 6 mm wider at the opening with a shallower curve. Wider means each crescent is a full petal in one stroke, which is why the crescent rose needs seven strokes instead of the fourteen a 104 rose needs. The shallower curve also keeps the petals open rather than cupping inward, so the finished rose reads as a garden rose, not a bud.

Stiff peak, not medium

Every petal here is a free-standing crescent that has to hold its own weight while you pipe the next one. Medium buttercream lets the first two petals sag by the time you reach the fifth. Mix to stiff peak - the peak stands straight up without bending - then loosen with half a teaspoon of cream per 200 g so it still flows through the tip without breaking.

Two-stage colouring

Colour 250 g to #5A1B2E with two toothpick tips of Sugarflair Claret, and a separate 30 g to #E9A6BC with a single drop. Stripe the pale tone down one wall of the bag: the outer face of each petal comes out lit, the inner face stays deep. This is the cheapest way to get the shading that makes a piped rose look hand-painted.

Petal positions as a clock face

Treat the centre as 12 o'clock. Petal one points to 12, petal two to 3, petal three to 6, petal four to 9 - a tight four-point bud. Petals five, six and seven fill 1:30, 4:30 and 7:30 at 8 mm further out, and overlap the bud by half. If you lose count, look for the gap: the next petal always goes where the surface is still bare.

Set time and travel

A crescent rose needs 24 hours at 18 C to crust hard enough to stack. Buttercream roses piped at stiff peak hold for two days in a sealed box, and they can be cold-set for 15 minutes in the fridge if you need to move the cake within the hour.

Failures and fixes

Symptom Cause Fix
Petals sag before the flower is finished Buttercream at medium peak, or room above 24 C. Re-mix to stiff peak, add half a teaspoon of cream per 200 g, and work with the cake on a marble slab if the room is warm.
Petals look like flat wings The narrow end of the tip was not lifted, so the blade lay flat on the surface. Lift the narrow end to 30 degrees - only the wide end should touch the cake.
Rose looks like a swirl, not a rose Petals were piped in one continuous motion instead of separate strokes with the tip re-positioned. Stop the squeeze fully between petals and move the tip to the next clock position before starting the next stroke.

Before you bag up

  • Stiff peak that does not bend
  • 124 blade set curve-left, wide end down
  • Bud of four petals at 12, 3, 6, 9
  • Three mid petals overlapping by half
  • 24 hours at 18 C before stacking

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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