Instructions

1. Tint the fondant with food coloring gel to the desired shade for the chrysanthemums. Add the food coloring a few drops at a time, kneading it in your hands until thoroughly incorporated before adding more food coloring. Common chrysanthemum colors include red, burgundy, orange, yellow, pink and purple.

2. Roll a piece of fondant into an egg shape with a height equal to roughly half the diameter of the smallest daisy cutter you use. Allow the ball to dry and harden at room temperature for 1 to 2 days before continuing with the petals.

3. Roll additional, fresh fondant to about 1/8 inch thick with a fondant roller or rolling pin.

4. Cut out two to three flower shapes with each size of the mum flower cutters. An increased number of flower shapes results in a larger, fuller chrysanthemum. Use only small mum shapes to make small mums; use small and medium cutters to make medium flowers; use small, medium and large flower cutters to make very large mums such as spider mums. Cover all but one small flower cutout with plastic wrap to keep the fondant shapes from drying while you work.

5. Place one of the smallest flower cutouts on a foam mat; these mats are specifically for making edible flowers and can be found where cake decorating supplies are sold.

6. Drag a fondant ball tool from the tip of a flower petal to the center, causing the petal to curl upward and inward toward the flower center. Repeat with the remaining petals on the flower shape.

7. Brush the center of the flower shape with a damp brush to make the fondant tacky. Place the egg-shaped fondant flower base at the center of the small petal piece. Close the petals around the edge to form the first petal layer. Leave just the tips of the petals unattached.

8. Curl the petals on the remaining flower cutouts, starting with the remaining small pieces and working in order of ascending size. Layer these pieces on the outside of the egg-shaped fondant piece. Rotate the petals so they are staggered with the petals from the previous layer. As you build up the layers, the outer layers become increasingly more open.

9. Push a toothpick, piece of wire or a piece of spaghetti up through the bottom of the flower, through all the layers of petals, and into the egg-shaped base if you want flowers that can be pushed down into a cake. This step is optional but makes it easier to fix the position on a cake.

10. Adjust the petals into the final positions with a fondant pick tool. This includes separating any petals that have stuck together, creating clearer division between adjoining petal layers, or using the pick to curl any tips that may have lost shape.

11. Place the finished flowers inside a flower-forming cup for about 24 hours to dry. The cup helps the flowers to hold a cup shape as they dry. If you used a toothpick, wire or spaghetti stem, place the flower-forming cup on the bottom of an inverted foam cup. Insert the stem through the hole in the bottom of the flower-forming cup and down through the bottom of the foam cup.

12. Brush luster dust paint on the chrysanthemum petals if you want the flower to shimmer. To make luster dust paint, mix luster dust with a few drops of grain alcohol to achieve the consistency of paint. This allows you to apply thin, even layers of luster dust. The grain alcohol evaporates quickly, leaving the shimmering luster dust on the petals.