How to Frost a Minimal Petal Cake for an Effortless Finish

Some of our favorite frosting designs are oh-so-simple, but very visually appealing. This technique for frosting a minimal petal cake is so easy that even cake decorating novices can pull it off with no problem, but the end result is still extremely impressive.

Why hide all the beauty of that cake under a mound of frosting? With a sparse amount of icing, this cake frosting technique is designed to let the simple beauty of cake layers and fluffy frosting shine. We leave the sides of the cake exposed (no crumb coat required), so your guests can really see all the goodness that awaits them when slicing into this beautiful layer cake. All you really need to make this design is a piping bag (but if you don't have one, a Ziploc bag will work, too). Simply pipe circular dollops of frosting on the outer edge of the cake layer, then drag them in to create the appearance of petals.

We believe that this petal frosting design would look particularly beautiful on red velvet or carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. We particularly enjoy this technique on our Yellow Cake with Malted Chocolate Buttercream. No matter what type of cake you choose, your minimal petal layer cake will wow on any dessert spread.

Step 1

Starting along outer edge of cake layer, pipe a one-inch circular dollop of frosting onto cake. Drag piping bag in toward center of cake while squeezing to create a 1½-inch teardrop shape out of frosting.

Step 2

Repeat, making seven more petals around edge. Drag an offset spatula through the center of each teardrop toward the center of the cake, creating a petal-like appearance.

Step 3

Using spatula, smooth the frosting in middle of top cake layer (where petals meet in the center), spreading into a circle to create the center of the flower.