You will need

• A small cup cake of your choice.
• White and Chocolate Belgian Chocolate Paste.
• Boiled Apricot jam (Cooled)
• Two sheets of thin flexible plastic.

10 Steps to Heaven

1. Gently warm the Belgian chocolate paste to make it more pliable. (the paste is usually quite firm to begin with due to the chocolate content)

2. On a clean dry work surface, lightly dusted with icing sugar, roll out some of the white paste to approximately 5mm thickness.

3. Using a plain round cutter, cut out a disc of paste the same size as the top of the cup cake.

4. Stick the disc of paste on to the cup cake using boiled apricot jam.

5. Using some of the Chocolate paste take a small amount and form it into a small cone shape – this will form the centre of the rose.

6. Taking some more of the chocolate paste, form a number of small balls of paste – these will be used to make the individual petals.

7. Place several of the balls between the sheets of flexible plastic and gently squash each one to form a flattened petal shape.

8. Peal one of the petal shapes from the plastic sheet and wrap around the pre-formed cone shape, gently shape to make a rose petal shape. Use as many or as few of the petal shapes to form your rose (depending upon size required)

9. Place the rose on top of the cup cake, use a little cooled boiled water to act as a glue.

10. Finish the design by adding some chocolate petals – these can be formed by hand or by using a petal mould.