Buttercream cake with a cake crown of rosemary, micro flowers and blackberries.
What is a cake crown?
A cake crown is a miniature floral wreath designed to decorate the top of a cake, pie, or other dessert. Made with tiny herb cuttings, delicate foliage, and fresh or dried flowers, a cake crown is a beautiful way to bring the natural beauty of the garden to your dessert table.
While cake crowns are often used as fresh flower cake decorations for weddings, birthdays, showers, and other special occasions, don’t feel limited to cakes. These little botanical wreaths are surprisingly versatile. Generally ranging from 4 to 10 inches in diameter, they can be scaled to suit all kinds of celebrations and tablescapes.
Try using smaller cake crowns as floral napkin rings for a dinner party, or place them around individual place settings as a natural alternative to traditional flowers. They can also be used to embellish seasonal centerpieces—a miniature crown around a pumpkin in autumn or nestled around a vase filled with candy canes in winter.
Think of a cake crown as a tiny piece of flower art that can move beyond the cake. With a few fresh flowers, herbs, and bits of greenery, you can create a simple botanical decoration that works throughout your celebration.
Below is a time-lapse of me creating a cake crown from herbs, foliage, and flowers.
Time-lapse video of Kim Bensing creating a cake crown or mini wreath.
what you’ll need
To make a cake crown or mini floral wreath, you’ll need just a few simple floral design tools. Start with green florist wire. I typically use 22-gauge floral wire because it’s flexible enough to shape easily while still providing enough structure to support the flowers, herbs, and greenery. I prefer green wire because it blends naturally into the foliage and is less noticeable in the finished wreath.
If you already have another type of flexible floral wire on hand, you can certainly use it instead. Just make sure the wire is clean, unused, and appropriate for floral arranging.
You’ll also need small wire cutters, floral adhesive, and your favorite pair of flower snips. With these few basic tools, you’ll be ready to create your own fresh flower cake crown, mini floral wreath, or botanical cake decoration.
Supply list
Sturdy Greens & Foliage such as:
-Boxwood
-Rosemary
-Eucalyptus
A few mini fresh or dried flowers buds and pods:
(a few suggestions)
-Begonia
-Lavender
-Ranunculus
Green Florist Wire
Wire Cutters
Floral Snips
Flexible Ruler (is helpful but not required)
Floral Adhesive (Oasis is a reliable brand that I use)
How to make a cake crown topper or mini Floral wreath
Creating a cake crown topper or mini floral wreath is surprisingly simple once you have the right size wire base. For a cake crown that measures approximately 6 inches in diameter, cut about 12½ inches of floral wire from the roll. This gives you enough length to form the circle and wrap approximately ½ inch of wire around the opposite end to securely close the ring.
The amount of wire you’ll need will vary depending on the size and purpose of your wreath. A 6-inch, 8-inch, or 10-inch cake crown will each require a slightly different length of wire.
Because I often create fresh flower cake crowns for cakes of different sizes, I like to use a flexible ruler to measure my wire ring precisely. This makes it easy to create a wreath that fits the top of the cake beautifully—large enough to make an impact, but not so large that it hangs awkwardly over the edges.
Taking a few extra moments to measure your cake crown topper before adding the flowers will give you a much more polished and professional-looking finished design.
Vanilla cake with a cake crown of rosemary, eucalyptus, and mini begonia.
Prepare your supplies, flowers, and greenery. Gather everything on your work surface and snip your greens and flowers into manageable pieces that will work well with your floral wire frame. I like to create a small work area using a paper towel or, even better, a paper plate. The round shape makes an ideal work surface and helps protect your table or countertop from floral adhesive.
Attach your first pieces of greenery. Place approximately three small dabs of floral adhesive on the back of two small base greens and allow the adhesive to set for about 30 seconds. Position the pieces on the wire, adhesive side down, facing in the same direction. Hold them gently in place for about one minute, or until they remain secure when you lift your fingers. Because the sprigs are small and lightweight, very little pressure is needed as long as the adhesive makes contact with the wire and has enough time to set.
Continue layering the greenery. Once your first pieces are firmly attached, work your way around the entire wire frame, adding greens and foliage until the wire is completely covered. As you go, tuck the stem of each new piece underneath the end of the previous piece. This overlapping technique helps create a fuller, more natural-looking mini floral wreath while concealing the wire.
Add your focal flowers. Wait a few minutes for the greenery to become secure before adding your flowers. This gives you a stable foundation and makes it much easier to create a balanced cake crown topper.
Choose small flowers, buds, and botanical details. Small, tightly formed flowers, miniature buds, and seed pods work especially well for a cake crown. Look around your garden for interesting little blooms—even flowers growing from hanging plants can provide beautiful details. Dried flowers are also a wonderful option during winter. I especially love using strawflower saved from the fall because it holds its color beautifully. Don’t be afraid to incorporate interesting grasses and pods, too, as long as they are clean and won’t drop seeds, shed petals, or otherwise create debris on the cake.
Choose Flowers That Will Hold Up
When creating a fresh flower cake crown, it’s important to consider how well each flower or herb will hold up out of water. Some varieties are naturally sturdier than others, while delicate flowers and herbs can wilt quickly. Avoid anything that loses its shape easily, especially if your cake crown needs to look beautiful for several hours.
I usually keep my completed cake crowns refrigerated until it’s time to place them on the cake. This helps the flowers stay fresh and maintain their shape. If possible, use a clean refrigerator or a separate refrigerator without food, since food odors, moisture, and bacteria can affect delicate flowers.
Add the Flowers and Botanical Details
Once your greenery is securely in place, begin adding your small flower buds, seed pods, herbs, and colorful botanical accents. Use just a small dab of floral adhesive to attach each piece, working your way around the wreath and placing flowers wherever they create the most pleasing composition.
Try not to overdo it. One of the beautiful things about a mini floral wreath or cake crown is that it doesn’t need to be completely covered with flowers. Leave some of the greenery visible and allow the individual blooms to breathe. Often, the simplest floral cake designs are the most elegant.
Freshly made cake crowns can typically be kept in the refrigerator for a few days, making them easy to prepare ahead of your celebration. I’d love to see what you create, so please leave a comment and share your photos!
If you’re local to Bucks County, Pennsylvania, I’m also available to create a custom fresh flower cake crown for you. Just give me a call or send me a text to get started.
For those who want to make their own, I’ve linked all of the cake crown supplies and floral design tools below for your convenience.
Chocolate cake with a cake crown of boxwood, eucalyptus, lavender, dried pods & micro flowers.
A Note About Flower Safety
Whenever you’re creating fresh flower cake decorations, choose flowers and herbs that are in season and know how they were grown. Avoid flowers that have been treated with pesticides or other chemicals that are not appropriate for use around food. It’s also important to research the flowers and herbs you plan to use, as some varieties can be toxic or poisonous.
Most importantly, remember that a cake crown is a decorative element, not an edible decoration. The flowers, greenery, wire, and adhesive should be removed before the cake is served.
Please clearly tell anyone receiving or serving the cake that the cake crown is NOT TO BE CONSUMED.
Layered naked cake with a cake crown of wax flower and blackberries.
HIRE A DESIGNER OR CREATE YOUR OWN
Whether you’d like to create your own floral cake decorations or have a professional design them for you, there are plenty of beautiful ways to bring fresh flowers and herbs to your celebration.
Explore more floral cake ideas to see examples of fresh flower cake designs, cake crowns, floral wreaths, and botanical cake decorations, along with pricing for custom designs by Studio Sprig.
Layered cake with a cake crown of boxwood, rosemary, lavender, & micro flowers.
I look forward to connecting with you!
I’m always here to inspire and support your creative journey. Sign up for Studio Sprig to receive new post notifications, creative inspiration, and fresh ideas delivered to your inbox. You can also follow along on Instagram and Pinterest for more floral design, botanical inspiration, and beautiful ideas for celebrating with flowers.
Cake Crowns designed by: Studio Sprig
Cakes: One Sweet Baking Co.
Disclosure: I am an Amazon Associate and will sometimes offer affiliate links. The price you pay will be the same whether you use the affiliate link or go directly to the vendor’s website using a non-affiliate link. Thank you.