In my early days as a cake artist, I fell in love with the beauty of buttercream flowers.

I spent countless hours piecing together information, experimenting with different buttercreams, playing with techniques and learning from my mistakes.

I struggled to figure out which buttercream was best and which tips and tools I needed. How could I pipe buttercream flowers that captured the ethereal beauty of their counterparts in nature? And how could I feature buttercream flowers in my wedding cake designs?

If you can relate to feeling awed by the beauty of buttercream flowers, but a little intimidated by piping or if you’ve admired our cakes and wondered about the techniques and principles behind the designs, I’m glad you’re here.

In the Buttercream Garden, you’ll learn:

  • A stable, versatile buttercream recipe and the ideal conditions for piping flowers
  • Our design process and the principles behind our buttercream floral decorating techniques
  • How to pipe over 3 dozen types of buttercream flowers
  • How to arrange buttercream flowers on a real two tier wedding cake
  • How to enhance your arrangements with palette knife-painted foliage and delicate embellishments
  • How to pipe abstract buttercream flowers and petals directly onto a cake

Take a sneak peak inside The Buttercream Garden course.

Course Curriculum

    1. Welcome!

    2. Welcome!

    1. Tools & Materials

    2. Piping Tips

    1. Buttercream

    2. Making Buttercream

    3. Reconstituting Cold Buttercream

    1. Piping Basics

    2. Colors

    3. Piping Basics

    1. Agave

    2. Anemone

    3. Anthurium

    4. Butterfly Ranunculus

    5. Cactus

    6. California Poppy

    7. Camellia

    8. Carnation

    9. Cherry Blossom Large

    10. Cherry Blossom Small

    11. Chrysanthemum

    12. Daffodil

    13. Dahlia

    14. Daisy

    15. Delphinium

    16. Echeveria

    17. English Rose

    18. Forget-Me-Not

    19. Garden Rose Large

    20. Garden Rose Small

    21. Gerbera Daisy

    22. Hibiscus

    23. Hydrangea

    24. Iceland Poppy

    25. Leaf Large

    26. Leaf Small

    27. Lisianthus

    28. Magnolia

    29. Marigold

    30. Orchid

    31. Peony Closed

    32. Peony Open

    33. Plumeria

    34. Protea

    35. Ranunculus

    36. Rose Large

    37. Rose Small

    38. Senecio

    39. Sunflower

    40. Tulip

    41. Zinnia

    1. Design

    2. Decorate

    3. Adding Texture

    4. Arranging Flowers

    5. Loading a Palette Knife

    6. Palette Knife Painted Foliage

    7. Petals & Blossoms

    8. Final Touches

About The Buttercream Garden

  • $395.00
  • 63 lessons
  • 4.5 hours of video content

MEET YOUR INSTRUCTOR

Lara Martins

Lara Martins is a cake artist, trained pastry chef and co-owner of LILA Cake Shop - a bespoke wedding cake bakery specializing in artful buttercream floral cakes. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, Martha Stewart Weddings, Style Me Pretty and more. She has created hundreds of buttercream flower wedding cakes for couples in Southern California and has taught students from all over the world at in-person workshops. 

ENROLL NOW $395

Join The Buttercream Garden

Learn how to pipe 40+ different flowers and succulents, design & decorate a 2 tier wedding cake + more!

Enroll in The Buttercream Garden Today!

Join Lara Martins as she teaches you the techniques and artistry behind LILA Cake Shop's signature buttercream floral cake designs.

$395

If you have a coupon please enter it at the checkout!

Everything you need to master piping buttercream flowers!

  • Instant Access To 40+ Piping Tutorials
  • A bonus section on decorating buttercream flower cupcakes
  • Downloadable 61 page companion e-booklet
  • A 10% discount on in-person workshops and private Zoom consultations
  • Course completion certification + more!

Hear from some of our students

Heather

@sweetheatheranne
I had an amazing time at Lara's workshop! She has clearly spent a long time meticulously developing her craft and she passes her wisdom onto students in a delightfully approachable format. I also loved meeting all of the other cake designers at the workshop. It was a beautiful day filled with creativity and conversation. Such an inspiring start to the year!

Connor

@connorscraftcakes
LILA Cake Shop's piped buttercream flower workshop was so incredibly personal, professional, and gave all of the students who attended plenty of opportunity to ask as many questions as needed. This art form requires a great deal of detailed technique, and Lara and Alain are so thoughtful to share every step necessary to create masterpiece buttercream flowers as beautiful as their own. I absolutely recommend this course to anyone interested in learning the craft!

Taylor

@carvedcolor
I decided to sign up for this class even though I am not a cake or pastry designer, and I am so glad I did! Lara makes everything fun and easy to understand even if this is your first time or 100th time decorating cakes. Aside from Lara's expert instruction... the space, set up and general attention to detail is above and beyond. But what would you expect, I mean look at her cakes!

Debbie

@cakestocelebrate
Lara is a true artist and wonderful teacher! Her buttercream flower class can be taken by beginners as well as advanced cake artists. She walks you step by step through the whole process, while having fun along the way! Highly recommend taking any of Lara’s classes!

Elizabeth

@citygalbakes
As a total newbie to buttercream flowers of any kind finding herself in a room with real pros, I walked in terrified in the morning and left in the afternoon totally shocked at what I was able to create. Lara was the most welcoming, calm and patient instructor, and I was very impressed by her ability to work with everyone in the room, from total pros to beginners!

Abby

@abbystolfo
This workshop is one of the best investments you can make in your cake decorating development. Not only did I come away with a gorgeous cake and techniques that I’ve since been able to recreate, I also left with a wealth of information on a wide range of best practices for running a cake business that has saved me months of learning by trial and error. Lara is beyond generous with her knowledge and her instruction is patient and clear. Thank you, Lara and Alain for your warm, welcoming hospitality and a truly cake-changing experience.

Lily

@art_with_flavor
I feel very privileged to have had the opportunity to learn from the talented cake/buttercream flower artist Lara. The workshop was very detailed and well organized. Lara explained and demonstrated everything in such detail that as a beginner, I felt very comfortable piping my first buttercream flowers. Even after the workshop, she is available and willing to answer any questions that may arise. If you are looking to invest in yourself, this workshop is the place to be! Worth every penny and the distance that you may travel! Highly recommended!

Enroll in The Buttercream Garden Today!

Join Lara Martins as she teaches you the techniques and artistry behind LILA Cake Shop's signature buttercream floral cake designs.

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Pay In Full

and save!

$ 395

  • Instant Access To 40+ Piping Tutorials
  • A bonus section on decorating buttercream flower cupcakes
  • Downloadable 61 page companion e-booklet
  • A 10% discount on in-person workshops and private Zoom consultations
  • Course completion certification
  • Watch 24/7. Anywhere. Anytime

Monthly Pay Plan

2 x monthly payments

$ 217 /mo

  • Instant Access To 40+ Piping Tutorials
  • A bonus section on decorating buttercream flower cupcakes
  • Downloadable 61 page companion e-booklet
  • A 10% discount on in-person workshops and private Zoom consultations
  • Course completion certification
  • Watch 24/7. Anywhere. Anytime

Monthly Pay Plan

3 x monthly payments

$ 145 /mo

  • Instant Access To 40+ Piping Tutorials
  • A bonus section on decorating buttercream flower cupcakes
  • Downloadable 61 page companion e-booklet
  • A 10% discount on in-person workshops and private Zoom consultations
  • Course completion certification
  • Watch 24/7. Anywhere. Anytime

For your security, all orders are processed on a secured server.

Frequently Asked Questions

The course is completely self-paced and is designed to be a resource that you can refer back to whenever you need to create a specific buttercream flower or need to review the techniques I use to compose artful buttercream floral cakes.


As a self-paced online course, you determine how much of your time you devote to it. If you’re new to buttercream flowers, I recommend dedicating at least a few hours per week to studying the material and practicing. You’ll be surprised at how quickly you can progress with diligent and consistent practice.


After enrolling, you have unlimited access to the course. Any files that are downloadable are yours to keep. Please note that the course material is copyrighted and passing on or sharing this course material to another party is prohibited.

This course is primarily for the serious cake decorator - both hobbyists and professionals. If you have a love for cake art and have wanted to learn how to create romantic buttercream flower cakes, this course was designed with you in mind.

Please email [email protected] with any questions you may have. As a working wedding cake artist and mother of two, my schedule gets hectic but I will do my best to reply to your email within a few days!

We primarily use piping tips from G.G. Cakraft. If you're located in the U.S. or Canada, you can purchase these tips from Blooms by June and use code LILACAKESHOP10 for 10% off. 

If you're outside of the U.S and Canada, please purchase the tips from G.G. Cakraft's online shop.

As this is a digital product, we do not offer refunds. 

Please ensure you read the information on this page including the FAQs and watch the intro video before you enroll.