Simply Elegant Ruched Cake Tutorial

I wanted to make a cake to celebrate my aunts coming up to visit from Pennsylvania.  When I asked my mom what she thought I should make for them, all she said was that she thought they would like something with a flower... so this is what I came up with.  

To start, I baked, leveled, filled, and frosted a six-inch cake.  Then I covered it with a layer of Satin Ice vanilla fondant that I had tinted pink (with a little bit of golden yellow food coloring added in).  Then I attached the pleated sections with piping gel.

To make each pleated section, I rolled out a long, thin strip of fondant, folded the rough edges under, and then laid it over a dowel to make the center pleat.  Then I pinched both of the ends and attached the strip to the cake.  

I chose a spot in the top/front to be my central point, which is where I connected the top of each strip.  I started in the front and worked my way around to the back, alternating from one side to the other as I added the pleated strips.  

As you can see, I wasn't very careful joining the strips in the center because I knew that I would be covering this part with a flower later on.

I chose a point in the back on the bottom to be my second meeting point for the pleated strips.  In hindsight, I might have put a bow or something over this section.

After I had added pleats around the whole cake, I decided to drape a piece of fondant from the spot where the pleated strips met.  I rounded the bottom edge of the strip and let it hang freely, without pinching the bottom edge or tucking it under.

Lastly, I added the rose.  I didn't take any photos of this step because I sort of rushed through it, but making fondant/gumpaste flowers is not really my forte anyway. :-)  

Here is the finished cake: