We reviewed the new range of Simply Making piping tips from The Cake Decorating Company for the April issue of Cake Masters Magazine.
With 11 tips to try plus a leaf nozzle, these Flower Piping Tips are a simple, fun new way to decorate cakes and cupcakes with beautiful buttercream flowers. Visit www.thecakedecoratingcompany.co.uk/cm for this exclusive offer.
We decorated some cupcakes to try out these piping tips and really liked the results. The designs cover a variety of flowers: a Daisy, Freesia, Parrot Tulip, Tulip Buds, Violet, Holland Tulip, Specimen Rose, Rose Bud, Crocus, Blooming Rose and a Christmas Cactus. As recommended by The Cake Decorating Company, we used Swiss Meringue Buttercream to pipe the flowers, as it provides more stability for the flowers to hold their shape than standard buttercream.
Starting by covering the cupcake with a thin layer of buttercream to help the flowers stick, we tried out several of the flower piping tips. It is a very simple piping motion, you just need to hold the piping tip directly above the cupcake and pipe straight up. To finish, just stop the pressure and pull away directly up. We finished the cupcakes with some green leaves. It’s also pretty to create tonal flowers by marbling two colours of buttercream before adding them to the piping bag or using two colours side by side.
Practice makes perfect when it comes to these piping tips! To start with, we struggled to leave behind the whole flower on the cupcake as we piped; sometimes leaving the outer petals but pulling away the stamens in the centre and vice versa. But do persevere if you have problems at first, because once you get the hang of it, they give some great results and you’ll be able to pipe beautiful flowers in no time at all. We found it easier to start with the tips that had less small details. For example, the Rose Bud Piping Tip and the Crocus Piping Tip are good ones to practice the technique with, before moving onto more complex flowers such as the Freesia Piping Tip.
These Flower Piping Tips are a great product. Once you get the knack of piping with them, you can work really quickly and create some beautiful effects – perfect for cupcakes and lovely on larger cakes.