The contemporary buttercream bible : the complete practical guide to cake decorating with buttercream icing

Contents

Introduction

Buttercream Basics

Piping Textures and Patterns

Piping Flowers

Palette Knife Techniques

Transfers, Stamping and Stencilling

Textile Effects

Writing

Beyond Buttercream

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Suppliers

Acknowledgments

About the Authors

All full-size templates can be found atwww.stitchcraftcreate.co.uk/patterns

Copyright

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Introduction

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Welcome to the first complete contemporary guideto using buttercream. We are immensely proud tobe able to share with you our techniques, tips andideas – all our expertise – in this book. There isnothing in the world like buttercream. Not onlydoes it allow you to be hugely creative but it alsotastes absolutely delicious. It’s a winningcombination!

We know through our own experience that it takespractice to produce great results, but you will beamazed at the stunning and intricate designs youcan achieve straight away with buttercream. Don’tbe daunted, just dive in and try a few techniques.You don’t need a lot of equipment, we didn’t startwith anything. You don’t need to be a brilliantartist, we discovered that working with buttercreamunleashed a creative streak we didn’t really knowwe had. You do need a sense of adventure and awillingness to look for inspiration everywhere. Soonyou’ll be piping pretty cupcakes and beautifulcouture cakes. Just remember that not so long agowe were exactly like you...

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HUMBLE BEGINNINGS

We just can’t help but smile (often a little tearyeyed) whenever we share the story of how Queen ofHearts Couture Cakes came about. We could neverhave imagined that buttercream would bring us towhere we are now. It really changed our lives.

Working and living a thousand miles away fromyour family is hard. Our familes are in thePhilippines, however, we are very blessed to havemet wonderful friends in the UK who treat us liketheir family. So on Mother’s Day in 2011, we wantedto give our two ‘second-moms’ something morespecial than just a card and bouquet of flowers. Wedecided to bake something for them. And so wescoured the internet (because we didn’t have anyrecipe books) for ideas until we stumbled on a videotutorial on how to make a sunflower cupcake usingan improvised piping bag made from a plastic foodstorage bag. A few more clicks and we watched atutorial on how to pipe a rose, camellia,chrysanthemum, then a whole cupcake bouquet!We instantly fell in love with the idea and can stillremember our excitement to try it.

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We didn’t have any baking equipment at all, so thefollowing day we went to the supermarket to buythe ingredients, and then off to the discount storefor a silicone cupcake baking tray and spatula, andthen we also bought the cheapest hand mixer wecould find. Oh yes! We were ready and we didn’twaste a single second. Before long a lovely smellfilled our tiny house – not just the kitchen but theentire house! There was no room for a full-sizeoven, so we used to do all our baking in a tiny 5Lelectric oven, which lived on top of the fridge.Crazy... funny... but it’s true.

And so there they were, our first ever half dozengorgeous golden brown dome-y cupcakes. We hadour improvised piping (pastry) bags ready andfollowed the video tutorial step by step. Tadaaa!Our first ever sunflower cupcake. We alsoattempted to pipe roses and they turned out to be…flowers.

So the special day came and we surprised ourfriends with our homemade gift. They both reallyloved it even though some the cupcakes werecoming off the wrappers. One of them, Aida, wasreally the person who convinced us to improve ourskills and suggested the idea of making a business

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out of it. It was as if she saw something in that first,slightly wonky bouquet. She made us feel that therewas real potential there. So we kept practising, fellin love with piping until we became obsessed, andthat was really the start of it all.

BUILDING OUR BUSINESS

We kept practising, we set up a Facebook page anda website, but no orders arrived for our fledglingbusiness.Meanwhile we kept bombarding Aida withour baking efforts until we finally developed a reallygood cupcake recipe. Then one day, we had a callfrom a local school asking if we would be able tojoin their summer fair. It was in three days time.Without hesitation, we said yes.

Right there and then, we started working on it usingjust our tiny oven – all we can remember is that webarely slept just to prepare for our first ever fair.Our efforts paid off, we were so overwhelmed withthe responses from everyone. When a ladyapproached us and asked us if we would beinterested in taking a pitch at a larger local event,we gave her a hug!

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And so we went to another event, and then another,and then another. We had to move to a bigger placeas the business got bigger. Not only that, but wealso went from cupcakes to bigger cakes and theneven bigger wedding cakes. We have literally neverstopped since.

We practise and practise and practise whenever wehave time, even now. And from local fairs, we arenow being invited to big exhibition shows, to teacharound the world and to contribute to magazinesand blogs. We are also very proud to have beeninvited to join The Experimental Food Societywhich is an organization formed to front the UK’smost talented and pioneering culinary creatives. Itis really quite overwhelming!

INSPIRATION AND INNOVATION

We are often being asked where we get ourinspiration from. Our answer is, anything beautiful,from fabrics to paintings, dresses to photos,anything eye-catching that we could translate intoan edible form of art. One thing that we wouldshare with you is to keep innovating. Don’t justsettle for what’s already there or what everyone else

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is doing. Dig into your imagination and keep ontrying and exploring different ways and techniques.

We hope these things will help you in your cakejourney, just like they did for us. So join us as wecontinuously strive to revive and modernize thisage-old Buttercream Art. We hope that we can bean inspiration to all of you who are starting orgrowing their own cake business, and those who aresimply baking at home. If you feel frustrated or youare running out of patience, just think about thosetwo girls that started baking using a small 5Ltable-top oven and ended up writing TheContemporary Buttercream Bible. Just think ofthem and you will feel much better knowing that ifyou put your whole heart into whatever you aredoing, you will make it!

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Buttercream BasicsIt’s really important to learn and eventually masterthe basics of buttercream because you will find thatyou use the same simple recipe, techniques andequipment over and over again. Once youunderstand the nature of buttercream, you willknow how to get the very best creative results fromit.

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Making Buttercream

We strongly believe that our buttercream recipe isat the very heart of this book. It is the mostimportant element that enables us to createamazing couture cakes, as we will show you in thefollowing chapters. Buttercream is a delicatemedium, and you do need to understand itscharacteristics in order to get the most from it.

Basic Buttercream RecipeWith this recipe, the one thing you shouldremember is never over-beat yourbuttercream. If you do it will become grainy andthe edges of your petals are likely to ‘break’ whenyou pipe flowers. A hand-held mixer is not usuallyas powerful as a stand mixer, so if you are using ahand-held mixer, make sure you fold your mixturemanually first until the ingredients areincorporated. This helps to avoid over-beating aswell.

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It is a common misunderstanding that to make thebuttercream ‘light and fluffy’ you must beat it forfive to ten minutes or even longer. This is true in away, because if you do this you will incorporate somuch air into your buttercream that it will have lotsof holes and ‘air-pockets’, but it will also be grainyand difficult to work with. Don’t be tempted toover-beat!

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You will need…

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• 227g (8oz) butter, room temperature

• 113g (4oz) medium soft vegetable fat (shortening)(Trex), at room temperature, OR 227g (8oz) of softspreadable vegetable fat (shortening) (Crisco)

• 2-3 tsp vanilla essence, or your choice offlavouring

• 1 tbsp water or milk (omit if you live in a hotcountry or whenever the temperature is hot)

• 600g (1lb 5oz) icing (confectioners’) sugar, sifted,if you are using medium soft vegetable fat(shortening) OR 750g (1lb 10oz) icing sugar, sifted,if you are using soft spreadable vegetable fat(shortening)

• Mixer (hand-held or stand mixer)

• Mixing bowls

• Spatula

• Sieve (sifter/strainer)

• Measuring spoons

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About vegetable fat, aka shortening

This is a white solid fat made from vegetableoils, such as soybean and cotton seed oil, andis usually flavourless, bland or neutral in taste.It is ideal for pastry, baking and cakedecorating. It plays a very important role in ourrecipe as it helps make our buttercream stable.It also allows the surface of the decoratedcake to ‘crust’ so that it is not too sticky. Andsince it makes it stable, you do not need toadd too much icing sugar to make a stiffconsistency, thus your frosting has just theright sweetness.

There are so many brands of vegetable fat(shortening) and they all have differentconsistencies. Don’t choose one that is toohard as that will not be suitable. The idealconsistency is something soft and spreadableparticularly when it’s at room temperature. Inthis particular recipe, vegetable fat(shortening) cannot be substituted withmargarine, vegetable oil, ghee or lard as theseall have a different colour or melting point, and

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a very strong taste. See below for a list ofpopular brands.

Popular brands of vegetable fat (shortening)

• UK: Trex, Flora White, Cookeen• USA: Stater Bros, Sweetex, Spectrum, Earth

Balance, Crisco• Ireland: Frytex• France: St Hubert Pur Végétal• Italy: Il Grasso Vegetale, Burrolì• Greece: Nea Fytini• Cyprus: Spry• Other Mediterranean countries: Dorina• Canada: Tenderflake All Vegetable

Shortening• South America: Clover, Doral• South Africa: Holsum• Australia: Copha, Solite• Singapore: Redman• Malaysia: Krimwel• India: Olivia, Bake Master• Most other countries: Crisco

As we have described above, different brandsof vegetable fat (shortening) have differentconsistencies. If the consistency of yourshortening is somewhat medium-soft to slightly

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hard, like Trex, use 113g (4oz) in the recipebelow. If it is soft and very spreadable, likeCrisco, you will have to double the amount to227g (8oz).

Also note that these are popular brandsaround the world, but we have not tried all ofthem. We recommend you experiment untilyou find one that works best for you.

Tip

You may substitute vegetable fat (shortening)with powdered milk or coffee creamer.Surprised? It’s true! Powdered milk is a dryingredient and this will make your buttercreamstiff and allow it to crust slightly, but it’s not asstable as vegetable fat (shortening). Also, itmight overpower your flavouring as it can tastetoo creamy. You may add a little bit ofpowdered milk to your recipe if you need tostiffen it, but also consider just increasing theamount of icing sugar.

1 First rule: If you are beating the butteralone, you may beat it for as long as youwant.

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Beat butter at medium speed until soft and pale(about one to two minutes). Some brands of butterare more yellow in colour, so to make it paler youcan increase the beating time to about two to fiveminutes (A).

A

2 Second rule: As soon as you add anythingto the butter, you must limit your beatingtime to 20–30 seconds or even less.

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Add the vegetable fat (shortening) and beat foranother 20–30 seconds or less. Make sure to readthe notes about vegetable fat to determine howmuch you need to use. Make sure that it is wellincorporated and that there are no lumps (B).

B

3 Third rule: You may add milk but if you doyou can only keep your buttercream for twoto four days, as milk has a shorter shelf-life.If you use water, you will be able to keep itfor longer – about five to ten days.

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Add vanilla essence, or your flavour of choice (C)and water, or milk (D), then beat at medium speedfor about 10–20 seconds until well incorporated.

C

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D

4 Slowly add the sifted icing (confectioners’) sugarand beat at medium speed for another 20–30seconds or until everything is combined. You maywant to fold the ingredients together manuallybefore beating to avoid puffing clouds of sugarround your kitchen (E). Make sure you scrape thesides and bottom of your bowl, as well as the bladeof your mixer, so you don’t miss any lumps of icingsugar.

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E

5 Lastly, after scraping the bowl, beat again forabout 20–30 seconds and do not over-mix. Thisyields a perfect piping consistency of buttercreamfrosting (F).

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F

Tip

What is so good about our recipe is that a littleless or more of a certain ingredient is fine. Soif your buttercream is too stiff, add water ormilk. If it is too thin, just add icing(confectioners’) sugar. Adjust it as you need to– all in moderation of course. You may useyour buttercream straight away to cover and

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decorate your cakes but we suggest you chill itin the fridge for about an hour for best results.

COVERAGE

If you make the basic buttercream recipe with theamounts given, one batch will yield aboutapproximately 1–1.1kg (2lb 7 ⁄ oz) of buttercream.21

This will be enough to cover the top, the sides andfill a 20cm (8in) round or square cake, or decorateabout 20–30 cupcakes, depending on the design.This can be your guide to determine how muchfrosting you need to prepare. If you have any leftover, just label it with the date you made it andstore it in the fridge.

STABLE VERSUS UNSTABLE

We say buttercream is stable if it can hold its shape,regardless of the warmth of climate. Unstablebuttercream of course is not like this. Trying towork with unstable buttercream is the mostcommon problem we see, so we came up with a

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really stable recipe that does not sacrifice theyumminess of the buttercream.

The photo below illustrates both consistencies.When buttercream is stable (right), you will see thatthe edges of the swirl are very precise and it holdsits shape well. On the other hand, the unstable swirlon the left looks droopy and soft and just doesn’thold its shape well at all.

Tip

Keep your buttercream inside the refrigerator(chiller) and store it in an air-tight container orfood storage bags. You can freeze it for up to

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a month, letting it defrost thoroughly at roomtemperature before use. Do not beat it again ina mixer, just mix it manually. But of course,nothing is better than fresh buttercream!

Adding FlavoursThe flavour of the buttercream will enhance thecharacter of your cake. Your choice may beinfluenced by the occasion, your own taste or that ofthe recipients, or even by different cultures.Buttercream is flavour-friendly – you can easilyplay with flavourings, adding just a hint or makingthem as strong as you wish.

There are lots of different flavours you can add toyour buttercream. They come in the form ofpowder, liquid (essence/extracts/oils/liqueurs) andpaste, or can include cream, jam, fruits, meltedchocolates, tea bags, and so many other ingredients.You may or may not choose to omit the vanillaessence before adding the flavour of your choice. Tosimplify things, when adding any of theseflavourings to your buttercream, just be mindful of

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the consistency. You do not have to adjust theamount of icing sugar or butter initially, just make abatch of buttercream according to our recipe, thenadd your flavouring. If it becomes too soft at thisstage, add a little bit of icing sugar, or if it becomestoo stiff, add a little bit of water. Simple.

Be cautious when adding squashed or pureed fruitsas these have a high water content that may changeyour buttercream consistency dramatically.

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Equipment

In the following chapters we will be using plenty oftools and equipment, in a wide range of sizes andshapes – some commonplace, others more unusual.You will find out all about the use of each one as wediscuss the different decorating techniques.Everything listed below can be easily sourced froma local specialist baking shop or online suppliers.

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Nozzle Guide

Piping nozzles (also called piping tips) are thoseplastic or stainless steel points that fit on the end ofa piping (pastry) bag and that the frosting is forcedthrough to create different effects. They come indifferent sizes and brands, and each brand has theircorresponding numbers or letters inscribed onthem to indicate the output.

Here, we have illustrated all the different nozzleswe have used in this book. Each nozzle will producea different effect. For best results, the piping bagand its nozzle have to be held at the correct angle aswell, and we will teach you all about that that as wediscuss piping techniques in the following chapters.

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Bags and nozzles terminology

Piping nozzles are also known as ‘tips’ invarious parts of the world, but for brevity we

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will just refer to them as nozzles from this pointforwards in this book. In the same way, pipingbags are sometimes called ‘pastry bags’, but inorder not to be too ‘word-y’ we’ll just call thempiping bags from here on in.

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Colouring Buttercream

The colours you use will bring your cake to life.Choosing the right colour combination is essentialto make the design more natural, or more striking.In this section we will tell you how to blend thesecolours without sacrificing the quality of yourbuttercream.

To tint your buttercream you can use food colouringpastes or gels, and the amount you add willdetermine the vibrancy of your colour. Pastes andgels blend well with the buttercream and thecolours do not bleed. We do not recommend usingfood colouring powders and liquids, as both canaffect the consistency of your frosting and willcreate a high tendency for the colours to bleed.Liquid colours will make your frosting soft, and ifyou use powder, you will find that after about 24hours some of the tiny particles that did not totallydissolve on mixing will create blotches of colour. Inaddition, the powders sometimes have either a saltyor bitter taste.

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To regulate the amount of colouring you add, werecommend that you use a cocktail stick(toothpick), dipping it into your colour then addingit to the buttercream in tiny amounts at a time untilyou get your desired shade. Do not re-use thecocktail stick after it has touched the buttercreamor it will contaminate the colouring and could makeit go off.

This colour wheel, basically a rainbow in a circle, isa great way to see how colours relate to one

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another. Adjacent colours, for example blue andgreen, will always have a pleasing harmony, butcolours that are directly opposite one another onthe wheel, for example green and red, will alsocreate a lovely vibrant combination. Experimentuntil you find colours that you love.

A rule when adding colour

Remember our ‘golden rule’ when making yourbuttercream and do not over-beat. Bear inmind that when you mix in the food colouring,that counts as additional beating. To minimizethis, smear the food colouring into thebuttercream with a spatula or the back of aspoon first until you see that there are no morelumps or blobs of gel or paste thenfold-smear-fold-smear-fold your buttercreamuntil you get an even colour.

MIXING COLOURS

To tint your buttercream to make pastel and lightcolours is easy. Bright and deep colours like navyblue, black and red are the hardest colours toachieve. But bear in mind as well that buttercream

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tends to become a shade darker after while. Let theinformation below help you when tinting yourfrosting.

Navy blue

To get a rich navy blue colour, we usually combinefew shades of blue like Sugarflair Baby Blue, andNavy Blue (but not Sugarflair Ice Blue, which is toolight and bright) and a small amount of brown orblack food colouring paste or gel.

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Black

To tint your buttercream to a true black, we suggestadding sifted cocoa powder (unsweetened cocoa) toyour buttercream until it becomes dark brown thenadd black food colouring paste or gel. Cocoa is a dryingredient so it will make your buttercream a littlestiff so add few drops of water to adjust itsconsistency. The amount of cocoa you use willdepend on how deep a shade you wish to make.

Red

To make your buttercream bright red, combineeven amounts of any dark shade of pink (Sugarflair

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Claret or Dusky Pink), plus orange (SugarflairOrange or Tangerine) and any shade of red(Sugarflair Ruby or Poppy Red). To make a reallydeep red, add a hint of black or brown foodcolouring paste or gel.

Tip

If you ever need to cover and decorate a bigcake and you want to be very particular aboutthe colour, it is better to prepare too much

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buttercream than too little as it will be hard tomix the same colour again.

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Filling the Piping Bag

We find that the easiest, least messy and mosteffective way of filling a piping bag is by using a tallglass or vase to hold the bag and then using a spoonor a spatula to scoop the buttercream in. Try it andwe think you’ll agree.

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If you are using a nozzle, remember to fit this in thetip of the bag before filling it with buttercream bycutting a hole for the nozzle to poke through, justlarge enough for about half of its length to protudeout of the bag. Start with a small hole and make itbigger if necessary, because if you cut too large a

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hole straight off, your bag will be ruined. Do not betempted to overfill the bag, as you will end up in asticky mess! When the bag is sufficiently full twistthe top firmly to secure.

ATTACHING A COUPLER

Sometimes we use a tool called a coupler (seeEquipment). This two-part device lets youinterchange several nozzles without changing thebag. The two parts of the coupler are called the base(the bigger part) and the ring. You basically cut thetip off your piping bag to leave just enough of anopening, put the base inside the bag (narrow endfirst), put the nozzle of your choice over the portionof the base that sticks out of the bag then screw thering on to lock the nozzle on. A coupler also securesyour nozzle from popping out if the piping bag tears(which can sometimes happen if you uselow-quality bags or squeeze too strongly!).

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Tip

Some designs will require you to fill a pipingbag with more than one colour of buttercream.In this case it is best to put each colour into aseparate piping bag and then pipe them into anew bag (see Up and Down Two-tone Rufflesin Piping Textures and Patterns).

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Inspirations

We are always asked, ‘Your cakes are all unique –where do you get your inspiration from?’ Our secretis simple. We get inspiration from anythingbeautiful and interesting, from absolutelyeverywhere! Look around you, and if a certaincolour or design catches your eye the next thing youshould do is imagine how you will put it on yourcake.

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Covering Cakes

Here we will discuss how to cover your cakeproperly, making sure that the buttercream sticks tothe cake and provides a clean base for anyadditional decoration. Buttercream is physicallyheavy and if you don’t learn to cover correctly, thenthe buttercream might fall off the cake. The firstessential stage is crumb coating, so we’ll beginthere.

Crumb CoatingAs the name suggests, this is all about coating thecrumbs! This technique means applying a thin layerof buttercream around your cake to secure the loosecrumbs, before adding the decorative layers andfeatures. This is a very important step that youshould not miss, as this makes your outer layer ofbuttercream stick to the cake, giving the heavypiped and textured designs something to adhere to.

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1 You can use a palette knife to apply thebuttercream to the cake, but some cake sponges canbe very crumbly. When you use a palette knife, thetendency is to keep pushing and pressing thefrosting and this might damage your cake. Instead,we use a piping bag to apply the frosting (A).

A

2 Use a round nozzle or just snip the end off apiping bag. Using the same frosting that will go onthe rest of the cake, fill the piping bag and pipe

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around the cake with a good pressure so it sticks tothe cake (B).

B

3 Use your palette knife to spread the buttercream,using even pressure (C).

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C

4 Next you can use a cake scraper to level out thethickness of the frosting and to remove any excess(D).

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D

Tip

It is best to put the cake in the fridge after youhave crumb coated it, for about 30 minutes toan hour (or quick freeze it for 10–15 minutes)or until the surface is hard enough to work onbefore you apply any more buttercreamdecoration.

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SmoothingAfter the cake has been chilled for a short while youcan apply another layer of buttercream and create asmooth surface. The thickness of this layer will be amatter of taste. To be able to perfectly smooth acake takes patience and practice. Trust us, you willnot be able to ‘perfectly perfect’ it on your first go,but after a while you will get so practised at it that itwill become easy.

PALETTE KNIFE

This is the common way of smoothing a cake – nofancy tool, just a palette knife. You simply have tospread the buttercream frosting around the cakeusing the knife. The finish though is not perfectlysmooth as the knife will leave few lines and ridges.

You can use any palette knife, straight or cranked,and the best choice of size will depend on the size ofyour cake. We find it is best to use a shortcrank-handled knife for most occasions. Thedirection in which you spread doesn’t matter, but itis important to remove any excess and to make aneven layer.

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Tip

Applying a buttercream layer with a paletteknife will allow you to create an artistic finish.Don’t expect the surface to be perfectlysmooth with this method.

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CAKE SCRAPER

Make sure that the edge of your scraper is perfectlysmooth. Remember that any dent on your scraperwill be visible on your cake because buttercream issoft and delicate. Using a plain edge scraper is afairly quick way of smoothing your cake. With thecake on a turntable, hold the scraper upright andperpendicular to the work surface, and run itaround your cake until smooth.

If your cake is tall you may need to use a longerimplement, such as a ruler, a big cake lifter or (themost effective tool we’ve found) an L ruler or 90degree triangle ruler.

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Tip

For best results we highly recommend that youplace your cake on a thin cake board that isabout 0.5–1cm ( ⁄ – ⁄ in) larger than the cake.2141

See photograph B below. As you run yourcake scraper around you can press against theedge of the board, rather than on the cake

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side, ensuring an even layer of buttercreamand preventing you from pressing too hard onthe cake.

NON-WOVEN CLOTH

The following technique is similar to the ‘Viva papertowel method’ that is being used to smoothbuttercream covered cakes in the USA. However, ifyou don’t live in the States, you will need analternative that you can source locally, so we havespent some time researching a product that can befound all over the world. We tried and trieddifferent mediums until we came up with using anon-woven cloth, which has a smooth side and doesnot stick to the buttercream. Non-woven cloth maycome in plain white or with minimal design. A goodexample of this is the interfacing fabric that is usedin sewing. You can buy this by the metre or yardand it is very cheap. You can use any other similarnon-woven fabric as long as it is really smooth andhas no holes or ridges.

1 Make sure that you use either a palette knife or ascraper to smooth and get rid of most of the lines or

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ridges in the buttercream before the surface crusts.This will be very helpful later during the actualsmoothing process.

2 Since our buttercream recipe is a ‘crusting’ type offrosting, it is important that you wait until thesurface is dry to the touch, usually 10–20 minutes.Test this by gently touching the surface (A). If it stillsticks on your finger, it means you have to let itstand for few more minutes at room temperature.Don’t chill it in the fridge as this is a moistenvironment and will obviously not help in drying.

A

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3 Using the smooth side of your non-woven cloth,place it onto the surface of the cake and rub thecloth using your fingers to flatten any ridges andunevenness (B).

B

4 Slowly peel the cloth away and check if there arestill parts that need smoothing. Instead of rubbingagain, use a plain edge cake scraper gently and witha little bit of pressure (C), running it over the clothand all the away around the cake until perfectlysmooth (D).

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C

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D

Tip

When smoothing the side of the cake weusually start from the bottom and workupwards. We then scrape horizontally allaround the cake before smoothing from thebottom up again until we get a perfectlysmooth finish.

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Sharp EdgesA couple of wise men and women of the cakedecorating industry once told us that if you want tocreate sharp edges on your cake, they must beabsolutely flawless. This can be a little tricky toachieve in the beginning, but as we always say,practice is the only secret.

It is very important to remove any excessbuttercream to achieve sharp edges, otherwise youwill find yourself in an endless repetitive loop:smooth the side, excess goes to the top, smooth thetop, excess goes to the side ad infinitum!

1 Using a palette knife, scraper or a small kitchenknife, trim the bumpy excess buttercream aroundthe edge of the cake. (A)

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A

2 Apply the non-woven cloth on the surface andsmooth again with a help of a cake scraper (B).

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B

Tip

Fresh buttercream gets exposed when youtrim the edges, so wait for it to crust againbefore applying the non-woven cloth.

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Before you decorate...

Let’s make it clear that the steps for coveringyour cake with a smooth finish are as follows:

1. Crumb coat

2. Apply a layer of buttercream and level/smooth with a palette knife

3. Smooth with a cake scraper

4. Smooth further with non-woven cloth

5. Create sharp edges

Important! In the chapters that follow we havecreated at least one couture cake todemonstrate the technique we have shown inthat chapter. It is assumed in the instruction forcreating the cake that you have already crumbcoated it. Note that you will need about200–300g (7–10 ⁄ oz) of plain buttercream to21

crumb coat each cake. This quantity is notincluded in the requirements list for the cake.

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Textured FinishRather than making the surface perfectly smooth,here is another way of covering your cake. Theresults can be achieved in a flash just by using somesimple tools.

Fork

Simply run the fork over the surface of your cake inwhichever direction you wish. You can even do awavy motion.

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Palette knife

By using a simple palette knife, you can giveanother textured finish on your cake. Differentstokes will result in various lovely effects.

Cake comb

Cake combs are another fantastic tool for creatingtexture. They are made of either thin plastic ormetal and have different contoured edges – waves,ridges and swirls. You just run the edge of thescraper around your cake to form ridges. To get thebest result, comb your cake when the buttercream isfreshly applied and use a cake turntable.

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Impression mats

Impression mats (also called texture mats) areplastic or silicone sheets with fantastic designs thatwill allow you to emboss prints directly into thesurface of your cake. They are mostly used forsugarpaste (rolled fondant) but since ourbuttercream recipe is a ‘crusting’ type, you will beable to use these sheets. Just make sure that surfaceof the cake has already crusted properly by touchingit gently with your finger.

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Covering Boards

Since our method of cake decorating is is all aboutbuttercream, you might guess that we do not useany other medium. However, it is tricky to coveryour board with buttercream so we have thought ofa more creative way of doing it.

In everything we do, we try to make the techniqueeasy, be adventurous and create brilliant results. Soif we are using a cake board, we always choose themost exciting materials we can source, like fancypapers, fabrics, and colourful tissue papers. Tothese you can add on accessories that willcomplement the design of the cake. Make sure youdon’t over do it – avoid colours that clash with yourcake design, and make sure nothing upstages yourcake, which should, after all, be the centre ofattention.

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You will need…

• Ribbons, buttons, ruffles, lace

• Wrapping paper, colourful tissue paper, crêpepaper, fabrics

• Glue gun/stick (hot melt), double sided tape,clear tape, adhesive spray, craft glue

• Scissors

• Pen or pencil

• Clear cellophane, contact paper/sheet

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SQUARE

Whatever the size of cake board you are covering,cut your chosen paper or fabric about 5–7.5cm(2–3in) and your cellophane or contact paper about13–15cm (5–6in) larger all round than the board,then cut across the corners as shown. Place yourpaper on the board and fold all the sides under,then secure on the back of the board with cleartape. Make sure that the paper does not have anylint, icing or any debris stuck to it, then repeat thesame process with your cellophane or contact paperto cover it. Put matching ribbons or buttons oranything else you have chosen around the edge yourboard.

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ROUND

Covering a circular board is basically the same ascovering a square. Follow the instructions above,but instead of snipping the corners, you just have tomake small cuts approximately 2cm (1in) apart andup to the board all the way around your paperbefore you secure each piece with clear tape. Repeatwith the cellophane or contact paper, then finishwith accessories around the board.

Tip

You may come across all sorts of differentshapes of board – hearts, ovals and hexagons.

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Follow the advice for covering a square boardfor all the angular shapes, and the instructionsfor a round board for the curvy ones.

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Dowelling

Anything that is complex and made up of differentparts will need some structure to hold everythingtogether in one piece. The same principle applies tostacking layers of cake. You will need plastic orwooden dowels, inserted properly into the lowertiers of a cake, to bear the weight of the layers aboveand to make sure that each cake layer does not getsquashed and collapse.

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Tip

Instructions for making the cake above can befound in the Lace tutorial in the Textiles Effectschapter.

You will need…

• Dowel rods, plastic or wooden

• Wire cutter, big scissors or serrated knife

• Pen or pencil

• Thin cake board

• Ruler

• Cocktail stick (toothpick)

1 Measure the height of the bottom tier of your cakewith a ruler. This measurement will be the guide forcutting your dowel rods. Use wire cutters, bigscissors or a serrated knife to carefully cut as manydowels as you need (see step three) to the samelength (A).

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A

2 On a piece of paper or a thin cardboard, mark outthe outline of the next tier up and cut the paper orcard to size. Centre this template on the bottom tierof the cake and use a cocktail stick (toothpick) toclearly mark the outline (B).

B

3 Mark the position for the dowels and insert thedowel rods into the bottom tier, evenly spaced

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about 4cm (1 ⁄ in) in from the edge of the marked21

outline (C). Push the dowel rods straight down untileach touches the cake board (D). The number ofdowels to put into the cake depends on the size ofthe cake. The bigger the cake, the more dowelsrequired.

C

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D

4 Repeat this procedure for every tier on the cake. Ifit is really a tall cake, you will need to insert a longdowel straight through all the tiers, through thecentre of the cake to stabilize it.

Tip

To measure the height of your cake tier youcan push a dowel right into it from the top untilit touches the cake board, then mark the placeon the dowel that the cake frosting reaches,using a pencil or pen, then remove the doweland cut it off at the marked length.

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Cupcakes

Cupcakes are always fun to bake – there’s lesspressure than when you make a full-size cake. Youcan try out swirls and peaks and perfect your pipingtechnique with these basic patterns. However, thesmall scale of a cupcake also allows you to practisethe piped flowers you will find in the followingchapters. Why not try one of each flowers to createa lovely garden of buttercream? Then check outhow to make a cupcake bouquet at the end of thePiping Flowers chapter.

As well as ideas for a range of lovely patterns andtextures to pipe on your cupcakes, on the followingpages we will also share a simple adaptable cupcakerecipe that always works for us.

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Simple Cupcake RecipeThis is a great basic recipe, which you can adapt tosuit your needs by swapping the vanilla extract for avariety of other flavourings.You will need…

• 150g (5 ⁄ oz) plain flour21

• 150g (5 ⁄ oz) sugar21

• 150g (5 ⁄ oz) butter21

• 2 eggs

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• 2 tbsp milk

• ⁄ tsp baking powder41

• ⁄ tsp salt21

• 1-2 tsp pure vanilla extract

• Mixer (hand-held or stand mixer)

• Mixing bowls

• Spatula

• Sieve (sifter/strainer)

• Measuring spoons

• Two twelve-hole cupcake baking pans

• Cupcake cases (liners)

• Oven thermometer (optional)

Makes about 15–18 standard size cupcakes

1 Preheat the oven to 150°C/300°F/Gas Mark 2. Ifthe temperature is too high, there is a tendency foryour cupcakes to rise too much and become‘domed’.

2 Using a mixer, beat together the butter and sugarin a bowl for about 20–30 seconds, or until lightand fluffy. Add the eggs, vanilla extract and milk to

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the bowl and beat for another 10–20 seconds, oruntil the mixture is smooth.

3 In another bowl, sift together the flour, bakingpowder and salt, and set aside.

4 Combine the wet and dry ingredients. Reduce themixer speed to low-medium and beat for 20–40seconds until all ingredients are just combined, donot over-beat. Scrape down the side of the bowlwith a spatula.

5 Put one cupcake case in each hole of the cupcakebaking pans. You won’t have enough batter for all24 holes, probably nearer 15 or 18.

6 Divide the batter between the paper cases and fillcases about two thirds full. We use an ice creamscoop to distribute the batter equally. It is best touse greaseproof (wax paper) cupcake or muffincases as the plain paper ones have a tendency topeel off the cakes.

7 Bake in the middle of the oven until the cupcakeshave risen and are just firm to the touch in thecentre. Check your cupcakes after 20–22 minutesby inserting a cocktail stick (toothpick). If it comesout clean, the cupcakes are ready. Remove them

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carefully from the pan and let them cool on a wirerack.

Tip

The temperature inside your oven plays amajor role in achieving perfectly bakedgoodies. To avoid too much rising or sinking ofyour cakes you need the temperature to be aconstant 150–160°C (300–325°F/Gas mark2–3). Therefore we highly recommend usingan oven thermometer. Keep one handy so thatyou can be sure you have the righttemperature inside your oven.

Piped PeaksThis is one of the easiest and cutest ways todecorate a cupcake. All you need is a simple star orround nozzle and a piping bag. Want to make iteven simpler? Just get a piping bag and snip off theend to make a little hole the same size as a simpleround nozzle.

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1 You can either use a big star or a round nozzle tocreate these peaks. In this demonstration we haveused a star nozzle and the two-tone techniquedescribed in the Piping Textures and Patternschapter. Hold your piping bag at a 45 degree anglewith your nozzle slightly above the surface of thecupcake (A).

A

2 Squeeze piping bag until the buttercream comesout and forms a blob then slowly pull away yournozzle. When you have reached the height that youwish, stop squeezing your piping bag and pull awayabruptly to form a nice peak (B).

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B

3 Repeat the process (C) until the cupcake is fullycovered. You can pipe peaks on top of each other fora more towering effect.

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C

If you are using a star nozzle, it is nice to twistnozzle while pulling the piping bag away.

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This cupcake was decorated using a plain roundnozzle to make smooth peaks.

Piped SwirlsSwirls are another extremely easy way to decoratecupcakes. As long as you have a piping bag and astar or plain nozzle, you are ready to pipe away!Colour and flavour the buttercream or decorate itwith sprinkles of your choice to compliment theflavour of the cupcake and the colour scheme. You

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can achieve different effects with each style ofnozzle.

1 To do the swirls, you can either start from themiddle or at the edge of the cupcake.

2 Hold your piping bag at a 45 degree angle withyour nozzle slightly above the surface of thecupcake.

3 Give your piping bag a good squeeze until thebuttercream comes out and forms a star (A).

A

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4 Without releasing pressure, slowly turn yourpiping bag in a big spiral motion (B) until thecupcake is covered with buttercream (C).

B

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C

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This swirl is piped with a French star nozzle in thesame way as described above, but with the pipingbag and nozzle held vertically above the cupcake.

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Open star nozzle (Wilton 1M)

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Closed star nozzle (Wilton 2D)

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French nozzle

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Simple round nozzle

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Piping Textures andPatterns

Piping buttercream is the essential skill to learn ifyou want to use this delicious decorating mediumon your cakes. Strangely it’s often mistakenlythought to be difficult, but this couldn’t be furtherfrom the truth. In this chapter we’ll show you howto create amazing effects, from ruffles tobasketweave, using some really easy techniques, allachieved with a humble piping bag and a handful ofnozzles.

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Ruffles

Ruffles are such an easy and effective technique forcreating elegant cakes and can be achieved usingvarious different piping motions – back and forth,up and down and zigzag. All can be done quicklyand each will create a slightly different effect. In theBack and Forth Ruffles project, we’ve given thetechnique a little twist with zigzag panels of rufflesand ombre shading. You’ll see how to create astriped two-tone effect in the Up and Down Rufflestutorial, and how a wiggle plus a squeeze makes asquiggle in the Squiggly Ruffles tutorial.

Back and Forth Ruffles1 Cover your cake with thin layer of buttercream, asdescribed in the Buttercream Basics chapter. Thesurface does not necessarily have to be smooth, as itwill be covered by the ruffles (A).

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A

2 Using a side scraper or ruler, measure and markequal sized narrow triangles around the surface ofthe cake (B). If you are using alternate colours foryour ruffles, make sure you divide the cake into anequal rather than odd number of triangles.

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B

3 Place your chosen colour of buttercream in apiping bag with small petal nozzle (Wilton 104).Begin at the bottom and hold the piping bagvertically with the wide part of the nozzle againstthe cake. Continuously squeeze the bag in anascending and back and forth motion, filling themarked triangles (C).

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C

4 As you work your way up the cake, change pipingbag to the next shade of buttercream to achieve thegradient effect (D). Make sure you follow the markson the cake and keep the pressure constant to avoidwavy ruffles.

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D

5 Change piping bag to the next shade ofbuttercream and continue working up to the top ofthe cake making your ruffles smaller and smaller asyou reach the tip of the triangle (E).

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E

6 Change piping bag and start the next panel ofruffles, this time starting with the smallest ruffles atthe base of the cake and working upwardsincreasing the width following the marks on thecake. For contrast with the gradient ruffles we haveused uncoloured buttercream here (F).

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F

7 Continue working around the cake piping thecoloured and uncoloured ruffles alternately untilyou have covered the whole cake. Finish the cakewith tiers with different textured finishes asdesired.

Tip

This type of ruffle uses a lot of buttercreamand is therefore heavy, so make sure that

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each ruffle starts at the very base of the cakeso that the weight of the ruffle is supported.

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To create this cake…

• 20 × 15cm (8 × 6in) round cake (bottom tier), 15× 7.5cm (6 × 3in) round cake (middle tier), 13 ×7.5cm (5 × 3in) round cake (top tier)

• Dowel rods

• 800g–1.25kg (1lb 12oz–2lb 12oz) buttercream

• Paste colour: blue (Sugarflair Baby Blue)

• Piping bags

• Small petal nozzle (Wilton 104)

• Cake scraper or ruler

• Palette knife

• Cake stand or covered cake board

Cover, dowel and stack the cakes (see CoveringCakes in Buttercream Basics) and place on a standor covered board. Cover the top tiers using pattingstrokes (see Palette Knife Brushstrokes in PaletteKnife Techniques). Leave 200–250g (7–9oz) ofbuttercream uncoloured, then divide the rest intothree portions, colouring each a darker shade ofblue. Pipe the ruffles as described in the tutorialand finish by piping ruffle flowers, using theCarnation tutorial as a guide, around the middle

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tier (see Carnation and Sweet Pea in PipingFlowers).

Up and Down Two-toneRuffles1 To achieve two-tone ruffles, prepare the coloursyou have chosen in two separate bags, without anynozzles. Prepare another piping bag with a smallpetal nozzle (Wilton 104) (A).

A

2 Cut the ends off the piping bags with the tintedbuttercream and squeeze into the bag with thenozzle. The top colour (stripe colour) should besqueezed to the side of the piping bag where the

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narrow/pointed part of the nozzle is, then squeezethe other colour on top of the first (B). Use the sametechnique for the other colours.

B

3 You can now start piping either at the top or thebottom of the cake. Make sure that the narrow/pointed part of the nozzle is pointing in the samedirection that you want your ruffles to fall (eitherup as in C or down as in D).

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C

D

4 Holding the bag sideways at an angle and with thewide part of the nozzle touching the surface of thecake, continuously squeeze the piping bag withconstant pressure and drag it around the cake until

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the two ends meet. Slightly wiggle your piping bagas you pipe to make wavy ruffles.

5 Repeat the process for the succeeding rufflesmaking sure that they are close to each other andmaintaining the angle (E).

E

Tip

Make sure you apply slight pressure to thenozzle against the cake to ensure that theruffles stick to the cake. To adjust thethickness of the ‘stripe’ just turn your pipingnozzle and squeeze the piping bag until youget the desired effect.

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• 20 × 7.5cm (8 × 3in) round cake (bottom tier), 15× 15cm (6 × 6in) round cake (top tier)

• Dowel rods

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• 650g–930g (1lb 7oz–2lb 1oz) buttercream

• Paste colours: red (Sugarflair Ruby Red), orange(Sugarflair Tangerine), yellow (Sugarflair Melon),brown (Sugarflair Dark Brown), dark brown(Sugarflair Dark Brown and Black)


• Piping bags


Cover the cakes with a smooth finish, dowel andstack the cakes (see Covering Cakes in ButtercreamBasics) and place on a stand or covered board.Colour 200–250g (7–9oz) buttercream brown and50–80g (1 ⁄ –3oz) darker brown then cover the43

bottom tier using a blending effect (see Blending inPalette Knife Techniques) and completing it with aperfectly smooth finish (see Smoothing inButtercream Basics). Colour 100–150g (3 ⁄ –5 ⁄ oz)2121

of buttercream each of red, dark orange, lightorange (use a little less Tangerine paste to achievethis) and yellow. Use this and the remaininguncoloured buttercream to pipe the top tier asdescribed in the tutorial, and finish by piping acamelia at the base of the top tier (see Camellia andHydrangea in Piping Flowers).

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Squiggly Ruffles1 Divide and mark the surface of the cake into equalsize panels. You can use a ruler, toothpick or sidescraper to do this (A).

A

2 Fit the piping bag with a small petal tip (Wilton103) and fill with buttercream in your chosen colour(B).

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B

3 Place the wide part of the nozzle against thesurface of the cake, then continuously squeeze thepiping bag with constant pressure and wiggleslightly in random directions all the way to the topand until you fill each panel (C).

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C

4 Repeat the process on alternate panels, followingthe marks on the cake (D). In this project, weairbrushed the ruffles with iridescent gold – this isentirely optional but gives a lovely sparkling finish.

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D

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Tip

Make sure you apply sufficient pressure thatthe ruffles stick to the cake. Buttercream isheavy and you do not want it to fall off thecake!

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• 10 × 7.5cm (4 × 3in) square cake (top tier), 15 ×10cm (6 × 4in) square cake (bottom tier)

• 500–700g (1lb 2oz–1lb 9oz) buttercream

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• Dowel rods

• Paste colours: dark purple (Sugarflair GrapeVine) and yellow (mix of Sugarflair Melon andAutumn Leaf)


• Piping bags


• Airbrush with gold edible paint (optional)

Cover the cakes with a 200–300g (7–10 ⁄ oz) of21

yellow buttercream and give them a smooth finish(see Covering Cakes, Buttercream Basics), doweland stack the cakes (see Dowelling in ButtercreamBasics) and place on a stand or covered board.Colour 300–400g (10 ⁄ –14oz) of buttercream21

purple. Pipe the ruffles as described in the tutorialand pipe a carnation in the centre of each side ofthe top tier cake (see Carnation and Sweet Pea inPiping Flowers). Finish by airbrushing with gold(optional).

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Basketweave

Here we simply pipe diagonal lines on to the surfaceof the cake. The lines will appear to interlace withone another to create a basketweave pattern. Firstwe will show you our very own variation of thistechnique, which is really easy to achieve and bringsthe traditional version bang up to date with acontemporary look. Pipe matching flowers on topand your cake will surely take someone’s breathaway.

1 Measure the height of your cake and dividehorizontally to make equal bands of, give or take,2.5cm (1in). Mark visible guide lines in the crumbcoating (A).

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A

2 Before the crumb coat has crusted (so that theweaves will adhere to it), and with the smooth sideof the basketweave nozzle (Wilton 48 or 45)pointing upwards, pipe diagonal lines from thebottom of the cake up to the guide line. Usesufficient pressure so the weaves will adhere to thecake properly. Continue piping all the way aroundthe cake (B).

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B

3 Repeat the process and pipe diagonal lines goingin the opposite direction for the second layer, andso on. Make sure that there are no gaps and that all‘weaves’ are connected (C).

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C

4 For a neat finish at the base, using a darker shadeof Mocha tinted buttercream, cut the tip off thepiping bag and pipe a thicker border at the bottomusing the crochet technique (D).

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D

Tip

It’s a nice idea to use gradient shades ofbrown to resemble a real basket or give avintage look. You could also use a bigchrysanthemum nozzle for a nice variation.

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• 15 × 15cm (6 × 6in) square cake

• 1.05–1.4kg (2lb 6oz–3lb 1 ⁄ oz) buttercream21

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• Paste colours: light and dark mocha (SugarflairMocha), light peach (Sugarflair Peach), pink(Sugarflair Pink), dark green (Sugarflair SpruceGreen), light green (Sugarflair Bittermelon)

• Piping bags

• Basketweave nozzle (Wilton 48) or plainbasketweave nozzle (Wilton 45)

• Side scraper or ruler


Cover the cake (see Covering Cakes in ButtercreamBasics) and place on a stand or covered board.Colour 400–500g (14oz–1lb 2oz) of buttercreamlight mocha, and 100–150g (3 ⁄ –5 ⁄ oz) a darker2121

shade of mocha. Pipe the basketweave pattern andbottom border as described in the tutorial. Colourthe remaining buttercream in the followingquantities: 150–200g (5 ⁄ –7oz) light peach for the21

roses, 150–200g (5 ⁄ –7oz) pink for the21

chrysanthemums, 100–150g (3 ⁄ –5 ⁄ oz) dark green2121

for the leaves and 150–200g (5 ⁄ –7oz) light green21

for the foliage. Finish by piping roses,chrysanthemums and leaves on top (see Rose andRosebud, Chrysanthemum and Daffodil andSunflower and Leaves in Piping Flowers) and

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adding light green foliage (see Ruffles in PipingTexture and Patterns) on the top and sides.

Traditional Basketweave1 Mark a vertical line using a smooth edge cakescraper on the cake side to ensure your verticalbasketweave lines are straight. You can judge therest from this first line (A).

A

2 Using Wilton nozzle number 45, or 48, with thesmooth side pointing upwards, pipe a vertical line.

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You can start at either the top or the bottom,whichever you find easier (B).

B

3 Pipe about 4–5cm (1 ⁄ –2in) short horizontal lines21

across the vertical line starting from either the topor bottom of the cake. The spacing between thelines should be the same as the width of the nozzle’stip opening (C).

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C

Tip

It can be tricky to pipe straight lines, especiallyon the side of a cake. We suggest you practisepiping on a cake board held upright. Anothereffective tip is to drag the piping bag quickly –this makes the lines less wiggly.

4 Pipe another vertical line that overlaps thehorizontal lines. The spacing between the verticallines should be less than 2.5cm (1in). Pipe another

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sets of horizontal lines and make sure each line isslightly buried under the first vertical line (D).

D

5 Repeat the process of piping vertical andhorizontal lines until you cover the whole cake (E).

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E

Tip

To create a different effect while using thesame basketweave technique, try using asimple medium round nozzle or just cut the tipoff a piping bag to create a medium-size hole.Or use two or more different shades of thecolour you have chosen.

Tip

Make sure that you pipe the ‘weaves’ beforethe crumb coat has crusted and with a little

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pressure so they stick to your cake. Thehorizontal weaves should seem like they arecoming from underneath the vertical weaves tomake the basketweave look more realistic.

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• 15 × 15cm (6 × 6in) round cake


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• Paste colours: turquoise (Sugarflair Turquoise),dark pink (Sugarflair Claret), light green (SugarflairBittermelon)

• Piping bags

• Basketweave nozzle (Wilton 48) or plainbasketweave nozzle (Wilton 45) and small petalnozzle (Wilton 104)



Cover the cake (see Covering Cakes in ButtercreamBasics), and place on a covered cake board or stand.Colour 400–500g (14oz–1lb 2oz) of buttercreamturquoise, and 100–150g (3 ⁄ –5 ⁄ oz) a darker shade2121

of turquoise. Pipe the basketweave pattern asdescribed in the tutorial. Pipe a border using thecrochet technique (see Crochet in Textile Effects)on the top edge of the cake with the darker shade ofturquoise and a piping bag with the tip snipped off.Finish by piping camellias around the base using400–500g (14oz–1lb 2oz) dark pink for the petalsand 50–100g (1 ⁄ –3 ⁄ oz) light green for the centres2143

(see Camellia and Hydrangea in Piping Flowers).

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E- and C-scrolls

This is one of the easiest techniques to master, yet itcan produce a really rather elegant design whennicely coordinated, the lavish swirls create a richand elaborate texture. The two types are namedafter the letter of the alphabet that they resemble.We like to combine the e- and c-scrolls to achieve aVictorian look on a cake.

1 Using a ruler, mark 6.5–7.5cm (2 ⁄ –3in) wide21

diagonal bands on all sides of the cake (A).

A

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2 Using a star nozzle (Wilton 16), pipe a reversec-scroll by holding the piping bag straight on to thecake with the curve tip touching the surface (B).Squeeze with even pressure, and move a little to theleft before circling up and around to the right, downand then and up, creating a backwards letter ‘c’.

B

3 Pipe another c-scroll from the same starting pointas the first, but this time do the opposite (C). Thepiping bag goes around to the left then up until itcreates a ‘c’.

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C

4 Repeat the process until you finish piping insideall the diagonal bands (D).

D

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5 Next, pipe continuous e-scrolls on top of the guidelines. Hold the piping bag straight on to the cakeand with even pressure, squeeze the piping bag tothe right and around creating a small ‘e’ shapedloop (E and F).

E

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F

144

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• 20 × 15cm (8 × 6in) square cake (bottom tier), 15× 10cm (6 × 4in) square cake (top tier)

• Dowel rods

• 1.4kg–1.8kg (3lb 1 ⁄ oz–4lb) buttercream21

• Paste colours: peach (Sugarflair Peach) andturquoise (Sugarflair Turquoise)

• Piping bags

• Star nozzle (Wilton 16)

• Palette knife

• Edible pearls (sugar balls)

• Tweezers


Colour 600–800g (1lb 5oz–1lb 12oz) of buttercreampeach, cover and smooth the cake (see CoveringCakes in Buttercream Basics) and place on a standor covered board. Colour 400–500g (14oz–1lb 2oz)of buttercream turquoise, leave the rest uncoloured,and fill a piping bag to create a two-tone effect (seeUp and Down Two-tone Ruffles in Piping Texturesand Patterns). Pipe the c- and e-scrolls as described

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in the tutorial. Pipe random scrolls in peach (seeScrolls, Lines and Zigzags in Piping Textures andPatterns) and stick on edible pearls using tweezers.Finally, pipe the bottom border using the crochettechnique (see Crochet in Textile Effects).

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Star Fill

Forget about intricate patterns and complicateddesigns, for this star fill technique all you need todo is decide on a simple pattern, mark and pipe theoutline, then fill it with stars. It couldn’t be easier!

1 You can draw freehand or use cookie cutters tomark the outline of your patterns (A and B).

A

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B

2 After doing so, pipe crochet effect (see Crochet inTextile Effects) to outline your designs. Make sureto use different colours from the ones you will useto make the star fill to do this.

3 Using a star nozzle (Wilton 16), position thenozzle straight on to cake and firmly squeeze thepiping bag until the buttercream comes out andcreates a star, then stop squeezing the bag and pullaway abruptly (C).

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C

4 Repeat the same process until the space inside thepatterns are covered without any gaps (D).

D

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Tip

The pressure when squeezing your piping bagshould be the same throughout so that all thestars will have the same thickness and height.

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• 20 × 15cm (8 × 6in) round cake (bottom tier), 15× 7.5cm (6 × 3in) round cake (top tier)

• Dowel rods

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• 1.6–2.2kg (3lb 8oz–5lb) buttercream

• Paste colours: yellow-orange (Sugarflair EyptianOrange), orange (Sugarflair Tangerine), light brown(Sugarflair Dark Brown), dark brown (SugarflairDark Brown)

• Star nozzle (Wilton 16)

• Piping bags

• Cocktail stick (tooth pick)

• Cake stand or covered board

Cover the top tier with 600–800g (1lb 5oz–1lb12oz) yellow-orange buttercream and the bottomtier with 400–500g (14oz–1lb 2oz) orange, givethem a smooth finish, then dowel and stack them(see Buttercream Basics). Place on a stand orcovered board. Pipe the design following thetutorial, using 200–300g (7–10 ⁄ oz) each of light21

brown, dark brown and plain buttercream, and theleftover orange and yellow-orange.

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Dots

Dots are similar to the star fill technique, butrequire less buttercream. With dots your design canbe more precise because you have better controlover the shape of your pattern since you will beoutlining it with dots as well as filling it with dots.Yes, just dots.

1 After smoothing the cake, use cookie cutters tomark patterns, or draw them with a cocktail stick(toothpick) (A and B).

A

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B

2 Prepare all the colours you need in individualpiping bags and use scissors to cut a tiny hole at theend of each bag. Outline your patterns with dots byholding the piping bag straight on to the cake, andgently squeezing the bag until a small dot appears(C). Make sure to stop squeezing the bag before youpull it away. It is best to outline patterns first beforepiping the inside of the patterns.

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C

3 Repeat the same process and start filling theinside part of the patterns with your chosen colour,ensuring that you don’t leave any gaps in betweenthe dots (D).

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D

4 Pipe a dotted line as a stem to connect flowersand leaves. Pipe some more dots as borders. If yourdots have some ‘spikes’, wait until they have crustedthen gently press the spiky points down (E).

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E

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• 20 × 15cm (8 × 6in) round cake (bottom tier), 15× 10cm (6 × 4in) round cake (top tier)

• Dowel rods

• 1.65–2.55kg (3lb 10oz–5lb 9oz) buttercream

• Paste colours: pink (Sugarflair Pink), yellow(Sugarflair Autumn Leaf), violet (Sugarflair GrapeViolet), green (Sugarflair Spruce Green), lightorange (Sugarflair Tangerine), dark orange(Sugarflair Tangerine), black (Sugarflair Liquorice)

• Cookie cutters (optional)


• Piping bags

• Scissors

• Palette knife


Crumb coat, dowel and stack the cakes (seeButtercream Basics) and place on a stand orcovered board. Cover the cakes with 600–800g (1lb5oz–1lb 12oz) of uncoloured buttercream and givethem a smooth finish (see Covering Cakes in

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Buttercream Basics). Mark the surface with cookiecutters or draw your design freehand using acocktail stick. Divide the remaining buttercreamequally into seven parts and colour each one pink,yellow, violet, green, light orange, dark orange andblack. Fill your piping bags and snip the ends off tomake a small hole. Pipe your design following thetutorial.

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Leaves

If you think that piping leaves on a cake can only beused to accentuate the piped flowers or to coverimperfections, think again. By using a leaf nozzle,you can create a really striking texture on a cake.We’ve described two below, the first shows thatsimple plain lines become not so plain after all, andthe second makes a fabulous spiked effect. You canuse different colours to add visual interest.

1 For the first effect, using a small leaf nozzle(Wilton 352), hold the piping bag straight downwith two points of the nozzle against the cake.Starting from the corner of the cake, gently squeezethe piping bag as you drag vertically upwards (A).When you reach the top edge of the cake, stopsqueezing the bag and pull abruptly to leave a smallpeak.

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A

2 Repeat process around the cake with 1–2cm( ⁄ – ⁄ in) gaps between, using alternating colours of4321

white and yellow (B).

B

3 For the second effect, mark a guide line toindicate a border 2.5cm (1in) wide at the top andbottom of your cake. Identify the middle of whatwill be the back of the cake by measuring the

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circumference and dividing in two. From this point,hold your piping bag at a 20–30 degree angle andsqueeze the piping bag to create a row of five or sixsmall leaves vertically. Repeat the process and piperows of leaves close to each until you get back to themiddle part of the cake, making sure there are nogaps inbetween the leaves. Repeat the same processon to the other half of the cake (C).

C

4 To pipe a big sunflower-like flower, use a largeleaf nozzle (Wilton 366) to pipe the petals (D), thencut the tip of a piping bag and pipe ‘spikes’ for thecentre of the flower. This technique is described inmore detail in the Piping Flowers chapter.

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D

Tip

A small leaf nozzle (Wilton 352) is the only toolused to create these strikingly differenttextures. It all relies on how much pressureyou put in squeezing your piping bag and theposition of your nozzle. Do not forget to stopsqueezing your piping bag before you pull it.Otherwise, you will have a long andfunny-looking leaf.

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• 15 × 13cm (6 × 5in) square cake (bottom tier), 15× 10cm (6 × 4in) round cake (top tier)

• Dowel rods

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• 1.15–1.55kg (2lb 9 ⁄ –3lb 7oz) buttercream21

• Paste colours: white (Sugarflair Super White),yellow (Sugarflair Melon and Autumn Leaf), teal(Sugarflair Eucalyptus)

• Piping bags

• Small leaf nozzle (Wilton 352)

• Large leaf nozzle (Wilton 366)


• Ruler

• Scissors

Colour 400–500g (14oz–1lb 2oz) of buttercreamyellow, 150–250g (5 ⁄ –9oz) teal and the rest white.21

Cover both cakes in white buttercream and givethem a smooth finish (see Covering Cakes inButtercream Basics). Dowel and stack them (seeDowelling in Buttercream Basics) and place on astand or covered board. For the bottom tier, pipethe first texture described in the tutorial inalternating yellow and white lines. For the top tier,pipe the second texture described above in yellow.Finish off the veritcal gap where you began yourfirst row of leaves with a line of yellow dots (seeDots in Piping Textures and Patterns). Snip off the

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end off a piping bag to pipe dots in teal around thetop and bottom edges. Using the large leaf nozzle(Wilton 366), pipe a large sunflower on the cornerof the bottom tier in teal, adding dots in whitebuttercream for the centre (see Sunflower andLeaves in Piping Flowers).

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Shells and Fleur-de-lis

The technique of piping shells and fleur-de-lis usinga star tip has been done for many years, with shellscommonly used as borders. But we will give it atwist. By using vibrant colours and combining thepatterns in interesting ways, we will make thisage-old technique into contemporary art.

1 For our variation on basic shells, we have piped astylized flower using the basic shell technique. Todo this, use a round cookie cutter or a cup or glassthat fits nicely on the side of your cake and mark aguide circle (A).

A

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2 Pipe ‘shells’ using a star tip nozzle (Wilton 21)starting at the edge of the guide circle. Hold thepiping bag straight onto the cake with tip of thenozzle touching the guide circle. Firmly squeeze thepiping bag until the buttercream builds up andcreates a fan shape, then slightly lift the piping bagand pull down towards the centre of the guide circleas you also gradually relax the pressure to create apointed end (B). Pipe shells next to each other tofinish one layer. Repeat the same process and pipetwo more rows, each row getting shorter as it drawsnearer to the centre of the circle (C).

B

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C

3 For the fleur-de-lis, using small star nozzle(Wilton 16), pipe each one by starting with a reverseshell. Hold the piping bag straight on to the cakeand pipe a short shell but pull your strokesupwards, not down (D). Then pipe another shortshell that starts on the left side then curls slightlyup then meets the central shell, do the same on theon the right. Both strokes join in the centre (E).

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D

E

Tip

Use differently sized star nozzles to createvarious effects. To make your designs moreinteresting, use the two-tone technique asdiscussed earlier in the Piping Textures andPatterns chapter.

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173

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• Paste colours: purple (Sugarflair Grape Violet),light orange (Sugarflair Tangerine), orange(Sugarflair Tangerine), dark orange (SugarflairTangerine)

• Piping bags

• Star nozzles (Wilton 16 and 21)

• Silver edible balls (sugar balls)

• Tweezers


Colour 400–500g (14oz–1lb 2oz) of buttercreamviolet, and 250–350g (9–12oz) each in light orange,orange and dark orange and leave the rest plain.Cover the cake with plain buttercream (seeCovering Cakes in Buttercream Basics) and place ona stand or covered board. Blend violet buttercreaminto the background coating at the top and bottomof the cake (see Blending in Palette KnifeTechniques) and give the cake a smooth finish (seeCovering Cakes in Buttercream Basics). Mark guide

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circles around your cake, spacing them evenly, thenpipe the ‘shell’ flower following the tutorial using allthe orange colours. Add silver edible balls in thecentre using tweezers. Starting about 1.5cm ( ⁄ in)85

from the bottom of the cake, pipe the fleur-de-lis inviolet, following the tutorial, all around the base,and add one silver edible ball to the centre of each.

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Scrolls, Lines and Zigzags

In this technique you won’t need any special tools,just a simple piping bag. We could call thistechnique ‘line art’ because just by piping curvedand straight lines you will be able to create anillustration. This looks great on a nice, smooth andsimple background that allows your design to reallystand out.

1 Measure and cut greaseproof (wax)paper to createyour pattern – here we’ve made equally spacedtriangles – and mark them on your cake using acocktail stick (toothpick) (A).

A

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2 Put an ample amount of buttercream of differentcolours in separate piping bags and snip off the tipof each bag to create a small hole. Pipe on top ofyour guide all around the cake in one colour, thenuse the rest of the colours alternately until youcover the whole surface of the cake with zigzag lines(B).

B

3 To make floral patterns, use flower or petal cookiecutters, positioning them on to the cake and markyour guide lines (C). Pipe around the guide thenpipe some repetitive lines in different directions tofill the spaces of your pattern. It is nice to mix somestraight and curve lines (D). After filling the mainpattern, pipe some freehand repetitive biggerscrolls to complement the structured patterns of themain flower.

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C

D

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Tip

To practise squeezing your piping bag withconstant pressure, we suggest that you pipescribbles on a plate, glass or any board.Fantastic sources of inspirations for pipedpatterns include tribal art, ‘Zentangle’, andAztec patterns to name a few.

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• 15 × 15cm (6 × 6in) round cake (top tier), 20 ×7.5cm (8 × 3in) round cake (bottom tier)

• Dowel rods

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• 1.45–1.85kg (3lb 3 ⁄ oz–4lb 2oz) buttercream21

• Paste colours: green (Sugarflair Gooseberry), grey(Sugarflair Liquorice), black (Sugarflair Liquorice)

• Piping bags

• Cookie cutters

• Ruler

• Greaseproof (wax) paper


• Scissors

• Cake stand or covered board

Colour 600–700g (1lb 5oz–1lb 9oz) of buttercreamgreen, 400–500g (14oz–1lb 2oz) grey, 250–350g(9–12oz) black and leave the rest uncoloured. Coverthe top tier with green buttercream and the bottomwith grey, reserving some of the green and grey topipe the lines on the lower tier, then give both cakesa smooth finish (see Covering Cakes in ButtercreamBasics). Dowel and stack them (see Dowelling inButtercream Basics) and place on a stand orcovered cake board. Measure the circumference ofthe bottom tier cake and calculate the size you needfor equal triangles. Mark them on the cake and pipe

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lines following the tutorial, starting with black andusing the other colours alternately until the cake iscovered. On the top tier, pipe the floral designs inthe same way, adding repetitive lines to fill. Pipesome freehand scrolls between the shapes. Finishby piping dots (see Dots in Piping Textures andPatterns) around the upper and lower border of thetop tier.

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Piping FlowersThere is almost nothing more popular than a floraltheme on a cake. Despite their apparent intricacy,flowers of all sorts can be piped in buttercream,which lends itself very well to creating delicatepetals and foliage. In this chapter we will show youhow to pipe a rich variety of flowers, from theessential rose, to flamboyant chrysanthemums anda posy of cottage garden favourites.

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Sunflower and Leaves

With their vibrant and cheery yellow petals,sunflowers can brighten your day, whether they areplanted in your garden or piped on a cake. This is avery easy flower to create and works equally well asa decoration for the top of a cupcake or as a featureon a larger cake. A few green leaves will really setoff the bright petals, and the following Leavestutorial can be used to add foliage to any floraldesign.

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Sunflowers are the first flowers that we ever learnedto pipe in buttercream and remain one of ourfavourites for their simplicity and striking style.

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They look so effective when piped singly or in pairson cupcakes. To achieve the raised effect in thecentre of the double-bloom cupcakes, pipe a blob ofuncoloured buttercream in the centre of thecupcake first, then pipe two sunflowers on oppositesides. Sunflowers can also be combined on a cake tocreate a masterpiece worthy of Van Gogh himself!See the cupcake bouquet tutorial later in thischapter to see just how effective these flowers canlook en masse.

Sunflower1 Using a piping bag with a writing nozzle, pipe acircle as a guide to the size of your flower (A).

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A

2 Using a small leaf nozzle (Wilton 352), positionthe nozzle at a 20 to 30 degree angle and have oneof the points touching your guide circle. Squeezeyour piping bag until it creates a wide base thengently pull away, slowly decreasing the pressure onthe bag as you do so (B).

B

3 When you reach the desired length of the petal,stop squeezing your bag then pull abruptly. Repeatthis process to pipe petals all the way around thecircle (C).

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C

4 Pipe another layer of petals at a slightly steeperangle than the first (30 to 40 degrees), making surethat they are close to the first layer of petals toavoid gaps. Ideally, you should pipe these petalsbetween those of the first layer (D). Finally, usingbrown tinted buttercream, pipe little dots in thecentre of the flower (E).

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D

E

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Tip

You can also use Oreo cookies, chocolatesprinkles or any similar edible goodies, to fillthe middle of the sunflower.

Leaves1 Using the same method as for the petals of thesunflower, use a small leaf nozzle (Wilton 352).Choose a point below the outer layer of petals andposition your nozzle so it is at a 20 to 30 degreeangle with one point touching the cake (A).

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A

2 Squeeze your piping bag until it creates a widebase then gently pull away to create the leaf (B).

B

3 When you reach the desired length of the leaf,which for a sunflower will be about the same lengthas the petals, stop squeezing your bag then pullabruptly (C).

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C

4 Repeat this process to pipe leaves at intervalsaround the flower (D).

D

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• 20 × 10cm (8 × 4in) round cake, or a dozencupcakes


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• Paste colours: yellow (Sugarflair Melon andAutumn Leaf) brown (Sugarflair Chestnut), mocha(Sugarflair Dark Brown) and green (Spruce Green)

• Piping bags



• Writing nozzle 1 or 2 (optional)

Plan the layout of your flowers, using paintings andphotographs as inspiration, to achieve a balancedlook. Cover the cake with plain buttercream and asmooth finish (see Covering Cakes in ButtercreamBasics) and place on a stand or covered board.Colour 200–300g (7–10 ⁄ oz) of buttercream yellow,21

and 100–150g (3 ⁄ –5 ⁄ oz) each of brown, mocha2121

and green. Pipe the sunflowers and leaves asdescribed in the tutorials then pipe some trailingstems in green with a writing nozzle.

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Camellia and Hydrangea

Camellias and hydrangeas can both be pipedstraight on to a cake or a cupcake, and use the samepiping principle. Camellia is a flower that you canpipe using a minimal amount of buttercream butgives an extraordinary look. The individualelements of a hydrangea bloom form a flowerheadwhich resembles a large pompom, and is anabsolute eye catcher.

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Aside from using fancy cupcake cases (liners), aclever alternative for a floral theme are thesesilicone plant pots, which you can buy from many

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cake supply shops, especially the larger onlineretailers. This will give a real ‘garden’ look to yourcupcakes. Rather than giving your cupcakes a plainsmooth covering, you can add more interest bypiping ruffles (see Piping Textures and Patterns)around the edge before you add your flowers ontop. Choose a colour that will compliment yourflowers. We have found that this light green usuallyworks well.

Camellia1 Pipe a guide circle the same size as you want yourflower to be. Using a small petal nozzle (Wilton104), position your nozzle with the wide endtouching the guide circle. Hold the bag at a 20 to 30degree angle and, without moving your piping bag,give it a good squeeze until the buttercream createsa fan shape. Stop squeezing then gently pulltowards you. This will be the first in your outer rowof petals (A).

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A

2 Repeat the same process to pipe another layer ofpetals (B). Make sure that the piping bag is reallyclose to your first layer so there are no gaps.Depending on how big your flower is, you mightneed to pipe few more layers of petals.

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B

3 Use green tinted buttercream to pipe some spikesin the middle then yellow tinted buttercream topipe dots to give a create a realistic flower centre(C).

C

4 Pipe some leaves using a leaf nozzle (seeSunflower and Leaves in Piping Flowers) (D).

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D

Tip

When piping petals, all you have to do isposition your nozzle at the right angle andremember these three words:squeeze…stop…pull.

Hydrangea1 Fill your piping bag with two colours ofbuttercream (see the two-tone effect in Up and

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Down Two-tone Ruffles in Piping Textures andPatterns). Using a small petal nozzle (Wilton 103),hold the bag at a 20 to 30 degree angle with thewide end of the nozzle touching the surface, thengive it a good squeeze until you create a fan shape.Stop squeezing the bag and then gently pull ittowards you (A).

A

2 Repeat the same process and pipe three morepetals making sure that all petals will start at onecommon point (B).

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B

3 Pipe clusters of flowers to create the flowerhead ofa hydrangea. Use green tinted buttercream to pipedots in the centre of each of the flowers (C).

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C

4 Pipe some leaves using a leaf nozzle (seeSunflower and Leaves) (D).

D

Tip

Piping hydrangeas is easy, you just need toconnect all four petals at one central point. Tomake them more realistic, use the two-toneeffect (see Up and Down Two-tone Ruffles inPiping Textures and Patterns). And don’tforget the magic words: squeeze... stop... pull!

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• Paste colours: light yellow-green, (SugarflairMelon and Gooseberry), light blue (Sugarflair BabyBlue), light green (Sugarflair Gooseberry), orange(Sugarflair Egyptian Orange), yellow (SugarflairAutumn Leaf)

• Piping bags

• Petal nozzles (Wilton 103 and 104)


• Scissors


Crumb coat the cake (see Crumb Coating inButtercream Basics) and place on a stand orcovered cake board. Cover the cake with 500–600g(1lb 2oz–1lb 5oz) of light yellow-green tintedbuttercream and smooth the surface (seeSmoothing in Buttercream Basics). Colour the restof the buttercream in the following quantities:150–250g (5 ⁄ –9oz) each of light blue, light green21

and yellow, and 250–350g (9–12oz) orange. Leave250–350g (9–12oz) of buttercream uncoloured.Pipe the camellias on the corners in orange withyellow centres, following the camellia tutorial. Pipehydrangeas on the top edges and corners using light

206

blue and plain for the petals and green for theflower centres, following the tutorial. Finish bypiping shells along the base of the cake in lightyellow-green (see Shells and Fleur-de-lis in PipingPatterns and Textures).

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Carnation and Sweet Pea

These two garden favourites are further examples ofeasy-to-pipe flowers. Both are always in seasonwhen it comes to cake decoration, and are theperfect choice for both full-size cakes and cupcakes.Sweet peas make a good alternative if you wantsomething different from swirls, and they are alsogood ‘filler flowers’ for a more elaborate floralarrangement.

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The frilly two-tone petals of a carnation make theperfect decoration for a cupcake and are much moreexciting and original than your average swirl. When

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paired with cupcakes in pink paper cases and prettyvintage china they make a real statement –experiment with colours that go well with your ownvintage crockery. A simple ruffle effect was pipedround the edge of this cupcake in pink buttercreamfirst (see Piping Textures and Patterns) beforepiping the carnation in the centre and then theleaves (see Sunflower and Leaves earlier in thischapter).

Carnation1 Create a two-tone effect by filling a piping bag(with attached small petal nozzle, Wilton 104) withtwo desired colours of buttercream in separate bags(see Up and Down Two-tone Ruffles in PipingTextures and Patterns). The ‘stripe’ colour will bethe one in the narrow end of the nozzle.

2 Using a piping bag with a writing nozzle, pipe acircle as a guide to the size of your flower. With thenozzle at a 20 to 30 degree angle and the wider endtouching the surface (A), continuously squeeze thepiping bag as you move it slightly up and down tocreate wavy petals. Pipe a circular row of petalsfollowing the guide circle (B).

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A

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B

3 Pipe another row of petals, starting slightly insidethe first circle, with the wide end of the nozzle heldat a 30 to 40 degree angle and touching the firstrow of petals (C).

C

4 Repeat the same process to create several layersof petals until you fill the middle of the flower andcreate a domed shape (D).

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D

Tip

A carnation uses a lot of buttercream and isquite heavy, therefore it is not advisable topipe one on the side of a cake where there isno support. It is best to pipe it on a corner,bottom or on a flat surface.

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Sweet Pea1 Using a small petal nozzle (Wilton 104), position itat a 20 to 30 degree angle with the wide end of thenozzle touching the surface of the cake or cupcakeand narrow end pointing out. Keep the nozzlesteady and moderately squeeze the piping bag untilit creates a fan shape petal (A).

A

2 Repeat the same process to pipe another petalnext to the first, but make sure you allow sufficient

214

space so that when you pipe the second petal it doesnot overlap the first (B).

B

3 Pipe two smaller petals starting at the base of thebigger petals (C).

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C

4 Pipe the stem and calyx with green tintedbuttercream using a writing nozzle 1 or 2, or apiping bag with the tip snipped off (D).

216

D

Tip

If you do not have a writing nozzle, you canjust snip the very top off the piping bag with apair of scissors to leave a very small hole.

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• 15 × 10cm (6 × 4in) round cake (bottom tier), 10× 7.5cm (4 × 3in) round cake (top tier), or a dozencupcakes


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• Paste colours: dark pink (Sugarflair Claret), palegreen (Sugarflair Gooseberry) and dark green(Sugarflair Spruce Green)

• Piping bags




• Writing nozzle, I or 2

• Scissors

Crumb coat, dowel and stack the cakes (seeButtercream Basics) and place on a stand orcovered board. Cover the top tier with 200–300g(7–10 ⁄ oz) of plain buttercream and the bottom tier21

with 300–400g (10 ⁄ –14 ⁄ oz) of pale green2121

buttercream, and give them a smooth finish (seeCovering Cakes in Buttercream Basics). Pipevertical lines of dots in pale green on the bottomtier (see Dots in Piping Textures and Patterns).Colour 100–200g (3 ⁄ –7oz) of buttercream dark21

pink and 200–300g (7–10 ⁄ oz) dark green. Pipe21

sweet peas round the top tier following the tutorial.Next colour 100–200g (3 ⁄ –7oz) of buttercream21

dark pink and fill a piping bag with this and

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200–300g (7–10 ⁄ oz) of uncoloured buttercream to21

create a two-tone effect. Pipe a large carnation onthe top of the cake following the tutorial. Use theremaining dark green buttercream to add the leaves(see Sunflower and Leaves) around the carnation.

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Lilac and Daisy

Lilacs are popular flowers that make an excellentchoice for borders, with the added advantage thatthey do a great job of hiding cake imperfections.Daisies define simplicity at its best. We think that itis the easiest flower to pipe and is an excellentalternative to massive swirls and peaks.

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Sweetly pretty, lilac and daisies make a lovelycombination resulting in a vintage mini bouquet.For variety, decorate some cupcakes with just a

222

single daisy and others with both flowers. Bykeeping it simple with these two blooms you canpipe lots of cupcakes, perhaps together with a maincake to complement them, in a relatively short time– ideal if you are preparing for a celebration partywith a big guest list. Why not dress the party tablewith fresh flowers, including lilac and daisies tomatch your cakes? The effect would be stunning!

Lilac1 Using a small petal nozzle (Wilton 104), positionthe nozzle at a 20 to 30 degree angle with the wideend of the nozzle pointing downwards (A). Squeezethe piping bag with even pressure and follow a tightU-shape, without the space in the middle, until youcreate a small petal (B).

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A

B

2 Repeat the same process and pipe three morepetals making sure that they all start at one

224

common point and that there isn’t a big gap in thecentre (C).

C

3 Cut the tip off a piping bag and use yellow-tintedbuttercream to pipe dots in the centre of each of theflowers (D).

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D

4 Pipe some leaves using a leaf nozzle (seeSunflower and Leaves) (E).

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E

Tip

Try using the two-tone effect described in theRuffles section of Piping Textures andPatterns. Since these flowers use a smallamount of buttercream, they are not heavy soyou can pipe them on the sides of the cake.Just make sure you use a bit of pressure asyou pipe so that they stick to the cake.

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Daisy1 Pipe a small guide circle, then using a small petalnozzle (Wilton 104), position the nozzle flat to thesurface of the cake with the wide end facing towardsyou. Continuously squeeze the piping bag with evenpressure and follow a long U-shape, but without thespace in the middle of the ‘U’, until you create asmall petal.

2 Repeat the same process and pipe more petals(A), allowing them to overlap a little, and makingsure that they all meet at one common point anddon’t leave a big gap in the centre. Continue untilyou have completed the circle of petals (B).

A

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B

3 To pipe the centre of the flower, cut the tip off thepiping bag and, using yellow-tinted buttercream,pipe in a continuous circular motion with evenpressure, until the spiral creates a dome (C).

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C


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D

Tip

For the daisy, your nozzle needs to becompletely flat on the surface and you muststart from the centre of the flower. Justremember these three words: squeeze, up anddown! For the flower centre, you can eitherpipe a dome or use chocolates or candies foran interesting touch.

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• 1.3–2kg (3lb–4lb 8oz) buttercream

232

• Paste colours: light chestnut (SugarflairChestnut), dark chestnut (Sugarflair Chestnut),violet, (Sugarflair Grape Violet), light green(Sugarflair Gooseberry), orange (SugarflairEgyptian Orange), yellow (Sugarflair Autumn Leaf)

• Piping bags


• Leaf nozzle (Wilton 352)

• Palette knife

• Scissors


Crumb coat the cake (see Crumb Coating inButtercream Basics) and place on a stand orcovered cake board. Cover the cake with 300–400g(10 ⁄ –14oz) of light chestnut buttercream and use a21

palette knife and 100–200g (3 ⁄ –7oz) of dark21

chestnut buttercream to create a streaked effect(see Blending in Palette Knife Techniques). Colourthe remaining buttercream in the followingquantities: 150–250g (5 ⁄ –9oz) each of violet, light21

green and yellow, 250–350g (9–12oz) orange andleave 200–300g (7–10 ⁄ oz) uncoloured. Pipe the21

daisies first with plain petals and yellow centres,

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then the violets with violet petals and orangecentres, following the relevant tutorials above. Pipesome leaves between the flowers in light green (seeSunflower and Leaves).

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Chrysanthemum and Daffodil

Chrysanthemums are mostly known for theirvibrant colours and shape. Adding them gives amuch bolder and more daring look to a cake thansome of the more conservative flowers. Creatingchrysanthemums involves a repeated piping actionwhich delivers excellent results. Daffodils too arevery popular flowers, ideal for a spring time cake,and despite the ‘trumpet’ at their centre theyactually involve a very easy piping technique.

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Daffodils are one of the first signs that spring hasarrived, while chrysanthemums bloom at the end ofsummer, so these flowers are plucked from

236

different seasons – but in cake decorating you’rethe boss and you can do what you like! No onecould argue that the sunny daffodil and the rich andexciting colours of the chrysanthemum don’t belongtogether on a pretty cake stand, especially whenthey are presented in these cute spotted cups. Forthese two flowers, the bigger they are the betterbecause the form is more obvious when the petalsare larger. Chrysanthemum nozzles come indifferent sizes, so go ahead and experiment withthem.

Chrysanthemum1 Start by piping a guide circle. Using achrysanthemum nozzle (Wilton 81), position thenozzle at a 20 to 30 degree angle with the curvedend down and against the guide circle. Gentlysqueeze the piping bag with even pressure whilepulling out with a quick stroke until you reach thedesired length of petal – about 5mm ( ⁄ in). Repeat41

the process to create one layer of petals (A).

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A

2 Repeat the same process and pipe two or morelayers of petals. Make sure you pipe the succeedingpetals in between the first row (B).

B

238

3 Cut the tip of the piping bag and use plainbuttercream to pipe spikes in the centre of each ofthe flowers by holding the piping bag at a 90 degreeangle and squeezing it until the buttercream createsa vertical line, then release the squeeze beforepulling the bag away abruptly (C).

C


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D

Tip

Make sure that you pipe the petals really closeto each other so that you cannot see any gapsin between. This flower can be piped on theside of the cake but be careful not to make ittoo big because this will make it heavy and itcould potentially fall off.

Daffodil1 Pipe a guide circle and ‘points’ to help youposition the petals evenly (A).

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A

2 Using a small petal nozzle (Wilton 104), positionthe nozzle at a 20 to 30 degree angle with wide endpointing down. While continuously squeezing thepiping bag, move the nozzle up (B) then turn it tothe right and back down until you create a longpetal (C). Make sure there is no gap in the middle.Repeat the same process and pipe a total of five orsix petals.

241

B

C

3 Cut the tip off a piping bag and use slightly darkeryellow-tinted buttercream to pipe an overlappingspiral as the centre of the flower, about 1–1.5cm ( ⁄ –21

⁄ in) tall (D).85

242

D

4 Pipe some leaves using a leaf nozzle (seeSunflower and Leaves) (E).

E

243

Tip

With daffodil petals, you just have to follow along ‘U’ shape without a gap in the middle.Make sure you pipe five petals or your flowerwon’t look right.

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• Dowel rods

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• 1.8–2.5kg (4lb–5lb 8oz) buttercream

• Paste colours: light yellow, (Sugarflair Melon andAutumn Leaf), mid yellow (Sugarflair Melon andAutumn Leaf), pink (Sugarflair Pink), orange(Sugarflair Egyptian Orange), light green(Sugarflair Gooseberry), dark yellow (SugarflairAutumn Leaf), dark green (Sugarflair SpruceGreen)

• Piping bags

• Petal nozzle (Wilton 104)


• Chrysanthemum nozzle (Wilton 81)

• Scalloped cake comb

• Scissors


Crumb coat, dowel and stack the cakes (seeButtercream Basics) and place on a stand orcovered cake board. Cover the cakes with600–700g (1lb 5oz–1lb 9oz) of light yellow tintedbuttercream, giving the top tier a smooth finish andthe bottom one a ridged finish with the cake comb(see Covering Cakes in Buttercream Basics). Colour

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the remaining buttercream in the followingquantities 250–350g (9–12oz) each of mid yellow,pink and orange, and 150–250g (5 ⁄ –9oz) each of21

light green, dark green and dark yellow. Pipe theflowers according to the tutorials, using mid yellowand dark yellow for the daffodils and orange andpink for the chrysanthemums. Add some stems inlight green and leaves in dark green (see Sunflowerand Leaves).

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Rose and Rose Bud

Roses are undeniably the most popular flower of all.Often described as the symbol of love, a rose neverfails to touch someone’s heart. A single rose on acupcake or a cake says it all. How much more will abouquet of roses express? With sufficient practice,you can master how to pipe truly realisticbuttercream roses that will create a stunning effect.

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The trick with piping roses is to know when to stoppiping the ‘arches’ and start piping the outer petals.Don’t make the mistake of making your roses too

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huge – try to have them just the right size so thatthey provide just the right amount of buttercreamin each mouthful. If the edges of your petals arebreaking, chill the piping bag full of buttercream inthe fridge for a few minutes and then massage thebag as if you were mixing the frosting. A two-toneeffect will make your rose petals more realistic. Forinstructions on how to fill a piping bag with twocolours see Up and Down Two-tone Ruffles inPiping Textures and Patterns.

Rose1 If you are piping the rose directly on a cupcake,you can pipe the bud straight on without piping abase. Use a petal nozzle (Wilton 104), which shouldbe positioned vertically with the wide end touchingthe surface and slightly tilted inward. As yousqueeze the piping bag with continuous, evenpressure, turn the cupcake clockwise and makeboth ends of your buttercream bud meet (A). Makesure that the bud will only have a small opening.

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A

2 While the nozzle is still slightly tilted inwards,pipe an arch shaped petal (as you also turn yourcupcake) that goes around the bud, making surethat as you pipe you are also slightly pushing thepetal against the bud so there are no gaps and it willnot collapse. Each petal should start slightly pastthe middle of one petal and overlap the previousone. Pipe about two to four short petals (B).

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B

3 After creating a bud with few petals around it,turn the nozzle straight then pipe a couple ofslightly longer and higher ‘arches’ (C and D). Pipeabout two to four petals. When piping last fewpetals, tilt the nozzle slightly outwards and makethe arches longer instead of higher. Pipe about fourto five petals (E).

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C

D

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E

Tip

The secret for piping realistic roses is in theangle of your nozzle and the height of the‘arches’. Make sure also that you pipe thepetals close to each other so they do not haveany gaps and they will not easily break whenyou position them on your cake.

4 Pipe leaves using a leaf nozzle (see Sunflower andLeaves) (F).

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F

Tip

We do not advise you to try to put roses on theside of a cake where there is no supportbecause they are heavy and will eventually falloff.

Making roses in advance

If you want several roses on your cake, youwill need either to make them in advance andfreeze them, or pipe them on a flat surface or aflower nail (A), then ‘lift’ them with scissors inorder to position them on your cake (B). For

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the freezing method, pipe a blob ofbuttercream on a flower nail, put a small pieceof greaseproof (wax) paper on top then pipethe rose. Transfer to a tray and freeze.

A

B

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Rose Bud1 Using a small petal nozzle (Wilton 104), positionthe nozzle flat on the surface with the openingfacing to the left. Gently squeeze the piping baguntil it creates half a petal then pull the nozzleslightly out (to the right) and up then fold towardsthe centre.

2 Pipe an overlapping petal by holding the bag withthe nozzle touching the upper edge of the first petal.Gently squeeze the piping bag and pull the nozzleslightly out (to the left) and up, then fold until itoverlaps the first petal.

3 Depending on how big you want your bud to be,you can repeat steps 1 and 2 to add few more petals.When done, use scissors to cut the tip off a pipingbag filled with green-tinted buttercream to pipe thecalyx.

4 Pipe some leaves using a leaf nozzle (seeSunflower and Leaves).

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Tip

Unlike roses, rose buds are always pipeddirectly on the cake, and look particularlybeautiful cascading down or growing up thesides of a cake. You can also use the two-toneeffect described in the Up and Down Two-toneRuffles section of Piping Textures andPatterns.

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• 950g–1.45kg (2lb 2oz–3lb 3 ⁄ oz) buttercream41

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• Paste colours: light blue green, (SugarflairEucalyptus), dark pink (Sugarflair Dusky Pink),dark green (Sugarflair Spruce Green), light green(Sugarflair Gooseberry)

• Piping bags



• Cake scraper or ruler

• Palette knife

• Scissors


Crumb coat then cover the cake with 200–300g(7–10 ⁄ oz) of plain buttercream and blend using21

100–200g (3 ⁄ –7oz) light blue green from the base21

up (see Blending in Palette Knife Techniques).Smooth the cake (see Smoothing in ButtercreamBasics). Colour 100–200g (3 ⁄ –7oz) buttercream21

dark pink, 200–300g (7–10 ⁄ oz) dark green and21

100–150g (3 ⁄ –5 ⁄ oz) light green. Pipe the roses,2121

following the tutorial, using dark pink and250–300g (9–10 ⁄ oz) plain buttercream for a21

two-tone effect (see Up and Down Two-tone Rufflesin Piping Textures and Patterns). Pipe a rose bud in

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the same colours following the tutorial. Pipe stemsin dark green using the crochet technique (seeCrochet in Textile Effects). Add leaves in dark green(see Sunflower and Leaves) and tendrils in lightgreen.

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Piping and ArrangingFlowers on a Cake

Now that you have learned how to pipe a wholegarden-full of buttercream flowers, you can becomea florist and arrange them on a cake. Here are fourtechniques you can use in order to position themsecurely and at the desired angle, to create just thelook that you want. Anyone would be delighted toreceive a beautiful bouquet of flowers – even moreso if they are edible!

1 To securely attach a flower: Pipe some rosesin advance and use the freezing method describedin the Roses tutorial. Ideally, roses should be thefirst flowers to be positioned on a cake. Decidewhere you want them and using a piping bag with asimple round nozzle (or just snip off the end of thepiping bag), continuously squeeze the bag to createa blob. Peel off a rose from the greaseproof (wax)paper and quickly rest it on the blob (A). A paletteknife and scissors can help you to tweak theposition. Hold the sides of the rose and slightly

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twist as you press down to make sure that it sticksto the blob securely so it won’t fall off.

A

2 To position a flower at a desired angle:Using a piping bag with a simple round nozzle (orjust snip off the end of the piping bag), pipe a blobbig and wide enough to create a flat surface for theflower to sit on. Make the blob high enough to raisethe flower up to the right height (B), and pipe yourflowers onto the raised blobs (C, D, E).

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B

C

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D

E

3 To pipe flowers on the side of the cake:Make sure that you apply a little more pressurewhen you are piping, so that you are sure that the

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flowers stick to the cake. Avoid piping heavy flowersthat use a lot of buttercream, such as carnations, onthe side of a cake as they will sag or simply fall off.

4 To use flowers as fillers: You can pipe smallflowers like hydrangeas, sweet peas and violets aswell as leaves to cover up the blobs and to fill thegaps between flowers (F). Don’t pipe all the leavesin the same shade of green, but prepare severaldifferent shades to make the results more realistic.

F

Tip

If positioning several flowers, pipe a guidecircle on the surface of the cake to ensure your

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blobs, and therefore your flowers, are evenlyspaced. When decorating a cake with anumber of flowers on top you can simplycrumb coat the top of the cake and add theflowers straight on top of that. There is noneed to give the top a second layer of smoothbuttercream as there is a tendency to use a lotof buttercream in the piping of the flowers andit can all become a bit too much!

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• Paste colours: dark pink (Sugarflair Claret), lightpink (Sugarflair Pink), red (Sugarflair Ruby Red),orange (Sugarflair Tangerine), purple (SugarflairGrape Violet), green (Sugarflair Spruce Green orGooseberry) and brown (Sugarflair Dark Brown)

• Piping bags


• Small petal nozzles (Wilton 104)

• Small leaf nozzles (Wilton 352)

• Scissors

Cover the cake using plain buttercream and givingit a smooth finish (see Covering Cakes inButtercream Basics) and place on a stand orcovered board. Colour 150–250g (5 ⁄ –9oz) of21

buttercream in each of the following colours: darkpink, light pink, red, orange, purple, green andbrown. First pipe the roses, then the sunflower,chrysanthemum, carnation, sweet pea and finallythe hydrangea and leaves according to the tutorialsin this chapter, and bearing in mind the advice onarranging buttercream flowers on a cake. Completethe cake by piping a border around the base (see

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Shells and Fleur-de-lis in Piping Textures andPatterns).

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Cupcake Bouquet

A ‘cupcake bouquet’ is the way we describe a flowerarrangement made of colour-coordinated,divine-tasting cupcakes. It is the perfect picture ofan edible work of art and makes a stunningcentrepiece or a lovely gift for any occasion. The keyelement used here is either a polystyrene(Styrofoam) ball, or several plastic cups. The cupmethod benefits from very easy to source materials,but both yield lovely results. Be a little playful whenchoosing your decoration and use differentcoloured papers and various accents.

Styrofoam-ball Method1 Place the Styrofoam ball into a flower pot andsecure it with a glue or sticky tape. You may coveryour pot with pretty fabric or leave it plain. Tiearound some matching ribbons (A).

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A

2 Place two cocktail sticks (toothpicks) in eachposition where you want a cupcake. The angle of thetoothpicks should be about 30 to 45 degrees tosupport the cupcakes (B).

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B

3 Arrange and stick your cupcake onto each pair ofcocktail sticks. You may adjust the cocktail sticks asnecessary to position the cupcakes close togetherand make sure as much of the Styrofoam ball iscovered as possible (C). Your cupcakes can be readydecorated before you arrange them, however, toavoid damaging your piped buttercream flowers, it’sbest to pipe them after the cupcakes are arranged(D).

C

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D

4 Fill any gaps with ruffled paper, fabrics, ribbonsor pipe something into the gaps. You can also inserta florist’s card holder for your message.

Tip

The decorated cupcakes can make yourbouquet top-heavy and therefore unstable.Unless you are using a heavy clay flowerpot,we suggest you add weight to the base byincluding a bag of pebbles or somethingsimilar.

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To create this bouquet…

• 12–15 cupcakes, standard size

• 430–570g (15 ⁄ oz–1lb 4 ⁄ oz) buttercream4341

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• Paste colours: yellow (Sugarflair Melon andAutumn Leaf), brown (Sugarflair Dark Brown),green (Sugarflair Spruce Green)

• Styrofoam ball (whole or hemisphere)

• Flowerpot

• Fabric to cover pot

• Tissue paper


• Ribbon

• Glue/sticky tape

• Scissors

• Florist’s card holder (optional)

Choose a monochrome fabric to cover yourflowerpot and black tissue for the styrofoam ball.Cover the cupcakes with 150–200g (5 ⁄ –7oz) of21

plain buttercream. Colour the remainingbuttercream in the following quantities: 130–150g(4 ⁄ –5 ⁄ oz) yellow, 100–150g (3 ⁄ –5 ⁄ oz) brown and21212121

50–70g (1 ⁄ –2 ⁄ oz) green. Follow the tutorial to2143

assemble the bouquet. Pipe the sunflowers andleaves following the tutorial in the Piping Flowers

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chapter, adding the leaves at the end to fill in anyspaces between the cupcakes.

Cup Method1 Join seven plastic cups together with clear stickytape to form the base for the bouquet (A). You canuse more than seven cups, depending on how bigyou want your bouquet to be. Put some rolled stickytape under the cups and stick them to a paper plate(B).

A

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B

2 Put some rolled sticky tape around your cups so itis easier to stick the tissue paper around (C). Youcan use any material you can think of – colouredcellophane is also a nice option. When you havecovered your base, tie a ribbon of your choicearound it.

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C

3 Cut the tissue paper into big squares, we used 20× 20cm (8 × 8in) for a bouquet of seven cupcake.Put the squares inside each cup (D). The tissuepaper will prevent your cupcakes from disappearingdown inside if they are a little too small for thecups.

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D

4 Lastly, arrange your floral cupcakes on your baseand accentuate with artificial, sugar or large pipedbuttercream leaves (E).

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E

Tip

We highly recommend the use of sticky tape tosecure the cups. Then there is no danger ofstaple wire getting into the cupcakes if a staplecomes loose.

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To create this bouquet…

• 7 cupcakes, muffin size

• 750g–1.1kg (1lb 10oz–2lb 7 ⁄ oz) buttercream21

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• Paste colours: light purple (Sugarflair GrapeViolet), pink (Sugarflair Pink), light green(Sugarflair Gooseberry), green (Sugarflair SpruceGreen)

• 7 small plastic cups, 200ml (7fl oz) or less

• Paper plate or thick cake board, about 15–20cm(6–8in) diameter)

• Tissue paper

• Cocktail sticks (toothpicks)

• Matching ribbons

• Sticky tape

• Scissors

• Artificial foliage, as accents

• Florist’s card holder (optional)

Use 200–300g (7–10 ⁄ oz) of plain buttercream to21

coat the cupcakes in a thin layer. Colour 100–150g(3 ⁄ –5 ⁄ oz) buttercream pink, 150–200g (5 ⁄ –7oz)212121

green, 100–200g (3 ⁄ –7oz) light purple, and21

200–250g (7–9oz) light green. Pipe hydrangeas(see Camellia and Hydrangea) in pale pink, andlight green buttercream, roses (see Rose and RoseBud) in pale purple and leaves (see Sunflower and

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Leaves) in green. Assemble the bouquet followingthe Cup Method tutorial. Decorate with tissue paperand artificial foliage, then finish with a ribbonaround the base.

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Cuppie Cake

How does the idea of a number of cupcakes beingbrought together to form one larger cake of yourdesired shape and size sound to you? Fabulous andoriginal, isn’t it? We call it a ‘Cuppie Cake’! Thedesign possibilities for this kind of cake arelimitless, so have fun with it. A Cuppie Cake willnever fail to raise a smile.

1 Arrange your cupcakes according to your desiredshape. Make sure that they are really close togetheron the cake board. When you are happy with thelayout, pipe a small blob of frosting on the bottomof each cake to ‘glue’ it to the cake board (A).

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A

2 Pipe an even layer of buttercream on the surfaceof the cake and cover as a whole. Some buttercreammight fall through the gaps. This is normal, andthere’s no need to try to fill the gaps withbuttercream (B).

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B

3 Level the buttercream using a palette knife andremove the excess (C). After this, you may decorateyour Cuppie Cake with whatever design you wish(D).

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C

D

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4 You can add some accents by inserting someribbons or artificial or piped leaves.

Tip

What is great about a Cuppie Cake is that youdon’t need to do any cutting of slices. With aCuppie Cake everyone can just take a piece ofcake, or shall we say cupcake, and there’s noneed to serve them on plates so there’s nowashing up either!

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• Covered cake board

• 7 cupcakes


• Paste colours: pink (Sugarflair Pink), dark pink(Sugarflair Claret), purple (Sugarflair Grape Violet),black (Sugarflair Black), yellow (Sugarflair AutumnLeaf), light green (Sugarflair Gooseberry) and darkgreen (Sugarflair Spruce Green)

• Palette knife

• Piping bags

• Scissors

• Non-toxic plants as accents (optional)

Arrange and then cover the cupcakes using200–250g (7–9oz) of plain buttercream, followingthe tutorial. Colour 50–100g (1 ⁄ –3 ⁄ oz) of2143

buttercream in each of the following colours: pink,dark pink, purple, black, yellow, light green anddark green. Fill a piping bag with each colour andsnip off the end to create a small hole. Pipe thefloral design (see Scrolls, Lines and Zigzags inPiping Textures and Patterns).

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Palette KnifeTechniques

Using a palette knife to produce a textured surfaceis a stress-free technique that allows you to finishcovering a cake in no time, but that is by no meansthe only thing you can do with a humble paletteknife. Try marbling, blending and painting – youcan use the knife as if you were creating an oilpainting, and the results can be stunning. Master afew ‘brush’ strokes and away you go!

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Palette Knife Brush Strokes

With just your palette knife you can achieve verydifferent results by applying different strokes.There’s no need to stress with sharp edges, just gowith the flow and channel your inner artist. Hereare the main strokes that you can use.

Vertical strokes

To achieve clean strokes, it is best to run the paletteknife from the bottom of the cake upwards and notback and forth from side to side.

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Horizontal/wavy strokes

Use the same basic principle as the vertical strokes,but this time, of course, move the knifehorizontally. You can slightly angle your paletteknife, with its tip touching the surface of the cake,then continuously turn your cake while it is on acake turntable.

Round nozzle with palette knife

Using a simple round nozzle on a piping bag, pipe arow or column of blobs right next to each other thenusing the rounded tip of your palette knife, gentlypress down and pull towards the desired direction.Do this one row or column at a time. You can

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prepare colourful or gradient colours ofbuttercream to make this effect even moreattractive.

Patting strokes

After applying your buttercream all over your cake,use the tip of your palette knife to repeatedly patthe surface all the way around while it is still sticky.This will create a unique texture.

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Thinning‘Thinning’, as you might guess, just means makingthe buttercream into a very soft and spreadableconsistency by adding few drops of water. Thepictures below show how thinned and unthinnedconsistencies behave when you spread them. Thethinned buttercream is easier to spread or blendwith a palette knife.

Unthinned

Rough and uneven when spread with a paletteknife, unthinned buttercream is ideal for most

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piping and decorating. This is the consistency youwill get if you follow our buttercream recipe (seeButtercream Basics).

Thinned

When thinned, your buttercream will spread in asmooth and level way, perfect for using with apalette knife to create some of the effects describedbelow.

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About palette knives

In this chapter we will not only use the typicalpalette knife that you will probably alreadyhave in your kitchen. Instead we have adaptedsome of the techniques used by fine artistswhen palette knife painting in oils, so we willalso be using an artist’s palette knife paintingset. These can be easily purchased from mostart supplies retailers. As you can see here,they have different shapes, lengths, handlesand tips. Forget about the length and the waythey are numbered and just look at the tips of

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the knives as these will be useful indetermining which knife to use in a design. Ifyou are just using a knife for spreading youcan basically use any size, but if you want touse it for a more specific design, like a flower(which you will learn about in the followingpages) the size of the tip becomes important.Use a small tip knife for small petals and othersuch details, and a big tip knife for largedetails. It’s a simple principle!

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Blending

This palette knife technique requires a carefulchoice of colours, otherwise the results can be amurky mess. Select a range of colours thatcomplement each other and produce an over-allpleasing effect – the clashing of just two coloursmay ruin everything. The actual act of blendingthem with your knife is very simple.

1 Prepare the cake by crumb-coating it. Make surethat the tinted buttercream colours are alreadythinned and in individual piping bags. Cut the tipoff the piping bags to create a small hole – there’sno need to use a nozzle. Pipe your first colour on tothe surface of the cake (A).

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A

2 Using your palette knife, hold it about at about a10–20 degree angle and spread the buttercream ina small circular motion (B), or with up and downstrokes. Be careful not to press too hard with theknife (C).

B

C

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3 Pipe your next colour but make sure you leave asmall gap in between the colours. Repeat the sameprocess to spread the buttercream and thengradually blend two colours together using thesame technique (D).

D

4 Just keep repeating the same process until youhave finished covering the cake with all the coloursyou have prepared (E).

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E

Tip

It can be helpful to chill your cake first in thefridge so the surface is hard and easier to workon. The only downside is that the tintedbuttercream you will apply could crust tooquickly because the surface is cold. If it does,

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dip your palette knife in hot water when youspread the buttercream.

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• Paste colours: violet (Sugarflair Grape Violet),lilac (Sugarflair Lilac), red (Sugarflair Ruby),orange (Sugarflair Tangerine), yellow (SugarflairAutumn Leaf), light green (Sugarflair Gooseberry),dark green (Sugarflair Spruce Green)

• Palette knife


• Piping bags

• Scissors


Cover, dowel and stack the cakes (see ButtercreamBasics) and place on a stand or covered board.Colour and thin the buttercream in the followingquantities: 250–350g (9–12oz) each of violet, lilac,red, orange, yellow, light green, dark green, andleave 250–350g (9–12oz) thinned but uncoloured.Apply and blend the colours following the tutorialand using the photograph of the finished cake as a

305

guide. Then with the remaining plain buttercreamand the small petal nozzle, pipe roses using thefreezing technique so that they can be squeezedclose together more easily around the base (seeRose and Rose Bud, Piping Flowers).

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Gradient Blending andPainting Flowers

This is a method of blending a gentle gradient ofcolour, and is great for creating a background onwhich you can ‘paint’ using different palette knives.These small tools will each give a different effect,and we’ll show you how to use them to paintstunning flowers. What is good about palette knifepainting is that you do not have to be precise withthe lines and shape, it is about blending. Thistechnique will definitely showcase the artist thatyou are, or will release the hidden art talent thatyou think you don’t have.

1 Select your colours and fill individual piping bagswith them. Choose colours that grade from light todark, such as the greens we have used here. Apply atextured covering of plain buttercream all over yourcake (see Palette Knife Brush Strokes) (A). You willbe blending the lightest of the colours with the plainbuttercream before it crusts.

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A

2 To create a gradient that is darkest at the top ofthe cake, for a sky-like effect for example, pipe thecolour on to the top of the cake (B), then spread itusing a palette knife (see Blending). Graduallyblend it into the plain buttercream (see Tip) (C).

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B

C

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3 To create a dark to light gradient from the base ofthe cake, start at the bottom edge. Using thetechnique described above, pipe your second colournext to the first leaving a small gap in between.Spread it, then blend the first two colours together(D). Blend the lighter colour into the plainbuttercream (E).

D

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E

4 To add more colour gradient blending effect inthe background, pipe a small amount of colour ontop of the white then gradually blend to thebackground (F).

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F

Tip

Do not keep stroking the dark colour into thelight as your dark colour will overpower yourlight-coloured buttercream, just gradually blendthe colours.

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Palette Knife Flowers

Tip

Look at your cake as a big canvas and decidehow you will arrange your flowers. You canhelp to visualize the overall design by usingtinted buttercream to pipe the centres of theflowers so you have a guide as to theirpositions.

1 For the sunflower, pipe a flower centre and guidepetals, then fill them slightly using the same colour(A). Using the shorter length palette knife, positionit at a 10–20 degree angle and spread thebuttercream, following the shape of the petal youhave piped. Stroke from the base of the petal to thetip on one side, then use the same stroke on theother side then once more up the middle (B). Avoidgoing back and forth so the finish is neat and alwaysmake sure to wipe your palette knife every after astroke. Repeat to create all the petals on your firstflower.

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A

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B

2 You can add a shadow effect by piping a smallblob of a darker shade of tinted buttercream at thebase of each of the petals then repeat the samestrokes to blend this colour in (C). Pipe the centreof the flower and add dots in a lighter shade for arealistic texture (D). Repeat to create more flowerson your cake.

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C

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D

3 For the delphinium, outline the shape (like a bigwavy teardrop) with small dots using violet tintedbuttercream. Fill in with small blobs of a mix ofviolet, white and blue tinted buttercream (E). Usinga palette knife with a fine tip, one that is almost thesame size as the blob, squish the blobs down. Thereis no need to wipe the palette knife – the more thecolours blend together, the better (F).

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E

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F

4 Finally, use dark green tinted buttercream, and apiping bag with the tip snipped off, to pipe thestems (G). There is no need to spread it as it willgive another variation in texture and athree-dimensional effect.

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G

Tip

When creating the petals at the edges of thedelphinium flower spike, squish the blobsdown as if you are pulling them to the centre.This will give a more defined shape and aneater result.

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321


• 25 × 15cm (10 × 6in) round cake (bottom tier), 20× 20cm (8 × 8in) round cake (middle tier), 15 ×13cm (6 × 5in) round cake (top tier)


• Dowel rods

• Paste colours: violet (Sugarflair Grape Violet),blue (Sugarflair Baby Blue), yellow (SugarflairMelon), dark yellow (Sugarflair Autumn Leaf),brown (Sugarflair Dark Brown), dark brown(Sugarflair Dark Brown), mocha (SugarflairMocha), light green (Sugarflair Gooseberry), darkgreen (Sugarflair Spruce Green)

• Palette knife painting set

• Piping bags

• Scissors


Cover, dowel and stack the cakes (see ButtercreamBasics) and place on a stand or covered board.Colour the buttercream in the following quantities:250–350g (9–12oz) each of violet, blue, yellow,dark yellow, brown, dark brown, mocha, light green

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and dark green. Keep 250–350g (9–12oz) forpiping, and use the remaining uncolouredbuttercream to cover the cake with an uneventexture (see Palette Knife Brushstrokes). Create theblended background using the two greens and mostof the blue buttercream following the gradientblending tutorial. ‘Paint’ the flowers using theremaining colours and following the palette knifeflowers tutorial.

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Marbling

Marbling is a technique where you can use as manycolours as you like without having to worry that youwill overwhelm your cake. In our version, you willpipe your chosen colours one after the other untilthere is a pattern. Afterwards, you will only have touse a simple cake comb or palette knife to blendthem together which will give a more sophisticatedlook.

1 Decide on your overall design and mark theoutline of some simple flower shapes using acocktail stick (toothpick) (A).

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A

2 Select as many colours as you like – in thisexample we used three different colours in eachpetal. Put all the tinted buttercream in piping bags,and use scissors to snip off the tips. Starting fromthe outermost petals of the flower, pipe short archesin layers of colours (B).

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B

3 Using your cake comb or a palette knife with alarge rounded tip, hold it almost flat to the cake,gently press down and drag it towards the centre ofthe flower. If you use a comb you will get a lovelytexture and a more variegated blend (C).

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C

4 Repeat the same process with all the petals,alternating the colours (D).

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D

5 Depending on how big your flower is, you can alsopipe two or more layers of petals, but it is importantalways to start at the outermost layer. Finish theflowers with a piped circle or with sprinkles.

Tip

Cake combs or zigzag cake scrapers come indifferent sizes but a 2.5cm (1in) wide one isuseful to have. They are made of thin plasticmaterial so you can easily cut a larger one toyour desired size.

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• 1.2–1.8kg (2lb 10 ⁄ oz–4lb) buttercream21

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• Paste colours: light blue (Sugarflair Baby Blue),dark blue (Sugarflair Baby Blue), violet (SugarflairGrape Violet), green (Sugarflair Spruce Green)

• Piping bags

• Scissors

• Cake comb or zigzag cake scraper or palette knifewith large rounded tip

• White sprinkles (nonpareils)


Crumb coat and place the cake on a stand orcovered board, then give it a smooth covering using600–800g (1lb 5oz–1lb 12oz) of uncolouredbuttercream (see Covering Cakes in ButtercreamBasics). Colour the remaining buttercream in thefollowing quantities: 150–250g (5 ⁄ –9oz) each of21

light blue, dark blue, violet and green. Create themarbled flowers following the tutorial. Apply whitesprinkles to the flower centres. Pipe a thickerborder at the top and bottom edges of the cake (seeScrolls, Lines and Zigzags in Piping Texture andPatterns).

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Transfers, Stampingand Stencilling

In this chapter we look at three ways to re-create anintricate pattern on the surface of a cake. Have youseen a specific design from somewhere that youdesperately want to use, but the details are toomuch to handle? Here is a solution: create a frozenbuttercream transfer or FBCT! If you want adelicate pattern to cover a large area, then a stencilmight be the way to achieve it, and there arehundreds of stamps to choose from to create a widerange of effects. Just delve into this chapter to findthe technique that suits you.

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Frozen ButtercreamTransfers on a Flat Surface

Typically, when a pattern is transferred onto a cake,a border of stars or swirls is piped around the edge,making it obvious that a transferred pattern hasbeen used. Let us show you the Queen of Heartsway! No one will even notice that you have used thistechnique – they will just admire the seeminglyimpossibly detailed pattern you have created.

1 Choose your graphic image and make sure thatyou re-size it so that it will fit on your cake, andcreate a reverse/mirror image before printing it.Next it is essential to draw a guide line around yourpattern according to the exact size of your cake (A).

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A

2 Place your pattern on a baking sheet (or anyfreezer-proof flat board), lay a piece of greaseproof(wax) paper on top of it and secure both with stickytape (B).

B

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3 Outline your pattern using different tintedbuttercream if needs be. When you have done so,begin filling in colours (C). Layer in the colours asyou go by finishing each one before using another.Make sure that there are no gaps in between thecolours.

C

4 When you have finished (D), quick freeze thepattern for about 5–10 minutes until thebuttercream is firm. This is important so yourpattern will not move. Remove it from the freezerand, using buttercream of the same colour as thebackground of your cake, pipe a thin layer within

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and up to the guide line you drew to show the exactsize of the cake (E). Spread the buttercream with apalette knife and even it out with a scraper (F).When done, freeze for about 30 minutes to an houror until the pattern is rock hard.

D

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E

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F

5 When the pattern is frozen, apply a thin layer ofbuttercream to the surface of the crumb-coatedcake where you will apply the pattern, making sureit is even (G). Take the pattern out of the freezerthen quickly but carefully flip it and position it onthe cake, lightly pressing it down so it sticks (H).Using your palette knife, remove the excess frozenbuttercream around the cake.

G

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H

6 Using the same colour as the background, applyanother layer of buttercream over all the remainingsurfaces of the cake (I). Remember that it is reallyimportant to make this layer the same thickness asthe pattern or the illusion will be spoiled. At aboutthe same moment that you finish this, you shouldfind that the buttercream of the pattern has becomesoft again. When this is so, smooth the sides andedges of the cake to a perfect finish (see Smoothingin Buttercream Basics) (J).

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I

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J

Tip

Before printing your pattern, be mindful thatyou need to flip or make a mirror image of thepicture before you print it out. Make sure thatyour pattern is really frozen so yourgreaseproof paper will peel off easily and notstick.

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• Paste colours: light pink (Sugarflair Pink), darkpink (Sugarflair Claret), dusky pink (SugarflairDusky Pink), foliage green (Sugarflair FoliageGreen), light green (Sugarflair Gooseberry), darkgreen (Sugarflair Spruce Green)

• Piping bags

• Palette knife

• Scraper

• Pen

• Ruler

• Scissors


• Sticky tape

• Printed pattern (see Templates)

• Baking sheet or any flat board



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• Writing nozzles 1–3 (optional)


Crumb coat (see Crumb Coating in ButtercreamBasics) and place the cake on a stand or coveredboard. Use the template supplied to create yourfrozen buttercream transfer by following thetutorial. You will need to colour the buttercream inthe following quantities: 200–300g (7–10 ⁄ oz) each21

of light pink, dark pink, dusky pink, foliage green,light green and dark green. Leave 1–1.1kg (2lb4oz–2lb 7 ⁄ oz) of buttercream uncoloured to apply21

the transfer and cover the sides of the cake. Smooththe sides to a perfect finish (see Smoothing inButtercream Basics). Pipe roses around the base inall the pink shades and arrange using the ‘freezing’method (see Rose and Rose Bud in Piping Flowers).Add some leaves in foliage green (see Sunflowersand Leaves in Piping Flowers).

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Frozen Buttercram Transferson a Curve

Now that you have seen how to do the flat versionof a frozen buttercream transfer, you might wonderhow you apply this technique to the curved side of around cake. We have spent lots of time and loads ofbuttercream experimenting and perfecting amethod to achieve this. Here we modestly offer youyet another brilliant innovation, brought to youexclusively by Queen of Hearts Couture Cakes!

1 Choose your graphic image and make sure thatyou re-size accordingly and flip it to make a mirrorimage before printing it. Place your pattern on abaking sheet (or any flat board) with greaseproof(wax) paper on top of it. Secure the image and thegreaseproof paper with sticky tape.

2 Using buttercream tinted in the colours yourequire, outline and fill in your pattern in layers.When you have finished, quick freeze it for about5–10 minutes until the buttercream is firm. Whenthe pattern is hard enough, take it out of the freezerand pipe over it with another thin layer of

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buttercream which is slightly bigger than thepattern (A) and smooth (B). The buttercreamshould be the same as the background colour ofyour cake.

A

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B

Tip

If your pattern is big or wide you will have todivide it into several parts, freeze each andreassemble it when you apply it to the cake,repeating the process described above foreach part.

3 Remove the pattern from the board and gentlyslide it onto the side of a round Styrofoam dummycake. Secure it with cocktail sticks (toothpicks) or

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headed pins (C). Freeze the dummy with thepattern on it for about 30 minutes to an hour, oruntil it is rock hard. Secure it in the freezer so that itdoesn’t roll over.

C

4 When the pattern is ready, apply a thin even layerof buttercream on the surface to which you willapply it. Take the pattern out of the freezer thenquickly but carefully flip it and position it on to thecake, lightly pressing it down so that the patternsticks (D).

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D

5 Using the same colour as the background, applyanother layer of buttercream around your pattern(E)and level it using a palette knife (F). It is mostimportant that the amount of buttercream youapply everywhere on the cake including betweenpatterns is the same thickness as the pattern.Repeat the same process to apply any other

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patterns. Apply buttercream to the rest of thesurface of the cake and remove any excess.

E

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F

Tip

When placing a pattern over the edge of acake, make sure the pattern is firm fromfreezing but not rock hard, so that it will bendto the required shape. Press it firmly on to thesurface and quick freeze the whole cake againto reduce the risk of the pattern sticking to thegreaseproof paper when you pull it off.

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6 When cake is crusted, finish by creating aperfectly smooth surface (see Smoothing inButtercream Basics) (G).

G

Tip

You can also pipe borders around your patternonce you have stuck it to your cake. If you dothis, make sure you follow the shape of yourpattern.

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• Paste colours: beige (Sugarflair Caramel), lightblue (Sugarflair Baby Blue), dark blue (SugarflairNavy Blue), orange (Sugarflair Tangerine), red(Sugarflair Ruby), light brown (Sugarflair DarkBrown), dark brown (Sugarflair Dark Brown), black(Sugarflair Liquorice), yellow (Sugarflair Melon)

• Piping bags

• Palette knife

• Scraper

• Pen

• Ruler

• Scissors


• Sticky tape

• Printed patterns (see Templates)

• Baking sheet or any flat board

• Cocktail sticks (toothpicks) or headed pins

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• Styrofoam dummy cake, to match size of cake

• Writing nozzles 1–3 (optional)


Crumb coat (see Crumb Coating in ButtercreamBasics) and place the cake on a stand or coveredboard. Use the Templates supplied to create yourcurved frozen buttercream transfers by followingthe tutorial. You will need to colour the buttercreamin the following quantities: 800–900g (1lb12oz–2lb) beige and 100–200g (3 ⁄ –7oz) each of21

light blue, dark blue, orange, red, light brown, darkbrown, black and yellow. Leave the remaining100–200g (3 ⁄ –7oz) of buttercream uncoloured.21

Apply the patterns to the cake and then cover thecake with the beige buttercream, smoothing thesurface to a perfect finish (see Smoothing inButtercream Basics). Pipe tiny flowers with theplain and yellow buttercream (see Dots in PipingTextures and Patterns).

TroubleshootingUsing frozen buttercream transfers is not difficult,but there are some pitfalls to avoid, and along the

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way you might encounter some problems. Do notworry – when we were experimenting we cameacross them too, countless times. That is why wethought we would show you some examples of whatmight happen, remind you not to panic, and offeryou our solutions.

THE TRANSFER CRACKS

If your pattern cracks (A), position it on to yourcake anyway, putting the broken parts as close toeach other as possible (B). Where the crack is,especially if there is a gap, pipe a small amount ofthe same colour of buttercream over it (C) and use asmall paintbrush to blend colours together (D).Then when crusted, smooth it (see Smoothing inButtercream Basics).

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A

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B

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C

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D

SOME DETAILS DON’T TRANSFER

Most of the time, the reason this happens is thatyour pattern is not sufficiently frozen and thebuttercream sticks to the greaseproof (wax) paperwhen you try to peel it off (A). If this happens,simply pipe over the pattern again in the rightcolours, then blend with a brush (B). Even if youworry that you are a hopeless artist, you will be ableto manage some small details. Just blending the

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colours with a paintbrush usually does the trick. Toavoid this problem altogether, make sure that yourpattern is really frozen or apply a very thin layer ofvegetable fat (shortening) to the surface of thegreaseproof (wax) paper before piping your design.

A

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B

FORGETTING TO FLIP THEIMAGE

This problem is particularly bad if you are usingwords, letters and numbers (A). The photographshows you what will happen if you forget to reversethe picture to get a mirror image (B). If you’vealready made the transfer before you spot yourmistake, there is nothing you can do but remove it,or scrape it off, and re-do it again. You can print itout again or just trace your image on the

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greaseproof (wax) paper and do the frozenbuttercream transfer on the reverse side of thepaper.

A

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B

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Stencilling

Stencilling is the process of recreating a design onthe surface of a cake using a ready-made stencil.This is an extremely easy technique. The grandnessof your cake will rather depend on the stencil thatyou use. Shop around, because there are somereally elegant ones that are widely available fromspecialist and online retailers.

1 For a 15 × 15cm (6 × 6in) stencil, put about300–400g (10 ⁄ –14oz) of tinted buttercream in a21

bowl and add drops of water to ‘thin’ it into aneasily spreadable, but not runny, consistency (A).Then put it in piping bag and snip off the tip tocreate a small hole.

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A

2 Cover your cake with a smooth finish (seeCovering Cakes in Buttercream Basics) then put itin the fridge to chill until the surface is hard enoughfor you to hold the stencil against it without itsticking. This will make it easier for you to work onthe cake. Position and hold the stencil on to thecake firmly then squeeze the thinned buttercreamon top of the stencil (B).

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B

3 Use a palette knife to level out the buttercreamand to take off the excess (C).

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C

4 Since the background buttercream is cold, waituntil the thinned buttercream firms up a littlebefore gently pulling the stencil away (D). Repeatthe same process on the other sides of your cake.

D

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Tip

It is best to wait for a few seconds to a minuteuntil the design has hardened before you pullaway the stencil to avoid smudging.

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• Paste colours: purple (Sugarflair Lilac), beige(Sugarflair Caramel), light green (SugarflairEucalyptus)

• Stencil

• Piping bags

• Palette knife

• Scissors




Crumb coat (see Crumb Coating in ButtercreamBasics) and place the cake on a stand or coveredboard. Cover the cake with a smooth finish (seeSmoothing in Buttercream Basics) using 600–800g(1lb 5oz–1lb 12oz) of purple buttercream. Colourthe remaining buttercream in the followingquantities: 600–700g (1lb 5oz–1lb 9oz) beige and150–250g (5 ⁄ –9oz) light green. Use the beige21

buttercream to create the stencil pattern on all foursides of the cake, following the tutorial. Pipe roseson the top in beige (see Rose and Rose Bud inPiping Flowers), lifting them into position withscissors, and add leaves in a mixture of beige and

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teal (see Sunflower and Leaves in Piping Flowers).Pipe a bottom border of shells (see Shells andFleur-de-lis in Piping Pattens and Textures) usingbeige buttercream in a piping bag with the tipsnipped off.

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Sponging and Stamping

Stamping has always been used in a wide variety ofpopular crafts to add a repeating pattern onto asurface. It’s a technique that lends itself well to cakedecorating. In our version, we take the blank canvasof a cake and, using just an ordinary sponge anddifferent colours, we create a vibrant backgroundthat can be enhanced using small tools like cookiecutters, plungers or rubber stamps, pressed into thesurface of the cake.

1 Tint buttercream in different colours, put intoseparate bowls and ‘thin’ them by adding drops ofwater to achieve a runny consistency (A). One of thecolours should be black, or at least dark, so that itcan be used for the actual stamping and will showup well against the background.

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A

2 Cut a clean sponge into small squares and dip onein one of the bowls of thinned buttercream (B).Gently pat on smoothed surface of the cake. Use adifferent sponge in each colour, and make sure thatbefore you apply the colours to the cake, youremove the excess buttercream. Repeat processuntil cake is covered with different colour patches,except your black or dark buttercream (C).

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B

C

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3 Dip your cookie cutter or flower plunger into thebowl of thinned black or dark buttercream, tapagainst the side of the bowl to remove any excess,and press it gently on the surface of the cake.Repeat as often as you like (D).

D

4 As a finishing touch you can add embellishments,for example you can match some coloured ediblepearls to the colours of the patches and apply themby piping a small dot in the right colour and addingon a pearl using tweezers to the centre of eachflower stamp (E).

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E

Tip

With this technique use white or plainbuttercream to cover your cake. Whenapplying the patches, you will only use aminimal amount of light tinted buttercream, soyou need a light background for them to standout. It is also helpful if your cake is chilled sothe surface does not dent when patted.

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• 1.5–2kg (3lb 5oz–4lb 8oz) buttercream

• Paste colours: light blue (Sugarflair Baby Blue),light green (Sugarflair Spruce Green), light yellow(Sugarflair Melon), light pink (Sugarflair Pink),black (Sugarflair Liquorice)

• Plastic bowls

• Clean sponge

• Scissors

• Small flower cookie cutter or flower plunger

• Colourful edible pearls

• Tweezers

• Piping bags



Crumb coat (see Crumb Coating in ButtercreamBasics) and place the cake on a stand or coveredboard. Cover the cake with a smooth finish (seeSmoothing in Buttercream Basics) using 600–800g(1lb 5oz–1lb 12oz) of plain buttercream. Colour theremaining buttercream in the following quantities:150–200g (5 ⁄ –7oz) each of light blue, light green,21

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light yellow, light pink and black. Reserve a tinyquantity of each to use to stick on the edible pearls,then follow the tutorial above to colour thebackground and stamp the flower design. Pipe alittle unthinned buttercream in the matching colourin the centre of each flower and add edible pearls.Using 150–200g (5 ⁄ –7oz) unthinned light pink21

buttercream plus a little darker pink for the centres,pipe hydrangeas round the bottom (see Camelliaand Hydrangea in Piping Flowers).

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Textile EffectsOpen your wardrobe doors and take a look at allthose tops, dresses and cardigans. Notice the printsand those lovely fabric textures? In this chapter,we’ll show you how to recreate these textile effectsusing luscious buttercream. With just a few smalltools you’ll be magically producing embroidery, laceand crochet like a skilled needleworker.

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Brushed Embroidery

Embroidered design, whether simple or lavish, willalways add an exquisite quality. To embroider yourcake, you will use a simple tool – a brush – hence,the ‘brushed embroidery’ technique. Flowers areparticularly suited to this method, so that’s what wehave chosen as our example, although animals andbirds and any other subject you have seen in anembroidery will work well too. Here, you will gentlystroke the buttercream towards the centre of yourdesign, leaving not only colour but also a wonderfulthread-like texture on the surface of your cake.

1 If you are using an image you have found, as withbuttercream pattern transfers (see Transfers,Stamping and Stencilling), make sure that youmake a mirror image before you print, especially ifyou need to be precise with the positioning of thepattern. When the pattern is transferred, over-pipethe outline with quite a thick line of buttercream(A). If you are piping the design directly on thesurface of the cake, make sure you use plenty ofbuttercream so you have enough to brush (B).

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A

B

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2 Look at your flower pattern as a whole, andimagine where the stem should be – that will be thedirection where all the strokes should go. Dip yourbrush in a bowl of water, and wipe off the excesswater with a tissue. Using your damp brush, pullthe buttercream towards the centre of your flower(C). Repeat the process to the rest of the petals. Ifyou have pulled all the buttercream, but need moreto complete the flower, over-pipe the outline againslightly (D).

C

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D

3 Pipe the centre of the flower with dots and spikesto create a three-dimensional effect, just like realembroidery (E). There’s no need to brush them butyou may do so if you wish.

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E

4 Using green tinted buttercream, pipe leaf outlinesand repeat the brushed embroidery method, thistime brushing towards the central vein of the leaf(F).

F

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• Dowel rods

• Paste colours: red (Sugarflair Ruby), black(Sugarflair Liquorice), green (SugarflairGooseberry)

• Small round or square tip paintbrush

• Bowl of water

• Piping bags

• Scissors


Crumb coat then cover the top and bottom tiersusing 800–900g (1lb 12oz–2lb) of uncolouredbuttercream with a smooth finish (see CoveringCakes in Buttercream Basics). Cover the middle tierwith 400–500g (14oz–1lb 2oz) red buttercream,give it a textured finish with a palette knife (seePalette Knife Techniques). Dowel and stack thecakes (see Dowelling in Buttercream Basics) and

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place on a stand or covered board. Colour theremaining buttercream in the following quantities:700–800g (1lb 9oz–1lb 12oz) of red, 200–300g(7–10 ⁄ oz) black and 300–400g (10 ⁄ –14oz) green.2121

Refer to the photograph and follow the tutorial topaint the poppies and foliage. Pipe the centre of theflowers to add texture, using a piping bag with thetip snipped off.

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Lace

Lace evokes such an elegant and timeless style,especially on a cake. There are a few lace-effectvariations and each of them is equally impressive.The Irregular Lace project involves freehand pipingusing black-tinted buttercream on a whitebackground to highlight the intricacy of the lace.The Fishnet Lace variation uses a piping patternthat creates connected diamonds, and we have asurprisingly easy way to achieve this effect. To makeit even more interesting, we used three shades ofpink-tinted buttercream to give a gradient result.

Irregular Lace1 Put black-tinted buttercream in a piping bag withor without a nozzle. You can use writing nozzlenumber 0 or 1. If you are not using a nozzle, cut atiny hole at the tip of your piping bag and squeeze itonto a tissue until you get the desired thickness ofthe lines (A and B).

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A

B

2 Place the tip of your piping bag or your nozzlevery close to the surface of the cake so that thebuttercream sticks to the cake and you avoid

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curling. Start by piping a single irregular smallcircle (C).

C

3 Continue piping small irregular circles next toeach other (D). Try not to lift the bag away from thecake between circles as this will create peaks or‘spikes’. See the tip in the Fishnet Lace tutorial fordealing with these.

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D

4 Continue to build up the circles making sure thatall lines are connected. In this project, we startedwith small circles, which gradually become biggertowards the bottom of the cake (E).

E

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Tip

Make sure that the buttercream is lightlythinned (add few drops of water) so it becomesslightly runny and it flows smoothly.

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• 25 × 7.5cm (10 × 3in) round cake (bottom tier),20 × 15cm (8 × 6in) round cake (middle tier), 15 ×10cm (6 × 4in) round cake (top tier)


• Dowel rods

• Paste colours: black (Sugarflair Liquorice) green(Sugarflair Gooseberry or Spruce Green), yellow(Sugarflair Autumn Leaf), pink (Sugarflair Claret)and orange (Sugarflair Egyptian Orange)

• Writing nozzles, 0, 1 or 1.5

• Small petal nozzles (Wilton 104)


• Piping bags


Cover the cakes with a smooth finish (see CoveringCakes in Buttercream Basics), dowel and stackthem (see Dowelling in Buttercream Basics) andplace on a stand or covered board. Colour200–300g (7–10 ⁄ oz) of buttercream black and add21

a little water to thin it. Pipe the lace as described inthe tutorial, making it increasingly dense on the

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middle and top tiers. Colour 300–400g (10 ⁄ –14oz)21

of buttercream in orange, pink and yellow, and usethe small petal nozzle to pipe roses on the edge ofthe bottom and middle tiers and in the centre of thetop tier, and add leaves in green using the small leafnozzle (see Rose and Rose Bud in Piping Flowers).To finish, pipe a border at the base in black (seeScrolls, Lines and Zigzags in Piping Texture andPatterns).

Fishnet Lace1 Prepare tinted buttercream in a couple of gradientcolours and place in piping bags. You can usewriting nozzle number 0 or 1. If you are not usingany nozzle, just cut a tiny hole at the tip of yourpiping bag and squeeze it onto a tissue until you getthe desired thickness of the lines (see Step 1,Irregular Lace).

2 Starting from the upper left corner of the cake andusing the darkest shade of your tinted buttercream(or the lightest), pipe even sized zigzag lineshorizontally (A).

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A

3 Use the same process to pipe zigzag lines belowyour first row giving the impression of a diamondshape. Make sure that the points meet (B).

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B

4 After piping a few of rows of ‘diamonds’, changeto the next shade of buttercream and repeat thesteps to build up the pattern (C).

C

5 To create borders or ‘seams’ in the fishnet effect,pipe thicker lines by applying more pressure to thepiping bag as you work (D).

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D

Tip

Don’t lift the piping bag away from the cake asthis makes peaks or ‘spikes’. If you do getspikes, wait until the buttercream has crustedthen press it down gently, rather than doing itwhile it is still fresh as it will just stick to yourfingers.

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• 550g–1kg (1lb 4oz–2lb 3oz) buttercream

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• Paste colours: pink (Sugarflair Pink), red(Sugarflair Ruby Red), green (Sugarflair SpruceGreen)

• Writing nozzles: 0, 1 or 1.5



• Piping bags

• Edible sugar balls


Cover the cake with a smooth finish (see CoveringCakes in Buttercream Basics) and place on a standor covered board. Colour 100–200g (3 ⁄ –7oz) of21

buttercream in each of three shades of pink. Pipethe lace as described in the tutorial. Colour150–250g (5 ⁄ –9oz) of buttercream dark red (mix21

Sugarflair Pink and Ruby Red) and another100–150g (3 ⁄ –5 ⁄ oz) green, and pipe the2121

hydrangeas and leaves around the cake (seeCamellia and Hydrangea, and Sunflower andLeaves in Piping Flowers). Add the edible sugarballs to the centre of each flower.

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Crochet

Making a crochet gift is a labour of love – howmuch more so if it is an edible one? We have twovariations here: the first will let you drape prettypatterns across your cake, like a shawl, using curvedand straight lines. The second makes an amazingall-over texture where, just like the real thing, youmake each crochet stitch one by one with a loop ofpiped buttercream. It’s a methodical, almostsoothing process that can’t be hurried, but theresult is a cake with charm and class.

1 Using a cocktail stick (toothpick) or any pointedimplement, mark patterns on the cake (A).

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A

2 Using tinted buttercream in a piping bag, cut thetip to create a small hole. Start with the outermostline and pipe over the marked guide lines. To createthe crochet effect, continuously squeeze your pipingbag and as you move it along, turn your bag with asmall circular motion, clockwise (B). Pipe anothercrochet effect line right next to the first line but doit counter-clockwise (C).

405

B

C

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3 Repeat the process to complete the rest of thepatterns on the cake (D). Create some variations bymaking some lines double and some just a singlecrochet line.

D

4 You may pipe a guide outline, rather thanfollowing marks, if you find it easier. Pipe a veryfine outline first (E), then pipe over it using thecircular crochet-making motion (F).

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E

F

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Tip

For the patterns, crochet table covers,dresses, cardigans and tops would be greatinspiration.

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410




• Dowel rods

• Paste colours: green (Sugarflair Gooseberry),violet (Sugarflair Grape Violet), dark green(Sugarflair Spruce Green)


• Piping bags

• Scissors



Crumb coat, dowel and stack the cakes (seeButtercream Basics) and place on a stand orcovered board then, referring to the photograph,mark the pattern. Cover the lower part with800–900g (1lb 12oz–2lb) of green buttercream andthe top with 800–900g (1lb 12oz–2lb) of plainbuttercream, giving both a smooth finish (seeCovering Cakes in Buttercream Basics). Colour theremaining buttercream in the following quantities:

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500–600g (1lb 2oz–1lb 5oz) violet and 250–350g(9–12oz) dark green. Refer to the photograph andfollow the tutorial to pipe the crochet in violet. Togive volume to the hydrangea on the corner, eitherpipe a big blob of buttercream or pile up a small ballof cake sponge and stick with buttercream beforepiping the flowers around it in dark green (seeCamellia and Hydrangea in Piping Flowers). Finishwith a border of crochet in dark green, piped with abag with the tip snipped off.

Looped Crochet1 Using any straight edge tool, like a scraper orruler, mark evenly spaced vertical lines, about 1cm( ⁄ in) apart, all around your cake (A). This will41

ensure that your panels will have the same widththroughout.

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A

2 Choose colours then put each of your tintedbuttercreams in an individual piping bag and cut ahole at the tip. Starting from the edge of the cakeand working downwards, with steady pressure onyour piping bag, pipe medium sizecounter-clockwise loops with spaces in the middle,making sure that each loop is overlapping (B).

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B

3 Repeat the same process to create the nextvertical line of clockwise crochet stitches (C).Continue until the stitches cover the whole cake.You can change the colour to add variety.

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C

4 To finish off the top edge of the cake, pipe acrochet line as described in the first variationcrochet tutorial (D).

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D

Tip

Because the whole cake is very textured donot add too many floral embellishments, asyou want to focus more on the crochet designrather than the flowers.

416




417

• Dowel rods

• Paste colours: biege (Sugarflair Caramel), green(Sugarflair Gooseberry), brown (Sugarflair DarkBrown), burgundy (Sugarflair Burgundy), grey(Sugarflair Liquorice), white (Sugarflair SuperWhite), dark yellow (Sugarflair Autumn Leaf)

• Scraper or ruler

• Piping bags

• Scissors



Crumb coat, dowel and stack the cakes (seeButtercream Basics) and place on a stand orcovered board. Cover and smooth the cakes using900g–1kg (2lb–2lb 4oz) of plain buttercream (seeCovering Cakes in Buttercream Basics). Colour theremaining buttercream in the following quantities:200–300g (7–10 ⁄ oz) beige, 100–200g (3 ⁄ –7oz)2121

each of green and brown, 600–700g (1lb 5oz–1lb9oz) burgundy, 150–200g (5 ⁄ –7oz) grey, 50–100g21

(1 ⁄ –3 ⁄ oz) white and 700–800g (1lb 9oz–1lb 12oz)2143

dark yellow. Refer to the photograph and follow thetutorial to pipe the crochet in dark yellow,

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burgundy, grey and white. Finish the top edge ofeach cake and the bottom with a row of crochetfollowing the first variation tutorial. Pipe asunflower at the base of the top tier with beigebuttercream (see Sunflower and Leaves in PipingFlowers), and complete its centre with dots of greenand brown.

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WritingThink of a personalized cake given your own specialtouch with a heartfelt written message – you’d loveto be able to do it, but you’re worried that you’llruin your otherwise beautifully decorated cake. Ofall the skills to master, piped writing seems to bethe most daunting. But never fear! We have lots ofsuggestions to help. You can learn to pipe the wordsfreestyle or with a little help from some small tools– ideal for those whose handwriting suffers fromartistic shortcomings (or is nearly illegible).

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Direct PipingThis approach is for those who scribble confidentlyand write legibly. With this technique, you willwrite the words by directly piping the buttercreamon to the cake. Given the right grip and properpressure on the piping bag, you will be able toachieve perfect handwriting.

EFFECTS OF NOZZLES

In the column below we used five different kinds ofnozzles to write one word – LOVE – but this is justa fraction of the range of nozzles that you can use.You can see that on changing the nozzle, the overalleffect of the word will change, giving differentcharacter to the cake.

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DIFFERENT WRITING STYLES

Below we have also shown just a few of the manystyles of writing that you might want to use. Again,the style you choose will have an effect on theoverall impression the cake gives – from zany toromantic. All the examples in the column belowwere piped with a writing nozzle.

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You will need…

• Buttercream

• Piping bags

• Scissors

• Writing nozzle 0-3 (optional)

You can either use a writing nozzle or just cut asmall hole at the tip of your piping bag to write yourwords. When you write, make sure that the tip ofyour nozzle or your piping bag lightly touches thesurface of your cake so that the buttercream doesnot curl. Ideally, hold your piping bag straight andmake sure you squeeze it with even pressure, fromthe beginning of a word to the end, so the thicknesswill be the same throughout. It is also helpful to restyour wrist very gently on the corner of the cake oruse your other hand to support your dominant handwhile writing, so it is not too shaky. It is a good ideato use a cocktail stick (toothpick) to mark thesurface of the cake with a couple of dots to showyourself where to start and finish, or use the patterntransfer technique (see Pattern Transfer).

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Tip

Another trick for better freehand writing that weuse is to measure the width of the spacewhere we are going to write and draft thewords on paper first. Then we can check thatthe words will fit into that space before we pipeon the cake.

PaintingThis technique can be both easy and tricky at thesame time. Easy because the writing tool is apaintbrush, which means you will have enoughtolerance to outline, paint and then go back over toimprove your handwriting. But it can be tricky

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because you will be painting straight onto a verydelicate buttercream surface. Nonetheless, resultwill be more artistic compared to the other forms ofwriting.You will need…

• Food colouring gel/paste or lustre dust of yourchoice

• Small round tip paintbrush

• Paint palette

• Water, rejuvenating alcohol, vodka or lemon juice

1 It is best to draft your message on a piece of paperthe same size as your cake to make sure that yourwords will fit and you are happy with the position.It is also helpful to look at different fonts forinspiration and variation. Use food colouring paste/gel and slightly dilute it with either water,rejuvenating alcohol, vodka or lemon juice (A).Note that if you use edible lustre dusts, you may useany of these except water. It is best to use a smallround tip brush to paint your patterns or letters.

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A

2 Dip your paintbrush in the food colouring andwipe off the excess. Carefully write your messagedirectly on to the surface of the cake. On the firstgo, the letters will be very light and just like a mereoutline. At this stage you can make slight changes toyour pattern. When you are happy with it, paintover it again until it is the required colour (B).

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B

Tip

We suggest using food colouring paste or geldiluted with water, rather than vodka or lemonjuice so that it doesn’t alter the taste of thebuttercream. Paste or gel will give a deepercolour than edible lustre dust.

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Pattern TransferDoes your handwriting look unidentifiablesometimes, or even most of the time, but you wantvery much to write a personal message on yourcake? Well, handwriting will not be an issue if youuse a pattern. You will just need to type your ownwords in a document on your computer, carefullychoose your font style and there you go – you havea clearly defined printed pattern.You will need…

• Buttercream

• Piping bags

• Scissors

• Printed pattern

• Greaseproof (wax) paper/clear acetate or anytransparent material

1 Choose your font from your computer and typeyour message in a document file. Before printing itout, make sure you adjust the size to exactly howyou want it, so that it will fit on your cake, and flip itto make a mirror image before you print it (A).

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A

2 Cut the excess paper from around your pattern.Using clear acetate, greaseproof (wax) paper or anyclean transparent material to put on top of thepattern, trace your letters by piping over them usinga bag with a very small hole cut in the tip (B).

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B

3 When done, take the tracing paper and position iton to the cake, lightly press it down (C) and peel off(D). Re-trace or over-pipe again to finish.

C

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D

Tip

It seems obvious, but before you print out yourpattern, don’t forget to check your spelling. Ittakes just a second, especially if you use aspellchecker, but will save you a lot of time ifyou spot a mistake.

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Embossing or StencillingOf all the writing techniques, embossing orstencilling will give you the sharpest and mostintricate results. Here, you will be able to achievethe exact shape, size and overall style of yourpattern because you will use embossers or stencils.Using this tool also reduces the time you need tofinish you cake – you’ll have your couture cakeready in no time!You will need…

• Buttercream (slightly thinned)

• Piping bags

• Scissors

• Embossers/stencils

• Palette knife


1 Make sure that the buttercream is slightly thinned(see Palette Knife Brushstrokes in Palette KnifeTechniques). If using an embosser, you just have topress the tool slightly onto the surface of the cake,then over-pipe with buttercream.

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2 If using a stencil, position the stencil on to thecake and apply the slightly thinned buttercreamfrom a piping bag (A). Lightly spread thebuttercream with a palette knife (B) then peel offthe stencil (C).

A

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B

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C

Tip

Stencilling works best if you chill your cake inthe fridge for a short while. This will stop thestencil sticking to the surface when you peel itoff and solidifies the pattern which prevents itsmudging.

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Using Writing Creatively

There are times when spoken words are notenough, and you would rather say it in style andsurprise somebody special by putting your messageon a cake. With buttercream you can expressanything you want to say – how cool, and at thesame time sweet, is that? The following tutorialcombines all the writing techniques we havedescribed in this chapter and shows you how to putthem together to make the stunning graffiti cakebelow. All the words on the cake mean ‘love’.

1 Using your ruler or scraper, mark a bottomborder. Using various colours of tintedbuttercream, pipe different colour squares (seeCrochet in Textile Effects).

2 Start with the stencilling technique (seeEmbossing or Stencilling) as you need ample spaceto do this (A). Make sure to use thinnedbuttercream.

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A

3 Next use some embossers (see Embossing orStencilling) to make an impression and then pipeover it.

4 Lastly, you can write other words or patternsusing freehand piping or painting (see Direct Pipingin Pattern Transfer and Painting) as you can easilyadjust the size of your lettering to fit into the spacesthat are left. You can also fill empty spaces bypiping simple shapes.

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Tip

If you are going to use stencilling andembossing always do these two techniquesfirst, before you do any other piping, becauseyou need to be certain that you have sufficientspace to fit the stencils and patterns on thecake.

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• 20 × 25cm (8 × 10in) square cake (bottom tier),15 × 13cm (6 × 5in) square cake (top tier)

• 2.3–3kg (5lb 2oz–6lb 8oz) buttercream

• Dowel rods

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• Paste colours: red (Sugarflair Ruby), pink(Sugarflair Pink), dusky pink (Sugarflair DuskyPink), burgundy (Sugarflair Burgundy), black(Sugarflair Liquorice)

• Scraper or ruler

• Piping bags

• Scissors

• Embossers and stencils

• Palette knife

• Small round tip paintbrush

• Black food colouring gel/paste

• Water, rejuvenating alcohol, vodka or lemon juice

• Paint palette



Crumb coat, dowel and stack the cakes (seeButtercream Basics) and place on a stand orcovered board. Cover and smooth the cakes using900g–1kg (2lb–2lb 4oz) of plain buttercream (seeCovering Cakes in Buttercream Basics). Colour theremaining buttercream in the following quantities:

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200–300g (7–10 ⁄ oz) each of red, pink, dusky pink21

and burgundy, 300–400g (10 ⁄ –14oz) of black and21

another 300–400g (10 ⁄ –14oz) of black again, but21

this time slightly thinned. Refer to the photographand pipe the crochet borders in red, pink, blue anddusky pink and burgundy (see Crochet in TextileEffects). Add the words and patterns following thetutorial, using the black and thinned blackbuttercream and the black food colouring gel/paste.

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BeyondButtercream

Just when you thought that sweets and candieswere only for kids… In this chapter we will prove toyou just how pretty those colourful treats are,especially when arranged cleverly on your cake.Everyday food, such as fruit loop cereal or a bag ofhumbugs can have a transforming effect. Theycreate perfect accents, making them a double treat!

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Embellishment Choices

Colourful candies, chocolates, and so many otheredible sweeties would make lovely adornments toyour cake. Choose sweets that either complement ormake a good contrast to the colour of your tintedbuttercream. Round shaped sweets can be lovelywhen put in the middle of a flower, will make greatborders, and can be arranged to create shapes orwords. Just remember that some things, likecookies and marshmallows, if left exposed for a fewdays will become stale or dry. Here is a selection ofour favourite embellishments. Whatever you choosemake sure to pipe a blob of buttercream to stickthem to your cake.

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Rice Paper

This one is something that can be done in a flash!As we like to say, ‘imagination is your onlylimitation’. All you have to do is get the perfectpicture in your head, and go out and find it. Youmay take photos of real life, or simply search theweb. Be aware of copyright issues if you want to usea photograph that was taken by someone else. Sendoff your image to a specialist supplier to be printedon an edible material like rice paper or icing sheetand stick it on to the cake. Voila!

1 Once you have had your image printed on toeither rice paper or hardened icing sheet, decide onits position on your cake, trim it to size (A) and peeloff any backing paper (B).

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A

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B

2 Pipe a small amount of buttercream on to thesurface of the cake to act as ‘glue’, and spreadevenly with a palette knife (C) before sticking on thepattern (D).

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C

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D

3 To make the butterfly look more interesting, giveit a slight fold in the middle before sticking it ontothe cake (E). Don’t try this with an icing sheet – itonly works with rice paper.

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E

4 Optionally, you may add some piped details togive variations in texture.

Rice paper versus icing sheet

Rice paper is basically like a sheet of paper,only edible, but an icing sheet (below) isslightly thicker, heavier and very flexible. It willnot remain stiff without backing support, so it isbest to apply icing sheet flat onto the cake. Onrice paper, colours are not as bright and richas when printed on an icing sheet, though youcan boost the colours by painting brighter

453

edible colours or using edible colour pens on arice paper image. If you do, make sure you donot use too much liquid as it will dissolve andwrinkle the paper. For the icing sheet, haveyour image printed, cut around it and leave ituncovered. It will eventually harden andbecomes easier to stick onto the cake. Be verycareful though as it tends to become verybrittle.

Tip

To prevent colours from bleeding you canspray the rice paper or icing sheet pattern withan edible glaze.

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• Dowel rods

• 1.4–1.8kg (3lb 1 ⁄ oz–4lb) buttercream21

• Paste colours: violet (Sugarflair Grape Violet),yellow-green (Sugarflair Bitter Melon), yellow(Sugarflair Melon)

• Piping bags

• Scissors

• Palette knife

• Cake scraper

• Pattern printed on rice paper or icing sheet


Crumb coat, dowel and stack the cakes (seeButtercream Basics) and place on a stand orcovered board. Colour the buttercream in thefollowing quantities: 300–400g (10 ⁄ –14oz) each of21

violet, yellow-green and yellow, leaving 500–600g(1lb 2oz–1lb 5oz) plain. To cover the cake, apply thetinted buttercream in layers and spread using apalette knife to give a blended background for thecake (see Blending in Palette Knife Techniques),before you take off the excess using a cake scraper.Give the cake a smooth finish (see Smoothing in

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Buttercream Basics). Scan the Templates suppliedto create rice paper or icing sheet patterns, andapply them to the cakes following the tutorial.

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Sprinkles

Known variously as sprinkles or nonpareils orhundreds and thousands, sprinkles are basicallycoloured beads made of sugar. On ordinary cakes,you might just cover the whole cake with these tinyballs but then, as you know, we don’t want anordinary cake, we want a couture cake! So what wehave done here is to create a cut-out pattern tomask an area of the cake. The whole of the cake isthen covered with sprinkles and when the mask isremoved it leaves the pattern. These tiny balls arenot just for topping your cupcakes, they can be usedin a fabulous design.

1 After covering your cake with a smooth finish, putit in the fridge to chill and prepare your pattern.You can either print a pattern out then copy on tothe greaseproof (wax) paper and cut or draw itfreehand (A).

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A

2 Remove your cake from the fridge and positionyour cut-out pattern on the cake surface as a mask(B). The pattern should stick straight onto the cakeas it is covered with buttercream, but you can applya very thin layer of butter or vegetable fat(shortening) to the greaseproof paper.

459

B

3 Prepare your sprinkles (nonpareils) by pouring amix of red and white onto a large shallow tray (C).With pieces of greaseproof paper between yourhands and the cake to protect it, and if the cake issmall, lift it and place it into the tray of sprinkleswith the front side down (D). Gently but firmlypress it down so that the sprinkles adhere to thebuttercream. Repeat the same process on all of thesides of the cake.

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C

D

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4 Remove the excess sprinkles with a cocktail stick(toothpick) (E) then carefully remove the papermask.

E

Tip

If you use a small cake it is easy just to turnand roll it in the bed of sprinkles. If your cake isrelatively big do not attempt this, just use aspoon to scoop the sprinkles and gently pressthem all around the cake.

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• Dowel rods


• Paste colours: sky blue (Sugarflair Baby Blue),beige (Sugarflair Caramel)


• Pen

• Scissors

• Red and white sprinkles (nonpareils)

• Large shallow tray

• Piping bags




Crumb coat the cakes then cover the top tier with500–600g (1lb 2oz–1lb 5oz) of sky bluebuttercream and the bottom tier with 600–700g(1lb 5oz–1lb 9oz) of plain, giving both a smooth

464

finish (see Covering Cakes in Buttercream Basics).Place the bottom tier cake in the fridge to chill.Follow the tutorial to create the sprinkles(nonpareils) pattern on the bottom tier. Dowel andstack the cakes (see Dowelling in ButtercreamBasics) and place on a stand or covered board.Colour 200–300g (7–10 ⁄ oz) buttercream beige,21

pipe a rose (see Rose and Rosebud in PipingFlowers) and position it on the top of the bottomtier.

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Candies

Here’s another way to make cake decoratingincredibly easy – just don’t tell anyone how simpleit is! Gather together some colour-matchingsweeties that will complement the backgroundcolour of your cake. Just position these to create apattern, and enhance it with simple piped flowersor even swirls to further lift the look.

1 Remove any sweet (candy) wrappers. Pipe a blobof colour-matching buttercream at the back of eachsweet (A). Arrange and stick them all around thebottom of the cake.

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A

2 Pipe a border of small shells (see Shells andFleur-de-lis in Piping Textures and Patterns) usinga small star nozzle (Wilton 16) above the row ofsweets to make it look more artistic and to neatenthe effect (B).

467

B

3 Cut the liquorice into small circles about 1cm( ⁄ in) thick using scissors (C). Make sure they are21

even in thickness.

C

4 Arrange and push the liquorice circles into thebuttercream surface of the cake with even spaces(D). There is no need to pipe buttercreamunderneath each piece of liquorice. Repeat theprocess until the circles are distributed evenly overthe whole cake.

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D

Tip

Choose matching colour sweets that willcomplement the colour theme for your cake –candies, marshmallows, chocolate drops oranything else you fancy.

469




470

• Paste colours: black (Sugarflair Liquorice), green(Sugarflair Spruce Green), light green (SugarflairGooseberry), pale violet (Sugarflair Grape Violet)

• Black liquorice sweets (candies)

• Black and white striped mints (humbugs)

• Scissors

• Piping bags

• Small star nozzle (Wilton 16)




Crumb coat (see Crumb Coating in ButtercreamBasics) then cover the cake with 800–900g (1lb12oz–2lb) of plain buttercream. Give it a smoothfinish (see Smoothing in Buttercream Basics) andplace on a stand or covered board. Colour theremaining buttercream in the following quantities:200–300g (7–10 ⁄ oz) each of green, light green and21

pale violet, and 500–600g (1lb 2oz–1lb 5oz) black.Apply the sweets and piped shell border byfollowing the tutorial and using the photograph as aguide. Pipe two-tone Hydrangeas in light green and

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pale violet (see Camellia and Hydrangea in PipingFlowers) over the top and cascading down the sidesof the cake. Add some leaves in green (seeSunflower and Leaves in Piping Flowers).

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Cereals

You will be surprised how a handful of humblebreakfast cereal loops can make a really cutedecorative pattern. Not to mention the almosteffortless job of popping them onto your cake. Anadded benefit is the amazing contrast in texturesproduced by the crunchiness of the cereal, thelusciousness of the buttercream and the moist cakesponge – every bite is exciting!

1 Using a small kitchen knife, carefully cut thecereal loops in half (A).

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A

2 Starting from the edge at the top of the cake,arrange and stick the cereal loops next to eachother, alternating the colours, all around the cake(B). Make sure that there are no gaps in between.

B

3 Repeat the same process all over the sides of thecake, until they are completely covered (C).

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C

4 To cover the top of the cake, use whole cerealloops and press them lightly onto the surface of thecake, making sure there are no gaps (D).

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D

Tip

The cake should be covered with a goodamount of buttercream, a little over 0.5cm( ⁄ in), so that the loops can be securely41

embedded into the cake surface.

476




477

• Dowel rods

• Paste colours: violet (Sugarflair Grape Violet),green (Sugarflair Gooseberry), yellow (SugarflairMelon)

• Breakfast cereal, we have used Fruit Loops here

• Small kitchen knife

• Piping bags

• Scissors




Crumb coat, dowel and stack the cakes (seeButtercream Basics) and place on a stand orcovered board. Cover both tiers with 800–900g (1lb12oz–2lb) of plain buttercream. Give the top tier asmooth finish (see Covering Cakes in ButtercreamBasics) and pipe ruffles on the bottom tier using800–900g (1lb 12oz–2lb) of buttercream tintedyellow (see Up and Down Two-tone Ruffles inPiping Textures and Patterns). Colour theremaining buttercream in the following quantities:200–300g (7–10 ⁄ oz) of violet and 100–200g21

478

(3 ⁄ –7oz) of green. Apply the cereal loops by21

following the tutorial and using the photograph as aguide. To finish the cake, pipe a violet buttercreamflower with green leaves (see Sunflower and Leavesin Piping Flowers) and give it a cereal loop centre.

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Suppliers

UK SUPPLIERS

Lindy’s Cakes Ltd.

Unit 2, Station Approach, Wendover,

Buckinghamshire, HP22 6BN

+44(0)1296 622 418

www.lindyscakes.co.uk

Online shop for cookie cutters and stencils

Edible Creators Ltd.

191 Station Road, Rainham, KENT ME8 7SQ

+44 (0)1634 235407 / 075813 95801

www.ediblecreatorsltd.com

Supplier of impression mats and texture sheets

Decobake Ltd.

Unit 1, Clane Business Park, Clane,

480

Co. Kildare, Ireland

+35 (045) 893 890

www.decobake.com

Big selection of cake decorating supplies

Cake Stuff Ltd.

Milton Industrial Estate

Lesmahagow

Scotland ML11 0JN

+44 (0)1555 890 111

www.cake-stuff.com

Supplier of cake decorating materials

The Cake Decorating Company

Unit 2b Triumph Road, Nottingham NG7 2GA

+44 (0)115 969 9800

www.thecakedecoratingcompany.co.uk

Range of cake decorating materials and edibleprinting

DinkyDoodle Designs

2b Triumph Road, Nottingham, NG7 2GA

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+44 (0)115 969 9803

www.dinkydoodledesigns.co.uk

Supplier of airbrush machines and colours

Knightsbridge PME Ltd.

Riverwalk Business Park, Riverwalk Rd, EnfieldEN3 7QN

+44 (0)20 3234 0049

www.knightsbridgepme.co.uk

US SUPPLIERS

The Cake World

184 Broadway #15 (Route 1N) -

Saugus, MA 01906 – 781-558-5508

+1 781-558-5508

www.thecakeworld.net

Supplier of cake decorating materials

ABC Cake Decorating Supplies/Cake Art

2853 E Indian School Rd

Phoenix, AZ. 85016

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+1 602-224-9796

www.cakearts.com

Supplier of cake decorating materials and edibleprinting

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Acknowledgments

All our ideas and passion for cake decorating wouldnot have been translated into these lovely pages if itweren’t for our publisher, F&W Media. So for this,we would like to thank each and every one of you:Ame Verso, Jane Trollope, Emma Gardner, VictoriaMarks, James Brooks and the rest of the team. Toour amazing photographers, Sian Irvine and NickHayes, thank you so much for being so patient andmaking sure that each shot was perfect.

Two years ago, we were just selling cupcakes inschool fairs but Cake International show organizersgave us the chance to be part of the real world ofcakes. They were the first who invested trust in usand they have played a major role in allowing us toshowcase our talents to the world. To Clare Fisher,Ben Fidler, David Bennett, Vicki Vinton, and therest of the team, thank you ever so much. To all thejudges we have met in different cake competitions,you have been our best critics and you have pushedus to improve our craft in so many ways.

484

To our dearest friend and member of Team QoHCC,Maureen Tungol, thank you much for alwayshelping us and only expecting cupcakes and a nicedinner in return. To all our enthusiastic friends andfollowers all over the world, this space would not beenough to write all your names, but you know whoyou are and we thank each and every one of you foryour continuous support.

Above all, we would like to offer our utmostgratitude to our ever supportive families back in thePhilippines. Thank you for being the best fan groupever, we hope that we have made you proud. Wededicate this book to all of you.

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About the Authors

Valeri Valeriano and Christina Ong left thePhilippines in 2008 to work in the UK in themedical field. After the ‘sweet accident’ of learning

486

how to make cupcake bouquets in 2011, theylaunched their business Queen of Hearts CoutureCakes and have since won several top awards invarious prestigious cake competitions.

Now renowned globally for their edible works of art,using nothing else but buttercream as theirdecorating medium, Valeri and Christina have beenfeatured in numerous well-known magazines andon local and international news. They haveappeared on television, and showcased theirmasterpieces and demonstrated their craft in majorcake shows in the UK and abroad. They holdmasterclasses in the UK, Europe, Asia and the USand have also held a couple of masterclasses at thefamous Victoria & Albert Museum, London.

Valeri and Christina take immense pride in theirmastery of buttercream art and this makes Queen ofHearts Couture Cakes exclusive. They havemodernized what is commonly known as theage-old art of buttercream, and this is reflected intheir creations. Their cake designs are elegant,original and eminently contemporary.

Find out more atwww.queenofheartscouturecakes.com and

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www.facebook.com/QueenofHeartsCupcakesAndMore

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A DAVID & CHARLES BOOK

© F&W Media International, Ltd 2014

David & Charles is an imprint of F&W MediaInternational, Ltd

Brunel House, Forde Close, Newton Abbot, TQ124PU, UK

F&W Media International, Ltd is a subsidiary ofF+W Media, Inc

10151 Carver Road, Suite #200, Blue Ash, OH45242, USA

Text and designs © Valeri Valeriano & ChristinaOng 2014

Layout and photography © F&W MediaInternational, LTD 2014

489

AUTHOR has asserted her right to be identified asauthor of this work in accordance with theCopyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.

eISBN-10:1-4463-6314-7 epub

eISBN-13: 978-1-4463-6314-0 epub

Layout of this digital edition may vary dependingon reader hardware and display settings.

All rights reserved. No part of this eBook may bereproduced in any form or by any electronic ormechanical means including information storageand retrieval systems without permission in writingfrom the publisher, except by a reviewer who mayquote brief passages in a review.

Readers are permitted to reproduce any of thepatterns or designs in this book for their personaluse and without the prior permission of thepublisher. However the designs in this book arecopyright and must not be reproduced for resale.

490

The author and publisher have made every effort toensure that all the instructions in the book areaccurate and safe, and therefore cannot acceptliability for any resulting injury, damage or loss topersons or property, however it may arise.

Names of manufacturers and product ranges areprovided for the information of readers, with nointention to infringe copyright or trademarks.

A catalogue record for this book is available fromthe British Library.

David and Charles publish high quality books on awide range of subjects. For more great book ideasvisit: www.stitchcraftcreate.co.uk

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Documents

The contemporary buttercream bible : the complete practical guide to cake decorating with buttercream icing