Piping a cake can really help to add the “Wow” factor to a plain ordinary cake. Here are some tips on how to master the art of piping designs and a list of piping tips to create the desired piping effect :)
Icing to use for piping
Before we get started with piping techniques, let’s talk about icing.
There are many different kinds of icing and buttercream, so which is best for piping? Piping can be done with most any icing, but royal icing is preferred if piping on fondant and use buttercream if piping on buttercream. Royal icing becomes hard and tends not to bleed into the fondant giving the cake a nicer cleaner look.
If you are doing a buttercream cake, keep it in the refrigerator for as long as possible for the buttercream to firm up. When using Swiss meringue buttercream or any type of buttercream that includes only butter and no shortening, the buttercream will harden on the cake when chilled making it easier to work with when piping and more smudge resistant. Royal icing should not go into the fridge once it is on a cake as the humidity will cause the royal icing to melt.
You will know if your icing consistency is correct when you can pipe a string between your fingers and give it a little shake and it doesn’t break immediately. If it breaks quickly, your icing is too wet (add a little powdered sugar). If it is really hard to get out of the bag, your icing is too dry (add a little water).
Things to note before piping
Piping is definitely not as easy as you think it is, If you want to achieve beautiful lines, swoops, filigree, pearls, shells, leaves, string work or any other type of piping technique it is going to take a lot of practice to get everything even and consistent. Also, note that air bubbles are bad for piping so take a few extra minutes and gently squeeze your bag to remove the air bubbles before tying securing the end of the piping bag.
How to hold a piping bag
There are many different ways to hold a piping bag, but it is important to follow the way you are most comfortable with so as to achieve the best results. A good tip is to fill the bag till it is ¾ full before twisting the bag and securing it. This way, you can control the pressure and movement of the bag.
If you are left handed, it may be easier for you to hold the piping bag in your right hand and then guide the bag with your left hand. If this doesn’t work for you, try piping from right to left so you can see where you are piping.
Practicing
Begin practicing with straight lines; it is best to practice guiding the icing rather than forcing the icing to go where you want it to go. You can practice on a baking mat or on glass surfaces.
When piping, try to keep the tip off of the cake. Let gravity do its job, while guiding the string of icing in the direction you want it to go.
Piping tips
As you all know, there are many piping tips out there so how do you know which to choose? Here is a list of the different pipied effects for the various piping tips!
Leaf Tip
Star Tip
Round Tip & Rose Tip
No comments:
Post a Comment