Royal icing is traditionally used to decorate wedding and Christmas cakes and is great for fine detail as it is easy to pipe and sets with a hard finish. Different nozzles can be used to pipe the icing resulting in many different effects for icing cakes. Here we give you four basic examples, using a star nozzle and a petal nozzle.
Metric
Imperial
- royal icing
Using the star nozzle we can make a shell border, holding the bag at a 45 degree angle, squeeze the bag to form a bulb and release the pressure as you move the nozzle away.
Pipe the next shell slightly overlapping the first.
Repeat this process all the way along the edge of the cake.
Rope border
With the star nozzle, use an even pressure and roll the nozzle in a small circular motion to create a rope effect.
Ruffle border
Using a petal nozzle we can make a ruffle border, hold the bag at a 45 degree angle with the thickest end of the tip down to the cake and the thin end pointing up. Move the icing in a zigzag motion to create a ruffle.
Garland border
Using the petal nozzle we can create a garland style border, with the thickest end of the nozzle pointing down, pipe a semi circle onto the side of the cake, followed by a small loop and repeating the process all the way around
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