Basic Decorating Techniques

Apple Blossoms

Learn how to make pretty petaled flowers using royal or special buttercream icing and a flower nail. You will learn how to give flowers a life-like appearance by using flower formers. The techniques taught in this lesson, combined with a few minutes of practice a day, will help you reap compliments the next time you decorate a cake.

Getting Ready:

Prepare your flower nail.

Insert a coupler base in you Featherweight bag and lock tip 101 onto it with your coupler ring.
Fill your bag half full with medium consistency Royal Icing for practice.
Tip: rose tip 101 plain tip 1
Icing: medium consistency petals - pink center - yellow

Positions:

Nail: in left (right) hand
Bag: 45° angle at 3:00 (9:00) for petals 90° angle for center
Tips: for petals - wide end lightly touching center of nail narrow end pointing out and raised 1/8 inch above nail surface for center - slightly above flower

Sequence:

(tip 101) squeeze bag with light pressure and move tip out 1/8 inch to form first petal
Turn nail counterclockwise (clockwise) letting spin of nail form petal
Relax pressure as you move tip back to starting point
Stop, lift tip away
Repeat procedure to make remaining four petals
(tip 1) add about five small dots

Hold your decorating bag at a 45° angle in the 3:00 (9:00) position with wide end of flower tip 101 lightly touching center of nail and narrow end pointing out and raised 1/8 inch above nail surface. Squeeze with light pressure and move tip out 1/8 inch toward edge of nail as you turn nail counterclockwise (clockwise) letting spin of nail form petal. When tip is at the closest point to the edge, increase pressure slightly while spinning nail. This will cause petal to fan out. Relax pressure as you move back to starting point and lift away. Repeat. The middle of the third petal shouldbe at midway of complete circle. The five petals should all be equally spaced around center. Angle of tip end will cause more or less of a cup effect. For center, hold your decorating bag at 90° angle with end of tip 1 slightly above center. While holding nail still, pipe about five dots to flower center.