Browse Decorating Techniques

Outline

Difficulty: Easy

Characters or designs are often outlined first, then piped in with stars or zigzags. Outlines can also be used for facial features.

Pansy

Difficulty: Somewhat Easy

The vibrant pansy features petals in complementary colors and a distinctive loop center. Pansies can be found in a wide variety of colors, including all yellow or all dark blue, white or purple petals with yellow centers.

Petunia

Difficulty: Somewhat Difficult

For proper spacing of Petunia petals, try this trick. Pipe tip 103 dots of icing on top of lily nail, dividing in 5ths. Visualize the points of a star. Pipe each petal centered over its dot.

Piping Cookie Dough

Difficulty: Somewhat Easy

Tinted dough, thinned with water and piped with decorating bags and tips, lets you decorate cookies as colorfully as cakes or cupcakes. It’s easy to achieve most basic techniques in any color you choose! Decorate with thinned dough before baking and the colorful design will bake right in.

Poinsettia

Difficulty: Somewhat Easy

The classic Christmas Poinsettia may be piped in white, pink or red. It’s one of the more shallow flowers piped in the lily nail. Don’t push foil more than halfway into the cup.

Poodle

Difficulty: Somewhat Easy

The Poodle can be done directly on your cake, by tracing our pattern with a toothpick. His fluffy coat is a result of overpiped zigzag fur.

Primrose

Difficulty: Somewhat Easy

The Primrose is a flat flower with richly textured petals. Key to the heart-shaped petals is perfecting a “curve-dip-curve” motion as you spin the flower nail.

Print Writing

Difficulty: Somewhat Easy

Add that special touch to your cake with your special someone´s name.

Reindeer

Difficulty: Somewhat Difficult

Decorating a figure in motion is one reason our Reindeer is so much fun. If you make Santa’s whole team, you can vary the fur color or accents—even add names to the cake.

Reverse Shell

Difficulty: Medium

Reverse shells look spectacular as top and bottom borders and as framed areas on your cake.

Rope

Difficulty: Somewhat Easy

A wonderful technique for finishing your piped baskets with pretty edging and handles. Excellent too for western or nautical theme cakes. You can make a great looking rope with round or star tips.

Rosebud

Difficulty: Somewhat Easy

Finish your petit fours or cupcakes with one pretty Rosebud. Made in buttercream, this flat flower can be piped directly on the cake in your favorite colors.

Rosette

Difficulty: Easy

The rosette has the tight, swirling look of a rose, but is achieved in one continuous rotation, rather than with wrapped layers of petals. Single rosettes are also used as candleholders on top of a cupcake.

Ruffle

Difficulty: Easy

Ruffles add a decorative top border to your cakes or cupcakes. Pipe ruffles around plaques or to trim doll dresses or bonnets.

Script Writing

Difficulty: Somewhat Easy

Personalize a celebration cake with a message written in perfect penmanship! Achieving beautiful results is easier than you might think, following these easy steps. And, practice makes perfect!

Shell

Difficulty: Somewhat Easy

The Shell is the most popular icing technique of all. It’s the basis for many borders, fleurs de lis and more. Lift the tip only slightly when piping to avoid a bumpy look.