The Contemporary Buttercream Bible by Christina Ong Valeri Valeriano Read Free Book Online Page B

cutters, positioning them on to the cake and mark
    your guide lines (C). Pipe around the guide then
    pipe some repetitive lines in different directions to fill the spaces of your pattern. It is nice to mix some straight and curve lines (D). After filling the main
    pattern, pipe some freehand repetitive bigger
    scrolls to complement the structured patterns of the
    main flower.
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    C
    D
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    Tip
    To practise squeezing your piping bag with
    constant pressure, we suggest that you pipe
    scribbles on a plate, glass or any board.
    Fantastic sources of inspirations for piped
    patterns include tribal art, ‘Zentangle’, and
    Aztec patterns to name a few.
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    To create this cake…
    • 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 31⁄2oz–4lb 2oz) buttercream
    • Paste colours: green (Sugarflair Gooseberry), grey
    (Sugarflair Liquorice), black (Sugarflair Liquorice)
    • Piping bags
    • Cookie cutters
    • Ruler
    • Greaseproof (wax) paper
    • Cocktail stick (toothpick)
    • Scissors
    • Cake stand or covered board
    Colour 600–700g (1lb 5oz–1lb 9oz) of buttercream
    green, 400–500g (14oz–1lb 2oz) grey, 250–350g
    (9–12oz) black and leave the rest uncoloured. Cover
    the top tier with green buttercream and the bottom
    with grey, reserving some of the green and grey to
    pipe the lines on the lower tier, then give both cakes a smooth finish (see Covering Cakes in Buttercream
    Basics). Dowel and stack them (see Dowelling in
    Buttercream Basics) and place on a stand or
    covered cake board. Measure the circumference of
    the bottom tier cake and calculate the size you need
    for equal triangles. Mark them on the cake and pipe
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    lines following the tutorial, starting with black and using the other colours alternately until the cake is covered. On the top tier, pipe the floral designs in
    the same way, adding repetitive lines to fill. Pipe
    some freehand scrolls between the shapes. Finish
    by piping dots (see Dots in Piping Textures and
    Patterns) around the upper and lower border of the
    top tier.
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    Piping Flowers
    There is almost nothing more popular than a floral
    theme on a cake. Despite their apparent intricacy,
    flowers of all sorts can be piped in buttercream,
    which lends itself very well to creating delicate
    petals and foliage. In this chapter we will show you
    how to pipe a rich variety of flowers, from the
    essential rose, to flamboyant chrysanthemums and
    a 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 are
    planted in your garden or piped on a cake. This is a
    very easy flower to create and works equally well as
    a decoration for the top of a cupcake or as a feature on a larger cake. A few green leaves will really set
    off the bright petals, and the following Leaves
    tutorial can be used to add foliage to any floral
    design.
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    Sunflowers are the first flowers that we ever learned to pipe in buttercream and remain one of our
    favourites for their simplicity and striking style.
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    They look so effective when piped singly or in pairs
    on cupcakes. To achieve the raised effect in the
    centre of the double-bloom cupcakes, pipe a blob of
    uncoloured buttercream in the centre of the
    cupcake first, then pipe two sunflowers on opposite
    sides. Sunflowers can also be combined on a cake to
    create a masterpiece worthy of Van Gogh himself!
    See the cupcake bouquet tutorial later in this
    chapter to see just how effective these flowers can
    look en masse .
    Sunflower
    1 Using a piping bag with a writing nozzle, pipe a
    circle as a guide to the size of your flower (A).
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    A
    2 Using a small leaf nozzle (Wilton 352), position
    the nozzle at a 20 to 30 degree angle and have one
    of the points touching your guide circle. Squeeze
    your piping bag until it creates a wide base then
    gently pull away,