Practice Makes Perfect, I Hope...

Last night, I began practicing on the icing technique for the Rose cake. I am a much better fondant layer than icing piper, but that can't be helped for this cake, it must be piped.

Over the weekend, I went to two cake supply stores and bought the tips. I also chickened out on the Bavarian cream, too. They sell pre-packaged Bavarian cream that was pretty reasonably priced. Because I am crunched for time, I decided to buy it instead of slaving over a hot stove to make it from scratch. I will work on homemade later. Right now, mastering the rose technique is more important.

I have seen a number of practicing guides, but what I found most useful was simply practicing on an upside down cake pan. That way, I knew what the flowers would look like in relation to the cake. I guess I could have used a baking sheet or cutting board, but hey, whatever works.

Most piping techniques require you to have a coupler attachment and all of that, but not this one. It appears that all you have to do is cut the tip of the bag back about a quarter of a inch and slide the tip all the way to the bottom. You have to make sure that the cut edge of bag does not hit anywhere where the icing comes out, our it will f up your design.

Another important thing that I learned is that air bubbles are your enemy. You want to make sure that the icing is well packed into the bottom of bag. Now, don't laugh because I am about to show you some fails. I know they look terrible, but it is a learning process.

Firm pressure equals better results

You really need to use a good amount of force to get the icing out of the bag consistently. Notice those bumpy, gloppy parts are where air bubbles blew out the tip and caused a break in the lovely rose pattern. I think a slightly warmed icing may behave better, too. I am going to try to heat it up just for a few seconds next time to see if it flows a little better.

Still not very pretty, but getting closer.

I am going to have to take another stab at it tonight. It looks better when you take your eyes out of focus. LOL. The good news is that I can just keep wiping it off and starting again until I get it right. Wish me luck!