Tutorial: Royal Icing Butterflies

See the full cake here.

I'm sorry I didn't have the forethought to document the step-by-step in pictures. So you'll just have to go off the photo of the finished thing. These need to be made at least 2 days in advance, to allow proper drying.

Here is the recipe I used to make the royal icing:
-2 lbs powdered sugar
-2 Tbsp meringue powder (or egg white powder, you may use 2 egg whites instead)
-1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
-2/3 C water

Dissolve the meringue powder into the water, then throw everything into your stand mixer and let it go until it is a smooth, even consistency. It should have a "stiff peak" consistency, which means that the peaks of the icing look sharp and don't move. We will actually be using "soft peak" and "flooding" consistencies, but we want to start off with "stiff peak" in case you need to use it for any other decorations (such as flowers). If it is too soft, mix in more powdered sugar until you get the stiff peaks. Now put it all in an airtight container, because it dries quickly. Only pull out what you will be working with. To make the other consistencies, simply add water, little by little, until it is the right consistency. According to one of my books.





Stiff Peak - Suitable for most piping tasks. The icing peaks stay firm and sharp. Don't make it too firm or it will be difficult to pipe.

Soft Peak - This is the basic consistency for flat icing a cake. The icing should hold a peak that just falls over slightly at the tip.

Flooding - To "flood" a shape, the icing needs to be much looser. To test, spoon a little into a bowl and the lines and edges of any peaks should fade within 8 seconds.

What you'll need to make the butterflies:
-food coloring (I use AmeriColor gel dyes, but I think any food coloring will work)
-pastry bags (I prefer using parchment triangles and making disposable bags because it really minimizes the clean up time)
-template of butterfly outline(s)*
-wax paper or parchment paper
-Wilton tip 3 (or other small round tip)
-cardstock

*Note: I got the templates from the book Pretty Party Cakes, but any simple outline of butterfly wings would work.  Here's one I just found at the top of my Google search:

I like the ones that divide the wings into top and bottom sections, because it adds more definition and allows you to use multiple colors. But anyway, you want the wings to be 1.5 inches to 2 inches tall.

Directions
1. Mix your colors and prepare your pastry bags.
2. Put wax paper over template. Using Wilton tip 3 and soft peak icing, pipe the outline of the butterfly wings (do not pipe the body).
3. Use flooding icing to fill the top wings. If you will be decorating with sprinkles or sugar, apply now. Allow to dry.
4. Use flooding icing (in a complimentary color, if desired) to fill the bottom wings. It should meet the top wings (so the actual piped outline in the middle of the wing is no longer visible). As before, if you are using sprinkles or sugar, apply now. Allow to dry.
5. Repeat for all butterflies.You may also decorate them by piping dots in a contrasting color once the wings are dry.
6. Pipe a couple of feelers (antenna) for each butterfly in a matching color on a piece of wax paper.
7. Let everything dry and set for at least 2 days in a warm dry place.
8. Fold some pieces of cardstock or thin cardboard into a "V" shape to support the wings and line with a piece of folded wax paper.
9. Pipe a small line of royal icing in a color matching the butterfly into the fold of the paper. Lift the wings with a small spatula and place them in position on either side of the "V" shape. Allow to dry.
10. Pipe a head and a body in the middle between the wings and stick 2 feelers carefully into the head. Allow to dry in position for at least 3 hours.

Tutorial: Royal Icing Flowers

See the full cake here.

Royal icing may be my new favorite decorating technique! I used the same flower piping techniques I learned using buttercream as a teenager taking my first Wilton classes. But royal icing not only holds its shape better, but it allows you to create them ahead of time. You can also rearrange them on the cake without destroying them.

Anyway, here is the recipe I used to make the royal icing:
-2 lbs powdered sugar
-2 Tbsp meringue powder (or egg white powder, you may use 2 egg whites instead)
-1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
-2/3 C water

Dissolve the meringue powder into the water, then throw everything into your stand mixer and let it go until it is a smooth, even consistency. It should have a "stiff peak" consistency, which means that the peaks of the icing look sharp and don't move. There are also "soft peak" and "flooding" consistencies, but we want the stiff peak for flowers. If it is too soft, mix in more powdered sugar until you get the stiff peaks. Now put it all in an airtight container, because it dries quickly. Only pull out what you will be working with.

Now, what you'll need to make the flowers:
-food coloring (I use AmeriColor gel dyes, but I think any food coloring will work)
-pastry bags (I prefer using parchment triangles and making disposable bags because it really minimizes the clean up time)
-flower nail
-wax paper or parchment paper
-Wilton tips 3, 4, 104, 352

To color icing, put the amount you want in a separate bowl and immediately cover the rest to keep it from drying out. Here are instructions from a book for making the big 5-petal flowers and the daisies:

5-Petal Flower (white) and Daisey (pink) -- sorry one of them chipped as I was setting up for the picture.

5-Petal Flowers
1. From a sheet of parchment paper, cut small squares slightly larger than the flower to be piped.
2. Make a paper pastry bag an snip the tip off the empty bag to produce an opening large enough to fit a metal piping tip. Drop a Wilton 104 piping tip inside the bag, narrow end first.
3. Fill the bag with appropriately colored stiff-peak icing.
4. Pipe a small dot of icing on top of the flower nail, stick one of the paper squares on top, and hold the nail in one hand.
5. Hold the pastry bag in the other hand at a 45-degree angle to the nail, with the wide end of the tip touching the middle of the flower nail and the narrow end pointing out and slightly raised.
6. Squeeze out the first petal and give the nail a one-quarter turn as you move the nozzle out toward the edge of the flower nail. Use less pressure as you are moving back toward the middle and curve the nozzle slightly to give the petal a natural shape. Stop squeezing as the wide end touches the middle of the nail and lift up the tip.
7. Repeat this 4 more times to make all the petals.
8. Remove the flower with its base paper from the nail and leave to dry.
9. Pipe small yellow dots (using Wilton 4) into the middle as stamens.

Daisies
1. Use a Wilton 104 piping tip and some stiff-peak white royal icing.
2. Prepare your pastry bag and paper squares for the flower nail as above.
3. Mark the middle of the paper lined nail with a dot of icing.
4. Start at the outer edge of the nail, holding the wide end of the tip away from the middle and the narrow end towards the middle of the nail.
5. Slightly touch the paper with the wide end of the piping tip, squeeze out the icing and pull the tip toward the middle as you release the pressure. Stop and pull the tip away.
6. Repeat for 8 or more petals, while turning the nail appropriately.
7. Remove the flower with the base paper from the nail and leave to dry.
8. Pipe small yellow dots (using Wilton 4) into the middle as stamens.

The roses, rosebuds, and leaves I made from what I remember learning a long time ago, and I just made up the little yellow flowers. I'll try to give the best instructions I can.

Leaves, little flowers, and rosebuds (apparently I forgot to take a close up of the rose)

Little Flowers
1. Using a Wilton 104 piping tip and stiff-peak royal icing, make a dot and release pressure as you drag toward the middle.
2. Repeat for remaining 4 petals and allow to dry.

Leaves
1. Use a Wilton 351 piping tip and stiff-peak royal icing. One of the sharp points should be touching the wax paper, the other should be straight up in the air.
2. Briefly apply pressure to the piping bag, then release pressure and pull away.
3. For a slightly wider leaf, apply pressure a bit longer. For a ruffled leaf, apply pressure even longer and it will ruffle itself. End the same way, by releasing pressure and pulling away.

Rose
1. Using a Wilton 104 piping tip and stiff-peak royal icing, make a small mound of icing on the wax paper (on the flower nail).
2. With the wide end of the tip down and the skinny end pointing straight up, pipe icing on top of the mound while spinning the flower nail all the way around (you will create an upside-down cone).
3. Touching the wide end to the base of the cone, pipe as you turn the nail 1/3 of the way around. Release pressure and lift tip.
4. Turn the nail backwards a tiny bit and start the next petal so that it overlaps the one you just made by a little bit. Pipe as you turn the nail; release pressure and lift up.
5. Continue making petals around the flower until it is the size you want.

Rosebud
1. Use a Wilton 104 piping tip and stiff-peak royal icing. Place the wide end down on the wax paper, with the skinny end raised about 45 degrees.
2. Pipe and draw a figure "S" with the icing. Release pressure and lift tip. Allow to dry.
3. Following the directions about, pipe one or two small leaves directly on to the rosebud, starting at the base and pulling toward the top.

New Cake Decorating Techniques

Royal icing, chocolate bowls, and sugar frosted fruit... The young women in my church needed a nice cake for one of their activities, and I was more than willing to do it for them. It has been almost 3 years since the last time I made a big, fancy cake. I wanted to try out some new techniques and started making the decorations a few days in advance. I was very pleased and excited about the final product!

I stacked two hexagon tiers, iced it with chocolate buttercream, adorned it with royal icing flowers and butterflies, and topped it with a chocolate bowl filled with sugar frosted berries.

See my tutorials for making chocolate bowls and sugar frosted fruit.

See my tutorials for making royal icing flowers and royal icing butterflies.

Tutorial: Sugar Frosted Fruit

Thinking about decorating a cake with fruit? Or perhaps making a centerpiece? Sugar frosting adds a little something special, and it is oh-so-easy to do!

Like the chocolate bowl? It's also super easy to do. Check out the tutorial here.

What you'll need:

Firm, fresh fruit. I used berries to decorate a cake, but apples and pears would make a stunning centerpiece.

Honey (and a small dish to put it in) and a decorating brush. You may also use a light-colored jam, such as apricot, in place of the honey.

Granulated sugar (and a second small dish). Many people suggest using super fine or caster sugar, but I found that regular granulated sugar worked well for me.

Here's what you do:

1) Using decorating brush, apply a thin,even coat of honey (or jam) all around the fruit. If you use too much, the sugar will melt into it and you will lose the crystallized effect. You will still get a very sparkly glaze, which look you might opt for anyway.

2) Roll honey-covered fruit in sugar until evenly coated.

3) Repeat for remaining fruit.

4) Put on display and wow your guests with a fancy sugar-frosted fruit display. It'll be our little secret just how easy this was!

Tutorial: Chocolate Bowl

I apologize I don't have any step-by-step pictures (yet) for this one, but it's super easy!

Like the sugar-frosted fruit? See the tutorial here.

What you'll need: 
a small bowl
plastic wrap
a microwaveable bowl
chocolate chips
edible shimmer dust (optional)
decorating brush (optional)

Here's what you do:
1. Line the bowl with plastic wrap. Try to get out all the air between the plastic and the bowl so you can get the right shape.
2. Throw a handful of chocolate chips into a microwaveable bowl. I didn't measure -- if you don't have enough, add more. If you have too much, you get to eat the extra :) Anyway, microwave for 30 seconds, then stir. Continue to microwave in 15-second intervals, stirring in between, until chocolate is smooth and runny.
3. Pour chocolate into plastic-lined bowl. You may tilt the bowl to get the chocolate to spread, or just use a spatula (which is what I did). Allow to cool completely (I stuck mine in the fridge to speed up the process).
4. If you would like, use a decorating brush to apply edible shimmer dust to the outside of the bowl. I did this because I was using it as a cake topper. If you are just making these to serve ice cream in (a super good idea, if you ask me), you really don't need the shimmer dust.

Bekka's 1st Birthday Cake

I really wanted to make a nice cake for Bekka, since it seemed silly not to use my talents for my own daughter's party. Unfortunately, I did not bring any of my cake supplies, so I had to make do.

1) Cakes: I used 4 disposable 8"-square foil pans. I made one box of chocolate cake and one box of vanilla cake (each box filled two pans). I used chocolate, vanilla, chocolate for the bottom tier (for the adults). Then I cut the other cake into fourths and stacked two of the squares to make the top tier (for Bekka). To make the base board, I actually cut up a diaper box into two squares, taped them together, then wrapped them in foil.

2) Filling: I made crème patisserie (French pastry cream) which I used between the layers of the small cake, and between the bottom and middle layers of the big cake. Between the middle and top layers of the big cake, I used crushed mixed berries (thawed from a bag) that I combined with some vanilla frosting. I just used store-bought whipped vanilla frosting for the crumb coat.

3) Frosting: In addition to the whipped frosting I used for the crumb coat, I made marshmallow fondant to cover the tiers and make the ribbon and polka dots (I just eye-balled the width of the ribbon and cut it with a knife, and I used the bottom of a large tip to cut the pink dots and a No. 5 -- or No. 8, I can't remember -- tip to cut the green dots). I used neon food coloring (the only kind they had at the store) to get the pink, purple, and green (made to match the decorating icing). I used store-bought decorating icing to decorate the cake balls and to accent the ribbons and polka dots (the pack came with purple, pink, teal, and white). The pearl border between the two cakes was made with the vanilla frosting in a similar Ziploc piping bag, using a No. 8 tip (the same tip I used to cut the green dots. I can't remember if it was a No. 5 or No. 8).

4) Piped Flowers: To make the flowers, I cut a corner from a Ziploc bag, put used a No. 1 tip and coupler that I borrowed from my friend Erin, and filled it with store-bought brownie icing. I free-handed the floral design based on the Garden Greenery pattern from the Wilton Garden Terraces Cake. I also used this icing to write on the fondant gift tag.

5) Cake Balls: With the cake I shaved off the layers (so they would be flat and create an even square) and the other half of the second vanilla cake, I made cake balls. I crumbled the vanilla cake in one bowl, the chocolate in another and added store-bought whipped cream cheese frosting to both (I didn't measure, but you want to add enough that the crumbs all stick together). I rolled them into 1" balls and stuck them in the freezer to cool them. I cut all the chocolate ones in half, then cut an equal number of vanilla ones in half (I had a lot more vanilla than chocolate). I then rolled a chocolate half and a vanilla half together until I only had mixed balls and vanilla balls. I used vanilla melting candy and coated the cake balls. Once the candy was hardened, I decorated using the store-bought icing.

6) Finishing Touches: I added a lot of sugar pearls to the top cake, as well as to the pearl border between the cakes. I used the white decorating icing to make French dots on the bottom cake. I rolled some fondant and laid it around the bottom cake. I put some frosting on the bottom of the cake balls and stuck them around the cake. I then sprinkled the board with shaved chocolate (which I got from smoothing out the bottom of the cake balls).