Piping to Cover a Cake

• This is a technique used by many professional cake decorators because of its speed, and by many amateurs because it is an easy way to ice a cake smoothly. This technique requires a large pastry bag, ideally 16 inches in length, and a special tip such as Wilton's #789. This is a very wide tip that pipes buttercream in a flat pattern. The icing is simply piped onto the top and sides of the cake, as the decorating turntable is rotated. Because the icing is already flat and evenly spread, it requires little additional work to make a smooth surface.

Large Decorative Elements

• One step up in skill is the use of a pastry bag to pipe large decorative elements on a cake. This includes techniques such as the application of a basket-weave pattern to a cake's sides, or a border of rosettes or seashells around the top. Each of these decorations is associated with a specific tip, which can be purchased separately or in a decorating kit. Basket weaving is done by alternating horizontal and vertical bands of icing, while rosettes and seashells are made with a star tip.

Fine Decorative Elements

• The most sophisticated cake decorations to be piped with a piping bag require no small amount of skill. These are lifelike flowers, usually created with buttercream, and delicate garlands and bead work, usually done with royal icing. Flowers require an assortment of tips, each designed to produce a given pattern of leaf or petal. They are often prepared separately, then transferred onto the cake. Garland and bead work is especially challenging, because it must be piped directly onto the cake and mistakes are difficult to fix.

Cake Writing

• One further piping technique with wide application is cake writing. This is commonly done with a small cone or "cornet" of parchment paper, which can be snipped to the correct size and shape with scissors. A skilled writer can create a range of block and script lettering styles, from very simple to impressively calligraphic. Writing can be done with a number of media, including thinned buttercream, melted chocolate, royal icing or commercially prepared piping gel.