Roses on a cake

http://pinterest.com/pin/195765915022580103/
http://zoebakes.com/2011/04/22/how-to-pipe-icing-roses/

At preschool we are celebrating two of the teachers birthdays. I consider these women family after the last 2 years. They've helped Hailey immensely when it came to learning to speak and to grow as an individual. I typically make the cakes for each birthday in the classroom. Its usually Bugs Bunny, a truck or Kermit (check them out here) I've improved over the years and have really come to notice a difference when working with icing from a can and butter cream icing

I made the cupcakes and let them cool for a couple of hours. and set them up on my cardboard (typically I'll use an old pizza box wrapped in wrapping paper to have a clean surface. Notice how the cupcakes are not lined up perfectly? If you don't do this,  when you ice them the icing will fall through the gaps.

Then Pascal and I made the butter cream (I'm a bit of a Disney fan)

 Using my cake spatulas I heaped some into the center (about a large spoon full) and smoothed it out over the surface of the cupcakes

 First I made the vine background (not pictured)using tip 4. Using tip several 104 tips I made some roses:

Hold the nail in the hand you do not write with. squeeze a small pile of icing onto the  base. Look at the tip, make sure you have the "wide side" down, twirl the nail clockwise while squeezing the icing out, wrapping it around the icing base counter clockwise.  (I confused you, huh?) They need to move in opposite directions..

Don't worry.. try again. I'll wait.......


Okay. Now that we're ready to move on, still holding the icing bag so the "wide side" is down you're going to squeeze the icing and make kind of a lover case "n" motion with it while twisting the nail clockwise

Do it again....

and again, and again until you've gotten to the bottom. Now the fun part is either taking the scissors you bought from Wilton or a regular pair of scissors (slightly open) picking it up and placing it on the cake!!  I'm not joking.... If you master that in one try I'll be amazed.

Anyway repeat as many times as you want with as many different colors. The rose buds are kind of a back and forth brush stroke motion (left to right)  then I add a leaf with the leaf tip.


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