Prepare your cake

1. Leveling – You can use a cake leveler if you have one handy, but a serrated knife will also work. Place the cake on a flat surface then “saw” back and forth to remove the crown. Keep the knife as level as possible.
2. Fill the cake, if desired – Fill a decorating bag with medium-consistency icing. Using a wide round tip (1M) create a circle of icing around the outside border of the cake (the circle should be just inside the outside edge of the cake, about ¾” high. Fill the center with whichever filling you prefer—icing, fruit, or pudding work well. Place the next leveled layer on top
3. Icing the cake – Keeping crumbs out of your icing is easy if you don’t allow the spatula to contact the surface of the cake. Use a large amount of thin consistency icing.
   Spread the icing across the top, working from the middle to the edges. Smooth using the edge of the spatula. Cover the sides with icing and smooth by holding the spatula upright with the edge. (Using a turntable will make this an easier task.) Rotate the cake slightly and repeat from new starting point. Continue with the same series of steps until the cake is covered and smooth.

Decorate your cake

1. After removing the ring from the coupler base, drop the base, narrow end first, into the bag and push it in as far as it can go. Cut an opening in the bag at the coupler.
   Push the coupler base down through the opening (one thread should be showing). Choose a decorating tip and place it over the base that is extended from the bag
   Put the ring over the tip and twist it on.
2. Fill your decorating bag
   Hold the bag at the small opening while forming a cuff with the larger opening (the cuff should fold down over your hand)
   Fill the bag with about ½ cup of icing using an angled spatula (do not overfill)
   Close the bag by unfolding the cuff and twisting the bag closed
   Release any air trapped in the bag by squeezing some icing out

Buttercream techniques (a few ideas to get you started)

There are a few basic when concocting icing to use with decorating bags and tips.  Most important of these may be the consistency of the frosting you will be working with.  Remember these tips before selecting your techniques:

• Stiff icing works best on flowers with upright petals
• Medium icing is used for stars, borders, and flowers with flat petals
• Thin icing is great for frosting the base layer of your cake.  It also works best for writing and for piping vines and leaves

After you understand consistency, you can dive in to making shapes.  Be sure to practice how to apply pressure; it is an important part of how your shapes turn out!
Star: This basic design is easily achieved using medium consistency frosting and any star decorating tip. Holding the bag at 90°, about ¼” above the surface, squeeze to form a star. Increasing or decreasing the pressure will determine its size. Stop pressure then pull straight away to give you a perfect star shape.

Swirl drop flowers: Use a drop flower decorating tip (2D, 3). Turn your hand ¼ turn so the back of your hand is away from you. Slowly squeeze out the icing while turning your hand until the back returns to its natural position. Stop squeezing and lift the tip straight up. Decorate the flower center with a different color, using a small round tip to create a dot in the center of the drop flower.Flower icing should be medium consistency, centers should be thin.

Shell: Possibly the most popular method for borders, use a star tip with a wider opening (21) and medium consistency icing. Squeeze hard and let the icing fan out. It will force the tip up. Gradually relax pressure and lower the tip, pulling the bag toward you until the tip again reaches the surface of the cake. Pull the tip along the surface to form a point, relaxing pressure as you do so. Continue the process to form a chain if you are creating a border.

Vines: Using thin consistency icing and a round tip (3), hold the bag at a 45° angle. Gently touch the tip to the surface and squeeze the bag, moving it up and down to form a wavy line. Add stems as desired, placing tip into the main vine, applying light pressure, and gently pulling away.

Zig Zag: Use medium consistency frosting and an open star tip (16) to create a zig zag pattern. Squeeze and glide the tip in an up/down motion until you get to an end point the stop pressure and pull the tip away. You can elongate the up/down as you wish, and you the amount of pressure you use will determine the width of the line.

Swirl: For a wide swirl that is easy and fun, use light to medium consistency icing with a wide open star tip (1M). At a 90° angle, hold the tip about ½” above a cupcake and squeeze out the icing to form a star. Without releasing pressure, slightly raise the tip and circle the star in a tight spiral. Then move the tip toward the center and make a second spiral around the inside of the first. Release pressure to end.

Grass: Use a multi-opening tip (233) and medium consistency icing to create grass or fur. Holding the decorating bag at a 90° angle, about 1/8” above the surface, squeeze while pulling up and away. Stop pressure then pull away to end. Pull away left and right for a more natural look. Repeat, keeping clusters close together—no cake should show through.

Start easy and practice, practice, practice.  You’ll find that it gets easier over time, and you can tackle more difficult tasks as your skills develop.  For ideas and inspiration, take a look at the Houston’s Pinterest board, where you can find cake decorating ideas and other Tips of the Trade.

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