Basic Decorating Techniques - Drop Flowers

Quick, one squeeze blossoms can lavish a cake in a matter of minutes. What's more, you can do these flowers in advance, let them air dry, and save them until you need them.

Getting Ready:

* Set up your practice board.
* Place drop flower tip 2D in a parchment bag or your Featherweight bag. If you wish to use this large tip with a coupler, you'll have to cut an opening on a 12 inch Featherweight bag for the large coupler tip. If you do, however, you can only use this bag with the large coupler and large tips.
* Fill bag half full with medium consistency buttercream icing.
* Make a parchment bag and insert round tip 3. Color a small amount of thin consistency icing in a contrasting color; fill parchment bag.

Star Flower

Tips:2D, 3

Icing: medium consistency for the flower and thin consistency for the center


Position:

* Bags: 90° angle, straight up
* Tips: -for flower: lightly touching surface
* For center: slightly above flower

Sequence:

1. Squeeze out tip 2D star.
2. Stop squeezing, lift tip away.
3. Add tip 3 dot to center.

Hold the bag straight up with the end of drop flower tip 2D just touching surface. Squeeze, letting the icing build up to make the flower. Stop squeezing, then lift tip away. Decorate the flower center:

Hold the bag straight up with the tip almost touching the flower. Squeeze out a dot of icing, keeping your tip buried in it. Stop squeezing, then pull your tip away. Your dot should have a rounded top.
Swirl Flower

Tips: 2D, 3 Icing: medium consistency for the flower and thin consistency for the center

Position:

* Bags: 90° angle, straight up
* Tips: for flower: lightly touching surface -for center: slightly above flower
* Hand: for flower: full twist counter clockwise (clockwise)
* Flat knuckle at 9:00 (3:00); ends at 12:00

Sequence:

1. Lightly touch surface.
2. Turn wrist a full twist.
3. Squeeze out flower as you return your wrist to natural position.
4. Stop squeezing, lift tip away.
5. Add tip 3 dot to center.

The swirl flower is done in the exactly same fashion as the star flower except the wrist is twisted as you make it, giving the petals a natural looking curve.

Hold the bag straight up with the end of drop flower tip 2D just touching the surface. Turn hand holding bag keeping flat of knuckle at 9:00 (3:00). As you squeeze out the icing, slowly return your hand to 12:00. Stop squeezing and lift tip away. Make a dot in the center of the flower with round tip 3.

You can make a variety of flower centers using round tip 3.