Flat Flowers on Cake Pops

Continuing along with cake pops, I adapted Buddy Valastro's method of piping flat flowers on cupcakes (you can find it in the book Baking With the Cake Boss). The procedure is similar, but with a few changes (I sure don't want to be accused of ripping off Buddy!). First, make some flat cake pops; this one was made with the Rick Krispy Pops recipe, but you could also mold the basic cake ball pops into a flattened shape. You'll need medium consistency royal icing in three colors of your choosing (but you'll probably want to choose green for the leaves unless you're feeling rebellious). In this case, I put a round tip #12 on the yellow bag for the center, a #69 leaf tip on the green bag, and a #104 petal tip on the pink bag. 

 Start by piping a dot in the middle of the pop to keep you "centered."

 Lie the petal tip almost flat on the pop, with the wide end resting on the center.

 While squeezing, move your hand in a tight upside down "U" formation to form the petal. Bring the tip right back to where you started. If you need to coax the petal into a more pleasing shape, keep a dusting pouch filled with a 50/50 mix of powdered sugar and cornstarch handy, touch your finger to it, and gently tap the petal into place.

 Continue until you've covered the pop's surface with petals.

 Pipe the center by holding the round tip just above and perpendicular to the center. Squeeze steadily until the center builds up to the diameter you want, stop pressure, then pull the tip away. If a peak forms, tap it down with your fingertip.

 You could leave it like this…

 …or pipe a few leaves around the edge by tucking the leaf tip under two adjacent petals, squeezing, and pulling away. Pinch the tip of the leaf to a perfect point with your fingertips, if need be. When the icing is dry, store the pops in a cardboard box between layers of waxed paper (not a sealed plastic box or Ziploc; any trapped moisture is bad for the icing) until ready to serve.