Royal Icing Dahlia

Today's post is a bit of a departure from the "state symbol series", in that the dahlia isn't an official state flower. It is, however, the official flower of San Francisco, which is where my husband Bill and I got married 9 years ago today (and it was also our official wedding flower; fortunately, dahlias are common as dirt in August so we went a little crazy with them). Dahlias come in every size, petal shape, and color imaginable (except blue), so this one I piped today is sort of a typical specimen; it's not meant to depict any specific variety. Dahlias are a great excuse to use up a surplus of almost any imaginable icing color you may have lying around; in this case, I used some leftover fuchsia from Monday's wild prairie rose. You'll need a chrysanthemum tip like #79 by Magic Tip, a flower nail, a Styrofoam brick to rest the nail in, a glue stick, parchment paper squares, and a dusting pouch filled with a 50/50 blend of powdered sugar and cornstarch. You might want to use a larger flower nail and larger parchment squares, if you're attempting dahlias of the "dinner plate" variety. Start by sticking a parchment square to the nail with a dab from the glue stick. 

Starting in the center, pipe an inch of icing with the #79 tip. Stop pressure and pull the tip away. 

 Touch your fingertips to the dusting pouch, and pinch the outer edge of the petal to taper it.

 Here's another view of the same petal.

 I like to pipe "compass points" to keep the flower centered, overlapping in the center.

 Repeat…

 …and repeat.

 Finish off with a few petals in the center that are angled more up than out. Allow this flower a good amount of time to dry before peeling away the parchment paper. Dahlias are also the national flower of Mexico, so consider them next time you make a cake or other dessert for a fiesta of any sort!