Royal Icing Pomegranate

While doing a bit of research for tonight's post, I found out that the pomegranate is culturally significant on a truly international scale! And to think, I was just wanting to pipe it because I was trying to come up with new things to do with red icing. To pipe this symbol of winter, all you'll need is stiff consistency red royal icing, a flower nail, parchment paper squares, a Styrofoam brick to rest the nail in, a glue stick, a dusting pouch filled with a 50/50 mix of powdered sugar and cornstarch, round tip #12 and oval tip #55. Start by sticking a parchment square to the flower nail with a dab from the glue stick. 

 Attach the #12 tip to the icing bag and pipe a shape reminiscent of a Hershey's Kiss; hold the tip just above the surface, squeeze firmly, and move the tip up for a few millimeters. Stop pressure and pull the tip away.

 Tap a fingertip against the dusting pouch and gently tap down the peak. Make the shape as ball-like as possible. Allow it to firm up for about ten minutes.

 Switch to the #55 tip and pipe a ring of points on top. Hold the tip just above the surface, squeeze briefly, stop pressure and pull the tip away. Rotate the nail as you go to make a perfect ring of points. With a dusted fingertip, nudge the points over and outwards. For added realism, you might pipe the points with a striped bag of red and green icing, or brush on a little green Color Dust.