Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Royal Icing Buttons

Yet another teeny tiny project that can be made with that last bit of icing! As I'm sure you're aware, there are many button molds available for fondant and gum paste, but it's just as easy to pipe them out of royal icing using tips you probably already have. All you'll need is royal icing in any color in a piping bag with a coupler, a dusting pouch filled with a 50/50 blend of powdered sugar and cornstarch, parchment paper squares, a flower nail, a glue stick, and #12, #8, and #2 round tips. 
 Start by sticking a parchment square to the flower nail with a dab from the glue stick.
 Attach the #12 tip to the piping bag. Hold it just above and perpendicular to the surface of the nail, and squeeze steadily until the shape is about the size of a nickel. Stop pressure, and pull the bag away at the same angle.
 A peak will undoubtedly form (it will look like a rather flattened Hershey's Kiss), so touch your finger to the dusting pouch and tap the peak down.
 Switch to the #8 tip, hold the tip against the edge of the round shape, and rotate the nail while piping steadily to form a bead around the edge. Where the ends meet, blur the seam by tapping a powdered finger gently against it.
 Make two or four buttonholes by gently making an indent with a #2 tip (not loaded on a bag). For only two holes, you could use a larger tip. Imagine all the sorts of cakes (cupcakes, cake pops, etc.) that buttons would be really sweet on!

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