Royal Icing Wood Violets

Tonight’s project is the official flower of Wisconsin: the wedge of cheese. Totally kidding; it’s the wood violet. All you’ll need to pipe these simple flowers are white or purple stiff consistency royal icing, petal tip #104, parchment paper squares, a flower nail, a glue stick, and a Styrofoam block to rest the nail in. You’ll also need pointed toothpicks or a tiny brush and dark purple paste food coloring to paint the “faces.” Start by sticking a parchment square to the flower nail with a dab from the glue stick. 

 Hold the petal tip with the wide end toward the center and against the surface and the narrow end angled out and slightly up. Pipe two petals by moving the tip in a tight, upside-down “U” motion.

 Pipe two more similar petals opposite the first two, leaving some space between them.

 Pipe a fifth petal, straddling this gap. Move the narrow end up high off the flower's surface as you pipe the upside-down "U" to form that cupped shape.

Lastly, when the flower has dried, dip the pointy end of a toothpick into dark purple paste food coloring and paint a cluster of veins in the middle of the flower, concentrating on the center bottom petal (I used AmeriColor Soft Gel Paste in Royal Purple). Purple violets, by the way, have a white center, which you can achieve either by painting on some white royal icing or by using a striped bag.