Thursday, November 8, 2012

Royal Icing Peapod

I was reading about the first Thanksgiving and was surprised to find that peas were supposedly on the menu; they don't get nearly the amount of historical credit that pumpkins and maize do. All you need to pipe a sweet little peapod are stiff consistency royal icing (I used Avocado by AmeriColor; a color I haven't used since I made those gum paste artichokes), round tip #12, leaf tip #69, tip #61 by Bakery Crafts (a teardrop shaped tip used primarily for piping violets), a flower nail, a Styrofoam block to rest the nail in, parchment paper squares, a glue stick, and a dusting pouch filled with a 50/50 mix of powdered sugar and cornstarch. Start by sticking a parchment square to the flower nail with a dab from the glue stick. 
 Hold the tip at a right angle and against the surface, and pipe a gently curved shape to form half of the peapod.
Here's another view of it. 
 Repeat to form the other half.
 Pipe as many peas in whichever size you wish. I was able to fit three peas with tip #12. Hold the tip just above and at a right angle to the center line, squeeze briefly, and pull up and away while stopping pressure.
 Touch a fingertip to the dusting pouch and tap the peaks down into balls.
 You could stop here or add a leaf or two if you like; make sure they're firmly anchored to the pod. I used a #69 leaf tip. I think these would be sweet cupcake toppers for a baby shower in anticipation of multiple births; tiny faces could be drawn on with food-safe markers like AmeriColor Gourmet Writers, and the peas could be piped in whatever skin tone you like.

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