Royal Icing Corgi

I've never really attempted to pipe a specific breed of animal before, but I'm going to give Queen Elizabeth II's favorite a go: corgis! They're actually fairly minimalist; you don't even need to pipe a tail. You'll need a flower nail, a glue stick, parchment paper squares, a dusting pouch filled with a 50/50 blend of cornstarch and powdered sugar, AmeriColor Soft Gel Paste in Super Black, toothpicks, a Styrofoam block to rest the nail in, round tips #12 and #10, oval tip #57, and corgi-colored stiff consistency royal icing. I used AmeriColor Orange with a small amount of Lemon Yellow to brighten it up. 

Start by sticking a parchment square to the flower nail with a dab from the glue stick. 

 Hold the #12 tip just above and at a 45 degree angle to the surface. Pipe a ball, then move the tip along to form the elongated body. Stop pressure and pull the tip away.

 Liberally dust your fingertips by touching them to the dusting pouch, then pinch the narrow end of the body into a tapered, wedge shape for the chest.

 Switch to the oval #57 tip and pipe the legs, which are just 4 short lines of icing. Neaten them with a dusted fingertip if need be.

 After allowing the body to dry for a while (a process that can be speeded up by placing the bodies under a desk lamp), switch to the #10 tip and pipe the head. It's basically a teardrop. Hold the tip just above and at a 45 degree angle to the body, squeeze out a ball, then move the tip away outward and upward while stopping pressure after a short while. Tap the nose with a fingertip until it's more blunt than pointy.

Allow the head to firm up for a while, then pipe the ears with the #57 oval tip. Hold the tip against the head, squeeze briefly, then stop pressure and pull the tip away. Dust your fingertips, flatten then ears slightly, and define the pointed tips if they need it. 

Dip toothpicks in AmeriColor Super Black to create the nose and eyes. I used the small end of a flat toothpick for the nose, and the pointy end of a round toothpick to gently dab in the eyes. 

You should probably make a lot of corgis at once; I read that Queen Elizabeth has 16 of them, so they must do well in packs. 

Royal Icing Owl

After yesterday's tribute to Winnie the Pooh and Paddington, I thought I'd better create something a little more current: a white owl based on Hedwig from Harry Potter. To pipe tiny little owls you'll need stiff consistency royal icing in any color you like (obviously I used white), a small amount of black icing for the beak and claws, a dusting pouch filled with a 50/50 blend of cornstarch and powdered sugar, a flower nail, a Styrofoam brick to rest the nail in, a glue stick, a parchment paper square for each owl, round tips #12 and #2, oval tip #55, Ateco tip #101 (it's slightly larger than the Wilton #101), and yellow and black food-safe markers (like Gourmet Markers by AmeriColor). Start by sticking a parchment square to the flower nail with a dab from the glue stick. 

 Hold the #12 tip just above and at a right angle to the surface. Squeeze until a base builds up, then continue to squeeze while moving the tip upwards about an inch. Stop pressure and pull the tip away, straight up.

 Touch a fingertip to the dusting pouch and tap the top until it is rounded.

 Switch to the #55 oval tip and pipe 6 toes. Hedwig has rather large fluffy feet.

 Switch to the #101 petal tip and pipe the tail in the back, keeping the wide side of the tip against the body just above the base with the narrow side angled down and outward. While you're piping, jiggle the tip in and out in a gentle sawing motion. The tail really won't be visible, but it will provide support for the wings.

 Still using the #101 tip, pipe the first wing starting from where you'd imagine the owl's "shoulder" to be, with the narrow end of the tip pointing outward.

 Here's a side view. Pipe the wing around to the back, ending at the center of the tail.

 Here's a view from the front. As you can see, the tip is angled slightly away from the body to give the wing some separation from the body.

 Repeat with a second wing on the other side of the body. Remember to keep the narrow end of the petal shaped tip facing outwards.

 When the body is fairly firmed up, pipe the beak with black icing and a #2 tip. Place the tip against the center of the "face", squeeze very gently and pull away. Gently nudge the beak into place with a fingertip after touching it to the dusting pouch. Touch the #2 tip to the ends of each toe to create claws.

 Use the yellow food-safe marker to draw circles for the eyes…

 …and draw the pupils with the black marker. Pipe a whole parliament of owls to top cupcakes for a Harry Potter-themed party!

Royal Icing Stuffed Bear

During the Olympics, there was a story about Harrods, and how the stuffed bear that inspired Winnie the Pooh was bought there. This bear also looks suspiciously like Paddington, so I thought I'd better give this post the generic name of "stuffed bear" so neither of them would feel left out. All you'll need to pipe a stuffed bear is brown stiff consistency royal icing, round tip #12, oval tip #57, a flower nail, parchment paper squares, a glue stick, a Styrofoam block to rest the nail in, a black food-safe marker or a product like AmeriColor Soft Gel Paste in Super Black, toothpicks, and a dusting pouch filled with a 50/50 blend of powdered sugar and cornstarch. Start by sticking a parchment square to the flower nail with a dab from the glue stick. 

 Hold the round #12 tip just above and at a right angle to the surface. Squeeze, then pull up for just over half an inch. Stop pressure and pull the tip away straight up.

 Touch a fingertip to the dusting pouch and use it to tap the peak into a rounded shape. Pipe as many bear bodies as you'll need and set them aside to firm up.

 Pipe as many teardrop-shaped heads as you can fit on a parchment paper square. Hold the tip just above and at a 45 degree angle to the surface, squeeze out a ball, then pull the tip away at an upwards angle. Set them aside to firm up.

Switch to the oval #57 tip to pipe the limbs. Start with the legs. Place the tip against the body about halfway back, pipe alongside the body for a short distance to firmly anchor the leg to it, then bring the tip upwards when you stop pressure to create an upturned foot.

 Next, pipe the arms. Stuffed anthropomorphic bears tend to have surprisingly long arms. Start at the shoulder, and end at the leg. For all the limbs, tap them into place with a dusted fingertip. You'll want to tap the top of the bear where the arms begin flat, as that's where the head will go.

 When the heads have firmed up, pipe the ears with the tip #57. Flatten the ears slightly between your fingertips so they aren't just a couple of balls.

 Once all of the pieces have firmed up sufficiently enough to be handled…

 …stick the head to the body with a dot from the tip #57.

 You can either draw on the nose and eyes with a food-safe marker like an AmeriColor Gourmet Writer, or dab them on (like I did) with a toothpick dipped in AmeriColor Super Black Soft Gel Paste (flat for the nose, round for the eyes). These would be darling cupcake toppers for any Teddy Bear's Tea Party or high tea for dolls.

Royal Icing Teapot

I've had a few requests for a tiny little teapot ever since my tribute to All Things British/Olympics began. So, here it is. All you'll need is stiff consistency royal icing in any color you like, parchment paper squares, a flower nail, a glue stick, round tips #12 and #4, and a dusting pouch filled with a 50/50 blend of powdered sugar and cornstarch. Stick a parchment square to the flower nail. Start by piping the "pot" part. Hold the tip just above and at a right angle to the surface. Squeeze until a ball forms, then pull upward. After about half inch, stop pressure and pull the tip away. 

 Tap a fingertip to the dusting pouch and tap the peak down so the shape is rounded.

 Pipe one for each teapot and allow them to firm up.

 Switch to the #4 tip and pipe some handles. Pipe plenty of spares in case they wind up breaking or being the wrong size. They're basically curlicues slightly shorter in height than the pot.

 Pipe the lid's handle in the center of the pot; it's pretty much nothing more than a #4 dot. Adjust it with a dusted fingertip, if need be.

 Pipe a spout on one side with the #4 tip, starting at the base and pulling away about 2/3 of the way to the lid handle on top. You can perfect it with a dusted fingertip so the angle is just right.

 When the handles are dry, squeeze a tiny dab of icing at each end…

 …and stick it to the teapot. You might want to paint some gold accents, like I did on these tiny little teacups. Pinkies up!

Royal Icing Apple Pie

Imagine my surprise when I looked up British Culture on Wikipedia and discovered in the cuisine section that apple pie has been consumed in England since the middle ages! And here I thought nothing could be more American. Anyway, in my ongoing quest to pipe something British or Olympics-themed every day of the 2012 games, I piped a tiny little pie. The first step is to stick a parchment paper square to a flower nail with a dab from a glue stick. You'll want to have a Styrofoam block handy to rest the nail in. 

 Pipe a "pie pan" with a round #12 tip, held at a right angle to and just above the surface. Pipe a ring…

 …then fill in the hole in the center…

 …then tap the disc flat with your fingertip after touching it to a dusting pouch filled with a 50/50 mix of cornstarch and powdered sugar.

Let it firm up for a while, then pipe a lattice with a flat, narrow tip. I love the look of the serrated tip #46 by Magic Tip (even though a flat tip probably would have been more realistic). Start by piping a straight line across the center. Neaten the ends with a dusted fingertip.

 Proceed with the basketweave technique. Pipe three (or so) cross pieces…

 …then pipe a little "spacer dot" in between each of the ends of those cross pieces.

 Pipe two more lines, parallel to the first line…

 …and finish off with short cross pieces, filling in any holes. Touch the dusting pouch and tap the outer edges smooth.

 Switch to a round #4 tip and pipe a squiggly line for the crimped edge. This would be cute on top of any apple dessert, like muffins.