Drop Strings Video Part 2

Here is the video of the second set of drop strings being piped. It was my husband's idea to try shooting from a different angle than the first video, which I think is a good idea. I hope this video doesn't raise more questions than it answers, but if you still find yourself being baffled by drop strings, please write to me in the comments! Go pipe some strings!

P.S. Keep your cake in the fridge, and when you cut it with a long, skinny knife the strings might stay intact like this! Not always, but sometimes…

Drop Strings Video

Drop strings are one of those cake decorating techniques that can not be demonstrated by text alone. So, here is my first video blog post; I hope you'll find it helpful! One thing I did forget to mention is the necessity of a turntable. I can't imagine piping drop strings without one, especially a heavy-duty, metal one. Also, there's a piece of that rubbery non-stick shelving material between the cake's board and the turntable to keep the cake from sliding around. Please, if you have any questions about drop strings, write me! And watch for Part 2 (featuring the second layer of strings), coming soon…

Tips vs. Tubes

The cake decorating supply company Wilton calls them tips, Ateco calls them tubes. I think "tube" is a bit of a misnomer; it suggests something cylindrical, whereas "tip" describes where on the decorating bag it's located. In a short span of time I've amassed a vast array of tips, mostly because they tend to run pretty cheap (between $1 and $3). Some of the standouts pictured in the multi-tip pileup above include one that pipes 3 stars simultaneously (far left; ideal for covering large areas with stars), a wide icer tip (that toothy monster toward the middle; I prefer to ice cakes with an offset spatula but the icer tip gets the job done), a Christmas tree tip (ideal for piping a cute little detail when you don't have the time to draw something freehand), and a long cupcake filler tip (to the right of the tree, standing almost as tall as the wide icer tip; get two or more of these and you can inject as many fillings as the cupcake will hold, such as peanut butter and jelly).

Invariably when I go shopping for tips I get carried away. I would wind up with unintentional duplicates of tips if I didn't carry lists of those I have (by brand) in the "Notes" app on my phone. I like to load up a decorating bag and take to my practice board with the new tips as soon as possible, always including the number of the tip…

…and then I have the photos to refer to the next time I have a blank-slate cake staring me in the face. Ateco produced a terrific book, the Ateco Cake Decorating Reference Manual, which is pretty much nothing more than 20 pages chock-full of images like the one above. All of their examples are shown life-size, and in white icing. I think white icing does look more palatable in photos than brown, but soon I'll post the reason why I happened to have a decorating bag loaded with chocolate icing (and the 195 tip) lying around.
I hope 2012 is off to a great start for you!