Royal Icing Acorns

I’m a big fan of all things to do with the forest; some of the first things I figured out how to pipe with royal icing were pine cones and pine needles. Recently I piped a mouse and before I started adding features to it all I could think of when I looked at the body was how much it looked like an acorn. So, today I tried to pipe an acorn on purpose. All that’s needed to pipe acorns are a bag of green royal icing with a round #12 tip, brown icing with a round #3 tip, a dusting pouch filled with a 50/50 mix of cornstarch and powdered sugar, a flower nail, a glue stick, parchment paper squares, and a Styrofoam block to rest the nail in. 

Start by piping a short, squatty teardrop on a parchment square with the green icing (you could use brown, too). Hold the tip at a 45 degree angle, squeeze until you build up a ball, then pull away while decreasing and stopping pressure. Touch your fingertips to the dusting pouch then pinch the tip to neaten it up if need be. 

 Allow this part to firm up for a while (you can speed up the process by placing it under a desk lamp). Dab the glue stick to the flower nail, then stick the parchment square to it (being careful not to squish or otherwise disturb the icing).

 Pipe a cluster of #3 dots, then flatten them slightly with a dusted fingertip, to form the cap.

 Pipe a short stem, also with the #3 tip. Hold the tip against the acorn's cap, and squeeze while pulling away for a few millimeters. Stop the pressure and pull the tip away. If the end of the stem has an unsightly peak, tap it flat with your fingertip.

 Acorns are a perennial favorite in fall decorating, which is upon us if the massive autumnal floral display at Michael's is any indication (of course it's only June at the time I'm writing this). Take a tip from the hoarding habits of the squirrels and start piping acorns NOW; you'll be ready for all the fall and forest-themed cakes you might get called upon to decorate!

Royal Icing Toadstools

Here's a cute little project for all of your forest-themed cakes, fairy-inspired treats, Alice In Wonderland-esque tea parties, etc. All you need to pipe royal icing toadstools are a pile of parchment paper squares, stiff consistency royal icing (the thickness of toothpaste) in whatever colors you like, two round #12 tips (or be prepared to do a lot of switching back and forth), a round #3 tip, and a dusting pouch filled with a 50/50 mix of powdered sugar and cornstarch.  

 Start by piping the stems; you'll need a parchment square for each stem and each toadstool cap. Hold the tip just above the surface, squeeze steadily, and pull upwards.

 Stop pressure and pull the tip away.

 Touch a finger to the dusting pouch, and tap the stem into place. Flatten the top a little.

 Pipe the caps in a similar way, but keep the tip submerged as the cap forms to about the size of a nickel. The shape will be similar to a flattened Hershey's Kiss.

 Pull the tip out of the icing at a right angle…

 …then tap the cap smooth with a fingertip after touching it to the dusting pouch.

 Allow all the pieces to dry for about 20 minutes to half an hour. This gas stove is always warm even when it's off so they dried really quickly.

I used a #3 tip to pipe a few dots on each cap. 

I'm sure I took some artistic license with my color choices. 

 When the pieces are dry, squeeze a large dot of icing on the tip of the stem…

 …and attach the cap. Now wait for real fairies to show up and take a seat.