Tribute to Lemon Cream Pie Day

I just found out today is National Lemon Cream Pie Day. I don't have enough time to bake an actual pie, but I can certainly pipe a tiny approximation. I was browsing cnn.com for actual news and came upon the story of how today is National Lemon Cream Pie day, and how all you really need to go the easy route in creating one of these pies is a box of lemon pudding mix, a pie crust, and some whipped cream.

If you're so inclined, go for it! Alternately, if you'd like to pipe one the size of a nickel to serve to Christmas elves who show up early, you'll need stiff consistency royal icing in yellow, brown and white, round tip #12, petal tip #101, star tip #18, 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 cornstarch and powdered sugar. Start by sticking a parchment square to the flower nail with a dab from the glue stick. 

 Hold the #12 tip about 4 mm above and at a right angle to the surface, and squeeze steadily while moving the tip around in a circle. Fill in the hole in the center. Touch a fingertip to the dusting pouch and tap the icing smooth.

 Attach the #101 tip to the brown icing. With the narrow end facing upward and the wide end at the base, pipe around the perimeter of the yellow disc while rotating the nail. Pulse the #101 tip in and out to create the crimping of the pie crust as you pipe.

 Let the icing firm up for a few minutes, then finish off with a dollop from the #18 tip to suggest whipped cream. Substitute the yellow icing with orange and BOOM! You have a pumpkin pie.

Royal Icing Christmas Cracker

Piping Christmas crackers is a great way to use up that last bit of stiff consistency royal icing in any festive color; don't worry, you don't need to pipe a tiny hat, toy and joke to go inside them. You'll need round tip #12, petal tip #101, a flower nail, a Styrofoam block to rest the nail in, a glue stick, an offset spatula, parchment paper squares, and a dusting pouch filled with a 50/50 mix of cornstarch and powdered sugar. Start by sticking a parchment square to the flower nail with a dab from the glue stick. 

 Pipe a cylinder of icing about one inch long. Start by wiping away any icing from the tip. Hold the tip flat against the surface and pipe for about an inch. Stop pressure…

 …and slide in the spatula alongside the tip.

 You should be left with a reasonably tidy cylinder. Neaten it with a fingertip you've touched to the dusting pouch, if need be. Allow it to firm up for a few minutes. 

Switch to the #101 tip to pipe the ruffly ends. Hold the narrow end of the tip outwards and pulse the tip back and forth to form ruffles while piping in a fanlike motion. These could work for any holiday if you adapt the colors thematically.

Royal Icing Swiss Army Knife

Yesterday I received a request for something Swiss, and here it is! All you'll need to pipe a tiny Swiss Army Knife (of the single blade variety) is stiff consistency royal icing in red and white, round tips #12 and #2, petal tip #101, oval tip #55, a flower nail, a Styrofoam block to rest the nail in, a glue stick, parchment paper squares, a dusting pouch filled with a 50/50 mix of powdered sugar and cornstarch, silver dust like Wilton's Shimmer Dust, and a small brush. Start by sticking a parchment square to the flower nail with a dab from the glue stick. 

 Attach the round #12 tip to the red icing, and hold it at a right angle to and just above the surface. Squeeze while moving the tip along for about an inch and a half, then stop pressure and pull the tip away. Touch a fingertip to the dusting pouch and tap down the peak, if one remains.

 Use the petal tip to pipe the knife blade. Load it onto the white icing, hold it against the side of the knife and flat against the surface, then squeeze while moving the tip along for about half an inch before stopping pressure and pulling the tip away. You may need to define the tip with dusted fingertips.

 Switch to the #55 tip and pipe a cross. Flatten it a bit with a dusted fingertip.

 Switch to the round #2 tip and pipe a small "o" for the keyring. Pipe a short length over one side of the "o" to "anchor" it to the knife.

 Dip your brush in the shimmer dust and gently brush it over the keyring and knife blade. This knife might not get you out of any pint-sized emergencies, but it will look cute on any cake having something to do with camping, Scouts, or all things Swiss!

Royal Icing Crow

Is there an official bird for the month of October? Because it probably ought to be the very cool, somewhat sinister-looking, crow. All you'll need to pipe a flock of crows (also known, rather poetically, as a murder of crows) are stiff consistency royal icing in black, round tips #12, #8, and #2, petal tip #101, oval tip #57, 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 nail with a dab from the glue stick. 

 Hold the tip just above and at a 45 degree angle to the surface. Pipe a ball, then move the tip along a short distance before stopping pressure and pulling the tip away to form a teardrop. Allow this shape to firm up for a while.

 Switch to the #101 petal tip to pipe the wings. Keep the wide end of the tip toward the middle, just over the "spine." While piping out a wing, gently pulse the tip in and out to form a ruffle that suggests feathers. Repeat on the other side.

 Switch to the #8 tip to pipe the head, which is basically a ball. Touch a fingertip to the dusting pouch and tap down any peak that remains when you pull the tip away.

 Switch to the #55 tip to pipe the beak. Hold the tip against the surface, squeeze, move the tip away a short distance, then stop pressure and pull the tip away. You may need to taper/elongate the beak with dusted fingertips.

 Switch to the #2 tip to pipe two dots for eyes, which you should flatten slightly with a dusted fingertip. Place some of these alongside royal icing headstones for an homage to Six Feet Under. 

Royal Icing Calendula

The official flower of October is the calendula, a member of the daisy family which comes in colors ranging from yellow to orange. And, like the daisy, it's very easy to pipe. All you'll need is stiff consistency royal icing in a golden yellow or orange, round tip #5, petal tip #101, parchment paper squares, a flower nail, a Styrofoam block to rest the nail in, a glue stick, and a dusting pouch filled with a 50/50 mix of cornstarch and powdered sugar. Start by sticking a parchment square to the nail with a dab from the glue stick. 

 Pipe the petals by moving your hand in a tight "U" formation, starting from the center, moving the tip out toward the edge, then back in again. Keep the narrow end of the petal tip facing outward and slightly upward off the surface, while moving the wide end along the surface. Usually I like to pipe four petals first in the 12-3-6-9 positions to keep the flower balanced; I didn't do that this time. I just made sure to rotate the nail steadily while keeping the petals basically the same length, and the end result was pretty even. Touch a fingertip to the dusting pouch and gently tap the center flat.

 Repeat, piping a smaller flower on top of the first one. Try not to line the petals right on top of each other; attempt to stagger them. Again, flatten the center with a dusted fingertip when you are finished.

 Pipe a cluster of #5 dots in the center. You can pipe them in a deeper color to give the center some contrast. Look at actual photos of the many varieties of calendula for inspiration when piping this autumn bloom!

Royal Icing Stonefly

Delaware is the only state to designate an official macroinvertebrate: the stonefly, which was chosen because it's an indicator of the excellent water quality in Delaware (stoneflies are intolerant of water pollution). To pipe stoneflies, you'll need stiff consistency royal icing (there  are 3500 species worldwide in a variety of colors; the photo I was following featured one that was almost black), petal tip #101, round tips #3 and #2, oval tip #57, parchment paper squares, a flower nail, a Styrofoam brick to rest the nail in, 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 nail with a dab from the glue stick. 

 Pipe the legs first with the #3 tip. They look like three modified W's with an extra straight line in the middle (which the body will be piped on top of).

 Switch to the #57 tip and pipe the body. Allow it to extend about 1/4" beyond one set of legs (the back) and a short distance beyond the other outer set of legs (the front).

 Pipe a ball with the #57 tip at the front for the head.

 Switch to the #2 tip and pipe an eye on each side of the head and two antennae closer to the front. A real stonefly has extremely long antennae. If you tried to replicate them exactly in royal icing, they'd be very likely to break. With the eyes and antennae, hold the #2 tip against the surface, squeeze, stop pressure, and pull the tip away. With the antennae, move the tip away a short distance while you're squeezing.

Finally, switch to the #101 tip to pipe the long wings that run the length of the body. Hold the tip just behind the head with the narrow side of the tip facing outward. Pipe along the body to the opposite end, allow the icing to fan out into a rounded wing shape at the end, then move the tip back up to the base of the head. Touch the dusting pouch and gently blend the ridge between the two wings. Peel away the parchment after the icing has dried. Stoneflies don't make for the cutest creature you could ever hope to pipe, but could be an interesting decoration on a lake-themed (or even Halloween) cake.

Royal Icing Goldfinch

The American Goldfinch (aka the wild canary) has been the official state bird of New Jersey since 1935. The male is bright yellow; the female's colors are more muted (as are the male's in the winter months). To pipe a flock of these sweet little birds, you'll need yellow, black and orange stiff consistency royal icing, round tips #12, #3 and #2, oval tip #55, petal tip #101, a flower nail, a Styrofoam block to rest the nail in, parchment paper squares, a glue stick, a black food-safe marker like an AmeriColor Gourmet Writer, and a dusting pouch filled with a 50/50 mix of cornstarch and powdered sugar. Start by sticking a parchment square to the flower nail with a dab from the glue stick. 

 Hold the #12 tip at a 45 degree angle to and just above the surface. Squeeze while pulling the tip slowly away. After about 1/2" stop pressure and pull the tip away. Touch a fingertip to the dusting pouch and tap the peak to round it.

 Allow it to dry for a few minutes. Use the #3 tip to pipe a tiny orange beak. Hold the tip against the surface, squeeze, and pull the tip away almost immediately. Adjust the beak with a dusted fingertip, if need be.

 Pipe two dots of black icing with the #2 tip.

 If you suddenly decide you'd prefer to have baby chicks over goldfinches, stop at this step. ;)

 Switch to the #55 tip and pipe some tail feathers. Overlap the body just a tiny bit to make sure they're firmly attached. I piped one in the middle, and then two slightly overlapping it. I tapped them where they attach to the body with a dusted fingertip.

 Switch to the #101 tip to pipe the wings. Hold the wide side against the body with the narrow side angled out. One should cross over the other where they meet in the back.

 Use the food-safe marker to draw in a tiny triangular crest between the eyes, starting at the nose, and tapering to just beyond the eyes.

 Peel away the parchment when the icing is dry, and use these goldfinches to decorate a dessert in honor of The Garden State.

Royal Icing Oak Leaf

The official state tree of Maryland is the white oak, which can live over 600 years! The leaves of this tree are very easy to pipe, and would look great in a variety of colors for a cake to celebrate any autumn holiday. You'll need stiff consistency royal icing, leaf tip #101 (or #104 for larger leaves), round tip #3, a glue stick, a flower nail, a Styrofoam brick, parchment paper squares, and a dusting pouch filled with a 50/50 mix of cornstarch and powdered sugar. Start by sticking a parchment square to the nail with a dab from the glue stick. 

This really is one of the easiest projects, ever. Lie the #101 tip almost flat against the surface, and pipe a gentle, random zig-zag of icing from one end to the other, at which point you should rotate the nail and repeat down the other side.

Touch a fingertip to the dusting pouch and lightly tap the surface to subtly blend the icing together. Don't flatten it too much; the grooves will represent veins.

Switch to the #3 tip and pipe a short stem. Overlap it just enough to really anchor it so it will be less likely to break off.

 When the white oak reaches 50 years of age, it will start to produce acorns; up to 10,000 annually! So you might want to pipe some to accompany the leaves.