Royal Icing Hawthorn Blossom

The hawthorn blossom is the official state flower of Missouri (and rightly so; as many as 100 varieties of hawthorn live in Missouri). The hawthorn is easy to pipe; all you'll need are white, yellow, and pink stiff consistency royal icing, petal tip #104, round tips #3 and #2, star tip #16, a glue stick, a flower nail, parchment paper squares, a Styrofoam brick to rest the nail in, and a dusting pouch filled with a 50/50 mix of cornstarch and powdered sugar. You'll notice I used a 5-petal flower template on the nail to help keep the five petals equal. Start by sticking a parchment square to the flower nail with a dab from the glue stick. 

 Hold the petal tip almost flat on the surface with the wide end in the center and the narrow end facing outward and slightly raised. Squeeze steadily and move the tip in an upside-down "U" motion to pipe the first petal.

 Repeat for a total of five petals.

 Pipe a yellow star in the center. Hold the tip at a 90 degree angle to the center, squeeze briefly, and pull the tip away. Touch a fingertip to the dusting pouch, and flatten the star slightly by lightly tapping it.

 Switch from the petal tip to the #3 round tip and pipe a cluster of stamens around the flattened star. Hold the tip against the surface, squeeze, pull upwards briefly, then stop pressure and pull the tip away. It's OK if the stamens are various lengths and aim in different directions; this will keep your flower looking real.

After the stamens have firmed up for a while, pipe pink dabs of icing on their ends with the #2 tip. Squeeze out a tiny dab amount of icing from the tip, and then wipe it off against the stamens (or pipe directly on them; they MUST be dry or they'll break). Now you'll know what to decorate your cupcakes with for Missouri Day (which, as I write this, is coming up; the third Wednesday in October!). 

Royal Icing Key Lime Pie

Tonight's project is a tiny little key lime pie, which is the official state pie of Florida. All you need to pipe a ridiculously diminutive pie is stiff consistency royal icing in white, brown, and green (to represent the pie pan; might as well keep the color thematic with the pie's interior), a glue stick, parchment paper squares, a flower nail, a Styrofoam block to rest the nail in, and a dusting pouch filled with a 50/50 blend of cornstarch and powdered sugar. You'll also need round tips #12 and #4 and star tip #16. Start by sticking a parchment square to the nail with a dab from the glue stick. 

 Holding the #12 tip at a right angle to and just above the surface, pipe a ring about 1" across. Fill the center of the ring with a dollop of icing…

 …and touch a fingertip to the dusting pouch. Gently tap this shape flat into a disc. Allow it to firm up for at least 10 minutes.

 Using the same or a different #12 tip, pipe a "kiss" of white icing in the middle of the disc. Hold the tip about a quarter-inch above the disc, squeeze out a nickel-sized dollop, then stop pressure and pull the tip away. A peak should remain.

 Pipe a #4 squiggly line of brown icing around the edge to represent the crust. You could stop here…

 …or switch to the #16 star tip to pipe an iconic meringue topping. These would be very cute as toppers on key lime cupcakes, or any other lime or Florida-themed dessert.

Royal Icing Flax

Yet another symbolic flower from the United Kingdom: flax is the emblem of Northern Ireland, and even appeared on the reverse of the British one pound coin in 1986 and 1991. I'm intrigued by it, because it's one of the few truly blue flowers I've run across. I used Sky Blue, along with a trace amount of Royal Purple (both by AmeriColor). Along with this light blue stiff consistency royal icing loaded in a bag fitted with a #101 petal tip, you'll also need yellow icing in a bag with a #16 star tip, a glue stick, parchment paper squares, a flower nail, a Styrofoam brick to rest the nail in, and a dusting pouch filled with a 50/50 mix of powdered sugar and cornstarch. If you'd like to cheat a little to get those petals really even, stick a template decal for the apple blossom and primrose to the flower nail. 

 Stick a parchment square to the flower nail with a dab from the glue stick.

 Hold the petal tip almost flat against the surface with the outer, narrow edge angled up slightly. Pipe a petal while moving your hand in an upside-down "U" motion, while jiggling your hand to create the ruffled texture. The outer edge of the petal should be somewhere between the two circles on the template, and the petal should fit inside one of the five wedges. Keep the dusting pouch handy in case you need to touch a fingertip to it to neaten up any of the petals.

 Pipe the second petal in the same way…

 …and the third…

 …the fourth…

 …and the fifth.

 Pipe a #16 yellow star in the center and flatten it with a dusted fingertip. Flax flowers remind me a lot of the cherry blossom, and can also be found in red.

Royal Icing Remembrance Poppy

During the Olympics Opening Ceremony, there was a reference to Remembrance Day (aka Poppy Day or Armistice Day), which reminded me of these stunning black and red Remembrance Poppies. I had to try my hand at piping them, and here's what I came up with. Start by sticking a parchment paper square to a glue stick.

 Pipe a base using a round #12 tip and black stiff consistency royal icing. Hold the tip just above the parchment paper, squeeze until the icing starts to build up, and pull the tip straight upward for about half in inch before stopping pressure and pulling away. The base will probably resemble a Hershey's Kiss. Touch your fingertip to a dusting pouch filled with a 50/50 blend of powdered sugar and cornstarch, and tap the peak flat.

 When the bases have had a chance to firm up for about 15 minutes or so, pipe a #16 star in the center. Flatten it with your fingertip as well.

 Pipe a total of five petals with a #104 petal tip and stiff consistency red royal icing (I used Super Red by AmeriColor; the black is Super Black). Attach a base to the nail gently by the paper with another dab from the glue stick. With the wide side of the tip #104 about halfway down the base, pipe a wraparound petal just over halfway around the base. I used a gentle in-and-out sawing motion to gently ruffle the icing

 Here's the second petal, which overlaps the beginning and end of the first petal.

 Pipe three more overlapping wraparound petals, being sure to completely cover the black base. If you make several dozen of them, they'd be a perfect, edible prop for a pretty nurse costume (serving poppies from a tray)

Royal Icing Sun Hat

I decided yesterday's flip flops really needed an accessory: a sun hat! All you need to pipe sun hats are the same tips and colors from the flip flops (round tips #12 and #3 or #2, and star tip #16), parchment paper squares, and a dusting pouch filled with a 50/50 mix of cornstarch and powdered sugar. Start by piping a flattened ball with the #12 tip; hold the tip just above the surface and perpendicular to the center of a parchment square. Squeeze briefly, and pull the tip away straight up while stopping pressure. Touch a fingertip to the dusting pouch and tap down the peak that will probably form; you'll be left with a relatively flat dot. 

 You may want to use a flower nail for this next step; I wish I had. Holding the tip just to the side of the dot and just above the surface, pipe continuously while moving the tip around the outer edge of the dot. When you reach the starting point, stop pressure and pull the tip away.

 Tap the ending edge down smooth with a dusted fingertip.

 Allow this disc shape to firm up for a while, then pipe the center. Hold the tip at a 90 degree angle just above the center, and squeeze until the icing meets the edge of that circular seam in the middle while moving the tip upwards. Stop pressure and pull the tip away. Stop here if you want a witch hat…

 …or touch a fingertip to the dusting pouch and tap it down into a smooth, rounded shape.

 Allow it to firm up for a while, then start decorating it. First, I piped a #3 band around the crown (I really wish I'd used the flower nail to get this line perfectly smooth; my pressure wasn't exactly steady while I was rotating the parchment with one hand and piping with the other).

 Then I piped a couple of little tails to make the band look more like a scarf tied around the crown.

 Then I decided what I really wanted was a #16 star flower with a #3 dot center to match those on the flip flops.

 I have absolutely got to get to work on some summer-themed cupcakes; maybe next I'll pipe a tiny bottle of SPF 50 sunblock…

Royal Icing Flip Flops

 Shoes don't come any less complicated than flip flops (aka thongs), making them one of the least complicated decorations you can pipe. How sweet would these be on a cake or cupcakes to celebrate summer or the beach? All you'll need are two colors of stiff consistency royal icing, round #12 and #3 tips, a small star tip like #16, parchment paper squares, and a dusting pouch filled with a 50/50 blend of powdered sugar and cornstarch. Start by holding the #12 tip just above and perpendicular to a parchment paper square. You'll want to pipe both "soles" on the same square, so you'll have the best chance of getting them close in size.

 Squeeze until the icing is barely visible around the edges of the tip, then move the tip along and just above the surface in a gentle curve, while decreasing pressure. When you get to the "heel," stop pressure and pull the tip away. If a peak remains, touch a fingertip to the dusting pouch and tap it into place.

Pipe its neighbor, and use your dusted fingertip to nudge them into being as identical as possible. Don't get carried away refining them; absolutely no one will call you on it if they aren't perfect. 

 Make as many pairs as you think you'll need and allow them to firm up for a few minutes. You can speed this process up by placing them under a desk lamp.

 Using a contrasting color and the #3 tip, pipe two diagonal lines from the center to the outer edges (basically an upside-down V). 

 Tap down any unsightly peaks and allow the straps on the flip flops to firm up. The project could be considered done at this point, or you could add some decorations…

 …like tiny flowers piped with a star tip (the smallest I had on hand was a #16; smaller might have been better).

 Finish them off with a dot from the #3 tip. Allow the flip flops to firm up completely before peeling away the parchment and wowing everybody with their cuteness.