Royal Icing Fuzzy Spider

Here's a cupcake topper that would be perfect for Halloween, and is a great way to use up whichever icing color you have the most of. The further you can get away from reality, the better! You'll need three colors of stiff consistency royal icing (one for the body, one for the legs, and one for the eyes), round tips #12, #3, and #4, oval tip #57, a flower nail, a Styrofoam block to rest the nail in, parchment paper squares, a glue stick, round toothpicks, AmeriColor Soft Gel Paste in Super Black, 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. 

 Hold the #57 oval tip almost flat against the surface, and pipe eight legs. Stop pressure, rotate the nail, and restart pressure to form the L-shaped crook of the legs.

 When you get to the end of the leg, stop pressure and pull the tip away, allowing the peak to remain.

 Pipe the body with the #12 tip. Hold it just above and at a right angle to the center. Squeeze out a ball, then stop pressure and pull the tip away. Touch a fingertip to the dusting pouch and tap the body into shape.

 Use the #4 tip to pipe two balls for eyes…

 …and the #3 tip to pipe the "fur." Hold the tip almost against the surface, squeeze to anchor the icing to it, move the tip away for a couple of millimeters, then stop pressure and pull the tip away.

 Lastly, smash the pointy tip of a round toothpick against the counter, dip it into the Super Black, and dab in the eyeballs. Pipe a web over a cake and give these critters a good home!

Royal Icing Rhode Island Greening Apple

The Rhode Island Greening Apple was developed in its home state (where it is, probably obviously, the official fruit) around 1796! It's a very round, yellowish-green apple, and is known for retaining its sharp taste in cooking. I haven't quite mastered the art of piping a perfect ball-shaped figure that retains its shape, but this little hemisphere would make a fine topper for any apple dessert (cupcakes, muffins, whatever). All you'll need is stiff consistency royal icing in yellowish-green and brown, round tips #12 and #4, a flower nail, a Styrofoam brick to rest the nail in, a glue stick, parchment paper squares, and a dusting pouch filled with a 50/50 mix of powdered sugar and cornstarch. Start by sticking a parchment square to the flower nail with a dab from the glue stick. 

 Attach the #12 tip to the bag of green icing. Hold it at a 90 degree angle to and just above the surface, and squeeze steadily while moving the tip straight upward for about an inch. Stop pressure and pull the tip away.

 Liberally dust your fingertips by touching them to the dusting pouch, and tap the icing into this half-sphere shape.

 Finally, press the end of the #4 tip about a millimeter into the center at a right angle, and squeeze out a very short stem with the brown icing. Stop pressure and pull the tip away, adjusting the stem with a dusted fingertip if need be.

Royal Icing Diana Fritillary Butterfly

Tonight's project is the official butterfly of Arkansas, the Diana Fritillary butterfly. I should specify, this is the male; the female is black with blue and white markings. All you'll need is stiff consistency royal icing in orange and black, a brown food-safe marker like the AmeriColor Gourmet Writer, a glue stick, parchment paper squares, a flower nail, a Styrofoam brick to rest the nail in, petal tip #104, and round tip #4 and #2. Start by sticking a parchment square to the nail with a dab from the glue stick. 

Hold the #104 tip almost flat against the surface, and pipe 4 round petals in classic "butterfly" formation. 

 Allow this shape to dry. Use the dark brown marker to paint in a sort of "inkblot" in the middle…

 …with lines radiating outward…

 …and dots in between them.

 Using the #4 tip, pipe the body. Hold the tip at a 45 degree angle, and pulse your hand in and out as you pipe so the body will appear segmented

 Rotate the nail around and pipe a ball for the head.

 Switch to the #2 tip and pipe the antennae. Definitely a good butterfly for fall!

Royal Icing Jessamine

Yellow jessamine (or jasmine) is found throughout South Carolina, where it was designated the official state flower in 1924. Piping this flower is a little tricky, in that you'll need to use a lily nail instead of a flat flower nail. The lily nail comes in two pieces; just to simplify things, I'm going to call the one on the left the cup and the one on the right the plunger. 

 There are different ways to accomplish this step, but what I like to do is place a 4x4" square of candy foil on a flat surface, and place the plunger in the center.

 Draw the foil up around the edges of the plunger…

 …and then stick it into the cup.

 Fold the foil down over the cup…

 …and then tuck it around so it won't fly off when you're piping. Remove the plunger and you're ready to go.

 In addition to the lily nail and candy foil squares, you'll need medium-to-stiff consistency royal icing in yellow, petal tip #104, round tip #4, and a dusting pouch filled with a 50/50 blend of cornstarch and powdered sugar. Place the tip in the middle of the cup, and squeeze while slowly drawing the tip out along the side of the cup. When you get to the edge, stop pressure and pull the tip away. You may find you need to taper the end of the petal; touch your fingertips to the dusting pouch and then gently pinch the end of the petal.

 Repeat 4 times for a total of 5 petals. Try not to squeeze too much icing in the center, or it will take a VERY long time to dry completely.

 Switch to the #4 tip to pipe a pistil. Hold the tip in the center, squeeze while slowly drawing upwards for about 1/2". Stop pressure and pull the tip away. Adjust the angle with a dusted fingertip if you need to. Pipe these flowers well in advance of needing them (depending on your climate, that might mean a week); it's heartbreaking if you peel the foil away too soon and a petal comes with it!

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 Mayflowers

Yesterday I piped a peach as a nod of the head to the state of Georgia. I thought I might keep going with piping something to represent each of the 50 states; not only was the peach a lot of fun, but I had my 50,000th page view within a few minutes of posting it! Too weird to be a coincidence! Anyway, picking another state at random, I thought I'd move on to the official state flower of Massachusetts: the mayflower (not the ship). All you'll need to pipe mayflowers are stiff consistency royal icing in white and yellow, leaf tip #352, round tips #12 and #4, 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 powdered sugar and cornstarch. Start by sticking a parchment square to the flower nail with a dab from the glue stick. 

Hold the #12 tip just above the surface and squeeze out a half-inch column of icing. Stop pressure and pull the tip away. Touch your fingertips to the dusting pouch and tap the shape to perfect it. Pipe one base for each mayflower and set them aside to firm up for about half an hour.

Pipe five petals using the #352 leaf tip. Hold the tip against the surface at a 45 degree angle, squeeze briefly, then pull the tip away. 

Taper the tip of each petal with your fingertips, if need be. Pipe each of the five petals close to the one next to it.

Angle the petals upwards with your fingertips.

Pipe a #4 dot for the center. The mayflower bears more than a slight resemblance to the stephanotis, doesn't it? 

Royal Icing Umbrella

The 2012 Olympics sure have had their share of rain! When I drove from California to the Salt Lake City Olympics in 2002 I don't even think I had an umbrella in the car. Tonight's post is a tribute to all those spectators standing in the London rain, who refuse to let some uncooperative weather come between them and the games. All you'll need to pipe umbrellas are stiff consistency royal icing in any color you like, round tip #10, petal tip #101, round tip #4, parchment paper squares, a glue stick, 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. Start by sticking a parchment paper square to the flower nail with a dab from the glue stick. 

 Hold the #10 tip just above and at a 45 degree angle to the surface. Pipe until a ball forms, then slowly move the tip along the surface while continuing to pipe. Gradually decrease pressure, then stop and pull the tip away. Neaten the tip with a fingertip that you've touched to the dusting pouch, if need be. Pipe one of these shapes for each umbrella, and allow them to firm up a little.

 Switch to the #101 petal tip and pipe the ruffle at the wide end, holding the narrow end of the tip outwards. Move the tip up and down as you pipe to form the ruffle.

 Here's another view of it:

 Now is a good time to switch to a contrasting color, unless you're going for a monochromatic look. Using the #4 tip, pipe the ferrule (pointy end) by holding the tip against the narrow end of the umbrella shape. Squeeze briefly, then stop pressure and pull the tip away.

 Tuck the tip into the ruffle and pipe the curved handle.

  Don't wait until a rainy day to pipe these umbrellas; they'd be perfect cupcake toppers for a shower of any sort!