The Contemporary Buttercream Bible (35 page)

D

Tip

Don’t lift the piping bag away from the cake as

this makes peaks or ‘spikes’. If you do get

spikes, wait until the buttercream has crusted

then press it down gently, rather than doing it

while it is still fresh as it will just stick to your fingers.

401

To create this cake…

• 15 × 13cm (6 × 5in) square cake

• 550g–1kg (1lb 4oz–2lb 3oz) buttercream

402

• Paste colours: pink (Sugarflair Pink), red

(Sugarflair Ruby Red), green (Sugarflair Spruce

Green)

• Writing nozzles: 0, 1 or 1.5

• Small petal nozzle (Wilton 103)

• Small leaf nozzle (Wilton 352)

• Piping bags

• Edible sugar balls

• Cake stand or covered cake board

Cover the cake with a smooth finish (see Covering

Cakes in Buttercream Basics) and place on a stand

or covered board. Colour 100–200g (31⁄2–7oz) of

buttercream in each of three shades of pink. Pipe

the lace as described in the tutorial. Colour

150–250g (51⁄2–9oz) of buttercream dark red (mix

Sugarflair Pink and Ruby Red) and another

100–150g

(31⁄ –51

2

⁄2oz)

green,

and

pipe

the

hydrangeas and leaves around the cake (see

Camellia and Hydrangea, and Sunflower and

Leaves in Piping Flowers). Add the edible sugar

balls to the centre of each flower.

403

Crochet

Making a crochet gift is a labour of love – how

much more so if it is an edible one? We have two

variations here: the first will let you drape pretty

patterns across your cake, like a shawl, using curved and straight lines. The second makes an amazing

all-over texture where, just like the real thing, you make each crochet stitch one by one with a loop of

piped buttercream. It’s a methodical, almost

soothing process that can’t be hurried, but the

result is a cake with charm and class.

1 Using a cocktail stick (toothpick) or any pointed

implement, mark patterns on the cake (A).

404

A

2 Using tinted buttercream in a piping bag, cut the

tip to create a small hole. Start with the outermost

line and pipe over the marked guide lines. To create

the crochet effect, continuously squeeze your piping

bag and as you move it along, turn your bag with a

small circular motion, clockwise (B). Pipe another

crochet effect line right next to the first line but do it counter-clockwise (C).

405

B

C

406

3 Repeat the process to complete the rest of the

patterns on the cake (D). Create some variations by

making some lines double and some just a single

crochet line.

D

4 You may pipe a guide outline, rather than

following marks, if you find it easier. Pipe a very

fine outline first (E), then pipe over it using the

circular crochet-making motion (F).

407

E

F

408

Tip

For the patterns, crochet table covers,

dresses, cardigans and tops would be great

inspiration.

409

410

To create this cake…

• 20 × 20cm (8 × 8in) square cake (bottom tier), 15

× 10cm (6 × 4in) square cake (top tier)

• 2.35–2.75kg (5lb 4oz–6lb) buttercream

• Dowel rods

• Paste colours: green (Sugarflair Gooseberry),

violet (Sugarflair Grape Violet), dark green

(Sugarflair Spruce Green)

• Cocktail stick (toothpick)

• Piping bags

• Scissors

• Small petal nozzle (Wilton 104)

• Cake stand or covered cake board

Crumb coat, dowel and stack the cakes (see

Buttercream Basics) and place on a stand or

covered board then, referring to the photograph,

mark the pattern. Cover the lower part with

800–900g (1lb 12oz–2lb) of green buttercream and

the top with 800–900g (1lb 12oz–2lb) of plain

buttercream, giving both a smooth finish (see

Covering Cakes in Buttercream Basics). Colour the

remaining buttercream in the following quantities:

411

500–600g (1lb 2oz–1lb 5oz) violet and 250–350g

(9–12oz) dark green. Refer to the photograph and

follow the tutorial to pipe the crochet in violet. To give volume to the hydrangea on the corner, either

pipe a big blob of buttercream or pile up a small ball of cake sponge and stick with buttercream before

piping the flowers around it in dark green (see

Camellia and Hydrangea in Piping Flowers). Finish

with a border of crochet in dark green, piped with a

bag with the tip snipped off.

Looped Crochet

1 Using any straight edge tool, like a scraper or

ruler, mark evenly spaced vertical lines, about 1cm

(1⁄4in) apart, all around your cake (A). This will

ensure that your panels will have the same width

throughout.

412

A

2 Choose colours then put each of your tinted