WRITTEN BY STACIA KONOW
ILLUSTRATIONS BY ABBEY PIATT PRICE
S
pring has sprung, which means it’s time for flowers, picnics, and finally getting to bake with the windows open once more. One of my favorite ways to bring spring into your kitchen is with frosting! The floral decorations
and bright pastel hues instantly enliven any dessert and all those whom you get to share your creations with. Even small frosting details can make a cake look extra special, and they can help to cover any imperfections in the cake
itself. However, piping perfect violets and chrysanthemums onto cupcakes for a spring birthday party is no easy feat. Here are some tips and tricks to help you become a frosting pro.
tip #1: know your piping tips Every frosting kit comes with different types of frosting tips— each creating a different piping design and texture. The most common tips are open star, closed star, petal or ruffle tips, and round tips. Open star tips look like stars and create ridges in the frosting. When you picture a perfectly frosted cupcake, this is likely the tip the baker decorated it with. Open star tips create the classic mountain swirls of frosting on top of cupcakes, but they can also be used to make ebbed borders on cakes or grass-like 18
BITE | SPRING 2022
decorations. Closed star tips are similar, but the points of the stars are bent inward slightly, giving the frosting an even more defined edge. They add a beautiful floral touch to frosting swirls. Petal tips, sometimes called ruffle tips, are best for making petals. It is important to make sure the fatter side of the tip is faced down, especially when you are trying to add finer details to your cake. Finally, there are round tips– simple circular tips that create smooth lines of frosting. These are best for piping lettering,
dots or intricate outlines and details. Picture a cookie with fine outlining or illustrations. While these effects can be achieved by cutting different sized holes into the corner of a plastic bag, metal tips are much more precise and provide greater control when frosting.
