Russian piping tip guide – Easily make buttercream flowers! – The Fig Jar

Share this…

Pinterest

Yummly

Tumblr

Russian Piping Tips

At first I felt like using Russian Piping tips to make buttercream flowers was cheating but I’ve changed my mind! They look cute so who cares. My favorite part about making buttercream flowers is playing with the colors anyways. But wait, what are Russian piping tips?! Gooood question. They are a specially designed, extra-large piping tip that allows you to create buttercream flowers with one squeeze of a piping bag.

My former roommate gave me these as a gift and I’m so grateful she did! They have been so fun to use and they allow me to play with color and not stress about making elaborate buttercream flowers by hand…. because I can’t. Yet, anyways.

The photos above and below show my favorite nozzles next to the finished flower. They are super easy to use, just squeeze and release onto the parchment and you get these cute little flowers. With the exception of the first row (top horizontal row in photo above, far left in the photo below), the flower is supposed to be open and has the little dots in the middle but I like having some closed for variety. If you press down while squeezing and pull up slowly they will come out like this. This is the kit that I have!

What are russian piping tips?

Russian piping tips are a large piping nozzle with a pre-cut design that you squeeze the frosting through to create different types of buttercream flowers. If you look at some of the designs on russian nozzles, you’d be surprised what kind of flowers you get!

They are a great way to start if you are new to piping with buttercream and cake decorating.

Do russian piping tips work?

Short answer: yes they work!

But I’ll say a little more. I think they are pretty foolproof and are a great way to create buttercream flowers easily with little background skills in the buttercream flower realm. I like having a more involved baking project every now and then, but usually I just want a delicious dessert that doesn’t take a lot of fuss. With that said, I personally don’t have a lot of experience creating buttercream flowers without russian nozzles and I find these very easy to use. If you can fill a piping bag with frosting then press, squeeze and lift that bag, you can find success with these.

These are still a little bit of a project because hello, filling up multiple piping bags and mixing up a variety of colors is not an instant thing. But it’s an enjoyable process if you like creating and eating pretty things!

How to use

I have to be honest here and tell you up front that I am lazy. Instead of using the attachment that allows you to switch out the nozzles and continue with the same color, I just drop the nozzle straight into the bag and cut the bag to fit snugly on the nozzle. Usually, I’m not wanting to have different flower designs with the same color so I don’t need it.

Once you have the piping nozzle in place, fold down the edges of the bag to make adding the buttercream easier. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the frosting into the bag. Gently squish the frosting a little to get rid of any large air pockets then start squeezing the frosting down toward the nozzle.

A good rule of thumb, is do your first flower on a piece of parchment to get a feel for it and also to get out any extra air pockets that might have collected around the base.

Sometimes, I even pipe all of my buttercream flowers onto parchment, freeze them and then arrange them on my cake or cupcakes, by hand. You can also just pipe the flowers directly onto your dessert. I went the piping-directly-onto-the-cookies route with these.

What is the best frosting to use with russian piping tips?

I like using buttercream frosting. Actually I have only used buttercream frosting lol. I don’t know that anything else would work and enable you to get a detailed design.

Frosting consistency

The buttercream needs to be stiff and can’t be too warm in order to get the designs to really come through. If the frosting is too warm, all of the flowers will just look like closed rose buds. Which are cute and I like to have a couple like that, but you also will want some where the details really come through.

And with that said, it’s not an exact science. If it’s not a particularly hot day, the frosting should be the right consistency right after you are finished mixing it. However, as you mix in food coloring and the frosting sits as you pipe, it will start to get warm. Once you have a color mixed and you think you are ready to start filling your piping bag, take your spoon or spatula, dip it down into the frosting and lift it straight out. If a stiff sort of peak forms, the temperature should be okay. It it just flops back down again, it’s probably too warm. Just pop it in the freezer for a couple of minutes and test it again.

Color Mixing for Buttercream Flowers

So as mentioned, it’s not an exact science. The main secret is: black food coloring. All of these colors were made using a basic box of food coloring from the grocery store baking aisle and black food coloring from americolor. Black is the key to getting more subdued colors and a range of different shades of one color.

I started by scooping about half a cup of frosting into a ramekin and adding a few drops of the first color I wanted to go for. When I made the red/pink cake I added a few drops of red, mixed and added more red until it gave me a color I liked. Then I added a tiny drop of black. I dispensed as many flowers as I could with that color onto a clean sheet of parchment then started mixing again in the same ramekin I’d already used. This time I’d add red, blue and black till I got another color I liked, then repeat the process with varying amounts of coloring to get different shades. I recommend dispensing the flowers onto parchment first so that if one doesn’t come out right you don’t have to deal with scraping it off or messing up any work you’ve already done.

What I mean by a “tiny” drop of black

Once I’ve dispensed all the flowers I need, I just pop them in the freezer for about twenty minutes, then arrange them on the cake(s) by hand. This part is my favorite!

You will find that as the frosting sits out it will become too soft and the flowers will not hold their shape. When this happens during the coloring mixing stage: I mix the color I want, then pop it in the freezer for about three minutes. Test it and pop it in for two more minutes if necessary. If you’re like me and get distracted and leave it in too long it will get too hard but don’t despair! You can pop it in the microwave for three second intervals to soften it up again.

I’ve found that keeping each flower separate makes for cleaner application to the cake later on. When I dispensed little clusters of flowers next to each other on the parchment, some would inevitably break apart when I’d go to place them on the cake. Once you are done piping the flowers onto the parchment, place them on a cookie sheet or cutting board in the freezer for 15 minutes or overnight. Take each flower and accent off and arrange by hand. You will need to intermittently pop them back in the freezer to harden them up again.

I used Wilton tips for the green accents – a 129 (larger bloop) and a 16 (small bloop).

The Cake

The cakes featured in this post are a yellow cake. The square cake with the reds, pinks and purples has a layer of dark chocolate ganache under the buttercream. I like using super dark chocolate to balance out the sweetness of buttercream. I’ve been using my trusty bars from Trader Joe’s every time I make a ganache lately (not an affiliate, just sharing info, its way cheaper in the store if you can find it right now). It has a nice fruity flavor, its smooth and inexpensive. Plus, I love it on its own, in granola and it melts beautifully for a silky ganache.

This post is more about a decorating idea, help with color creation and russian piping tip info than providing a cake recipe but this is the recipe I used when I made this cake. It makes enough batter for two 8 x 8 square pans. You can of course use any cake recipe you like!

How to Make Chocolate Ganache

It’s so easy! All you need is chocolate and cream. Or any milk really. I’ve used hemp milk, rice milk and even a blackberry sauce/milk combo for my blackberry cake. Understanding ganache making is really just about method and ratio. And the method is = pour warm milk/cream over chopped chocolate, let stand then whisk. Ratio = 1:1.

In Summary

• Add a tiny drop of black to any color to get a more subdued hue
• Keep flowers and accents separate on parchment for clean application to cake
• Place overly soft icing in the freezer for 3 minutes to bring back to stiff consistency
• Freeze for at least 15 minutes before attempting to place on cake
• Use a Wilton 129 and 16 for the accents

Print Recipe

Buttercream & Ganache

Equipment

• Russian piping nozzles (can be purchased on Amazon)

• Piping bags

• Parchment paper

• Wilton tips 129, 16 (for green accents)

• ramekins

• Black food coloring, basic food coloring set from any grocery store

Ingredients

Buttercream Frosting

• 1

  cup

  (2 sticks) unsalted butter

  softened

• 3

  cups

  powdered sugar

• 1/2

  tbsp

  milk

• 1/4

  tsp

  vanilla

Chocolate Ganache

• 3 1/2

  oz

  chopped chocolate

• 1/2

  cup

  cream

Instructions

Frosting Instructions

• In a large bowl, beat butter using an electric mixer until smooth.

• Gradually add powdered sugar, with mixer on low, once all sugar is added and mixture begins to come together, increase speed and blend for about 3 minutes.

• Add vanilla and milk, continue blending until smooth.

Chocolate Ganache

• Place chopped chocolate in a bowl. Heat milk until very hot to the touch, but not boiling. Pour milk over chocolate and let stand 3 minutes.

• Whisk until smooth. If there are still lumps, place in microwave for 10 seconds and whisk again. Repeat this process until smooth.

Notes

• One batch of the buttercream will yield enough flowers for about 12 cupcakes or one 9 x 13 rectangle cake, you will need to make an extra batch if you want to frost with buttercream under the flowers

<3 Becky

Share this…

Pinterest

Yummly

Tumblr