Week 48 -- Pastry Bag Icings

Here is where the artistry of cake decoration comes forth. Knowing which pastry tips to use and how to use them makes all the difference. Practice and experimentation leads to wonderful results. Be not afraid, use your imagination and create beautiful cakes that everyone will appreciate.

How to use a pastry bag:

  • Begin with a basically iced cake that has been chilled
  • Select the pastry bag tip you desire, say a medium star shape
  • If using disposable pastry bags, cut the end off to allow the tip to be exposed without slipping through (line up tip with bag and cut about half the length of the tip off the bag)
  • Fill the pastry bag with the soft icing about half-way
  • Push the icing down the bag toward the tip to prime it
  • Twist the top of the bag to develop downward pressure
  • Using two hands to hold the pastry bag, use the hand at the tip end only as a guide for placement, and the hand at the top of the bag is used to force the icing out
  • Make a small rosette at the edge of the top of the cake with a little squeeze, with a down-up motion, then give the bag another twist, make another rosette, twist, etc, until you go around the entire top edge of the cake with rosettes
  • Make as many rosettes as you desire on the top of the cake for decoration, and make rosettes to go around the cake bottom, where the cake touches the plate to finish it off
  • Experiment with different pastry bag tips and design configurations as your imagination takes you

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Zebra Cake Icing (using genoise, jelly roll cake)

  • Begin with genoise, French egg yolk foam cake (jelly roll cake)
  • Here we'll use fudge icing, but imagine it done with strawberry or raspberry icing (jam), topped with Italian buttercream icing
  • Cut the genoise into 3 inch strips (or whatever is manageable from the size genoise you made -- 3 or 4 or 5 inch strips )
  • Apply icing to the entire genoise evenly
  • Roll up the first strip into a cylinder, then wrap the other strips around that cylinder, wrapping as tightly and evenly as possible
  • Apply icing to the entire outside of the cake
  • When sliced, it reveals a "sideways jelly" roll, with vertical stripes of frosting, with multiple layers of flavor and color, attractive and delicious

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