Cake Decorating — Make Simple Frosting Flowers

To make drop flowers, start with the pastry bag at a 90° angle, touching the surface.

Apply pressure while turning the tip a quarter turn, keeping the tip touching the surface.

Continue with pressure while turning. Release pressure and raise tip straight up with a slight jerk to break off icing.

Use a contrasting color and pipe a dot in the center.

To make star flowers, start with the pastry bag at a 90° angle touching the surface.

Squeeze the pastry bag to pipe a star. Continue squeezing the pastry bag until the star is the desired size. The bag should not be lifted until the star is formed. Stop pressure and lift pastry bag.

Use a contrasting color and pipe a dot in the center.

Tip: A stiffer buttercream icing will create cleaner lines on your flower while a thinner icing will create a ruffled look. To thin your frosting, simply add a little more water.

This frosting flowers how-to is excerpted with permission from "The Complete Photo Guide to Cake Decorating" by Autumn Clark, published by Creative Publishing international.