How to Pipe Buttercream Flowers

You need only four things to make these cool cake toppers: a chopstick, a piping bag, scissors and a little bit of practice.

By: Food Network Kitchen

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Photo By: Heather Ramsdell ©Food Network 2016

Frosting Flowers 101

Follow our step-by-step guide to easily pipe fluffy buttercream frosting into delicate, natural-looking flower petals.

Photography by Heather Ramsdell

Step 1

Fill a piping bag fitted with a 104 tip with chilled buttercream frosting. The flower tip has a narrow droplet-shaped opening that is thin on top and wider at the bottom. Hold the bag in your good hand, thin part on top. Hold a chopstick in your other hand.

Step 2

Pipe the frosting onto the end of the chopstick, turning the chopstick to wrap a small bud shape around the tip.

Step 3

Pull down at the end to anchor the bud.

Step 4

Make a petal by drawing a rainbow shape, sticking one end to the bud and drawing the rainbow halfway around the bud.

Step 5

Hold your tip straight. Just move the height of the bag, and turn the chopstick to form the rainbow. Overlapping the last petal by a bit, make another, in the same direction. Adding pressure and turning your wrist out slightly flares the petals a bit.

Step 6

Make a third petal, overlapping slightly. Now you have added a second layer of petals to your bud.

Step 7

Move on to make another layer of petals. Add another layer if you would like a larger flower.

Step 8

When you are done, put a dab of frosting on the cupcake to act as a petal and also as glue.

Step 9

Put down the bag and use scissors to remove the rose from your chopstick, by sliding the flower up. It will stick to the scissors.

Step 10

Open the scissors a bit and stick the rose to the cupcake.

Step 11

Add more roses if you feel like it. Give a bouquet of cupcakes to someone you like.

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