The Contemporary Buttercream Bible (12 page)

Sunflower and Leaves in Piping Flowers) and

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adding light green foliage (see Ruffles in Piping

Texture and Patterns) on the top and sides.

Traditional Basketweave

1 Mark a vertical line using a smooth edge cake

scraper on the cake side to ensure your vertical

basketweave lines are straight. You can judge the

rest from this first line (A).

A

2 Using Wilton nozzle number 45, or 48, with the

smooth side pointing upwards, pipe a vertical line.

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You can start at either the top or the bottom,

whichever you find easier (B).

B

3 Pipe about 4–5cm (11⁄2–2in) short horizontal lines

across the vertical line starting from either the top or bottom of the cake. The spacing between the

lines should be the same as the width of the nozzle’s tip opening (C).

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C

Tip

It can be tricky to pipe straight lines, especially

on the side of a cake. We suggest you practise

piping on a cake board held upright. Another

effective tip is to drag the piping bag quickly –

this makes the lines less wiggly.

4 Pipe another vertical line that overlaps the

horizontal lines. The spacing between the vertical

lines should be less than 2.5cm (1in). Pipe another

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sets of horizontal lines and make sure each line is

slightly buried under the first vertical line (D).

D

5 Repeat the process of piping vertical and

horizontal lines until you cover the whole cake (E).

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E

Tip

To create a different effect while using the

same basketweave technique, try using a

simple medium round nozzle or just cut the tip

off a piping bag to create a medium-size hole.

Or use two or more different shades of the

colour you have chosen.

Tip

Make sure that you pipe the ‘weaves’ before

the crumb coat has crusted and with a little

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pressure so they stick to your cake. The

horizontal weaves should seem like they are

coming from underneath the vertical weaves to

make the basketweave look more realistic.

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To create this cake…

• 15 × 15cm (6 × 6in) round cake

• 950g–1.25kg (2lb 2oz–2lb 12oz) buttercream

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• Paste colours: turquoise (Sugarflair Turquoise),

dark pink (Sugarflair Claret), light green (Sugarflair Bittermelon)

• Piping bags

• Basketweave nozzle (Wilton 48) or plain

basketweave nozzle (Wilton 45) and small petal

nozzle (Wilton 104)

• Side scraper or ruler

• Cake stand or covered cake board

Cover the cake (see Covering Cakes in Buttercream

Basics), and place on a covered cake board or stand.

Colour 400–500g (14oz–1lb 2oz) of buttercream

turquoise, and 100–150g (31⁄ –51

2

⁄2oz) a darker shade

of turquoise. Pipe the basketweave pattern as

described in the tutorial. Pipe a border using the

crochet technique (see Crochet in Textile Effects)

on the top edge of the cake with the darker shade of

turquoise and a piping bag with the tip snipped off.

Finish by piping camellias around the base using

400–500g (14oz–1lb 2oz) dark pink for the petals

and 50–100g (13⁄ –31

4

⁄2oz) light green for the centres

(see Camellia and Hydrangea in Piping Flowers).

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E- and C-scrolls

This is one of the easiest techniques to master, yet it can produce a really rather elegant design when

nicely coordinated, the lavish swirls create a rich

and elaborate texture. The two types are named

after the letter of the alphabet that they resemble.

We like to combine the e- and c-scrolls to achieve a

Victorian look on a cake.

1 Using a ruler, mark 6.5–7.5cm (21⁄2 –3in) wide

diagonal bands on all sides of the cake (A).

A

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2 Using a star nozzle (Wilton 16), pipe a reverse

c-scroll by holding the piping bag straight on to the cake with the curve tip touching the surface (B).

Squeeze with even pressure, and move a little to the

left before circling up and around to the right, down and then and up, creating a backwards letter ‘c’.

B

3 Pipe another c-scroll from the same starting point

as the first, but this time do the opposite (C). The

piping bag goes around to the left then up until it

creates a ‘c’.

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