Bedazzle with Buttercream

Are you looking for a way to elevate your plain vanilla cake? Do you want to add a little something extra, and try decorating with patterns and textures? Either way, make all the other school mum's jealous when you walk in to the annual bake sale with a cake that's beautifully decorated to look like it's covered in fresh blooms or adorned with colourful banners.  

Bound to make even the simplest of cakes or sweet treats stand out, buttercream frosting is the go-to for both professionals and beginners alike. 

Most commonly used for cake filling, exterior covering or for piped decorations, this frosting is easily manipulated and will last for a number of weeks if it's properly refrigerated. 

The other half of the decorating duo, also known as buttercream's best friends, are the range of decorating tools and tips from Wilton. These tips will do most of the work for you (don't worry, you can still take all the credit), and come in a range of sizes and shapes depending on what look you want your sweet treat to have. 

If you're stuck on colour or concept ideas for your decorating, try our 'Roses are Red' buttercream cupcake recipe and let your creative juices flow. 

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Necessary Tools  

Decorating Bags 

Before you get started however there are a few essentials that you need to make sure are by your side. Firstly you need to have a reliable decorating bag. Whether it's a disposable one or a reusable featherweight one, these are essential if you want to decorate using a tip. 

If you're using a disposable bag, simply cut off the end of the bag to the size of your required tip and you'll be ready to start piping. If you're using a featherweight one, just place the tip at the end of the bag and you're good to go. 

*pro tip* - when filling your piping bag with icing, stand it in a cup so a) you don't have to hold it, and b) both your hands will be free to fill it. However don't overfill your bags as you need to save space at the top to close them. 

 Couplers

Although not technically essential, if you want a minimum-hassle, fuss-free decorating experience then we definitely recommend having one of these. 

Couplers attach perfectly to any decorating bag and make switching tips that much more easier as you don't have to change the piping bag. The coupler just sits inside the bag so you can screw the decorating tip on from the outside. 

Turntable 

This is a MUST if you want to avoid having to contort your body into funny shapes to pipe and decorate the whole cake. 

Allowing you to turn your cake this way and that to get the best angles, the turntable will make decorating as easy as it can be, and any product that'll curb wrist cramping is a win in our books. 

Tips 

Flowers and other detailing 

Probably one of the more popular, and effortlessly striking, uses for buttercream is to decorate your cakes and cupcakes in a way that looks like they're covered in roses, daises or other flowers. 

Drop flower tips will add interesting detailing to your cake decorating without any of the hassle, all it takes is an easy dab and twist. 

Alternatively you can use the Specialty Tip #81 to create perfect flowers, ribbons dots and more. 

 Textures 

The Open Star Tip #4B is perfect for building up the volume on your sweet treats and for adding textures to either the top or the sides of the cake, or for creating borders. 

You can also use this tip to create stars and shell like shapes for a bit of extra and pretty detailing.  

Shapes and Swirls 

If creating large dots or pretty swirls is your thing, or you want it to be, then you'll love the Large Round Tip #2A. 

Experiment with creating shapes or for adding volume to your cupcakes, this tip will have your sweet treats looking like the best of the bunch!