Made some buttercream roses ahead of time for a cake tomorrow. As I was piping my icing was not coming out smooth. The top of the petals looked almost torn. Is there anyway to avoid this and how can I fix it??

This usually means your icing is too dry. Piping buttercream flowers is a tricky business - the consistency has to be JUST right or the flowers don't turn out. You might want to thin your icing down a little bit with some corn syrup (just a smidgen at a time!) or you can use plain water (or milk or whatever liquid you used in the first place). Hope that helps!

Also check the inside edge of your piping tip -- sometimes there are rough edges that break the icing -- you can smooth them off with a metal nail file.

Yes, most of the time, it is from using icing that is too stiff or dry, but it could also be the result from your tip not being opened up wide enough at the smaller tapered end. If neither of these suggestions work, and you're still getting the ruffled/jagged edges, you can try using a larger rose tip (like #124 instead of #104, for example).

Sounds like your icing is too dry, which is different than too stiff. Add about a tablespoon of crisco or a teaspoon of piping gel to a cup of the icing. That will make it more creamy.

Another issue is how hard you are squeezing the bag. If you aren't squeezing hard enough or piping to slowly and turning the nail too fast it will pull and stretch the icing causing the breakage on the edges.

I'm telling you, I never get tired of this place! I just learned three new things about piping buttercream flowers since my last post up there! I LOVE you guys!!!