I have been asked to do a single tier unicorn cake along with 50 cupcakes. Sounds pretty strait forward right? Well no, not for me. You see, I am what you would call a COMPLETE NOOB when it comes to piping. I do have pastry bag but it has been lying in constant state of hibernation clear at the bottom of my cake box. So, I would like to get some quality feedback on things like; what tips I should be getting, how to achieve those solid rainbow colored swirls that make everyone's teeth look like they have murdered a gaggle of trolls, tulip or regular paper cups, and should I be practicing my technique or will be winging it be OK?
You can use any large star tip for piping the mane, thecanadian160. Yes, you should probably practice on a piece of wax paper, at least a few times, before piping on the cake. In fact, you can do all the decorations on wax paper, put them in the refrigerator or freezer and let them get firm, then transfer them to your cake with a small spatula. You could do a combination of rosettes (the swirl seen on top if cupcakes) and stars in different sizes. To get multicolored frosting in each piece, you can fill three small bags with different colors frosting and drop all three of them into a larger bag that has been fitted with your tip or, just paint stripes of color down the sides of your bag and the frosting will pick it up as you pipe.
As to the cupcakes, I would use regular cups, sinced the cake is the star of the show, and just decorate them with a rosette on top....and a tiny horn and ears, if you are really energetic.
Thank for the reply! I will defiantly try the wax paper method. It will definitely calm my nerves a little bit knowing that if I screw one up it wont be permanent on my cake.
Believe me, I know the feeling! Good luck! Can't wait to see your unicorn. Oh, and have fun!
thecanadian160 Firstly, hello fellow Canadian. I hail from Ontario. Piping is an art, and it takes, practice, practice, practice. Sandra gave you some great tips. Icing is also about consistency, very important. Too stiff, and icing won’t flow when piping your swirls, and it will definitely kill your hands. Too soft, and icing will come out like glops, and won’t retain it’s lovely piped shape. A tip, I always make my icing fairly stiff, then remove what icing I need and add some liquid, milk, water, whatever, to get the desired consistency, which is medium. If you take out some icing on spatula, hold it up over the bowl, icing should stay put on the spatula. If it falls off, it’s too soft. You know you have the right consistency when icing stays on the spatula, and you give the spatula a shake, and it takes a couple of shakes before the icing falls off. I got taught this a loooooong time ago when I took a class with an old timer decorator when my now grown children were small. It has served me well. Very stiff icing is used to pipe roses, and other things. I can’t pipe as much anymore because I have arthritis in my hands, so it becomes painful. I miss it. I could get lost piping a design on a cake. As Sandra said, have fun...
I had some time on my hands today, so I make a practice cake. I think the only issue I had was that I placed the big swirls too far apart and had to 'fill in' with other colors. 
Yeah, that't pretty much the first cake I have ever piped buttercream on.
If that's your first.....then I am just going to stop even Trying to decorate cakes!
I am 55 years old now, and I have wanted to decorate cakes since I was a little girl, looking in the Big window at our local bakery where the Decorator did the cakes right there, in front of whoever was watching. I used to spend Hours watching those ladies.
I have only Dabbled, over the years, in cakes, icing, decorating, flowers, fondant. You name it, I have probably tried to do it. My favorite is making fondant figures. I can get the most creative there.
I am impressed with your work. I don't even have anything, pictures, to post. If I shared what I have recently made, I would get laughed right out of the Forum.
Beautiful job @thecanadian160! I was going to chime in with some words of encouragement but before I had the chance you posted your practice cake. Looks great to me! You got it! Piping is not my strong point but I made one of the unicorn cakes for my mom last year. I think the thing to remember is that there is no right or wrong with them. Just have fun with it! I "threw on" some pearls and gold stars as well just to add a little something more to the mane as well.
Beautiful job @thecanadian160! I was going to chime in with some words of encouragement but before I had the chance you posted your practice cake. Looks great to me! You got it! Piping is not my strong point but I made one of the unicorn cakes for my mom last year. I think the thing to remember is that there is no right or wrong with them. Just have fun with it! I "threw on" some pearls and gold stars as well just to add a little something more to the mane as well.
It looks fabulous! As to putting your large swirls too far apart and having to fill in with smaller stars of a different color...that is exactly the way most people do it on purpose. Much more interesting than having all of the swirls and stars the same size and color.
lvdenver, you are not going to get laughed at for posting your work. We are here to encourage and learn from each other and to enjoy all the work, no matter the level of expertise.
Thank you, Sandra Smiley...But for real, The one I just made looks like a child frosted it. And Not a child like the ones on the Kids Baking Competition Shows.....lol That was a simple Carrot Cake. Today, I baked three 3" rounds, and a 9", too. They are in fridge, and freezer. I want to try to use some Raspberry filling that I have had for Way too long. I am almost afraid to open it. Oh, I also made Pastry Cream tonight. And a few days ago, I attempted Eclairs and Cream Puffs. They weren't Horrible, just Way too small. Good thing I have a neighbor who takes, and eats Everything I bake. I wish I knew if this filling is okay or not. I don't want to make anybody sick.....not even the neighbor.
gascout73.....
That's the problem....There Is No expiration date. I guess I will have no choice but to open them, smell and taste, and see if I make Myself ill......lol I mean, they Look DE-licious. I just have not had the occasion to open them. That's because It is just me here...nobody else. And really nobody else to bake for, either. So, if I open, and they are OK, and I only ise a portion, I don't know what to do with (store) the remainder.
Decisions, Decisions......
As long as it doesn't have any off taste when you open it, it should be ok. On a side note, I always save any scraps or outdated items to use as bear bait.
Thank you all for your input. It has been helpful. For now, as it is getting too late to start on anything, I will have to leave this for tomorrow.
I am also looking for a Buttercream and Chocolate frosting recipe to use....that aren't for 12 Cups, as on one I saw. Do any of you have any favorites? As in Actual recipes you could send me, not just names? (I have had a terrible time finding them, even on the Recipe section as I don't want to try to look through 400 pages!)
Thanks Everybody! You have been helpful And friendly!
CH
Ivdenver, I never use a recipe when I make buttercream, chocolate or whatever flavor. American buttercream consists of butter and/or shorting (in any ratio you choose, from all butter to all shortening), powdered sugar, flavorings and a liquid to adjust the thickness. This can be milk, cream, water or any other liquid desired. To make chocolate, just substitute cocoa for part of the powdered sugar. A good place to start is one stick of butter to a pound of powdered sugar, which is enough to frost a 9", two layer cake.
When it comes to chocolate icing, like Sandra, I wing it. Usually 1/2 cup of butter, dutch cocoa, approx 1/4 cup melted chocolate. Beat butter well, add cocoa, melted chocolate, then add icing sugar. If too thick, add a bit of milk. That's pretty much it. Easy Peasy.
Wow! You guys sound like utter Geniuses (which I just misspelled BTW) to me! I knew you could interchange Some ingredients, but to just throw together Frosting? I need to get some confidence. Which one in Oz was that? The Lion? Hahahaha I AM a Leo!
Thanks for the guidance, folks!
Still puttering in the kitchen......
CH
Go putter with some butter (or Crisco or a combination of the two) and powdered sugar, flavorings and liquid of your choice and pretty soon you will have amazing buttercream.....truely! Have fun!
Hi SandraSmiley....
I did it.....made some buttercream. Now I think I had better bake another couple of layers tomorrow to go with the Oe I have. I don't want to waste the frosting.
And it Does taste pretty good! Who knew? lol Thanks for all your help. :)
Christie
Good for you, Christie! See, it is fun and not hard at all. One note, I always use a lot more flavoring than most recipes call for. If it says one teaspoon, I usually put one tablespoon because I like lots of flavor. Now all you have to do is try new flavor combinations.
jchuck- I am actually an American citizen, though I was born in Canada. My parents decided it was a good idea to go on a fishing trip north of Ignace, Ontario when my mother was 7 months pregnant (probably my dads idea) . Luck would have it, she went into labor the second day they were there. The plan was to head back to Grand Marais, MN (where they were living at the time) and have me delivered there. By the time my dad packed everything up and started to head out, my mom's contractions started to get closer and closer . They raced down the highway toward home but it became pretty apparent that they were not going to make it back to MN. They decided that they would have to stop in Thunder Bay, which was a good idea because I was born an hour after checking in. However, 'The Canadian' is actually a nick name I picked up when I went to Culinary college in Denver. Since most of my classmates were from either the east coast or the southwest my 'northern' accent was pronounced and stood out. With my accent and my birth story, its not hard to imagine why other classmates started calling me 'Canadian'. I fought it at first, but over time it sort of grew on me and now I use it as my handle for several on-line forums.
Also, I feed bears because I occasionally hunt them. Though most years I just put bait out for the pictures.
Ahhh...good old Ignace Ont. Even many Canadians would’ve have a clue where this is. Been there several times. And Dryden, On, about an hour or so away. Big fishing and hunting. Lots of lodges. You technically could have been a dual citizen. Being from Minnesota, there is a lot of hunting there. I love Bears, and they are becoming increasingly encroached upon. Losing there habitat. They wander into surveys that border the forest. Especially in British Columbia. So I am uncomfortable with the “hunting” aspect. We have a cull here every few years for the deer, as the population becomes too big to sustain them. Many starve. So I understand that. But Bears are decreasing everywhere. I hope you will stick to shooting just with your camera.
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