Hello all,

I’m somewhat new to cake decorating and have had major issues trying to find a way to pipe buttercream roses,  flowers and using my Russian tips. No matter what I try, it doesn’t work.

I can do some things with no issues, my Wilton Chocolate Buttercream Recipe pipes my normal stuff well, and I also use the Wilton recipe for general work. I also have used Crusting Cream Cheese Buttercream from Rose Bakes to ice my cakes all over.

However to do roses or use my Russian tips nothing seems to work. It’s either too soft and won’t hold its shape, or stiff and it won’t flow at all. Today, my crusting cream cheese icing which I tried wouldn’t even stick to the nail. It wouldn’t hold a shape. So I thickened it, then it was too stiff. Also, no matter what I do, the edges of the flowers aren’t nice and smooth either, whether it’s softer or thicker. However, I love to ice a cake with the crusting cream cheese because it sets up nicely.

I feel like I’m fairly artistic and probably could do this well if I could find a recipe that would actually work. To me the icing should be smoother. Any thoughts or ideas are welcome. (Pic is my Wilton Choc, but haven’t tried piping roses w/ a nail.)

It sounds to me like you need a different recipe :(   Try the stiff version of the Wilton class b'cream fior roses.  It may also be that you have not developed enough pressure.  Can you squeeze harder?   If the icing is not sticking to the nail it is too stiff.  Rather than thin it with liquid use a bit  more shortening. 

Yes, it needs more fat (shortening) to make it more smooth/creamier.

Well, duh!  This looks gorgeous to me!  If you want to see trouble piping, you should see mine, haha!