I got a set of Russian piping tips as a present a while back and started noticing all the pretty cakes and cupcakes decorated using them. Buttercream flowers are a favorite decoration motif of mine but I had always made mine from scratch using various petal tips.
What are Russian Piping Tips?
These are jumbo tips that allow you to pipe complex shapes in one pass. There are many different types of tips that create roses, tulips, daisies, swirls, abstract shapes and large sets of petals among other things. Because the tips are so large you can more easily add different colors of buttercream to the bag to create multicolor flowers and shapes.
Best kind of Russian piping tips
You can buy tons of sets varying in number from just a few tips to dozens! Here’s a link for the ones I’m using.
What’s the best buttercream for Russian piping tips?
I used Swiss meringue buttercream for this post and loved the results HOWEVER it was a bit more challenging than using American buttercream. When you use a softer meringue-based frosting there’s a greater chance the petals will form a giant clump/blob. You need to pipe just above the surface, squeeze and the buttercream will come down to make contact with the cake. It takes some practice. You could use a standard American buttercream with some more cream/milk mixed in to get a nice pipable consistency.
Here’s a side-by-side comparison of buttercream flowers piped with Russian piping tips on the left and assembles with a petal tip on the right. You can see that the Russian piping tips give a nice detailed and uniform flower while the handmade flowers on the right have more variation but take longer to create. If you want to learn how to create buttercream flowers with petal tips click here for the full how to.
Russian Piping Tips Guide
How to use Russian piping tips
- Choose a Russian piping tip to use, the one shown will make a rose, and place in a piping bag with the tip snipped off.
- Divide your buttercream into batches and tint with food coloring.
- Use a small spatula or knife apply a layer of buttercream to the inside of the piping bag.
- Fill the bag with an other color of buttercream.
- Smear a thin layer of buttercream onto a cupcake or the surface of your cake. This will allow the piped flowers to adhere to the surface.
- Pipe the flowers. If you’re using a soft meringue-based buttercream make sure to pipe just above the surface, squeeze and the buttercream will come down to make contact with the cake, Continue squeezing while you pull up to build the flower. Finish by pulling up without squeezing. You can pipe leaves to fill in the blank spaces between the flowers.
If you’ve tried piping with Russian tips with this tutorial then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
Russian Piping Tips
Ingredients
- 4 egg whites at room temperature
- 2 cups unsalted butter 452g at room temperature
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar 300g
- 1 pinch kosher salt
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
For the Swiss Buttercream
- Add egg whites, sugar and salt in a bowl.
- Give the mixture a brief whisk.
- Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water. Make sure the water does not touch the bowl.
- Whisk the egg whites occasionally while it warms up. When the mixture has warmed, whisk it constantly. You will heat the mixture until it reaches an internal temperature of 160ºF or until it's not grainy between your fingers.
- Transfer the bowl to a stand mixer, mix with a whisk attachment until you get room temperature glossy peaks.
- Switch to a paddle attachment and while the mixture is running on low, add tablespoon sized dollops of room temperature butter making sure to let the butter incorporate before you add the next piece. Once all the butter is incorporated, go ahead and add the vanilla extract. You can transfer it to a piping bag or to a ziplock bag to store in the freezer.
To Assemble
- Divide your buttercream into batches and tint with food coloring.
- Choose a Russian piping tip to use and place in a piping bag with the tip snipped off.
- Use a small spatula or knife apply a layer of buttercream to the inside of the piping bag.
- Fill the bag with an other color of buttercream.
- Smear a thin layer of buttercream onto a cupcake or the surface of your cake. This will allow the piped flowers to adhere to the surface.
- Pipe the flowers. If you're using a soft meringue-based buttercream make sure to pipe just above the surface, squeeze and the buttercream will come down to make contact with the cake, Continue squeezing while you pull up to build the flower. Finish by pulling up without squeezing. You can pipe leaves to fill in the blank spaces between the flowers.
Video
Nutrition
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