How to Use an Icing Bag

Whether you want writing or fancy flowers, practice makes perfect if you want to achieve the best results for an awe-inspiring cake design. Selecting the right icing bag is critical for decorating your cake. Follow these tips for choosing and handling an icing bag for cake decorating.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Decorating bag
• 2-part coupler
• Frosting or whipped cream

1. Choose from a featherweight, a disposable or a parchment icing bag. Featherweight bags are made from washable polyester, disposable bags are made of clear plastic and parchment bags are made from parchment paper triangles. Select the featherweight bag if you want to reuse it later. Disposable or parchment bags are handy for quick decorating and can be discarded.

2. Get a 2-part coupler so that you can switch several decorating tips without changing the bag. These 2 parts consist of a base and a ring. Put the base inside of the bag at the narrow, V-shaped end; then put any decorating tip over the part of the coupler that sticks out of the bag. The tip will stick out at the narrow, V-shaped end of the bag.

3. Select the right decorating tip for your needs. Use a round tip to make dots and lines, and for writing messages. Use a star-shaped tip to make flowers, stars, shells and zigzags. Use a leaf-shaped tip to add leaves to your icing roses or to make a garland of leaves around the edge of the cake.

4. Once the base and the tip have been assembled inside of the narrow, V-shaped end of the icing bag, screw the ring onto this end on the outside. This locks the decorating tip onto the coupler and bag. Change the decorating tips by twisting off the ring, replacing the tip, then screwing the ring back on.

5. Fold the larger, wider end of the icing bag outward to form a 1/4-inch cuff. Hold the bag open from beneath the cuff, and use a spatula to fill the bag at the wide end with about 3 tablespoons of icing or whipped cream at a time.

6. Unfold the cuff and twist the wider end of the bag shut. Use a twist tie or a knot to secure the end. Force the icing or whipped cream down into the bag toward the tip. Release any air bubbles from the bag by squeezing some of the icing out of the tip onto a plate or paper towel.

7. Hold the icing bag at a 90-degree angle at the top of the bag, forming a "V" between your thumb and forefinger. Use your other hand to steady the tip of the narrow end of the bag with your thumb and forefinger. If you're a beginner, practice drawing lines, swirls or zigzags, or writing "Congratulations" or "Happy Birthday" on wax paper before decorating the cake.

Tips & Warnings

• You can find featherweight, disposable and parchment paper bags at any kitchen specialty store, in the housewares section of any department store or in the baking section of any grocery store.
• Don't overfill the icing bag. If the bag is too full, then icing may leak out of the larger, wider end.
• Make sure that the icing is not too thin or too thick, as the decorations may not turn out correctly.

Who Can Help:

• Guaranteed: Lose 30+ lbs without dieting. Try Sensa Today