SIMPLY MAKING Candy Gem Piping Tip

Create outstanding iced gems with speed and ease using the Candy Gem Icing Tip by Simply Making. 

This tip is fantastic for topping off cupcakes and biscuits with beautiful gems to bring some class and sophistication to your baked treats. You could even spray them with a little lustre for that finishing sparkle!

These tips do require a bit of practice to get the hang of them and the correct consistency buttercream will really help you with this. Once you get to grips with the technique there will be nothing stopping you from creating gorgeous cupcakes.

We just love using Swiss meringue buttercream with these tips as it gives a beautiful and flawless finish to your piped flowers. Swiss meringue buttercream has a firm yet velvety soft texture, allowing you to pipe smooth and complete flowers. It can be coloured using gel pastes and by changing the colour of your buttercream you can completely change the aspect of your finished flowers. You can also add different coloured buttercream to your piping bag to create realistic beautiful and vibrant flowers.

Made from a high quality stainless steel that will not bend or rust, this tip will last a life time when looked after correctly.

Wash in warm soapy water before first use.

This tip is available individually or as part of a full set of 11 different flower tips.

Flower tip instructions:

1. Begin by placing your flower nozzle into your piping bag and snip off the end to expose the tip of the nozzle. Fill you piping bag with two different colours of either Italian or Swiss meringue buttercream. This buttercream will give you a much smoother appearance to your piped flowers.

2. Using another piping bag, place a medium leaf tip and snip the end of the bag to expose the tip of the piping nozzle. Fill this piping bag with green buttercream.

3. Cover the top of your cupcake with a thin layer of buttercream as this gives your piped flowers something to stick to when piping and avoids parts of the piped flower breaking away when piping.

4. Using your piping bag with the flower tip, twist the end to create pressure inside the bag. Begin in the centre of the cupcake and apply pressure to your piping bag, gently squeezing the buttercream out of the top of the nozzle. Slowly pull the piping bag straight up while applying pressure. When you have reached the desired height of the flower, release the pressure and pull the tip straight up to finish your flower. Repeat this process several times around your centre flower to create a bouquet effect.

5. With your leaf nozzle and green buttercream, fill in any gaps with some foliage. To do this, place your leaf tip at a 180 degree angle with one point facing downwards and the other point facing upwards. Gently apply pressure to the piping bag and when the buttercream begins to come out of the tip, gradually pull the piping tip back while giving it a little wiggle at the same time to give some texture to the leaf. As you are pulling back slowly release the pressure applied to the piping bag to create a tip to your leaf. Release the pressure and pull the tip straight off. Repeat this process several times around the cupcake filling in any gaps.

6. Congratulations, you have just created a stunning floral bouquet cupcake! Why not have a go with each of the different flower nozzles to see the various effects each one creates.