FILIGREE PIPING RECIPES

Steps:

• Cover the cake with marzipan and secure to the cake board with a little royal icing. Dust the top, to within 2.5 cm (1 inch) of the edges, with cornflour. Brush the rest of the cake with egg white or clear alcohol as usual before covering it. Cut out a 23 cm (9 inch) square of non-stick baking paper.

  Removing the centre panel

  Cover the cake with sugarpaste, reserving the trimmings. Once the sugarpaste is completely smoothed around the edges and sides of the cake, lay the square of non-stick baking paper over the top, securing it at the corners with pins. Using a sharp knife, cut right through the sugarpaste around the paper. Lift out the central square of white sugarpaste. Remove the paper and pins.

  Knead the white sugarpaste square and trimmings together and colour with equal quantities of blue and green colourings. Roll out and cut out a 23 cm (9 inch) square, reserving the trimmings. Brush the empty panel on top of the cake with clear alcohol and lay the square of coloured sugarpaste over the top of the cake, so that it fits neatly into the space. Smooth the edges lightly.

  Use the coloured sugarpaste trimmings to make the key using the template, right, to cut out the shape. Leave overnight to harden.

  Piping filigree

  Put a little royal icing in a paper piping bag fitted with a number 1 piping tube and pipe thin wavy lines over two-thirds of the coloured sugarpaste. Pipe long, continuous, curvy lines, keeping the tube about 1 cm (½ inch) above the cake and breaking off frequently to rest your hand and change position.

  Using more royal icing and a medium star tube, pipe a shell border around the edge of the coloured paste and around the base of the cake. Leave overnight to harden.

  Finishing touches

  Using gold food colouring and a fine paintbrush, carefully paint over the piped icing. Paint the edges of the key with a little gold colouring. Leave to dry for several hours.

  Wrap the ribbon around the sides of the cake, cutting off the excess and securing with a dot of royal icing. Shape the remaining ribbon into a bow and secure to the top of the cake with a dab of royal icing. Lay the key over the bow, securing with a small dot of royal icing.

   

Steps:

• Cut the cookies from a chilled sheet of sugar cookie dough.Bake and cool the cookies according to the recipe instructions.Ice the the plaque cookie with orange 15-second count royal icing and a decorating tip 3. While the icing is still wet, pipe the spider web with black 15-second count royal icing and a decorating tip 1. Drag the scribe tool or toothpick through the icing to help shape the spider web. Allow the icing to dry at least 8 hours.Pipe the spider with purple soft peak royal icing and a decorating tip 1. Use the scribe tool to help smooth and shape the icing. Allow the icing to dry at least 2 hours.Pipe a bead border with purple stiff peak royal icing (leave space for the cat cookie to go on top - this will allow the cookie to lay flat).Combine blue and pink food coloring with a few drops of alcohol or flavored extract.Use the round brush to add shading to the spider’s body and the fine tip brush for the legs.Ice the cat cookie with light purple 15-second count royal icing and a decorating tip 3. While the icing is still wet, pipe a filigree design with purple 15-second count royal icing and a decorating tip 1. Outline the design with orange 15-second count royal icing and a decorating tip 1. Use the scribe tool to help shape the outline around the filigree.Pipe an eye with the orange icing and add a small dot of purple icing with the scribe tool. Use the scribe tool to elongate the purple icing. Allow the icing to dry at least 8 hours.Shade the edges of the cat cookie with the food coloring and alcohol mixture and round brush that was used to paint the spider.Attach the cat cookie to the plaque cookie with a bit of soft peak icing.