Continuing on from tools, piping tips are the first step in actually decorating. This portion of the guide outlines the different types of piping tips in a general overview; the next page will go into more detail about shaped tips and how they work.
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Piping tips are most commonly found in either plastic or metal, and are available in a wide variety of shapes. All piping tips should be narrower at one end and wider on the other, and should be installed in the piping bag with the narrow ends of both bag and tip facing the same way, before the bag is cut in such a way as to have the maximum amount of the piping tip inside the bag without any overlap covering the open area of the tip. This keeps the maximum amount of friction on the piping tip higher, and extends the use time before the risk of significant material stress.
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The base icing tip is the largest functionally useful piping tip, with a large round opening at the wide end, and the narrow end taking the form of a wide, thin ribbon with one smooth side and one textured side. These tips should almost always be metal, and may become deformed with use; it is important that the opening is nearer to a ribbon than an oval. A deformed base icing tip can be refreshed with some careful pressure, but this weakens the metal, and it will be back to its previous deformation fairly quickly.
Technically, the base icer is not a critical tool. A cake can be frosted fairly easily with only a spatula, but doing so takes a noticeable amount of time and effort. This is fine if you have the time, but in most commercial settings, saving time is everything. With a base icer, most square or round cakes can have a base coat applied and ready for smoothing in a matter of seconds, and even oddly-shaped cakes given a significant boost of processing time.
The correct usage of a base icer is to have the frosting ribbon applied parallel to the cake, with the textured side towards the cake, to provide extra frictional surface area. After applying the base coat in this way, a spatula or scraper should be used immediately to make sure the frosting is firmly joined to the cake and itself, before gravity and ambient heat have time to peel it off again.
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Cupcake piping tips can be metal or plastic, and often have shapes like some of the coupler tips, but tend to be a lot larger. Most commonly found in either round or star-shaped, the purpose of these is to get that tall tower of grocery-store sugar bomb frosting in one flick of the wrist.
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Coupler tips are easily the most versatile decorating tool, and the key to creating everything from a smooth "Happy Birthday" message to fluffy roses in a basket. Most coupler tips are plastic, and come with two parts - the actual piping tip to go in the bag, and the coupler itself, which is a threaded ring that fits onto the tip, intended to hold one of the shaped metal tips below onto the bag, and change them quickly, without wasting frosting.
A coupler tip can be used without the ring coupler or any tips; this technique is referred to as using an "open coupler", which is good for large areas or certain types of cupcakes. When using a shaped tip with the coupler, ensure that the ring is snug, and not cracked or off-threaded.
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