Welcome to the Cake Decorators Q&A

After making the teddy bear cake yesterday I realised that I need new icing eqiupment as I couldn’t get to between the legs or tummy without catching the buttercream with my rather large icing syringe. I’ve recently bought some wonderful icing nozles and bags but they are actually really big and are more for putting buttercream onto cupcakes…sooo…

What do you recommend for me before I go out and waste yet more money on buying the wrong thing!

Thank you !

Hi JoeB

There are all sorts of nozzles for many different styles and patterns of piping. If you’re just starting out it’s better to have a few of the basic nozzles. The first thing learned in icing is how to pipe a line so it would be a good idea to have a writing tube which I think is number 1. As the number increases so does the size of the hole. A star nozzle is also useful for the type of piping you did for the teddy. Have a look at some images in google for the different types available, just search ‘images for different types of piping nozzles’. One of the images has a chart of the different patterns each nozzle produces. I always think it is better to have a few popular ones and perfect them rather than try lots. There are many different manufacturers, we have PME here, in America Wilton is a big name. Always try and buy nozzles without seams The ones with seams are very cheap but not particularly good and don’t give a fine definition. Good specialist cake decorating shops will always advise. Most decorating projects in books or here in the tutorials, nozzle sizes are specified so you’ll soon build up a collection and start to become proficient in their use. Finally in the free/ beginner section
Paul shows how to fit a nozzle into a piping bag, how to fill a piping bag with icing and how to make a parchment piping cone. Hope this helps.

Thanks for this, I’ve actually bought several ‘sets’ over the last few years and (having a 7 year old daughter) bits and bobs get lost and the nozzles only seem to fit the one bag it came with etc, which is why I was loathe to buy something without advice, so this is great. I’ll have a look at PME and start practicing with the parchment piping cone, although not sure if that is to put a nozzle in or not…I liked the large bag Paul uses for the teddy so will look into figuring out where to get some of those.

Thanks again for your help – Joe

Hi JoeB

You can use the smaller nozzles with the parchment cones especially if you want to do some writing. I feel I can control the lettering better. I pipe with a cone snipped at the point when I do really fine lines like in embroidery work or, if doing anything very fine. The larger piping bags which Paul uses can be bought on ebay, Amazon or other cake decorating supply shops online. A local cake decorating store will probably charge 20 pence per bag, so it’s much cheaper to buy it in rolls. One of the suppliers Paul recommends is Nisbets, they have an online shop, you can also phone them. Just google them in and you may find you have a local store near you. Their prices are very good plus they’re really helpful. I use a similar supplier in my area but they buy from Nisbets too. Don’t be afraid to ask for discount, my supplier always gives me 10% and on the odd occasion I don’t pay vat if they’ve had something in stock for too long. Pays to ask, equipment adds up, so a small saving is better than non. Once you start gathering all your equipment you’ll have to have a little set for your little girl so she doesn’t pinch your more grown up stuff! Bless, she’s to be encouraged!
If you need anymore help, please do ask. x