How to Make Buttercream Flowers (Russian Piping Tips)

Use this tutorial to learn how to make buttercream flowers for cakes and cupcakes, using Russian piping tips. Simple and easy cake decorating technique!

*Thank you Mia Stello for sponsoring today's post so I could share this tutorial. As always, all opinions are my own.

Unlike Fondant Flowers or Royal Icing Flowers (Sugar Flowers) or even Fondant Roses (Ribbon Roses), which are all usually very time-consuming to make, these icing flowers are super easy to make with Russian piping tips. No wonder they are all the rage these days!

Piping flowers is so easy!

There are many other decorating tips which can be used to make icing flowers but you typically use a combination of two or more tips to get the desired look. Check out some of those ideas in this post: How to Decorate Cupcakes.

Russian piping tips are unique because you just have to use one large piping tip to make a beautiful flowers. Furthermore, there are so many different flower designs that you can make a whole bouquet of icing flowers! Check out this Russian Piping Tips Tutorial for ideas and tips.

Since Fall / Thanksgiving is right around the corner, I made this rustic flower cake, which is sure to be a show-stopper! It's a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. I used five Russian piping tips to decorate this floral cake and at first glance, all flowers would look the same but they are not! If you look closely, you would notice the subtle differences.

What are Russian piping tips?

They are also known as "Russian tips" or even "Russian pastry tips." They are large tips that are used for piping flowers with icing on cakes and cupcakes. The great thing about these tips is that once you get the hang of them, it becomes the easiest cake decorating technique to have under your belt.

How to make easy buttercream flowers ahead of time without a nail?

Instead of piping flowers directly on a cake or cupcakes, pipe flowers on a sheet of wax paper and chill it in the freezer. When you are ready to decorate your cake or cupcakes, peel the flowers carefully from the wax paper and stick them to your ices cakes/cupcakes. You will have to work quickly because the warmth of your fingers will cause the flowers to melt.

How to make buttercream flowers for cakes and cupcakes with Russian tips?

1. Fill a piping bag with icing and attach the desired tip.
2. Hold the piping bag at a 90 degree angle.
3. Squeeze the bag until some icing comes out and then pull away.
4. If you pull away slowly, you will end up with longer flower petals and if you pull away quickly, you will end up with shorter flower petals.

What is the buttercream for piping flowers?

The classic choice is American buttercream but you can also try Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting or Coconut Cream Chocolate Frosting. The most important thing is consistency. Regardless of what icing you decide to use, Make sure it has a "firm" to "medium-firm." That ensures the best shape of flowers.

Variations and Tips for buttercream flower cake

The right consistency of icing is important- In my experience, "firm" to "medium-firm" consistency makes the best flowers. If icing is too soft, the flowers don't hold their shape and are flat. If it's too stiff, the icing doesn't come out properly from the icing bag.

Try another cake flavor- Such as Chocolate Coffee Cake or Chocolate Brownie Cake.

Use big piping bags and a lot of icing- Since these piping tips are huge in size, you need a large amount of icing to fill in each bag and you also need to use bigger icing bags.

Try different colors of frosting- Replace chocolate icing with vanilla buttercream and tint it with gel colors.

Practice on wax paper or parchment paper first- Because this allows you to get the hang of how to hold the icing bags and how much pressure to apply.

There are no numbers on these tips- That's why I made a handy Russian piping tips guide below.

Don't assemble or decorate a warm cake- Because that would cause the icing to melt and make a sticky mess.

Where to buy Russian piping tips?

Russian tips can be bought online, usually on Amazon. This set is from from Mia Stello. This is the 36 piece set and includes: 40 piping tips, 1 coupler, 5 disposable piping bags. There's also a smaller 26 piece set.

Recipe