3 Ways to Use Tip 81

Pipe buttercream flowers, ribbons, dots and more with specialty decorating tip 81. This curved "U"-shaped tip gives your cakes added dimension and texture for a unique look you'll love to show off. These three cakes, for example, feature decorations made with specialty tip 81. Using this tip and a few simple piping techniques, you can make a cake that's fresh and fun in no time!

Skill LevelBeginner

Ingredients & Tools
Instructions

Instructions

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Bake cakes. Prepare cake batter following recipe instructions. Bake and cool six cake layers. Level, fill and stack for three 4 in. high cakes.
Decorate teal cake. Using Teal icing color, tint 2½ cups icing teal and ½ cup icing light teal. Using 11 in. spatula and teal icing, ice cake smooth.
Prepare decorating bag with tip 81 and light teal icing. With opening of curve facing out (rounded side of tip against cake), pipe scallops around cake, starting at top and working towards bottom.
Decorate burgundy cake. Using Burgundy icing color, tint 2½ cups icing burgundy and 1½ cups icing light burgundy. Using 11 in. spatula and burgundy icing, ice cake smooth, adding spatula swirl on top of cake.
Prepare decorating bag with tip 81 and light burgundy icing. With rounded side of tip against cake, pipe shells around cake, starting at bottom and working towards top.
Helpful Hint: Once cake has crusted, gently pat down any icing from shells around top of cake.
Decorate teal and burgundy cake. Using Teal icing color, tint 2 ½ cups icing light teal. Using Burgundy icing color, tint ½ cup icing burgundy.
Using 11 in. spatula and teal icing, ice cake smooth.
Prepare decorating bag with tip 81 and burgundy icing. Pipe clusters of dots around cake. To make clusters look like flowers, hold bag at 90 degrees and point curve of tip inwards towards center of cluster.