Monday, December 10, 2012

Royal Icing Narcissus

The narcissus has always been one of my favorite flowers (definitely my favorite bulb). It is the official flower of December, but is frequently overshadowed by poinsettias. They are easy to pipe, especially if you use a daffodil template on your flower nail (optional, if you're skilled at keeping the 6 petals equal in size): 
 You'll also need a Styrofoam block to rest the nail in, a glue stick, parchment paper squares, a dusting pouch filled with a 50/50 mix of powdered sugar and cornstarch, petal tip #104, scallop tip #79, and stiff consistency royal icing in white and yellow. Start by sticking a parchment square to the flower nail with a dab from the glue stick.
 Attach the #104 tip to the white icing. Hold the tip almost flat against the surface, but with the narrow end of the tip angled outwards and upwards. Squeeze while moving your hand in a tight "U". As you complete the shape, stop pressure and pull the tip away diagonally toward the center of the nail.
 Here are the first two petals. As you pipe them, touch your fingertips to the dusting pouch and taper the petals' tips by pinching them gently.
 Here are the 6 petals. Set the flower aside to firm up for a few minutes at this point.
 Attach the #79 tip to the yellow icing. Pipe a stand-up petal in the center; hold the tip against the surface at a right angle, squeeze, draw upwards for a few millimeters, then stop pressure and pull the tip away.
 Repeat a few times until you've formed the center cup of the narcissus. Sneak in a few of these next time you're supposed to be piping poinsettias; see if anyone notices!

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