Cake! magazine by Australian Cake Decorating Network May 2014 | Page 156

Tip When piping onto netting, you do not have to touch the sides of the framework. However, for competition pieces where you would not use net, the scrolls must touch the frame to hold them in place. 15 Pipe the large S scroll first, followed by the reverse S. Add the small scroll inside the S and reverse S. When 2 lines meet, raise the icing on top of the first scroll so that the line disappears as the icing settles. Add the flowers, leaves and other decoration and use a damp artists’ brush to neaten any sharp points. (For more instructions on piping scrolls, see pages 66 to 67.) 16 Repeat the same method to make pieces for the doors and arches on top of the side pieces. You can add your own piped decoration on top: examples of simple and more complex designs are shown here. 17 Allow all of the run-out pieces to dry thoroughly before assembly. Assembly 18 Draw the small hexagon template onto paper and draw lines from each corner to locate the central point. Place on top of a piece of polystyrene (such as a separator or cake dummy), then place a piece of cellophane on top of the drawing and tape in position. Grease the cellophane with white vegetable fat. 19 Dip the end of a cocktail stick into white vegetable fat and push this end through the centre of the hexagon and into the polystyrene to hold it upright. 20 Half-fill a piping bag fitted with a no. 2 nozzle with freshly beaten royal icing. Using the hexagonal template prepared earlier, pipe a line of icing slightly to the outside edge of the hexagon. Place 1 of the triangular roof pieces into the icing and lean the point on the cocktail stick. This part can be rather fiddly but it is worth persevering! Pipe a line down the right hand side of the triangle, then continue the line along the next side of the hexagon. Work anticlockwise if you are right-handed and vice versa. Place the second piece in place, joining it to the side of the first piece. As you attach each piece, clean up the edges using a damp artists’ brush. Proceed in the same way all round the hexagon to create the roof. When attaching the last piece, pipe down the sides of both adjoining pieces (and along the base) before positioning the last piece. 21 Pipe running beads along the joins using a no. 1 or 1.5 nozzle (see page 71) to disguise any