Follow along with our step by step easy buttercream pansy flower piping tutorial and learn how to pipe these beautiful buttercream flowers. This easy flower piping tutorial is perfect for those wanting to learn how to pipe flowers! These cute tri colour pansies are also known as violas, and this is also how you pipe a violet! Pansies are the perfect buttercream flower to decorate flower cakes and cupcakes.
Timestamps:
0:00 - Intro
0:16 - Piping tips and preparing piping bags
1:49 - Pansy petal piping
3:28 - Angles and helpful tips
Buttercream Recipe:
Ingredients
1/2 Cup butter softened to room temperature
2 Cups powdered sugar
1 Teaspoon vanilla extract
1-2 Tablespoons milk
Directions
In a large bowl using a hand mixer or in the bowl of your stand mixer cream butter on medium low speed for 2-3 minutes or until pale. Add 1/2 of the sugar and mix for 2 minutes. Add remaining sugar and mix for 2 minutes. Your buttercream should be fluffy, pale and thick at this point. Add vanilla and 1 tablespoon of milk. Mix well. If it is still too thick/stiff add another tablespoon of milk and continue mixing. You will want a medium consistency buttercream to pipe flowers!
Colouring:
To colour my buttercream for these pansies I used the Wilton brand gel food colouring in violet and lemon yellow. I coloured a small amount, around 1/4 cup with the lemon yellow. I coloured the remaining buttercream light purple using a small amount of the violet food colouring. I put 1/2 of the light purple in a separate bowl and then added more violet colouring to the remaining buttercream to get the dark purple colour.
Preparing your piping bags:
Starting with the piping bag fitted with the # 104 tip, I striped my piping bag with a thin line of light purple, lined up with the wide end of my tip. (Use a long spatula or the handle of a wooden spoon to spread a thin strip of accent colour along the inside of the bag. You can then use a bench scraper to push it into a perfect line for your accent stripe). I filled the rest of the bag with the dark purple colour.
Next, for the piping bag fitted with the # 103 tip, I striped my piping bag with a thin line of yellow, lined up with the wide end of my tip. (Again, use a long spatula or the handle of a wooden spoon to spread a thin strip of accent colour along the inside of the bag. You can then use a bench scraper to push it into a perfect line for your accent stripe). Next I added a thin line of light purple right on top of yellow, and again used a scraper to get it into a nice tight line. Finally, I filled the rest of the bag with the dark purple colour.
The last (optional) piping bag is fitted with a # 3 tip (any small round tip would work). I filled this with the remaining purple buttercream.
Piping Instructions:
These pansies were piped using a # 104 and # 103 tip (with a # 3 tip for the center). Using only a # 104 would also work, you will just end up with the same size for all the petals on your flowers.
To being attach a square of parchment to a flower nail. With the wide end of your # 104 tip at the center of the flower nail and the narrow end facing out, and the wide end touching the flower nail and the narrow end up at a 15 degree angle, begin piping petals by moving your piping tip up toward the edge of the flower nail and then dipping back down to your center starting point WHILE turning the flower nail. The piping tip only moves up and down, the petals are formed by the turning of the flower nail. Pipe 2 large petals, and then switch to the # 103 tip.
Again, with the narrow end facing out and the wide end at the center you will begin piping your third petal slightly overlapping the last petal. Begin piping this third petal increasing the angle slightly to about 30 degrees and apply pressure while moving your piping tip up toward the edge of the flower nail and then dipping back down to your center starting point WHILE turning the flower nail. These petals will be smaller than the first 2.Give the flower nail a turn and skip a petal. Pipe your fourth petal slightly overlapping the other large purple petal, and using the same motion as the previous petals.
Pipe your final petal in between these 2 petals, increasing the angle slightly to about 45 degrees, and using that same motion. Pipe a few small dots in the center of the flower using your # 3 tip to finish off your pansy. Allow them to set in the fridge for 20 minutes until they are firm and you can easily peel off the parchment and decorate your cake.
If you have enjoyed this tutorial, make sure you check out the rest of the videos in the series!
Buttercream Rose : • Easy Rose : Buttercrea...
Buttercream Sunflower : • Easy Buttercream Sunfl...
Buttercream Daisy : • Buttercream Daisy - Ea...
Buttercream Carnation : • Buttercream Carnation ...
Buttercream Wild Rose : • Wild Rose - Buttercrea...
Buttercream Daffodil : • How To Pipe a Daffodil...
Buttercream Camellia : • How to pipe an easy bu...