Preparing a Pastry Bag
I wouldn’t be able to live without pastry bags in my kitchen. I use them for making desserts, such as the truffles on page 188, filling cakes with icing, and decorating. I often use canvas bags, which are reusable and easy to clean.
Icing can be used beyond filling and coating a cake. With a pastry bag and different piping tips, you can decorate a cake with decorative icing. See Chapter 6 for examples of two different styles of piping that use round tips: simple piped domes created with a large round tip (page 175) and a more intricate piped design made with a small round tip (page 180). Pastry bags and piping tips are also great for decorating cupcakes and petite desserts, such as the filled tarts and piped cupcakes shown on pages 312 to 321, which were made using multiple sizes of round and star tips.
TOOLS:
- canvas pastry bag
- pastry tip(s)
- scissors
Fold the top of the pastry bag out
to help keep filling from getting on the outside of the bag.
From the inside of the bag, drop the
piping tip into the opening (you may need to trim the opening with
scissors to fit the appropriate tip size) and adjust to fit
snugly.
Fill the pastry bag three-quarters
full with filling or icing.
Use a bench scraper on the outside
of the bag to push the icing towards the tip.
Twist together the top of the pastry
bag and hold with your hand to ensure the icing stays in the bag
while you’re piping.