Well I said it was going to be a trilogy, didn’t I? For this final installment, there are two great techniques that are well worth blogging about: the wonderfully traditional extension work (also known as bridge work), and the widely versatile figure piping…so, which to choose? I think, for the purpose of this blog, I’ll have to go with figure piping. While extension work is truly amazing—and is happily enjoying a renaissance of sorts—figure piping is such an easy and adaptable way to dress up just about any dessert, that it really bears discussing!

Figural pieces are a combination of flood working skills and standard piping skills. Like royal icing flowers, figure plaques are piped on a piece of wax or parchment paper and left to dry before handling. Depending on the complexity of your design, these figures may need to sit for only one drying cycle, while others may require two, three or even more! As you can see, this gnome’s hat, face, and body are smooth (flood work) but his moustache and belt are dimensional. You need to let the flood work dry a bit before overpiping details, so that they don’t “run” or dissolve into the flood work.

A fool-proof way to maintain size consistency—if you’re making multiples of the same design—is to print out a sheet of circles, or hearts, or squares, or whatever shape your design requires. This can be done by hand (in the case of unusual shapes, like the little gnome) and photocopied or scanned, or created as a computer document (in the case of simple shapes). This sheet can be placed under your parchment, and used as a template to guide your shapes as you pipe.

Once you get the hang of timing, you’re free to create any shape you desire! These are awesome as cupcake, cookie and candy toppers, and can be made much in advance of your project!