Icing consistency for Icing Roses

One of my readers (Anonymous) has requested a butter-cream recipe for icing roses. I would like to discuss the different uses for butter cream icing and the consistencies for each use before I post the recipe.

STIFF consistency is used for making roses and flowers with stiff petals. If the icing is not stiff enough the flower petals will fall. If the Icing is too stiff the petals can crack.

To test the consistency of your icing to know when you have achieved STIFF consistency is a very easy step and will safe you time. Rather than testing it out in a pastry bag each time.

To test your rose icing before putting it into the pastry bag.....

• Place a pea size amount of icing between your fingers. Roll it into a ball:

1. If after you have rolled it in to a ball and  your fingers are are sticky. It is still too thin, add more sugar.
2. If after you have rolled it into a ball and it crumbles  you know the icing is TOO stiff and your petals may break. Add a little more milk and mix and test again. Just cut the sugar into the icing so not to break down the icing too much
3. If after you have rolled it into a ball and your fingers are clean, not sticky, the consistency is perfect.


MEDIUM consistency is used for icing the cake, star tip decoration, borders, figure piping, writing, 3-dimensional shapes, flowers without stiff petals and bow,drop flowers, leaves and vine decorations.

THIN consistency is used for crumb coat

Stiff: Butter cream Icing 
Ingredients

• 1 cup white vegetable shortening (Crisco)
• 1 (2 sticks) butter
  
• 2 tablespoons of milk   (stiff consistency)
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla
• 2lb. 10X confectioners’ sugar
• 1 tablespoon Meringue Powder
• A pinch of salt 

TIP:Only sift your confectioners’ sugar if you have sugar lumps in the sugar. This happens if it has been exposed to the air for any length of time.

Directions:

Step One: In one large bowl, cream the shortening, flavoring, milk until fluffy
Step Two: Add the sugar and meringue powder in intervals while mixing on slow speed until the ingredients have mixed.
Step Three: Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a Rubber Spatula.
Step Four: Continue mixing at medium speed until all ingredients have mixed thoroughly.
 Hint: Remember to use medium speed while mixing the icing. Otherwise you will have bubbles in your icing and it is difficult to work with.  




Chocolate butter cream
Add to the Butter cream Icing 3/4 cup of cocoa or 2 oz. of unsweetened melted chocolate
1-2 tablespoons of  milk to the recipe.
Mix until all ingredients have been mixed thoroughly.

HINT: to achieve a darker color you can use brown  food paste coloring in the recipe until you achieve the right depth of color.


Consistency:

Stiff consistency- See recipe above
Medium consistency- Total of 5 tbs. milk
Thin consistency- I would not have any reason to make an entire batch of thin icing. To crumb coat a cake you need only approx 1/2 cup medium icing with approximately 1 1/2 to 2 tbs. of milk added.


Now you are ready to make roses......check on the link for a refresher on how to make the rose.
http://http//dcroseallaboutcakes.blogspot.com/2009/03/how-to-make-buttercream-rose.html

Here is the step by step from Sugarcraft

---

The real roses below will help show that there are many varieties of roses. Yours are apt to end up in one style only, unless you practice hard to achieve variety. Another way to make more realistic roses is to use gumpaste dough, cutters and shade them using petal dusts.
 

Getting Started with Icing Roses

Watch videos of this technique: (Free Windows Media Play Required) Flowers are certainly the most traditional and most admired way to top a cake. Roses are the most impressive, beautiful and popular of all icing flowers. A rose is created in a number of steps.

Getting Ready
Fit a decorating bag with round tip 12 and fill 1/2 full with stiff consistency Buttercream Icing.
Cut wax paper into 1 1/2 in. squares.
Preparing the Flower Nail:
Hold the nail in your left (right) hand between your thumb and forefinger so that you can turn it slowly in a counterclockwise (clockwise) direction.
Place a dot of icing on the nail.
Press a wax paper square onto the nail.

Rose Base
Tip: 12
Icing: stiff consistency
Positions:
- Nail: in left (right) hand
- Bag: 90 angle (straight up)
- Tip: slightly above nail
Sequence:
1. Squeeze hard for base.
2. Relax, lift for cone.
3. Stop squeezing, lift tip away.
Hold decorating bag straight up, the end of tip 12 slightly above the center of waxed paper covered flower nail, which is held in your other hand. Using firm and steady pressure, squeeze a heavy base of icing, keeping the end of the tip buried in it as you squeeze. Start to lift the top higher and decrease the pressure when the base fills out the circle drawn on the nail. Stop pressure, pull up and lift away. Rose base should be 1 1/2 times as high as the rose tip opening.
Try This: First build up the right size base on your practice board. When you feel comfortable with the technique, try it out on the flower nail several times, using a fresh piece of wax paper each time.

Rose Center
Tip: 104
Icing: stiff consistency
Positions:
- Nail: in left (right) hand
- Bag: 45 angle at 4:30 (7:30)
- Tip: wide end touching base at midpoint, narrow end up and in slightly
Sequence:
1. While squeezing, turn nail to the end of your finger counterclockwise (clockwise); move tip up then down, overlapping starting point.
2. Stop, lift tip away.
Hold nail, containing base in left (right) hand and bag with rose tip 104 in right(left). Bag should be at a 45 angle to the flat surface of the nail and in the 4:30 (7:30) position. The wide end of the tip should touch the cone of the icing base at or slightly below the midpoint, and the narrow end of the tip should point up and slightly inward. Now, you must do three things at the same time: squeeze the bag, move the tip and rotate the nail. As you squeeze the bag, move the tip up from the base, forming a ribbon of icing. Slowly turn the nail counterclockwise (clockwise) to bring the ribbon of icing around to overlap at the top of the mound, then back down to starting point. Move your tip straight up and down only; do not loop it around the base. The motions forming the center of the rose are quite important and will be repeated as you put the petals on.

Top Row Petals
Tip: 104
Icing: stiff consistency
Positions:
- Bag: 45 angle at 4:30 (7:30)
- Tip: wide end touching base at or slightly below midpoint, narrow end straight up.
Sequence:
1. While squeezing, turn nail to the end of your fingers counterclockwise (clockwise), move up and down, connect petal to base.
2. Stop, lift tip away.
3. Repeat for other two petals.
Hold the flower nail with the completed rose base and center in your left (right) hand and the bag in your right (left) hand at a 45 angle to the nail surface. The wide end of rose tip should touch the base at or slightly below the midway point, and the narrow end of tip should point straight up. As with the rose center, you now must do three things at one time: squeeze the bag, move the tip up and rotate the nail. While you squeeze the bag, move the tip and rotate the nail. While you squeeze the bag, move the tip up and down again. As you turn the nail, the up and down motion of the tip will make a half-circle shaped upright petal. Wide end of tip must touch rose base while making a petal at all times. Stop squeezing, then lift tip away. The procedure for the second and third petals is the same. Be sure your tip is clean before starting next petal. The second petal should overlap the end of the first. And the third petal should begin by overlapping the second and end by overlapping the first. Turn the nail one third of the nail circumference as you make each petal.

Middle Row Petals
Tip: 104
Icing: stiff consistency
Positions:
- Bag: 45 angle at 4:30 (7:30)
- Tip: wide end touching base below center of any petal, narrow end out slightly. End of tip at 1:00 position.
Sequence:
1. Make a petal as before.
2. Repeat for 4 more petals, with the last petal overlapping first petal.
Proceed exactly as you did in making the top row of petals except for these two changes: (1) start the middle row with the wide end of the tip touching the rose base directly beneath the center of one of the petals in the top row, and the narrow end of the tip leaning out slightly, and (2) make five petals instead of three, with the back edge of the fifth petal overlapping the front edge of the first petal. The petals in this middle row should overlap the spaces between the petals in the first row. Remember turn the nail one-fifth of the nail circumference for each petal.

Bottom Row Petals
Tip: 104
Icing: stiff consistency
Positions:
- Bag: 45 angle at 4:30 (7:30)
- Tip: Wide end touching base below previous row; narrow end out further, end of tip at 2:00 position.
Sequence:
1. Make 1 petal
2. Make 6 more petals.
Continue as you did for the middle row, except that the narrow end of the tip should be leaning out further so the petals appear to be opening. And this time, you'll make seven petal instead of five, with the last overlapping the first and all of them overlapping the spaces between petals in the row above. Turn the nail one seventh of the circumference for each petal. Remove rose from the flower nail by lifting the wax paper square off.