Pipe

To pipe means to press a soft mixture out of a piping bag through a tip or nozzle to make a shape. You pipe frosting onto cupcakes, meringue into nests, choux pastry into eclairs, and mashed potato or filling into neat rosettes. Different tips give stars, round dots, ribbons and leaves.

How to do it

1. Drop the tip into the bag and cut the end of the bag so the tip pokes out about a third of its length.
2. Twist the bag just above the tip and push it into the tip. This stops the filling running out while you fill it.
3. Stand the bag in a tall glass and fold the top down over the rim.
4. Fill it no more than two thirds full. Unfold the top and twist it closed.
5. Untwist above the tip and squeeze a little out to remove air.
6. Hold the twisted top with your writing hand and guide the bag near the tip with the other.
7. Hold the bag straight up for dots and rosettes, or at 45 degrees for lines and borders. Squeeze with steady pressure.
8. To finish each shape, stop squeezing first, then lift the bag away.

Common mistakes

• Overfilling the bag. It bursts or squeezes out the top.
• Squeezing near the tip. The heat of your hand warms the filling and the bag is hard to control. Squeeze from the twisted top.
• A mix that is too soft. Shapes melt or spread. Chill frosting for 10 minutes or whip cream to stiff peaks.
• A mix that is too stiff. You get broken lines and sore hands.
• Lifting the bag while still squeezing. You get long tails.

In recipes

"Pipe into 5 cm rounds" gives the size of each shape. "Fit a bag with a large star tip" names the nozzle shape. Without a bag, you can fill a sturdy freezer bag and snip a corner for round shapes. For decorating cakes, see frost.