In this quick cake video tutorial, we're going to demonstrate a beautiful piping technique that incorporates buttercream ruffles and shells.

I love the look of cakes covered in buttercream piping. Today's design has an elegant look, but the pink and green color scheme also gives it more of a casual, fun look.

Keep this design in mind for birthday cakes, baby shower cakes, and even bridal shower cakes (in white or ivory)!

Buttercream Ruffles and Shells- Free Cake Decorating Tutorial

How to Create this Piped Cake Design

For today's cake design, we're using a petal tip 104 and star tip 21.

This design would be beautiful on cakes of any size (including sheet cakes), but today we decorated a 6 inch double barrel cake. A double barrel cake is an extra tall cake which has supports within it.

Our cake was four layers high, with a cake cardboard halfway up and four bubble tea straw supports beneath. It is also resting on it's own cake cardboard cut down to the size of the cake. We frosted it with our Fluffy Vanilla Buttercream (but our Classic Vanilla Buttercream is a great choice also).

After crumb coating the cake, I began the design by piping a vertical row of ruffles. I started at the bottom of the cake and worked my way up. The small end of the piping tip was facing to the left as I used a back and forth motion to create the ruffles.

Next, I piped another row of ruffles right next to the first. This time, I worked from the top of the cake to the bottom, and the small end of my 104 piping tip was facing to the right.

Finally, I piped a shell border using my tip 21 down the center of the two ruffles. I repeated the ruffle and shell design all the way around the cake.

Enjoy the Video!

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Buttercream Ruffles and Shells- A Cake Video Tutorial

This beautiful piping design incorporates ruffles and shells for a truly elegant effect that is surprisingly easy to create!

Materials

*This design would be beautiful on cakes of any size (including sheet cakes), but we decorated a 6 inch double barrel cake. A double barrel cake is an extra tall cake which has supports within it.
Our cake was four layers high, with a cake cardboard halfway up and four bubble tea straw supports beneath. It is also resting on it’s own cake cardboard cut down to the size of the cake. We frosted it with our Fluffy Vanilla Buttercream (but our Classic Vanilla Buttercream is a great choice also).
Piping Tips: 104 (petal tip) and 21 (star tip)
Coloring Gels: We used Americolor Deep Pink and Leaf Green
Miscellaneous: Disposable piping bag, turntable (optional), cake cardboards and bubble tea straw supports for the double barrel cake construction as explained above.

Instructions

Fill and crumb coat (thinly coat) the cake with buttercream.
Pipe a vertical row of ruffles with your tip 104, so that the thin side of the tip is to the left. This will give thin edges to your ruffles as you use a back and forth motion working from bottom to top.
Next, pipe a second row of ruffles next to the first, only this time you will work from top to bottom, and the thin end of the tip 104 will face to the right.
Finally, pipe a shell border (we used green) with your tip 21 down the center of where the ruffles come together, hiding the seam. Work from top to bottom.
Repeat these steps as you work your way all the way around the cake.
We added buttercream ruffles to the top of the cake working from the outer edge inward, row by row, piping 104 tip ruffles with a back and forth motion. Make sure that the thin end of the piping tip is facing outward so that you have thin edges to your ruffles.