Are you a fan of tipless piping bags and don’t know how to pipe leaves without using a piping tip? In this tutorial, you will learn how to cut a tipless bag to replicate a 352 leaf piping tip, how to adjust your pressure to create details and how to make long fern-type leaves.
Edible Leaves
If you like creating floral decorations on your baked goods, you’ll probably want to learn how to pipe leaves to add some greenery. And while that might seem daunting, they’re actually really easy to make.
This is a great technique when you need to pipe a few leaves and don’t want to get your piping tips out. And that means less cleanup as well, which is always a bonus.
Items Needed to Pipe Leaves
With just a few decorating items, you can learn how to make leaves. You can use either buttercream or royal icing for this tutorial.
Icing: whether you are using royal icing or buttercream frosting, I recommend a medium to thick consistency as this will produce a more detailed leaf in terms of shape and markings.
Piping Bag: I love using tipless piping bags as they are inexpensive to buy and easy to clean up. The particular brand of tipless piping bags that I use is from Amazon. They have a slight bumpy texture which is helpful when you are piping to maintain your grip on the bag.
Scissors: make sure your scissors are sharp as this will help when you are cutting the tip. I find that nail scissors work really well.
Food Colouring: there are lots of great shades of green available for leaves. I love using leaf green. Whatever colouring you use, ensure it is oil-free if you are colouring royal icing.
Preparing the Tipless Bag
To replicate a 352 leaf tip, we need to cut the tipless bag in a specific way to create a split opening. Fill your piping bag with icing and ensure there are no air bubbles in the bag. Check out my helicopter technique video to remove bubbles and have a laugh at the same time!
Grab a pair of sharp scissors and flatten the bag so the seam is on one side. Cut a small triangle from each side of the tip.
This creates an inverted ‘V’ shape which will open like a leaf tip when you put pressure on the bag. And that’s it. Two cuts and you’re ready to pipe.
Let’s Pipe Some Leaves
The key to mastering this technique is practice, positioning and pressure. Start by holding the piping bag at a 45-degree angle slightly above the surface. Apply gentle pressure to the bag, allowing the icing to flow steadily to create the base of the leaf.
Apply slightly more pressure as you let the icing build up and slowly move the bag away from the base. As you pipe, the icing will ruffle and create veins on the leaf, just like a real one!
Slowly release pressure on the bag and pull the tip away quickly to finish the leaf shape.
TOP TIP: On a piece of parchment paper, practice adjusting pressure and movement for different leaf sizes and shapes. Once you are done piping, you can scrape the icing back into a bowl and reuse it.
How to Pipe Fern Leaves
For thinner, longer leaves, I like to turn the bag on its side so that the opening is pointing away from the surface. Make sure it is not touching the surface as this will create a more detailed, 3-dimensional leaf.
Start by building up the base of the leaf then move the bag slowly as you increase pressure. Once the leaf is long enough, release the pressure and remove the tip quickly.
Video Tutorial
I get it! Sometimes it’s easier to learn a technique by watching someone else, rather than looking at step-by-step photos. Hopefully, this ‘how to pipe leaves with a tipless piping bag’ video will encourage you to try this technique. And if you have any questions, pop a comment below and I’ll get back to you.
Storage Tips
If you want to make leaves in advance to add to your baked goods at a later date, I recommend piping them on parchment paper, letting them dry for 24 hours then storing them in an airtight container. No need to refrigerate them.
Once you are ready to use them, pipe a little dot of icing on your baked goods and lightly press the leaf into position.
Common Questions
The possibilities are endless. Experiment with adjusting the pressure and the angle on the bag and the amount of icing that you use for each leaf. For small leaves, you need barely any pressure to pipe the base and pull a point to finish the leaf, whereas larger leaves will use more icing. And the more you move the bag while you pipe, the more detailed the leaves will be.
I recommend a stiffer consistency that will hold its shape. A medium consistency will work for flatter leaves, whereas a stiff consistency will create more detailed leaves.
Yes, this method works well for both royal icing and buttercream frosting.
Leaf on a Cookie
Here’s an example of a leaf on a decorated sugar cookie. I just love the ruffles and texture that this method creates. I hope you feel inspired to try this next time you need to pipe leaves.
More Decorating Tips
Check out my Top 15 Cookie Decorating Tips for some of my favourite tips and tricks. And don’t forget to try my icing recipes if you want to experiment with making your own frostings.
If you enjoyed this tutorial, let me know in the comments below. I’d love to see your decorated leaves so make sure to tag me on social media @itsbakeangel.
Happy decorating!
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