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How to make your own Piping Bag (Icing Bag)

 

 Piping bags also known as icing bags or pastry bags are used to decorate cakes, cookies and other pastries. 
They are readily available in baking stores but if one is not available in a case of emergency, then this easy-to-do step by step process will make your ordinary kitchen plastic bag come in handy. Want to find out how! read on...

 

HOMEMADE ICING BAG: DIY - ( Do- It- Yourself)

Things you'll need:





  
  • Any plastic bag/Ziploc bag or any other resealable bag
  • A pair of Scissors
  • Coupler set
  • Piping Tips
  •  Icing (Butter-cream or Royal Icing) (it can be colored to your preference)

 

Procedure: Hold up your piping bag into a triangular position, cut a little tip off one of the triangular points.Make sure the cut is not too big as you can always trim off extra if it blocks off the opening of your coupler. Insert your coupler from the inside of the bag and if it doesn't fall out then it fits perfectly. You can trim off extras if there is any. Then screw in the other part of the coupler with the tip of your choice attached to it.
 
Make sure you screw it tightly to prevent the icing from spilling or the tip from coming off while decorating. Put the already prepared icing  e.g Butter-cream icing or Royal Icing (see my other post on how to prepare this) into the bag and seal it if using a resealable bag like Ziploc and tie up with a band to help the icing stay in place while exerting pressure during decoration.
And voila! You have your simple easy to make piping bag that can be used in decorating your cake.
You can also just pinch the tip of the piping bag if its just going to be used for writing on a cake and in a case whereby you don't have the tips readily available.

 

Tips and Advice
  1. Make sure the cut at the triangular point is not too big as this may cause the coupler falling out, except the couplers are very big, then you can make a cut that would fit it perfectly. 
2. Any plastic or resealable bag can be used, but make sure the bag to be used is thick enough in order to prevent bursting or tears while exerting pressure on the piping bag during decoration.
3. Ensure that the icing is well put into the bag and no air bubbles trapped inside before decorating in other to avoid breakage of letters or numbers while writing on your cake or drawing shapes.

Hope you enjoyed reading this. Be sure to share your questions, contributions and comments below.

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