Piping bags and nozzles which ones to buy?

victory

I am into royal icing need the equipment to use, the disposable piping bags and the nozzles please help me choose which ones?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/24-Icing-nozzles-Cake-Pastry-Decorating-Piping-W-Box-/330637604060?_trksid=p4340.m185&_trkparms=algo%3DDLSL%252BSIC.NPJS%26its%3DI%26itu%3DUCI%252BUA%26otn%3D10%26pmod%3D220786111840%252B220786111840%26po%3D%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D4147976336035498030#ht_2780wt_1163

or

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290612701340&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT#ht_1735wt_962

or
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/52-ICING-PIPING-NOZZLE-SET-SUGARCRAFT-CAKE-DECORATING-1ST-CLASS-MAIL-/220890624985?_trksid=p4340.m185&_trkparms=algo%3DDLSL%252BSIC.NPJS%26its%3DI%26itu%3DUCI%252BUA%26otn%3D10%26pmod%3D220887250616%252B220887250616%26po%3D%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D4147995195370913891#ht_3715wt_1396

or
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/20-DISPOSABLE-PIPING-BAGS-21-FREE-P-P-/170675754787?pt=Uk_Crafts_Cake_Decorating_MJ&hash=item27bd115723#ht_641wt_1163

Apologies to the cluelessness but how do I get the nozzles to work with the disposable bags?

Thank you for your help:D

victory

http://www.lakeland.co.uk/2664/Disposable-Icing-Bags

These have a terrible and also a brilliant write up?

victory

What do the different sizes mean, I see on ebay they are 15",15"18",21" does that affect the nozzles should I buy a specific size bag to fit the nozzles?

postingalwaysposting

victory wrote: »

Apologies to the cluelessness but how do I get the nozzles to work with the disposable bags?

Thank you for your help:D

All the disposable bags I have used come sealed. Therefore to use the metal nozzles just snip the end and place the nozzle inside the bag and pop it through the bottom. Just be careful you don't cut too much bag away.

The only other question is do they have to be disposable? I purchased (more than one) this tala set from Morrison's for £3.99 I think it only had 6 nozzles though and the bag is coated which allows for cleaning. If I am doing a lot of two tone designs I just fill two bags one with each colour. Would work out much cheaper in the long run...

teasleym

Victory,

I use the disposable ones from Lakeland and I find they are fine, but my sugar craft teacher taught us how to fold them ourselves from baking parchment so I often make my own as well! You can buy baking parchment ready made folded bags from cake shops or www.cakecraftworld.com. (A friend at evening class could never make hers, and I would either do them for her or she would get them from cakecraftworld!

I only have a few nozzles as we were taught in our evening classes that we don't need too many, and I use a 0, 2 (small round holes) and 43 (small starry shape), and to be honest thats all I need.

To get them into your disposable bag, trim about a cm off the bottom of the bag and pop the nozzle in before you spoon in the icing. When you have finished you can cut the bag again to get your nozzle out.

I think the first set of nozzles looked best, but maybe you should see what you need and just buy individual ones, I have Wilton ones and their quality is fantastic.

Hope this helps!

victory

Your sugar craft teacher where was that? I googled sugar craft courses and they were £195 so I am determined to blind along and get help and do it myself, I was lucky enough to buy a book from the internet for £2 how to dress your gingerbread man waiting for it to be delivered have all the ideas just not a clue what to buy to ice:D

victory

postingalwaysposting wrote: »

All the disposable bags I have used come sealed. Therefore to use the metal nozzles just snip the end and place the nozzle inside the bag and pop it through the bottom. Just be careful you don't cut too much bag away.

The only other question is do they have to be disposable? I purchased (more than one) this tala set from Morrison's for £3.99 I think it only had 6 nozzles though and the bag is coated which allows for cleaning. If I am doing a lot of two tone designs I just fill two bags one with each colour. Would work out much cheaper in the long run...

I youtubed and they said use a sandwich bag makes it cheap, disposable etc but the sandwich bags have a ridge on the base so when you snip the tiniest snip at the end I always seem to get the ridge and it messes up the piping, struggling hugely with all this technology I don't understand:rotfl::rotfl:

postingalwaysposting

victory wrote: »

I youtubed and they said use a sandwich bag makes it cheap, disposable etc but the sandwich bags have a ridge on the base so when you snip the tiniest snip at the end I always seem to get the ridge and it messes up the piping, struggling hugely with all this technology I don't understand:rotfl::rotfl:

Sandwich bags work, even the £1 shop ones work well but you have to keep refilling your bags and they are only good enough for one use. If I am making some for me/the kids I will use sandwich bags to save washing up but yes there is a ridge, you just have to use the ridge to your advantage, like....



If you google cupcake dedocrating clases there will be loads. We have one every weekend in my area. One costs £49 you get 12 cakes and £20 worth of tools to take away. However its finding the time, I would love to go but work most weekends

victory

Thank you for your help, it was more gingerbread men, biscuits icing I was after and not so much cupcakes/decorating cakes, I wanted and have been trying really hard to decorate the gingerbread men so they are good enough to give away as presents beautifully royal iced:D

postingalwaysposting

I started with cupcakes before going onto biscuits. If you get the main technique right (slow and steady) and you get the right consitancy of icing you shouldn't have a problem... Practice makes perfect.

Have you thought about a syringe so you have the same amount of preasure on each pump? I started with a syringe before moving onto homemade and the purchased bags.

Did you want a covered gingerbread man? If so make some royal icing to do the outlines/detail's and then once set use a runnier icing to fill in the missing parts. Either that or cheat and colour ready made icing and cut to fit Then just decorate for the details :rotfl: Saves so much stressing until you can get them as perfect as you want.

victory

Oh I have tried it all regal icing, fondant icing, youtube said just cut it out to the size ofthe cookie cutter place on top of snowman and colour if needs be, did that made a snowman the kids hated the fondant icing, back to royal icing back to youtube...

The icing was too runny, too thick, would not come out of the sandwich bags, right consistency, could not pipe the outline, looked awful, gave up on the outline, flooded the ginger cookie in the green for the xmas tree like youtube said went all over the sides, tried dipping it, tried some more icing, went better, decorated looked awful, got better, then used a toothpick for marbling, very good, then the icing was too thick and when the icing got dragged it left an indentation line, tried again with different colours worked better..

Then bought most of 342 Tesco home baking section and used hundreds and thousands (ahhhhhhhhh hate them they go everywhere) and introduced coloured sugar etc and it looked awful so went back to plain with a few dots, the dots were supposed to stand out and they sunk...

Are you still with me?:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl: