I bought a set recently but haven't tried them out yet.

I haven't but they're pretty. :)

Same as Colleen. Guess I need to bake some cupcakes soon.

I haven't bought them yet, I put them in my Amazon basket once and then talked myself out of them, but they look very interesting.

Annie

I had to go and look them up. what fun!

colleenoz and donna_loomis - why haven't you tried them yet? I need these like a hole in the head but if I bought them I'd want to spend an entire day playing with them! My Wilton tips languish for years then I go on a spree. I'm much better at making the cakes than decorating but these Russian ones would be a big step up using multiple colors and fun!

Nancy, there just haven't been any occasions to try them out yet. But during July and August we have five birthdays, so I'm sure they'll get a test. Last Friday my daughter and I went to a funeral. I noticed she had a baggie full of the Russian tips in her car. I thought it was funny that we had both bought them unbeknownst to each other. I texted her this morning and told her that we should get together for some practice before birthday season starts.

I bought mine on Amazon for about $10. She got a larger set from WISH for $4!!!

Same here, no cakes to decorate so far.

Cakecentral dot com may have some interesting info and photos about these tips! The now-defunct Wilton forums had some discussions about them as well. When you get a chance to use them, I hope you'll all post photos!!!

Smiles,

Sooz

If you have never tried flower piping techniques, or have little experience decorating with classic decorating tips and buttercream, the Russian decorating nozzles may become a favorite toy ( I never thought 'The Russians are Coming!" would've caused such a joyous ruckus. Crazy times we live in).

The nozzles will effortlessly pipe the flowers for you, so no previous decorating knowledge is necessary. All that is required by the decorator is to: Squeeze. Release pressure. Repeat (Evil Jessica, if you're still lurking, you're welcome) .

The Russian nozzles are larger than your average piping tips, and do not require a coupler. Also, the consistency of the buttercream is important; some tips work best with firm buttercream, while others require a softer consistency.

There is one drawback. Your decorating options will be limited to the tips used. In other words, if you were feeling creative and wished to pipe an English rose, a large, open rose, or any unusual flowers, or leaves, there ain't a Russian nozzle that will do that. You would need to use the classic decorating tips and techniques.

However, you could lessen the "cookie-cutter" effect by striping different colors into one bag. Or, if you bought the tips en bloc, you might discover other ways to combine them and personalize your decorating by playing around a bit. The results may be a happy, alchemic surprise.

So there's nothing to fear, but fear itself . . . and runny buttercream.

Sol

I thought I took pictures but I can't find them. Probably for the best -- an especially bad early effort with some lurid pink stripes (from a heavy hand in striping the bag) were declared to be like barnacles, not flowers :) They got better.... definitely way easier than piping roses.

I forgot to mention -- due to the tip size, be prepared to make a lot of buttercream!

Mine came with 23+ tips and an optional coupler for mixing two colors at once.

There are a bunch of blogs and videos with instructions and examples/ideas.

Thanks, Sol, for that information. I'm still thinking I want a set. I don't need them, but I want 'em!

Annie

Sol, that's me! Scared of runny buttercream! (Warm kitchen....)

No need to be scared. Your buttercream must be fairly stiff to use these tips, so not likely to run.

LOL! Thanks. It was mostly a joke. But partially not. There's a reason that pros often do this kind of thing in a walk in fridge. :)

I was lurking on Thursday and was so intrigued with these tips that I ordered them from Amazon and they arrived yesterday. I just happened to have a few unfrosted cupcakes in the freezer. So..... here is my first attempt!! (Sorry for the huge pic)

Olympia

Oh they are really pretty. Was it as easy as it looks on videos expecially if one is used to using regular wilton tips?

Much easier than I thought it would be!!!

Too pretty to eat!

Very nice!

Those are beautiful! I have roses in the garden that look like that.

Oh, those are lovely. I suppose I'm going to have to do some Amazon shopping. (sigh)

Annie

beautiful, @olyharris!

@mampinky, if you are used to regular wilton tips and can do a leaf, you can do the buds. They are even easier, like rosettes.

Thanks everyone! The tips were so much fun to play with. Well worth the $10

I'm not a big fan of American buttercream, so I'm going to try using them with Swiss Meringue next. I think the edges will be a little better defined.

Olympia

Very very nice olyharris, thanks for the picture. I have been wondering about these tips for sometime and been following this discussion closely. Enjoyed every comment.

Another item on my ToGet list.

Those are gorgeous! Now I want some cakes to decorate! :-)

Beautiful, olyharris!

so so pretty.

This made me crave buttercream so I had my grandsons age 8&9 frost a Hersheys chocolate cake today..no deco, just covered with buttercream...LOL. I had the 9 yo get out and measure the vanilla he of course grabbed the dark vanilla instead of the clear...I'm sure it will taste great though.