I’m sharing 32 simple piping techniques you can try with round piping tips! Find your favorite designs to complete your layer cakes, cupcakes, cookies, and more. You can use any frosting, such as buttercream, whipped cream, or royal icing.

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If you are here, you probably love decorating cakes like me! Whether or not you are looking for more ideas to decide on cake designs for a birthday cake, a cake order, etc., or are eager to learn new piping techniques as a new baker, I hope you'll get some inspiration from the list! I tried to avoid designs that were too intricate and picked simple yet beautiful designs that are easy to achieve with a little practice for bakers at all levels.
I'd like to know which one was your favorite!
Let's get started.
Pick Round Tips
There are so many round tips with different sizes. Pick any size you like to suit your needs!
In this post, I will be using 3 different piping tips: 15 mm (0.6 inches), 9 mm (0.35 inches), and 5 mm (0.2 inches) to show you what the patterns look like with a small to large tip.

You can also try the patterns with star tips.
I shared 30 ways to pipe with a star tip in the past. There, you can see what some of the designs look like with open star tips (You can also use closed star tips!). You can also find a few other patterns that are not introduced in this post.

Frosting Recipes To Practice
Here are some of the basic buttercream frosting you can use to practice your piping skills! I used French buttercream this time. Read more about the characteristics of each buttercream in the FAQ section toward the end of the post.
- Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- Italian Buttercream
- French Buttercream
- American Buttercream (coming soon...!)

VIDEO: Watch How To Pipe Them!
Watch the tutorial video as well to understand each movement fully!
Let me know which one was your favorite😉
32 Ways To Pipe With Round Tips
Drops
This is one of the most basic piping designs we are using quite often. Hold a piping bag straight, slightly lifting the tip away from the surface, squeeze out the frosting, and move the tip upward as you stop adding the pressure.


Braids
Pipe a short line diagonally and pipe the next line on top of the edge to cross them over. Repeat the process to create the braided pattern! You can create a delicate knitted look by lining the braids together.


Shell
It is also a very common piping technique, most often used as shell borders for cakes. Hold the pastry bag at about 45 degrees, squeeze out the frosting until it reaches the desired size, and quickly slide the tip away backward to create the sharp "tail". Pipe with a star or leaf tip to create a more sharp look.


Accordion
Go right and left as you pipe, creating a dynamic look. You can fill the entire surface of the cake to create cute ruffled patterns. Use a petal tip to create more delicate ruffles.


Wiggly Drops
Apply the same tips for the basic drops, except go up and down fast as you squeeze out the frosting. You can create a different, unique look with a star-tip using the same technique.


Dramatic Waves
Pipe the 3 long swirls closely together to create the wave. You can do 2, 4, or more in a row as you like! It creates a classic, antique look when decorated on the sides of the cake.


Ruffles
Apply the same tips as the basic shell piping, but this time, keep going up and down as you squeeze out the frosting to create the ruffled look.


Shell + Cake spatula
First, pipe a basic drop. Next, scrape down the half or more with a spoon or a small offset spatula to create the pull-out dots. Use a spoon with different sizes to slightly create different looks!


Basic Swirl
This is the piping technique I personally use most often to pipe around the corners of cakes. Squeeze the frosting as you move the piping tip in a circular motion, and quickly slide it out at the end. It makes a simple yet beautiful swirl.


Spirals
Continue rotating as you move your tip backward to create the spirals. It looks beautiful when all the circles are piped with the same size.


Ammonite
It's similar to the basic swirl, but instead of curling the tip toward the center, fades it out backward.


Ammonite, two sided
Pipe the "Ammonites" from different sides and repeat the process to create a classic and elegant pattern.


Double Swirls
This is an advanced version of the basic swirl. Go up this time as you draw spirals to create the tall swirl. It makes classic cupcake swirls.


Swirl + Shell
Pipe a drop and a shell next to each other to create the pattern.


Flower
Use the basic shell piping technique to create the flower petals. It makes a cute accent for your cake! Add some dots in the center to add more detail.


Flower 2
You can also pipe the shell longer with more petals to create a different flower look.


Bumps
This piping technique is often used as a decoration for classic cakes, such as traditional-style wedding cakes. Use a small tip for a more detailed look!


Shell Vine
Pipe a basic shell diagonally, pipe the next one also diagonally from the other side, and repeat the process to create the "vine" line. It makes unique and beautiful cake borders.


Triple Spirals
Apply the basic swirl technique, but this time, go upward as you pipe to create the ice cream look!


Flat Drops
Hold the piping bag straight, lifting the tip a little bit away from the working surface, squeeze the frosting until it spreads to the desired size, and quickly swish the tip away to cut off the frosting on top. This is the same way of piping macaron shells.


Swirl Lollipop
Hold the piping bag straight, lifting the tip away from the working surface. Drop the frosting as you squeeze, continuously moving the tip with a swirl motion. It makes a beautiful pattern on top of a cake.


"8" Curl
Draw "8" (or S shape) and repeat it to create a unique pattern. Use a very small round tip to create a more delicate look.


"8" Spirals
Continue drawing "8" with spiral motions to create a beautiful, weaved look. It is my favorite design, and I recently tested it out. It's a lot more simple than it may look!


3 Petals
Pipe 3 petals. Repeat doing it to create a classy border.


Triple Swirls
Pipe 3 spirals and slide out backward. Repeat the process to create a slightly different look from the basic spiral pattern.


Waves
Go left and right as you pipe. It's similar to the pattern "4" but it's much wider to create the lower waves.


Dramatic Deco
It is a combination of a longer swirl and a basic swirl. Repeat them to create a cake border.


Triple Shells
It's a combination of a shell and a ruffle piping technique. Repeat them to create a border.


Spikes
It's similar to drops but pipe many of them longer this time. It makes a great accent for your cake design. Pipe it with a star tip to make simple green bushes.


Curly Line
A simple way to add some details to your cake. Use much smaller tips to create a more delicate look.


Heart
Pipe 2 basic shells diagonally to create the heart shape. A perfect addition for cakes for romantic occasions, such as Valentine's Day and Anniversary cakes.


Heart Spirals
Pipe hearts non-stop with spiral motions to create the heart dominos! It makes a beautiful line as a cake border or decorations on top of a cake.


Uses For The Piping Techniques
- Whole cake: Use the designs for layer cakes, birthday cakes, wedding cakes, etc.
- Cupcake: Frost large to mini cupcakes for special occasions.
- Cookies: Frost sugar cookies with royal icing or buttercream.
- Plated dessert: Use those piping skills to create fancy plated desserts.
You can also mix up different patterns to create unique designs!



Frequently Asked Questions
1. Swiss buttercream: Swiss meringue + Butter
2. Italian buttercream: Italian meringue + Butter
3. French buttercream: Pate au bombe + Butter
4. American buttercream: Powdered sugar + Butter
5. German buttercream: Pastry cream + Butter
6. Russian buttercream: Condensed milk + Butter
7. English buttercream: Anglaise sauce + Butter
They are the main components. You can add flavors or additional ingredients to them.
Any type of buttercream is stiff enough to pipe the patterns I shared in this post, but if you are looking for the stiffest buttercream to pipe very fine detail, I recommend Swiss buttercream. Or Italian buttercream is the next pick.
Some of the most stiff buttercreams are Swiss, Italian, and American buttercream. American buttercream is very sweet with some grainy texture due to the powdered sugar. I personally do not use it frequently, but it is a great frosting to whip up in just a minute.
For Italian and Swiss buttercream, the meringues are the key to making them stiff yet fluffy. Swiss meringue is more stable than Italian meringue since it's cooked with higher heat, which leads to a stiffer buttercream.
Note that the stiffness can differ depending on which recipe you use.
I recommend gel or paste food colorings since they color frosting better without changing the consistency as much as liquid colorings. This one is my ultimate favorite!
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