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Home » Blog » Cake Decorating

Best Cake and Cupcake Piping Tips & How to Use Them

Updated: Oct 20, 2022 · Published: Jul 12, 2018 by Kara · This post may contain affiliate links · This blog generates income via ads

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The best cake and cupcake piping tips for cake decorating and step-by-step on how to use them to create beautiful designs.

There are some buttercream piping tips that you’ll just use over and over again in cake decorating. Here I’ve put together a list of favorites and what I think are the best piping tips.

Piping icing onto cupcakes.

Now, first things first, you don’t have to have a ton of piping tips. You don’t need each and every one of these. You can choose what you think you’ll use the most.

There are also some piping tips that you’ll just keep going back to again and again and the good news is they’re generally inexpensive, so you can grow your collection as you’re able.

Piping blue frosting onto cupcakes with text overlay.

Many of these piping tips can be used in multiple ways. I’ll show how to pipe with each one and some examples of cakes I’ve used them on.

Don’t forget to check out the video close to the end of this post to see how to pipe with these tips.

Favorite Buttercream Piping Tips Graphic

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. You can see my policies linked in the website footer.

Jump to:
  • 2D & 1M Tips:
  • 8B & 6B Tips:
  • 4B & 32 Tips:
  • 103 & 104 Petal Tips:
  • 21 Star Tip:
  • 352 & 67 Leaf Tips:
  • 233 Grass Tip:
  • 4 & 5 Round Tips:
  • Video on how to pipe with these tips:
  • Other Posts You Might Like:

You’ll find Amazon links below each graphic where you can purchase these tips.

2D & 1M Tips:

Graphic for 2D piping tip.

Get the 2D Piping Tip Here

1m piping tip graphic.

Get the 1M Piping Tip Here

The 2D and 1M tips are very similar to each other and they’re great for making rosettes. Of course, you can make rosettes in a couple of different ways.

Purple buttercream rosette
Purple buttercream rosette
Purple buttercream small rosette
Purple buttercream large rose rosette

Make sure to check out the video in this post, but if you want to learn my favorite tip for piping rosettes, you’ll want to check out my post: Better Buttercream Rosettes.

These are also wonderful to use for easy rosette floral wreath cakes like the one below:

Rosette Wreath Cake

They’re also my favorite tips to use on cupcakes and they’re great as large shell borders.

Buttercream Piped onto Cupcake

(Lemon Sour Cream Cupcakes)

8B & 6B Tips:

Graphic with text and 8B piping tip.

Get the 8B Piping Tip Here

6b piping tip with text graphic.

Get the 6B Piping Tip Here

I use these tips for cupcakes and to pipe dollops along the tops of cakes. I also like to use them for borders around the bottom of cakes.

Pink piped buttercream
Pink swirled buttercream

These are also great for wreath cakes and unicorn cakes, the top of cakes, and also as large borders.

Oreo Insanity Cake

(Oreo Insanity Cake)

4B & 32 Tips:

4b piping tip with text.

Get the 4B Piping Tip Here

32 piping tip with text.

Get the #32 Piping Tip Here

These star tips are a bit smaller than the previous ones, but they’re also great for borders and the tops of cakes. They’re also great for filling in floral wreath cakes.

blue piped buttercream
small blue piped buttercream

Here are some ideas for cupcakes:

Cupcake decorating ideas

103 & 104 Petal Tips:

103 piping tip with text.

Get the 103 Piping Tip Here

104 piping tip with text.

Get the 104 Piping Tip Here

There are a bunch of different-sized petal tips, but these two sizes are my favorites. They make excellent medium-sized blossoms and roses.

Piping buttercream roses and blossoms

21 Star Tip:

21 piping tip graphic with text.

Get the #21 Piping Tip Here

There are different sizes of star tips, but this is the one I use most often. It’s a smaller size and perfect for all sorts of things.

star piping tips
star piping tip

Here are some examples:

Patriotic Star Cake

(Easy Patriotic Star Cake)

Giant Peppermint Candy Cake

(Giant Peppermint Candy Cake)

352 & 67 Leaf Tips:

352 piping tip graphic with text.

Get the #352 Piping Tip Here

67 piping tip graphic.

Get the #67 Piping Tip Here

These are great all-around leaf tips. The 352 tip is more of a standard leaf.

Buttercream Leaves

And the 67 can make a more ruffled leaf.

ruffled Buttercream Leaves

These tips are great for floral cakes, but they’re also great for filling in spaces.

Cake Pop Christmas Tree Cake

(Cake Pop Christmas Tree)

233 Grass Tip:

233 piping tip graphic.

Get the #233 Piping Tip Here

Ok, obviously the grass tip is great for grass, but it’s also great for making fur.

Piping Buttercream Grass

Here are some examples:

Easter Grass Cake

(Loaded Easter Blondies)

Teddy Bear Christmas Cake

(Easy Teddy Bear Christmas Cake)

4 & 5 Round Tips:

Number 4 piping tip graphic.

Get the #4 Piping Tip Here

Number 5 piping tip graphic.

Get the #5 Piping Tip Here

These are your workhorses when decorating cakes. The sky is really the limit for these. I love them for filling in spaces on floral cakes…they’re great for piping berries to fill in those spaces.

They’re also great for making centers for flowers, writing words, and really any other piping you can think of.

Piping buttercream berries

Here are some examples:

Piping buttercream flowers

(Easy Piped Spring Cake)

Piping buttercream flowers

(Floral Initial Cake)

Video on how to pipe with these tips:

Okay, now that you’ve got a ton of ideas…start that piping!

For even more piping tips, you’ll want to check out this post: 12 Simple and Easy Buttercream Cake Borders

Other Posts You Might Like:

  • 12 Simple & Easy Buttercream Borders to Pipe
  • Anatomy of a Decorated Cake
  • Freezing Buttercream Plus What to Do With Leftovers
  • Vanilla Bean Buttercream

Don’t forget to pin it below!

Piping onto the top of a cupcake with text.

5 Secrets to Moist and Tender Cakes

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    Filed Under: Cake Decorating, Cupcake Decorating Tagged With: buttercream tutorials, cake decorating tips

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. simran

      July 30, 2018 at 4:18 am

      Great all the piping tips are amazing and super cute. I especially love the 6B tip, I want to decorate the whole cake with this piping only.

      Reply
      • Kara Jane

        July 30, 2018 at 12:49 pm

        Thanks! And I think that would actually look really neat!

        Reply
    2. Linda

      May 15, 2022 at 1:25 pm

      Thank you so much for this! It’s really informative and gives a great understanding of what you can do with each tip. Really useful thanks! x

      Reply
      • Kara

        May 17, 2022 at 5:38 pm

        Thanks, Linda!

        Reply

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