Royal icing and piping expert, Christine Flinn, adds a modern twist to this historical sugarcraft technique. Learn all you need to know to produce stunning cakes for all occasions, from covering cakes and boards and making piping bags to piping basic shapes, roses and leaves. Learn how to use fruit or sponge cakes in various shapes, covering them with marzipan, royal icing and fondant (sugarpaste). There are step by step photographs, instructions and expert tips for piping, from first attempts at making shapes to accomplished cake decorating. Ten stunning step by step projects follow, with templates provided. These gorgeous cakes cover a huge variety of techniques and styles, from a traditional rose basket and a luscious, Edwardian style creation trimmed with frills and scrolls, to an Indian inlaid cake, a steampunk cake with run sugar ornaments and a modern blackwork design using brush embroidery.