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Challenge #3 - Yup, it was a challenge alright.

Challenge #3 from Amy at Great Cakes Soapworks - Piping. Oh boy. I have long admired soap cupcakes, but make them myself?? Wouldn't have done it if not for this challenge. The practicality of them just eludes me. I appreciated the short video from Platypus Dreams that Amy included in her blog on how to use them; I would not have come up with cutting the cupcake in half, top to bottom. Now that I had an idea of how to use them I thought, why not? But just a few, along with a soap loaf.

Here's my lemon meringue piped creations scented with lemon, litsea and ylang ylang essential oils, coloured with annatto infused olive oil and sprinkled with calendula flowers. First the loaf. After the base layer with it's ITP swirl was poured I loaded my decorating bag with soap. As I tried to pipe it on the loaf it completely lost it's shape - not thick enough. That's okay. One even layer, bang it on the counter to smooth it out, try again in a few minutes. Re-loaded the bag and tried the cupcakes. A steady hand I do not have. I think a larger tip would create a nicer effect. Tried some rosettes on the last of the 4 cupcakes and found that easier. So the loaf just got a generous covering of rosettes. I really like the cut soap. But the cupcakes? I'm still not convinced. Since I will probably never make cupcakes again I decided to give it one more try while I was still in the zone. This time I made lavender cupcakes coloured with alkanet infused oil and lemon icing coloured with annatto infused oil. I wanted the piping a lot higher this time. The smallest one of the bunch looks the best. They have a sprinkling of yellow decorators' sugar as well. The other day I found some cupcake packages and couldn't resist buying them. They're kinda cute too. Okay, I admit it was a fun challenge. Once again, thanks for the inspiration, Amy! I might actually splurge on a bigger decorators' tip and try it again on a soap loaf.
Posted by Simple Pleasures Handmade Soap at 2:10 PM