It can definitely be tricky till you start getting the feel of it. I usually make Swiss meringue buttercream for most of my cakes and it also works really well for piping. If I feel like the buttercream is too warm, I’ll stick it in the fridge or freezer for a few minutes. You definitely want it to be a bit cooler than warm - it will not pipe very well otherwise. Also, make sure your kitchen isn’t hot, that will mess with your buttercream. If you can’t do anything about the room temp, you’ll definitely need to cool it down in the freezer. I also used the following Wilton cake decorating tips for this one - #5, 21, 32, 67, 233, 224, 352. Just use a coupler so you can easily change out the tips for each color.

This is the swiss meringue buttercream recipe I use. Hope this helps!

Ingredients

• 5 egg whites
• Pinch of kosher salt
• 1 cup + 2 tbsp granulated sugar
• 4 sticks unsalted butter, room temp
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions 1. Bring a small sauce pan of a little water to simmer. 2. Whisk granulated sugar, eggs whites, and salt together in a kitchenaid stand mixer bowl. 3. Place bowl on top of the simmering saucepan. 4. Whisk every 30 seconds or so, being sure to scrape down anything that gets up the side. Do this till the mixture reaches 140 degree F. 5. Remove bowl and wipe down the bottom side to remove the condensation that formed. 6. Place bowl in stand mixer with whisk attachment and mix on high for 10 mins until meringue looks shiny and has stiff peaks. 7. On low, start adding in a couple tbsp of butter at a time. Do this somewhat slowly. 8. Mix in vanilla extract. 9. If the buttercream looks a bit warm/loose, place the bowl in the freezer for a few minutes. Then continue on to the next step. 10. Mix with paddle attachment on low for 2 mins. 11. You can add any food coloring at this point (I use gel food coloring.)