The size of a protea flower is impressive. It has a thick stem topped with clusters of pink flowers, which are arranged into a big flower head with large colourful bracts surrounding it.
1. Pipe a small guide circle then, using the pink and dark pink (see Two-tone Effect) and the petal nozzle, pipe a ring of medium-length pulled petals (see Basic Petal Strokes).
2. Pipe a mound of untinted buttercream in the circle with a raised pointed tip at the centre.
3. Using your light pink buttercream in a piping bag with a small hole at the tip, pipe lines all around the centre, starting a few millimetres (1⁄16in) from the bottom and ending at the tip.
4. Next, using yellow buttercream in a piping bag with a small hole at the tip, pipe shorter lines around the centre starting from the base and ending about halfway up.
5. Using green buttercream in a piping bag with a small hole at the tip, pipe short spikes that start from the bottom of the flower centre and flare outwards. Pipe a second layer.
For the centre you can use a piece of sponge cake or a balled-up cake instead of piping a big mound of buttercream.