Orchids are exquisite, but the Cymbidium orchid is one of the most popular because of its delightful blooms. Cymbidium flowers are thick and waxy with five petals on each bloom, and the centre is usually a contrasting colour.
1. Pipe a Y-shaped guide mark to help position your first three petals.
2. Using the smaller 126 nozzle held at a 20 to 30 degree angle, pipe a short rounded two-stroke petal (see Basic Petal Strokes) in green, following your marks.
3. Pipe two more petals in two of the gaps between the first petals using the same strokes.
4. In the last gap, using a piping bag filled with the untinted and red buttercream (see Blended Two-tone Effect) and the Wilton 104 Nozzle, pipe a ruffled two-stroke petal (see Basic Petal Strokes) for the ‘lip’, starting from the centre.
5. Using light green buttercream with the Wilton 104 Nozzle, pipe a small fan-shaped petal (see Basic Petal Strokes) for the ‘cap’, with the wide end of the nozzle touching the point where the two-tone lip petal ended.
6. Use dark red buttercream in a piping bag with a small hole at the tip to stain the centre and pipe small random dots. Then use yellow buttercream to pipe the two pollination features in the centre.