Vintage Cake Decorating

yellow cake decorated with piped buttercream decorations

Whether you call it old-school piping, vintage cake decorating, or something else — it’s certainly making a comeback! Cakes with over-the-top piping have been popping up all over my insta feed and I’m not mad about it.

I even noted vintage piping techniques as one of the Cake Trends to Look out for in 2020.

While this cake design was mostly just for fun, I do have a few tips if you’re interested in trying out a similar design.

What’s the best type of buttercream for piping?

The best type of buttercream for piping is a stiff or sturdy buttercream that can hold its shape. My go-to recommendation is always Swiss meringue buttercream, Italian meringue buttercream, or a classic American buttercream.

How to you pipe shells, stars, rosettes, etc.?

I have a few videos that will help you if you’re a beginner cake decorator. Check out these posts:

Star Tip Cake Decorating

How to Pipe a Shell Border

Embroidery Cake and Piping Techniques for Beginners

Which piping tips are used for vintage piping techniques?

You can can incorporate many different piping tips into your vintage cake designs. For this cake though, I only used a #32 star tip, a #4 round tip, and a #352 leaf tip.

Getting the vintage look is more about how you pipe rather than what tips you use. Piping in even sections (or in my case attempting to make even sections) around the cake is a major aspect of those old-school styles.

Incorporating overpiping and stringwork techniques will also give you a vintage look. These techniques are traditionally used with royal icing, but you can still achieve some of the more simple forms using buttercream.