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My Favorite Piping Tip: Wilton 4B

March 19, 2018 · In: Tools

When I first started making cakes, I was so pleased to find out that my local craft store had a whole two aisles full of cake decorating supplies! All of the tools in those aisles were Wilton and they became the foundation of my toolset for years to come. Although I have incorporated some other brands into my cake decorating arsenal I am most definitely still a huge fan of Wilton, especially since their tools have taken a beating from me over the last several years and have held up pristinely.

I wanted to shed a spotlight on my favorite piping tip of all time, the classic Wilton 4B. It’s an open star tip that I’ve come to love for creating unique designs on cakes and cupcakes. It really shines when you get a little crafty with color.

I once made a cupcake rainbow with my 4B tip by creating different shades of buttercream. I think there are 14 colors represented here.

rainbow cupcakes by sugar and sparrow

And made some monochromatic magic with a few different shades of teal.

monochromatic cupcakes by Sugar and Sparrow

I’ve created an under-the-sea inspired cake for a friend who loves diving. I love how it turned out looking like a coral reef.

under the sea cake by Sugar and Sparrow

And created a little sunny ombrè cake.

mango buttercream cake by sugar and sparrow

I’ve also used it several times to accent my cake designs. I just love that extra pop of texture it adds!

matcha cake by sugar and sparrow

Have you tried any of these looks with 4B? I want to see ‘em. Tag me on Instagram and show me!

By: Whitney · In: Tools · Tagged: buttercream, buttercream piping, buttercream piping tip, cake, cake decorating, cakes, cupcakes, piping, piping tip, wilton, wilton 4b

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Comments

  1. Mary Doherty says

    February 13, 2024 at 3:07 pm

    I love the cakes and cupcakes on this page. I was wondering if all the different sizes of stars were made using the same tip. If so, do I just keep squeezing until the star gets bigger? I’m a beginner cake decorator, I appreciate you help.

    Reply
    • Whitney says

      February 27, 2024 at 2:44 pm

      Hi Mary! Yes, all of these stars were made with the same piping tip (Wilton 4B) and that’s exactly how you’d get the different sizes – squeeze the piping bag until the star gets bigger. Hope that helps!

      Reply
  2. Monica says

    February 11, 2019 at 10:52 am

    Hi! How do you get the buttercream colors to be more muted? Mine always come out looking bright and neon-ish even if I add just a little bit of food gel.

    Reply
    • Whitney says

      February 12, 2019 at 10:09 am

      Hi Monica! I have the Americolor Nifty Fifty Kit and it includes a lot of muted color gels. Also, if a color is too bright I usually add a tiny bit of a slightly darker color to tone it down.

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. A Year Older, A New Birthday Cake Recipe - Sugar & Sparrow says:
    June 7, 2018 at 11:06 am

    […] culinary torch. You can use some piping tips to pipe unique designs with the meringue (I’ve used Wilton 4B for the open stars and 1M for the rosettes) or keep with the traditional look of swirling the […]

    Reply
  2. The Tastiest Churro Cake Recipe - Sugar & Sparrow says:
    May 7, 2018 at 8:06 am

    […] Top with your favorite local churros or topper of your choice. In this design I’ve also piped a few open stars with buttercream using Wilton tip 4B. […]

    Reply

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THICK CARAMEL CAKE FILLING ✨this is the BEST caram THICK CARAMEL CAKE FILLING ✨this is the BEST caramel  filling recipe for cakes and cupcakes that’s extra thick, creamy and spreadable, and irresistibly gooey with just the right vanilla-caramel flavor. I’ve used it in recipes like my Millionaire Cake, Milky Way Ccake, Snickers Cake (with peanuts added!), and Twix cake, but it will pair well with any cake flavor that could use some gooey caramel in between the layers.

Find this recipe in my bio + all the cake recipes mentioned at https://sugarandsparrow.com/thick-caramel-filling/

THICK CARAMEL FILLING 
Yield: 2 Cups (enough to fill a triple layer cake + use as a drip) 

INGREDIENTS 
1/2 Cup (113g) unsalted butter 
1 Cup (200g) packed brown sugar 
2/3 Cup (210g, 160ml) sweetened condensed milk 
1/3 Cup (80ml) light corn syrup 
5 Tbsp (75ml) heavy whipping cream 
1 tsp salt 
1 tsp pure vanilla extract 

INSTRUCTIONS 
1. In a large saucepan over medium heat, add the sweetened condensed milk, butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, heavy whipping cream, and salt. Stir with a rubber spatula constantly until the mixture is fully combined and begins to bubble, about 5 minutes. 
2. Turn the heat to medium-low and continue stirring until the caramel begins to thicken, 6-7 minutes. If you have a candy thermometer, you’ll want to cook this until it reaches 225F (107C). That is the temperature that will thicken the caramel while keeping it nice and soft at room temperature. 
3. Remove the caramel from the heat and mix in the vanilla extract. Pour into a separate container and let the caramel cool completely to room temperature before using it to fill the cake. After pouring mine into a 2-cup measuring cup and refrigerating, it took about 2 hours to cool but it will thicken significantly.

#caramel #caramelcake #cakes #cakedecorating #homebaked
ALMOND JOY CAKE 🤎🥥 this tastes just like an Almond ALMOND JOY CAKE 🤎🥥 this tastes just like an Almond Joy candy bar in cake form: layers of soft, fluffy coconut cake with silky chocolate ganache, sliced almonds, and the dreamiest coconut-almond buttercream! 

Comment RECIPE and I’ll send it on over! Or find it linked in my bio + at https://sugarandsparrow.com/almond-joy-cake-recipe/

#almondjoy #coconutcake #almondcake #cakedecorating #candycake
You butter believe I made myself the Halloween cos You butter believe I made myself the Halloween costume of my dreams!! 🧈 

#diyhalloweencostume
#foodcostume #halloweencostume #handmadecostume #bakerlife
MELTED CANDLE CUPCAKES 🖤🕯give me a few cupcakes, s MELTED CANDLE CUPCAKES 🖤🕯give me a few cupcakes, some dye-free black buttercream, and black chocolate ganache and watch me transform them into the spookiest edible centerpiece! 

Full tutorial is linked in my bio + at https://sugarandsparrow.com/melting-candle-cupcakes/ but I have a condensed version below: 
 
SUPPLIES: ⁣ 
-9 cupcakes⁣  (made these with my small batch black velvet cake recipe!) 
-1 batch of dye-free black buttercream 
-boba straws or skewers (for stabilizing the taller candles) ⁣ 
-icing smoother + turntable ⁣ 
-black ganache for dripping⁣ 
-3 birthday cake candles⁣ 
-matches ⁣ to light them
⁣ 
INSTRUCTIONS: ⁣ 
1. Fill and stack the cupcakes: one stack of 2 cupcakes, one stack of 3 cupcakes, and one stack of 4 cupcakes. For the two taller cupcakes I inserted a boba straw through the middle to stabilize the stack for frosting. ⁣ 
2. Frost the stacked cupcakes with smooth buttercream and keep the top edge raw. Refrigerate for 20 minutes to let the frosting firm up. ⁣ 
3. Transfer the frosted cupcake candles  onto a small plate and pipe ganache around the edges and tops to look like melted wax. ⁣ 
4. Insert a birthday cake candle into each cake candle (keep the wick about 1/4 inch from the cake surface) and light! ⁣ 
⁣ 
#candlecake #halloweencake #cupcakes #blackvelvetcake #blackbuttercream
BISCOFF COOKIE BUTTERCREAM 🤎 this delicious frosti BISCOFF COOKIE BUTTERCREAM 🤎 this delicious frosting is flavored with Biscoff cookie butter and goes with literally ANY Fall cake recipe 🙌🏼 So far my favorite cake flavors to pair it with are pumpkin cake, banana cake, chocolate cake, coffee cake, and spice cake, but I am also testing a full-on Biscoff cake this week!! 

Full recipe + my favorite cake pairing suggestions are at https://sugarandsparrow.com/biscoff-buttercream/ 
⁣⁣ 
INGREDIENTS⁣⁣ 
1 Cups (226g) unsalted butter, room temperature⁣⁣ 
1/2 Cup (94g) Biscoff cookie butter⁣⁣ or spread
3 Cups (360g) powdered sugar⁣⁣ 
1 tsp pure vanilla extract⁣⁣ 
2 Tbsp whole milk, room temperature⁣⁣ 
1/4 tsp salt, or to taste⁣⁣ 
⁣⁣ 
INSTRUCTIONS⁣⁣ 
1. Cream the butter and Biscoff cookie butter together in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or you can use a hand mixer and large bowl). Mix on medium-high until creamy and well combined, about 5 minutes, scraping down the bowl and paddle as needed.⁣⁣ 
2. Turn the mixer to low speed and add the powdered sugar a few cups at a time, scraping down the bowl and paddle after mixing in each addition. Add the vanilla, milk, and salt and continue mixing on low speed until smooth and combined, 1-2 minutes.⁣ 
⁣⁣ 
#biscoffcake #biscoff #buttercream #frosting #cakedecorating

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