The Pastry Bag Hack That Eliminates The Need For Ties And Clips

If you've ever decorated a cake before — whether it's a homemade showstopper or you're simply upgrading a store-bought cake – you may be familiar with the cringey feeling of having a glob of frosting ooze out the top of your piping bag onto your hand. Yes, it's just frosting, but when you see that blob building up and know it means an inevitable mess — because of course you don't want to stop piping mid-rosette — it's just not a pleasant feeling.

Now, along with the seemingly infinite variety of piping nozzles available for purchase, you can buy specialized icing bag clips or use something as simple as a rubber band to seal the end of your piping bag. These methods can help minimize the risk of a frosting-fueled mess. But if you don't have a band or clip on hand, don't sweat it: There is an easy way to create a tightly secured piping bag that won't let any frosting escape, and all you need is a bag of frosting and a pair of scissors. A cake scraper or similar device can help as well.

This method could work whether you're using store-bought or homemade frosting — or even a whipped cheese mixture for stuffed pasta shells. However, if using store-bought frosting, be sure to whip some air into the frosting before transferring it to the piping bag for best decorating results. 

As you can see in the video, some key aspects of the hack involve making sure the frosting fills the bottom of the bag — with no air bubble at the tip — and scraping the frosting down towards the tip so the broader half of the bag is as clean as you can get it before cutting the slit down the middle.

Don't skip the step where you twirl the bag around after cutting the slit — not only does this look the most fun part of the process, this will seal the split in the bag thoroughly so the frosting doesn't escape through the knot.

And whether you're using this trick or tying your piping bag using another method, wrapping the bag around a glass or other container before filling it will make that process so much easier. This loads the frosting toward the front of the bag from the get-go, rather than sliding a spatula down through the entire bag — which can be a far messier endeavor.