Transitions: Red Velvet

September is typically a month of many transitions.  School children gear up to start a new grade level, the weather here in the northeast changes from hot and humid to crisp and cool, and trees start showing hints of yellow and orange in their green leaves.  So along with these changes, it was interesting to have the opportunity to bake for two different events celebrating transitions: a farewell party and a housewarming party.  It was all about red velvet for these two gatherings.  For the farewell party, I made red velvet cupcakes spelling out a special "We Will Miss You" message:

I hand piped the letters using melted red chocolate:

For the housewarming party, I baked a double layer red velvet cake:

For both the cupcakes and the layer cake, I've experimented with a new giant sized piping tip that I ordered online.

Normally, the largest tip I use is a Wilton 1M tip that may people also use for piping roses or swirls, but a few specialty online baking supply stores carry even larger tips and I was always curious to try them.  Here's a side by side comparison, with the 1M on the left and the new giant 'closed star' tip (9CS) on the right:

As you can see, the larger tip opening creates a lot more volume and height, and for people like me who *love* frosting, this tip gives you an extra serving of the sugary stuff!