How to make Royal Icing | Baking Basics #13

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This is just a very short baking basics post to introduce you to Royal Icing, give you a brief overview of what it is used for and a basic recipe for making it!

It’s perfect for decorating Christmas biscuits, so why not check out my recipes for Gingerbread Men or Christmas Light Cookies?

Watch my video on how to make this baking basic here:

What is Royal Icing?

Royal icing is a thick, bright white icing that is ideal for decorating cakes and biscuits! It holds its shape a lot better when piped and also hardens completely once dried! This means your decorations will stay the way they are and won´t smudge!

Unlike water icing, which is made by simply mixing icing sugar and water/lemon juice, royal icing is made using raw egg whites. As the eggs aren´t cooked, it is best to use very fresh eggs when making royal icing!

If you don´t like the thought of using raw eggs, you can also use royal icing sugar, which contains dried egg white powder. However, this is a little harder to find in an average supermarket! You might have to buy it online, or check shops that offer more “specialist” baking ingredients/equipment such as Lakeland or Hobbycraft.

What is it used for?

Royal icing can be used to decorate both biscuits and cakes. It is especially good for decorating biscuits if you are wanting to pipe intricate decoration and you are wanting it to set rock-hard! It´s very easy to create different consistencies of royal icing by adding varying amounts of icing sugar to the mix. Add a little less to create an icing that is perfect for “flooding”/spreading and a little more to create a stiffer icing suitable for piping!

Royal icing can also be used to decorate cakes! If you are decorating the outside of a cake with royal icing, you may not want it to set rock-hard but just set firm. To achieve this, whisk in a little glycerine at the start! This will make sure the icing sets but doesn´t become so hard you cannot cut your cake properly!

Can you colour Royal Icing?

Yes! Royal icing is perfect for colouring and decorating biscuits! For the best results you should use gel food colouring (like this). This will not alter the taste of the icing too much, nor will it change the consistency making your icing runny! The good thing with this icing, however, is that if you do use liquid food colouring (which you will need quite a lot of to create a vibrant colour) and the icing goes a bit runny again, you can always add some more icing sugar to stiffen it again! That may fade the colour though, so gel colouring really is the best way forward!

Can you store Royal Icing?

Probably one of the best things about royal icing is that you can store it in the fridge for up to a week! That means you can make large quantities of the icing whilst you are at it, and then keep it in the fridge to decorate biscuits as and when you need it!

To refrigerate, pour the icing into a bowl and press a piece of clingfilm over the surface to prevent the surface from drying out. Then simply remove from the fridge and stir through to remove any lumps when you need it!

More Baking Basics:

Make sure to check out some of the other baking basics posts on my blog!

• #1 How To Make Shortcrust Pastry
• #2 How To Master Chocolate (Melting, Tempering, Decorating)
• #3 How To Make Puff Pastry
• #4 How To Make a Sourdough Starter
• #5 How To Make Buttercream (Normal, Dairy-free, Vegan)
• #6 How To Make Hot Water Crust Pastry
• #7 How To Make Crème Chantilly | Chantilly (Sweetened) Cream
• #8 How To Make Crème Pâtissière | French Pastry Cream
• #9 How To Make Lemon Curd
• #10 How To Make Crème Anglaise (Vanilla Custard)
• #11 The 5 Cake Making Methods – Explained
• #12 How to Make Filo Pastry
• #13 How to Make Royal Icing | Perfect for Biscuit Decorating
• #14 How to Make Honeycomb (Cinder Toffee, Hokey Pokey)

Basic Recipe for Royal Icing

Ingredients:

• 2 egg whites
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• ½ tsp glycerine (if using to decorate cakes)
• 400-600g icing sugar

Method:

1. Whisk together the egg whites and lemon juice using a fork until frothy. If using, whisk in the glycerine, too.
2. Gradually start whisking in the icing sugar to make a thick, smooth icing. For flooding, your icing should be thick but still be runny enough to easily flow across the top of your biscuit. To create royal icing that is fit for piping or coating a cake, add a little more icing sugar to reach a slightly thicker consistency that will hold its shape once piped!
3. To colour the icing, add a little bit of gel food colouring at a time and stir into the icing. Mix in well before adding more, as some colours tend to darken when the icing sets.
4. Use the icing immediately to decorate your bakes or cover with clingfilm and store in the fridge until needed (see above).
5. Leave the icing to harden completely before storing your bakes in an air-tight container.