Quick Dry Royal Icing Food

EASY ROYAL ICING

Steps:

• Place powdered sugar in a medium bowl and set aside. In a small bowl, combine warm water, light corn syrup, and extract. Stir until corn syrup is dissolved.
• Add sugar water to powdered sugar and stir until completely combined. Mixture will be thick. The consistency you're looking for is a slowly dripping icing that disappears into the bowl within about 12 seconds. Add water by drop if you think it's too thick. If it becomes too thin, add more powdered sugar by the teaspoon. Use immediately.
• If you need to wait to use your icing: cover tightly, and use within 1 day. You will need to stir it up again and possibly add more water before using. Re-test the consistency before using.
• If you want to color your icing, I prefer gel colors: my favorite brand is AmeriColor. They have a huge and gorgeous collection of colors in a 12 pack or a 50 pack.

MY FAVORITE ROYAL ICING

Steps:

• Watch the video of the icing above so you get an idea of what the final consistency should be.
• Pour confectioners' sugar, meringue powder, and 9 Tablespoons of water into a large bowl. Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat icing ingredients together on high speed for 1.5 - 2 minutes. When lifting the whisk up off the icing, the icing should drizzle down and smooth out within 5-10 seconds. If it's too thick, beat in more water 1 Tablespoon at a time. I usually need 10 Tablespoons but on particularly dry days, I use up to 12-14 Tablespoons. Keep in mind that the longer you beat the royal icing, the thicker it becomes. If your royal icing is too thin, just keep beating it to introduce more air OR you can add more confectioners' sugar.
• When applied to cookies or confections in a thin layer, icing completely dries in about 2 hours at room temperature. If icing consistency is too thin and runny, it will take longer to dry. If the icing is applied very thick on cookies, it will also take longer to dry. If you're layering royal icing onto cookies for specific designs and need it to set quickly, place cookies in the refrigerator to help speed it up. See blog post above for make-ahead and freezing instructions.

ROYAL ICING

Steps:

• In large bowl of stand mixer combine the egg whites and vanilla and beat until frothy. Add confectioners' sugar gradually and mix on low speed until sugar is incorporated and mixture is shiny. Turn speed up to high and beat until mixture forms stiff, glossy peaks. This should take approximately 5 to 7 minutes. Add food coloring, if desired. For immediate use, transfer icing to pastry bag or heavy duty storage bag and pipe as desired. If using storage bag, clip corner. Store in airtight container in refrigerator for up to 3 days.

EASY ROYAL ICING

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine all ingredients. Beat on high speed with a portable mixer for 10-12 minutes or on low speed with a stand mixer for 7-10 minutes or until peaks form.

ROYAL ICING

Steps:

• Combine the egg whites and powdered sugar in a medium-size mixing bowl and whip with an electric mixer on medium speed until opaque and shiny, about 5 minutes. Add the lemon juice and continue whipping until completely incorporated, about 3 minutes. The lemon juice whitens the royal icing. The royal icing should be light, fluffy, and slightly stiff. You may need to adjust the consistency by adding more egg whites if the icing is too dry or more powdered sugar if it is too wet.
• Make a cornet and fill it half full with royal icing. Cover the remaining icing with a damp cloth to keep it from drying out while you work. It will be much easier to decorate the cake if you place it on a turntable. Use the royal icing to make decorations as you desire. Make as many cornets as needed to complete the design. You can use a cornet filled with royal icing to fill in the seams and edges where the cakes meet. Decorate with dots, swags, or any other design. The royal icing will harden as it dries.
• Piping fine decorations with royal icing takes some practice but you will improve with time. To train your hands and practice piping, try this exercise: use a medium-point magic marker to draw the desired pattern on a sheet of parchment paper. Repeat the pattern several times to allow for practice. Place another sheet of parchment paper over the designs and tape both pieces to the work surface to keep them from moving. Use a cornet filled with royal icing to trace the pattern. When you feel you have had enough practice, place the cake in front of you and repeat the patterns on the cake, instead of on the parchment paper.
• For different widths of decoration, use several cornets and cut the ends into different-sized openings. With royal icing, if you make a mistake, you can just wipe it off! The royal icing will harden as it dries.
• Flowers are widely used to decorate cakes. Usually, when the flowers are not fresh, they are made from gum paste. You can make your own or buy them already made from a specialty baking supply store. I would suggest buying them since they are very reasonably priced compared to the time and energy it takes to make them. Gum paste flowers can be reused or stored in an airtight container for any celebration. Remember to handle them with care because they will chip or break.
• If you have your own garden, pick some lovely blooms and use them to decorate the cake. Don't forget to use the natural greens to decorate around the base of the cake. Be sure you know which varieties of flowers and greens are safe to use; there are some that are poisonous. Flowers that are safe to use include: apple blossoms, citrus blossoms, day lilies, English daisies, pansies, roses, tulips, lilacs, and violets.

ROYAL ICING

Steps:

• Whisk the egg whites until lightly whipped. Add the icing sugar a few tbsps at a time, whisking continuously until all incorporated. Add the glucose and lemon juice.
• Continue whisking until the icing is thick enough to hold stiff peaks when you lift the beaters and is smooth and shiny.
• Use a palette knife to spread the icing over the top and sides of your marzipaned cake. For a snowy effect, make little dips and peaks with a teaspoon. Leave to firm up somewhere cool and dry (not the fridge) for 24 hrs before cutting the cake.