The Best Royal Icing Recipe
Updated: Dec 23, 2020
Here is my favourite and easy royal icing recipe that will pair perfectly with sugar cookies or act as glue when decorating those gingerbread houses this holiday season!
What is Royal Icing?
Royal icing is a specific icing that is ideal for decorating cookies, cakes, or making intricate designs that dries to a hard, smooth, almost candy-like finish.
There are a few different ways to make royal icing, like using meringue powder or egg whites. I know many people are terrified of using raw egg whites, but I'm here to take that fear away! I find meringue powder hard to find, and if you're only making royal icing once in a while, I don't see the point of keeping that in your pantry for months.
What are Pasteurized Eggs & are they safe?
Pasteurized eggs have gone through being gently treated with heat to eliminate food-borne illnesses making them safe to eat/drink. Pasteurized eggs are often found in a carton in the dairy section of grocery stores. Many products, such as juice and milk, are pasteurized as well!
How to make royal icing
Making royal icing is so simple and fast! So simple that it can be made by hand! Just combine your icing sugar, egg whites, water, and flavour of choice! Voila, you've successfully made royal icing!
When it comes to storing, make sure that you store in an airtight container or use saran wrap, ensuring that it's touching the top of the icing to avoid developing a crust.
INGREDIENTS
30 ml pasteurized egg whites
600 g powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2-8 tbsp water
INSTRUCTIONS
1. In a large bowl using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the eggs whites and powdered sugar until combined about 1-2 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl in between.
2. Next, add the vanilla along with 2 tbsp of water. The amount of water you use will depend on the humidity in your house and the consistency you desire to have when decorating. Some days I use up to 6 tbsp of water.
3. Once your icing is made, you can now colour it! I recommend using gel food colours as they are superrr concentrated, meaning they won't change the icing consistency. Check the bottom of this blog post to see my favourite colours to use.
NOTES
Gel food colours is the way to go when colouring anything you wish, from cakes to your icing. They are concentrated, flavorless, and, best of all, do not affect the consistency of your products. I use chefmaster.
If you want to outline your cookies, I would add less water and use a thicker consistency.
This recipe is very forgiving, if you feel as though the icing has become too thin, add more powdered sugar, and if its too thick add a tsp of water at a time.
Did you make this recipe?
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