# Royal Icing on Buttercream



## puffpastryaz

Hi! I know this is a ridiculous question: can royal icing be piped onto buttercream? I had always been taught never to pipe or place royal icing directly onto buttercream icing. I'm reading information that's on another website (cake related, I won't say the name) that advises decorators that it's fine to decorate buttercream cakes with royal icing. I would _gag_ if I saw one of my assistants doing this. I feel like my old pastry chefs and instructors would be gagging if they had ever seen me doing this. Can anyone clue me in?


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## panini

What would be the advantage?

I've never done it or have seen it. I may be wrong but I always assumed that putting a royal icing decoration onto buttercream

would result in the decor. melting.

Of course there are many cake boards out there. I enjoy cake wrecks. lol

panini


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## puffpastryaz

My thoughts exactly: that it would just run all over the cake.

One of the posters was asking how for advice on piping black icing onto a buttercream cake for some time soon. He was worried about it bleeding and running, especially after leaving the fridge. I suggested doing a coating chocolate "transfer" onto the buttercream. Bit of a process, I know, but it's worked for me in humid months. Some other poster said that he could do it in royal icing. Some other "Wilton instructor" on another post said that they teach students to put royal icing decorations on buttercream cakes and that it could be piped on as well. I just couldn't grasp how that was possible. There's a lot of Wilton fans on that site. Maybe that's the difference, because I know some of the Wilton stuff is completely artificial, so maybe it's somehow designed to defy the laws of pastry and cake decorating.

I mean, you learn something new every day, but I was totally thrown for a loop!


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## puffpastryaz

And no disrespect intended if you're of the Wilton school. I just know that their methods can definitely be a little...different.


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## panini

I'll speak bad about wilton anytime. I have witnessed the local instructors teaching how to decorate and how students can start

making monies making and selling cakes out of there home. Knowing full well that locally it is totally illegal to produce any foods from home for the public. Those wilton people doing this are the muts of our profession. Hey you can post this overthere if you like./img/vbsmilies/smilies/biggrin.gif

I still don't understand how the royal being piped onto the buttercream won't also bleed.


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## chefross

What am I missing here? I make royal icing flowers, allow them to dry and place them on cakes all the time. I mix and match colors too, but I have never piped royal icing directly onto the cake...is this what you are talking about....the fact that piped icing may bleed?


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## panini

ChefRoss,

Not missing anything. Talking about piping royal on to buttercream.


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## inthemood

Hi, i have tried royal icing on strawberry mousse and disaster strikes with the icing softening and sliding off the cake. 

Suspect that the icing is dissolving beneath the fat. Appreciate if someone can enlighten on the actual scientific explanation.

Thanks.


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## kippers

panini said:


> I'll speak bad about wilton anytime. I have witnessed the local instructors teaching how to decorate and how students can start
> 
> making monies making and selling cakes out of there home. Knowing full well that locally it is totally illegal to produce any foods from home for the public. Those wilton people doing this are the muts of our profession. Hey you can post this overthere if you like./img/vbsmilies/smilies/biggrin.gif
> 
> I still don't understand how the royal being piped onto the buttercream won't also bleed.


is it illegal in your country to sell home made products at farmers markets?

Ps Wilton makes very fine carpets in the UK


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## chefross

I think I might have an answer. When making royal icing remember, the bowl has to be clean and grease free. Egg whites don't like grease.Perhaps a chemical reaction takes place when royal icing is piped on to the greasy buttercream, and it just slides off. Any takers?


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## petalsandcoco

panini said:


> ChefRoss,
> 
> Not missing anything. Talking about piping royal on to buttercream.


It goes against everything I was taught in school. Why anyone would want to do that , I don't know ? Unless they make the _*buttercream*_ really stiff....even so. And if they are making the buttercream that way, who wants to eat a crusted buttercream ?

The fat of the buttercream will absorb the R/I'ing . Chances are , there will be bleeding.

Petals.

Sorry, I had to edit, just saw your post ChefRoss. I agree to what you are saying.


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## salasmitchell

With regards to royal icing on buttercream, what I've done in the past is to make my decorations, i.e. buterflies, flowers, etc., in royal and let them dry.  Then I make little buttons of royal (like those strips of candy buttons on paper?) as supports.  Those sit on the buttercream and then I place my decorations on those supports.


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## sukisue

Hi l am a half trained Pastry Chef but changed my career & deserted Catering.
I have successfully Royal iced two Wedding Cakes. One was a Chocolate 12" sponge the other a 14" Rainbow Sponge. Apply the buttercream but before it completely dries out roll out the Royal Icing - as you would for marzipan covered cake- and drop on top & skirt round tucking & smoothing gently as you would do normally. I have only had one leakage from the chocolate buttercreamed cake but managed to seal it successfully. 
Am doing another in 2 days.


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## laurenlulu

Silo, sounds like you're talking about fondant, royal icing is thin made with egg whites, powdered sugar and cream of tartar


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## nataliagreek

In Uk and USA is not illegal to work commercially from home and sell home made cakes, as long as the place is licensed and the business is registered and assisted for health and safety.
Buttercream cakes perhaps are meant to be kept super chilled at all times in order to pipe royal icing, but are you sure you understood well, when talking about piping royal icing directly on buttercream? Could it be, it was said that the buttercream can be over piped just as the royal icing? Meaning piped in Lambeth method but with buttercream on buttercream? I have seen an advert on one of craftsy classes stating it.


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## myz parker

At the time that person's comment regarding the illegality of selling food from home was posted [10/2012], it was not "legal".


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## hopes

We use royal icing to pipe gold and silver decor on swiss merengue cakes. It has to be very thick and in a low humidity fridge. It helps to box up the tiers as well. Once in a while on a humid day it has melted. We never put it in a walk in fridge.


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