# royal icing



## bohh (Nov 8, 2007)

Hi,

I have been reading where you can use royal icing as a frosting on cupcakes,I always thought royal icing is hard like whats on cookies so how can you use this on cupcakes? Any suggestions on this? The recipe I have is 2 egg whites, 3 cups powder sugar 1/2 to 1 tablespoon van., almond, or lemon juice and a 1/4 tsp. salt. Use to frost cakes or cupcakes. Wont the icing get hard like whats on cookie? Has any one else tried this? What was the texture like?

Thanks,
Bohh


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## lentil (Sep 8, 2003)

I'm not a baker, but I'm not so sure about using raw egg whites. Have you tried meringue powder? It will harden, though.


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## jessiquina (Nov 4, 2005)

i would personally never put royal icing on cupcakes. it gets hard as a rock.


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## norma (Jun 4, 2006)

I read that if you want to prevent it of getting hard you can put some glycerine on the icing.


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## risque cakes (Apr 20, 2007)

or a little corn syrup. Are you sure you didn't read where you can use the royal to DECORATE ( in other words do detail work ) on the cupcakes?


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## lisbet (Dec 30, 2004)

Thought Royal Icing Was exclusively used for decorating with a pastry bag?


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## bohh (Nov 8, 2007)

Hi,

I did read the recipe right it does say royal icing to cover cakes or cupcakes. But if you want to check out FOOD NETWORK.com under Nigella Feasts (show) Episode :Just Desserts you will find :cupcakes with royal icing, or under search just type in royal icing on cupcakes. Still wondering if the texture would be to hard? Yes I agree royal icing I thought was for decorating too.


Bohh


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## norma (Jun 4, 2006)

How about pourable fondant?

CakeJournal.com: How to cover cupcakes with poured fondant


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## jessiquina (Nov 4, 2005)

those are pretty, i love fondant, i'd eat those.


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## risque cakes (Apr 20, 2007)

Where did you get this little "nugget" from?


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## lentil (Sep 8, 2003)

Well, THAT was helpful. Maybe it would have been more so if you shared your some of your vast cake decorating knowledge with her.


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## lentil (Sep 8, 2003)

Lisbet, I have mostly seen royal icing used for decorating, also. That's what makes this board so helpful; there are many people here willing to share what they know about cooking/baking with those of us who have questions.


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## jessiquina (Nov 4, 2005)

im sensing some sarcasm . there is no need for that here. lets just try to help these people .


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## lentil (Sep 8, 2003)

Exactly. People come her to ask because they don't know the answers. Not to be made fun of. I find this board very helpful and would hate to see a new poster feel uncomfortable about asking questions.


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## risque cakes (Apr 20, 2007)

Totally NOT being sarcastic or mean, I REALLY would like to know where this information was gathered from so I can answer with an "INFORMED" opinion.

How can I answer if I don't know where the misconseption originated from? That's why I had asked if maybe it was misunderstood..

Maybe it was to "DECORATE" ( do detail work and accents ) and the poster misunderstood and read it to mean it was use to decorate the cupcake totally.

Before you point a finger..make sure that none are pointing back at you! ( general you, not individual you!)

I have learned to "ASK" for more indept information before I answer a question from having kids..I like clarification..so SHOT ME!

Sometimes they ask "WHERE DO I COME FROM?" and we pull out a whole BIOLOGY LESSON...when all they want to know is what state they were born in!


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## risque cakes (Apr 20, 2007)

If someone REALLY want's me to share , there is NOTHING wrong with sending me a PM

Don't judge me. least ye be judged....

I too have posted questions to this board and STILL waiting for answers


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## lisbet (Dec 30, 2004)

I don't claim to be an expert! I'm just a homemaker who likes to cook and bake with an insatiable curiosity. I learn, and gather so very much useful information from ChefTalk Forums than from any other place on the net!

Had never heard that Royal Icing could be used as a frosting/icing on cakes or cupcakes. Soooo......Googled to see what I could find! Have searched, and searched, until my eyes are crossed!! LOL

It seems that "glyserin" is the answer...or, one place even has butter as an ingredient. Here is some of what I found:

:: sweet treats ::: Vanilla cupcakes topped with royal icing and toffee shards
royal icing | Real Baking with Rose Discussion Forums


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## lentil (Sep 8, 2003)

Excellent advice we should all follow.

Let me apologize to you for "judging" your intent.


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## lentil (Sep 8, 2003)

Lisbet,

Very neat website! It gave me ideas for more cupcakes in the shop and I've forwarded it to one of my brides. She wants cupcakes rather than a wedding cake. The site will give her some decorating ideas.

About the royal icing on the sweet treats site- I'll have my baker try it on Monday, but with meringue powder. I like the look. I'm not so sure about using raw eggs. Does anyone know whether or not that's a good idea?


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## blameman (Jan 22, 2008)

Why do you want to use royal icing on your cupcakes as a base icing?


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## bohh (Nov 8, 2007)

I just thought it looked nice from the pictures that showed royal icing on cupcakes. Also, seen donuts used with this now,but its just powder sugar and egg whites . I guess its just different. 

Bohh


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## lentil (Sep 8, 2003)

Bohh,

I didn't get around to making the cupcakes this week, but I did some research for you. First of all, my book says the following: "this recipe contains raw egg whites. If you or your guests suffer from a weak immune system, substitute meringue powder and water to avoid any possibility of infection."

The recipe is as follows and is used as 
frosting or icing on cupcakes.

Almond Sugar Glaze
1 lb conf sugar (about 4 cups)
2 large, very fresh egg whites or 5 T meringue powder combined with 1/3 cup water
1/4t almond extract
1/4t orange oil

In the bowl of a electric mixer fitted with a paddle, combine sugar with egg whites or meringue and water. Beat until mixture is thick and fluffy-about 5 minutes. On low, begin adding the water gradually. Stop mixing when the icing holds a ribbon dropped from a spoon for 7 seconds. Stir in extract and oil.

This glaze looked really pretty on cupcakes. They were smaller cakes that didn't come up over the papers so the glaze pooled inside the paper.


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## bohh (Nov 8, 2007)

thank you, lentil.

Bohh:roll:


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## didi (Dec 1, 2012)

I know this is so many years late, but i guess others still come trying to find answers, I been baking for 10 years and we do use royal icing on cupcakes, depending on what we r trying to accomplish, i would use it sometimes as wedding favors, due to the finish (matte and the fact that its hard) creating whatever the bride and groom wants, art school was helpful here  but it all depends what u r trying to do, yes it does dry hard, and its the same effect on cookies and i still eat my cookies decorated with royal icing and i cant say that any of my teeth are missing....not trying to be mean or funny, but the fact is that with baking u can and should do anything u want, it all depends, the possibilities are endless, if u want something more play-dough like use fondant, i love using fondant on cupcakes, or liquid fondant or even chocolate clay but again it all depends on what u want to accomplish and royal icing gives u an easier type of canvas, its smooth and hard and if u make mistakes its pretty forgiving( when its dry), most of the times u can just wipe off ur mistake with a damp towel let it dry and carry on fondant tents to get stained easily...happy baking!!!


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## petalsandcoco (Aug 25, 2009)

Dug up some info: two sources

I enjoyed the history of Royal from the food timeline :

*"Royal icing*
Royal icing descends from 18th century glace and sugar paste. Recipes for these confections present themselves under several names and and various permutations. Royal sugar sculpture elevates this substance to veritable works of art.

While recipes creating "royal icing" type coatings exist in 18th/19th century British & American cookbooks, the oldest print reference for a recipe with that title was published in 1896. Prior to this, our sources reveal this item was titled "Ornamental Icing."

*Why the name?*
None of our sources divulge this information. Our survey of historic American newspapers (_Historic Newspapers_/ProQuest, _Americas Historic Newspapers_/Readex) and cookbooks confirm the popularity of Royal Icing surged in the dawning decades of the 20th century. Curiously? We find no references to Royal Icing in the _Times_ [London] historic database. Possibly this is an American appellation?

*What is Royal icing?*
"Royal Icing. The harding type of icing used for coating wedding, birthday and celebration cakes; it being almost an airtight casing, cakes coated with this type of icing will usually keep for a very long time. It consists of icing sugar and whites of eggs beaten together until they become almost as light and pliable as stiffly whipped cream. A little blue is sometimes added to give that expert whiteness, and acetic acid to haste its drying or hardening proces.."_The Master Dictionary of Food & Cookery_, Henry Smith [Philosophical Library:New York] 1951 (p. 204)

"Royal icing. An icing made from confectioners' sugar, egg whites or dried meringue powder, and a few drops of lemon juice, which dries to a rock-hard finish. Royal icing is used for long-lasting delicate cake decorations such as fine line piping and flowers. The icing can be tinted with food coloring. United States."
---_The International Dictionary of Desserts, Pastries, and Confections_, Carole Bloom [Hearst Books:New York] 1995 (p. 264-5)

"Royal icing, made with egg whites and icing sugar, is a completely different preparation to glace icing, used for coating marzipan-covered fruit cake and for adding piped decoration. Royal icing dries to a fairly hard consistency and it keeps for several months."
---_Larousse Gastronomique_, completely revised and updated [Clarkson Potter:New York] 2001 (p. 618) ".

< >*[1896]
"Royal Icing*
Take the whites of 2 or 3 eggs, being very particular to remove every particle of yolk; place in a clean bowl; now stir in sufficient of the very finest pulverized sugar, to make a medium thick paste: now add 10 or 15 drips of citric acid (procure come dry citric acid at any drug store, and dissolve it in water); lemon juice may also b used, but the acid is best; this is to produce a gloss, also to whiten the icing; now with a fork or spoon beat this paste until it is very light and stiff, so stiff that when you take out the spoon the icing will stand up in drops: then it is done; do not add any more sugar after beginning to beat it, as it would make it very heavy. The object is to produce as stiff an aicing as possible, and at the same time to have it light and spongy. Fancy Cook."
---"Housekeeper's Department," _Boston Daily_, April 12, 1896 (p. 27) >*What are the differences/similarities between Royal icing and Buttercream frosting?*
Royal Icing is traditionally made with egg whites, sugar, lemon juice. It produces a hard product well suited for decoration. Butter Cream recipes are all over the map. Original Butter Cream recipes featured sweet butter; subsequent recipes sometimes subsitituted synthetic shortenings. A few also included dairy cream. Butter Cream frostings produce a softer, moister covering condusive to conveying flavor rather than artistic decoration. />
>
*The egg white factor: *
We're not finding any titled "true butter cream" but we do find several examples with and without egg whites. We even found one with egg yolks! Early 20th century professional texts generally include egg white. Home cookbooks often omit this ingredient, esp. as the century progressed. It may help to compare Royal and Butter Cream icings published in professional texts: 

*"Royal Icing *
Beat up well in an earthen bowl with wooden spatulas, 3 lbs. of icing sugar and 8 eggwhites. Add a few drops of aecetic acid, lemon juice or cream of tartar. When partly beaten the icing can be used for covering wedding cakes using a rather stiff icing for first coat and a softer icing for second coat so it can be spread nice and smooth. It will aquire a nice gloss if dried before the open oven door mouth. For decorating icing continue beating till icing stands up well and can be drawn to points. When icing is to be used for decorating with fine tubes the sugar best be sifted or some of the icing can be presssed thru a fine clean sieve. This icing dries quickly and must therefore be covered up with a damp cloth or a plaster of paris cover which is soaked in water. Add a little blueing to icing to make it look whiter."
---_Practical Cake-Art_, Fred Bauer [Fred Bauer:Chicago IL] 1923 (recipe no. 64) 

*"Royal Icing *
Take from 3 to 4 egg whites of eggs to 1 lb. XXXX sugar and a pinch cream of tartar. Put in a cake mixer and beat until it stands up well. This icing is used for decorating fancy wedding and birthday cakes. Also all kinds of flowers. In making flowers with this icing it is best to run them on wax paper until dry, then remove them and place on the cakes."
---_Master Cake Baker_, Cleve Carney [Calumet Baking Powder Company:Chicago IL] 1927 (p. 83) 

When were dried egg products introduced to Royal Icing? 

*Ready-to-spread packaged icings*

The earliest reference we find in print to a commercial ready-to-spread (aka "just-add-water") frosting mix (in a USA source) is from 1948: 

"In a new Virginia Dare product all ingredients except liquid for pink or white confectioner's frosting are assembled in eight-ounce jars. Add two and one-fourth tablespoons hot water to the contents. Stir and the icing is ready to spread. There is enough in one container to cover the top and sides of a large layer cake or twenty large cupcakes. The frostings are at Altman's, where each variety is 32 cents."
---"News of Food," _New York Times_, March 11, 1948 (p. 36) 

This complete "ready-ready-to-spread" product packed in jars was announced the following year: 

"Frostings Ready to Spread.
At another counter in the Gimbels epicure department a second demonstrator pries open a glass jar of pastel-hued icing and proffers a taste. The frosting on the cake that won grandma a "first" at the country fair could not have been better. One of the largest makers of syrups for soda fountains, the Penn Syrup Corporation, is using some of its products to make six ready-to-spread frostings--strawberry, orange, lemon, chocolate, mocha and white (vanilla-like). The fact no synthetic flavorings are used in the strawberry, orange and lemon icings explains their "true" fresh-fruit taste. As for the "feel" of all six kinds, it is free for grittiness, smooth as fondant. Whether these frostings are more like the cooked or uncooked type one does at home is a question. They share qualities of each. So far they are the only preparations of their kind available. The price is 29 cents for a jar that yields enough for the top and sides of an eight-inch cake or eighteen large or thirty small cup cakes. The trade name: E-Zee."
---"News of Foods: Hurried Cooks Get a 30-Second Pudding and a Ready Icing; Peaches are Pinked'," Jane Nickerson, _New York Times_, March 17, 1949 (p. 31). "

*Another article :* The title 'royal' was given to royal icing after being used on Queen Victoria's wedding cake in 1840. Francatelli, the Queen's famous French chef, published a book in l864 in which he describes how to ice a wedding cake with a mixture of egg whites, sugar and lemon juice beaten together. He wrote 'use this icing to mask the entire surface of the cake with a coating about a quarter of an inch thick'.

But, long before the above date this type of icing was in use. A cook, wrote in 1789, that she spread it over cakes with the aid of a board or a large feather! And then placed it in front of 'a great fire' to dry.

So we can see royal icing has been popular for many years. The simple ingredients, egg white and icing sugar create a dazzling icing, making it the perfect choice for wedding cakes. Dried egg whites can be used instead of fresh. Not only does this save having a surplus of egg yolks, but also the icing is whiter than icing made with fresh whites.

Begin by rinsing out bowls, wooden spoons,and beaters with boiling water. This simple but most important job is done to dissolve any grease which could be lingering on the surface of the tools. Grease and royal icing do not mix well!

Sift the icing sugar. It is a good idea to keep a small sieve especially for this job. Separate the egg whites from the yolks. Discard any whites that contain even a small amount of yolk,as once again the fat in the yolk will prevent the whites from aerating.

If a food mixer is available,use when beating three or more whites. Smaller quantities are best made either with an electric hand whisk,or with a large wooden spoon(again kept especially for that purpose). Begin by beating the whites until they are quite stiff. How long this takes varies according to the tool used,and the number of egg whites.

Now start adding the sifted icing sugar, a tablespoonful at a time, beating well after each addition until the icing stands in peaks. To store, place in an airtight container,and cover with cling film, then place in the refrigerator.This type of icing will keep for weeks, but always remember that it needs re-beating again before use.

The consistency of the icing needs adjusting according to how it is being used. For instance,to 'flat ice'a wedding cake the icing should be the consistency of beaten double cream. If too stiff, add a few drops of water,too soft,then add icing sugar.

To prevent royal icing setting too hard one teaspoon of glycerine can be added to every pound of icing sugar used. When smooth icing a cake,use icing that is two or three days old. Freshly made icing may cause air bubbles to appear on the surface of the cake. Usually three thin layers of icing are needed,allowing each layer to dry before adding the next.

Icing used for piping decorations should be well beaten,and recently made otherwise it will not hold its shape. Do not use icing which has glycerine in it. Royal icing for Run-Outs (Colour flow) can be softened with either a few drops of water or egg white.

Use Royal icing instead of Glace Icing (icing sugar and water)for flooding over cakes. Softened down with egg white it is denser and whiter than Glace icing and gives better coverage.

Royal icing is also used when making Rock Sugar, which as the name suggests is a way of making lifelike edible rocks. It is made by adding royal icing into hot sugar syrup, the royal icing literally erupts and hardens into a volcanic-like substance.

So as you can see from the above descriptions, this is a very versatile icing. And most importantly, most people love the taste!

Pat Lock is a cake decorating expert with over 25 years experience who runs the excellent Cake Decorating Tips website. She has won awards at the prestigious international competition at Hotel Olympia, London and is also an accomplished author.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Pat_Lock
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## flipflopgirl (Jun 27, 2012)

Very interesting.

Thanks, petals.

To the OP (if he or she is still around)...Nigella lives and bakes in the UK.

The traditional UK wedding cake is a fruit cake, covered with marzipan and iced with RI.

Have never eaten one, but have made and eaten RI covered cookies.

The icing, as it sits will absorb a bit of moisture from the cookie as well as break down with prolonged contact with the fat in said cookie, making it a bit softer and more pleasant to eat.

Back to Nigella....since she was raised in a culture that ices one type of cake with RI, is it not such a huge stretch to use this same icing on other types of cake?

mimi


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