# Royal Icing crisis



## wideeyedbaker (May 10, 2013)

Crisis haha not exaggerating but I baked sugar cookies and I used royal icing to decorate them and I added vanilla extract to kick in some flavor and to kill the smell of the white egg meringue powder - the next day one of my customers sent me her feedback saying that the cookies smelled like eggs but tasted good.

Any idea on how I could (omit) the odor?


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## petalsandcoco (Aug 25, 2009)

WEB,

Welcome to ChefTalk.

Interesting problem. Can you supply your recipe ? Are you using lemon juice or  cream of tartar ?

What brand of meringue powder ?

It is easy to troubleshoot with a recipe.


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## wideeyedbaker (May 10, 2013)

Thank you petalsandcoco for your quick reply.
Well I'm using Wilton's meringue powder and I followed the recipe that was written on the pack and it goes like this:

4 cups of confectioner sugar

3 tbs Meringue powder 
5-6 tbs warm water

and I haven't used lemon juice nor cream of tartar; I just added the vanilla extract


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## petalsandcoco (Aug 25, 2009)

Alot of people complain about that when using the Wilton products. It has cornstarch and gum in it.

I use - egg white, icing sugar and lemon juice

Can you get your hands on dry egg white powder ? It does not have cornstarch nor gum. You will have a better tasting RI.

4 tsp dried egg whites
1/4 c room temperature water
1 tsp lemon juice (or 1/4 tsp cream of tartar)
3 c powdered sugar

Larger Batch

1/4 cup dried egg whites
3/4 cup room temperature water
1 Tbsp lemon juice (or 1/2 tsp cream of tartar)
2 pounds powdered sugar

Mix water and egg whites in a mixing bowl. Let stand 3-5 minutes. Add lemon juice or cream of tartar if you choose. Beat on high speed until stiff peaks form. Add powdered sugar one cup at a time and mix on medium just until combined. The resulting icing should also be about stiff peak thick. 

Use less sugar if you don't want it stiff.

You should not have the eggy smell with this recipe.


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## wideeyedbaker (May 10, 2013)

Thanks for the recipe and info I never knew that cornstarch would smell  

but What's the difference between Meringue powder and Dried Egg Whites?
And what brand do you use?


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## petalsandcoco (Aug 25, 2009)

Never said it was the cornstarch.

I said that the meringue powder that Wilton sells has cornstarch  and gum which help bind it together.

Have you tried making your own Royal ? Nothing beats fresh egg whites , and when done right , it stands up very nicely.

There are lots of dry brands out there in the market: Just Whites De Bel , Farm Pride High....

The difference again is that one uses additives the other does not.

(Don't hesitate to post in the baking forum, this is feedback and suggestions)

Petals.


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## bigbadpastry (Jun 17, 2013)

I use liquid (pastuerized) egg whites, powdered sugar and cream of tartar.  It works beautifully every time, and tastes like sugar.  It goes like this :  10 oz. Powered Sugar, 2 oz. Egg whites, and 1t cream of tartar.  Good Luck!


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