Royal Icing 101 and My Favorite Recipe
My favorite royal icing recipe.
Ingredients
- 4lbs {two bags} confectioner’s sugar
- 3/4 c. meringue powder
- 1 1/3-1 1/2 c. warm water
- 2-4 tbsp. oil-free extract or flavoring
Instructions
- Add the dry ingredients first. Use your mixer’s whisk attachment to incorporate the sugar and meringue powder.
- Add the extract to the water and slowly add it to the dry ingredients while mixing. At first the icing will be very liquid-like.
- Continue to mix it at medium-high speed until it is fluffy and stiff peaks form, about 7-10 minutes. Mixing times are approximate, keep your eye it icing and stop mixing as soon as it becomes stiff. Over mixing and oil-containing extracts can keep the icing from setting up, so keep this in mind as you work.
Notes
Royal icing will keep at least a month. I prefer refrigerating it, but it can also be left at room temperature.
Have you ever heard the saying, “All roads lead to Rome”? It basically means that there are many different ways of doing things, but in the end, they all have the same result.
When I first began making cookies, I didn’t really do a lot of research. I’d read a magazine article that said I needed meringue powder, SOOOOO, I headed on out to Wal-mart and bought a can of the Wilton stuff.
The first thing you’ll find when you open it up, folded in a tiny square, are the instructions. That was pretty much my beginning. No Googling or classes, just me reading those little instructions, interpreting in my head what they meant, and taking a leap.
I have gone back and fourth about posting this for a long time, just because I know, if there is any book, or proper way to make royal icing, I’d probably get a big fat “F”, so, as a little disclaimer before I start, PLEASE don’t turn me into the Royal Icing Police if the way I do things strikes you as a little ODD. This method works well for me, so I’m sharing it with you.
When I started, I used with the Wilton recipe. However, as I got better and better at making royal icing, I got to the point that I didn’t measure anymore. At this point, I CAN’T, I just look at it and adjust. To double check “my” recipe, I broke it down .
I pretty much always make a large batch of RI. It almost fills my 5 quart mixer, which is way too much for most people, so I’ll post two versions, a large and a small. If for SOME reason, you hate this recipe, revert back to the Wilton version or another popular favorite, Antonia74’s Royal Icing.
2 lbs {1bag} confectioner’s sugar
1/3 c. plus one tablespoon meringue powder
about 3/4c. water
To begin, I add all of my sugar and meringue powder to the mixer bowl. I am what you would call a non-sifter. In my defense, I ALWAYS sift my flour, but I just don’t waste the time with powdered sugar.
Instead of scraping the sides, ever since I read Gail’s life-altering post on “shpritz bottles” I keep my trusty spray bottle handy. If a little icing happens to stick, I just spritz the sides until it’s incorporated. {As a matter or fact, I now use my bottle for all sorts of little jobs in the kitchen}
At this point, the icing may look too thin, but believe me, it’s not. It should be about the consistency of honey {in a warm room} or shampoo.
A little FYI, a useful piece of info I have learned along the way is this: If for some reason you forget the meringue powder, DO NOT add it into the icing after it has reached this point…if you do, it will be ruined. If you need to add meringue after the fact, dissolve it into as much water as it needs to become liquefied and then add it.
The Christmas before last, exhausted from making tons of cookies, after a few minutes of unsuccessful beating I realized I’d forgotten the meringue. Without a thought, I dumped it right in. The resulting icing was so clumpy, that after a FRUSTRATING hour of unclogging and changing tips, I finally tossed it out and started over.
On the other hand, if I happen to over-thin my initial mixture, adding more powdered sugar to the mix doesn’t seem to effect it at all. Go figure…
Moving right along…I begin by mixing my icing for 5-6 minutes at medium speed. Then, as it thickens up, {think pudding} I hike it up to high.
I let it go on that way for about 3-4 more minutes until it is stiff and fluffy like meringue. At this point, I can tell by the clanking of my mixer that it’s ready…thank goodness for Kitchen Aid’s wonderful warranty!
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Royal icing and oil are NOT friends. make sure all of your utensils are oil free, including your bowls. wash them well in hot water, and give them a rub with lemon juice or vinegar before using them.
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Royal icing keeps for a long time. I have been told by MANY that they leave it covered on the counter for up to a month with no problem. I refrigerate mine, but that’s just me.
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If you need to refresh it, you can fluff it up again with the mixer, and it will be like new.
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If I am expecting humidity, I add a little less meringue powder, and a little cream of tartar. I didn’t just make that up. I read somewhere that CofT is a stabilizer and helps when it’s humid. It seems to work, although humidity has not been a concern of mine for almost a year *GRUMBLING*
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It’s also alright to add a little bit of corn syrup to your icing. Every once in a while I do this if I want it to be a little shinier, but I really can’t tell if it helps or if I just think it does =)
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I don’t really use Wilton Meringue powder anymore, but if you don’t have access to other brands, it works just fine…