Creating a Ruched Effect with Royal Icing

Since the day I came across this gorgeoumous cake on Half Baked I’ve been kind of in love with the ruched look.  But being that I’m not too adept with fondant I had to find a way to get the same effect with royal icing.

I first tried ruched icing last summer when I was going though my ribbon rose phase and I liked it so much that I thought it deserved a repeat for Christmas.

Creating ruched royal icing is not difficult.  The most important part of the process is patience.  I outlined the cookies and used thinner flood icing {10-15 seconds} so that the layers were more flat than “poofy”  Each layer of icing needs about twenty or thirty minutes of drying time before moving on.  If you’re not so good with the patience thing, use a fan to speed up the drying process.

It’s all about creating dimension.  See the progression?

In this case, I went across the cookie, but if you’re going for the “gathered” look {like on the cake} start with a wider section of icing and taper up toward the edge thinning the pleat as you work toward the edge of the cookie.

I happened to have several royal icing poinsettias on hand  which I thought would be the perfect touch.

To finish up, I added a few dots of gold and green icing.  If you’re wondering how I made them shiny and metallic, click HERE.

The next time you’re on the lookout for an easy and elegant cookie idea, try this technique.  Also, don’t forget to check out the Twelve Days of Christmas cookie project.

Happy holidays my cookie friends!