How To Make Royal Icing
Making decorations for any cake or cupcake adds creativity and flair to your display. Whether it is a birthday, wedding or anniversary, using royal icing flowers on your cake leaves a great impression. No longer do you need to wonder how to make royal icing on your own!
When making royal icing you must ensure that you use glass or metal bowls. Plastic bowls and utensils soak up grease, which affects the outcomes of your icing. If you want to use plastic it must be brand new.
Sift three cups of royal icing and four cups of sugar to remove any lumps. Add three tablespoons of meringue powder in your mixing bowl.
Always use level measures when baking, a little too much can ruin your consistency. That is why when you add water you always add slowly and bit by bit to keep an eye on consistency and be able to stop adding as soon as you realize it is right for what you need it for.
Add three tablespoons of water and put your mixer on a slow speed setting. As it mixes you may need some more water, add half a tablespoon at a time slowly. Exact amounts cannot be determined because icing consistency changes according to the humidity in the home and every home is different. Adding the water slowly will ensure that you don’t add too much water which will break down the icing and require you starting again from scratch.
You can now increase the speed of your mixer to a medium speed setting for approximately seven to ten minutes until it looks smooth and soft. You should be able to make stiff peaks out of it, and then it is the correct consistency for making decorations.
Once you have finished, you can keep your icing for a couple of hours by covering it with a moist towel. You can keep your icing for up to two weeks, but making your decorations within the first few days is better, as the icing is easier to work with.
You can make your royal icing decorations days or up to two weeks before you need them for your cake, leave them to dry and then transfer them to a dry box for storage.
Never put icing in the fridge. The moisture ruins it and if you have already made your decorations, it will be disheartening to see all your hard work melt away. Of course, if this happens, now that you know how to make royal icing, you can just whip up another batch.
