Antonias Royal Icing

I am a Southern girl and I was born and raised in the hills of Tennessee. In the south, we have a saying that goes like this, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!” Well, isn’t that the true? If something works don’t mess with it and that is why I don’t mess with my royal icing recipe.

Royal Icing Reciipe thebearfootbaker.com

I have only tried two royal icing recipes and I liked them both. Each one offers something a little different but I am going to share my go-to recipe. It is called Antonia’s 74 Royal Icing Recipe. I don’t follow the recipe step by step because I found a way I like a little better. You can play around with it and find what works best for you.

I have a friend named Hani who has a beautiful blog. It is called Haniela’s food and photography. She has a great step-by-step tutorial for this recipe. You can see how she does it at Royal Icing [Fresh Eggs, Meringue|Liquid Egg Whites Recipes]

Supplies for Antonia’s Royal Icing Recipe:
(may contain affiliate links)

2.25 pounds of Confectioners’ Sugar or Powdered Sugar
¾ cup of water
1 teaspoon of Cream of Tartar (if your meringue powder doesn’t list it as an ingredient)
5 Tablespoons of Meringue Powder

  • I like to get all the ingredients ready before I begin. I like using a food scale to make this recipe but don’t have to have to have one. One thing I did notice is after I bought mine, my royal icing consistency improved tremendously. I get the same results every time and I love that!
I love my food scale for my royal icing recipe.

  • This is my handy dandy little scale and I picked it up at Wal-Mart for around $20-$25. It was SO WORTH IT!

  • All you have to do is place your Kitchen-Aid mixing bowl on the glass and turn it on. It’ll automatically subtract the weight of the bowl so you’re ready to weigh your powdered sugar. I love that!

  •  Next, add 2.25 pounds of powdered sugar or if you don’t have a scale, .25 pounds is approximately a cup.

  • I know I will probably get a lot of questions about this but I don’t sift my sugar. Feel free to sift if it will make you feel better. When I first started making royal icing I never skipped sifting. Then one day, I was watching Martha Stewart and she said you don’t have to sift all the time. WHAT??? Did I hear her correctly?? She suggested using a whisk to get out the lumps and it changed me forever. I’m now a person who never sifts and only whisks! I’ve not sifted since that glorious day and I’ve not had any problems with clogged tips when decorating.

  • Now it is time to add the other ingredients.

  • Pour the 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract into the ¾ cup of water. You might have to adjust the amount of water depending on the humidity in your area. Add a little less water if it is very humid. I do use a little less most of the time but you’ll need to play around with it and see what works best for you.
  • You can also use different flavors. Just be sure they are oil-free. The oil will make your icing separate which will result in spotty icing on your decorated cookie.

  • Next, add the 5 tablespoons meringue powder and the 1 teaspoon of cream of tartar.

  • Whisk these together until the top looks foamy.

  •  Like this.

 

  • Now it is time to add the wet and dry ingredients together.

  • I use the paddle attachment to mix but I have seen people use the whisk attachment. It works both ways.

  • Place the mixing bowl on your Kitchenaid and mix until all the powdered sugar is mixed in. The original recipe says to mix for 10 minutes, but I don’t mix it that long because I get impatient and mix for about 3 minutes. It works for me, but you mix as long as you feel comfortable with it.

  •  Test it by lifting the paddle attachment to see if it has a good peak. If it does you’ll know it’s ready.

royal icing recipe

  • Then, place the icing in a bowl, cover it with plastic wrap, and gently press down all the way to the sides. The plastic wrap touches the icing all across the top so the air won’t dry it out. The recipe calls for covering the bowl with a damp towel but I seem to have better luck with the plastic wrap.

Remember, royal icing will dry on the surface really fast and you will get little dry pieces that clog your tips. That’ll drive you crazy when you try to decorate. Be sure to cover it immediately so you don’t have any problems.

There you have it! Like I have said before, I am self-taught but this is how I make my royal icing. I don’t try many other recipes because this one works for me and I like to keep things simple.

If you want to see a video of me making this recipe, click here. If you would like to see a video on how to decorate a cookie with royal icing, click here.

How to Make Royal Icing Video
Half Batch of Royal Icing Recipe
Beginners Guide to Cookie Decorating
How to Outline and Flood a Cookie Video
How to Fill Those Little Bottles with Icing

Happy Creating,

Lisa