How to Make Royal Icing Video and Tips

I wanted to put together a little video for you today. It is called, “How to Make Royal Icing” because royal icing can be a wonderful thing or it can be your worst nightmare. When I began decorating cookies, I made batch after batch after batch hoping I would somehow find a magical formula that would allow me to make the perfect icing every time.

How to Make Royal Icing Video by www.thebearfootbaker.comSince I live in a humid climate, royal icing was not an easy thing to master. Sometimes it turns out great and other times it makes me want to pull my hair out. It is almost a living thing. You place it on a cookie and suddenly, it seems to grow and roll off the side of your cookie. Or your cookies look amazing when you go to bed and you wake up in the morning and they have bled all over the place and have developed large craters. It is like a defiant child that will always do the opposite of what you want it to do. Hopefully this how to make royal icing video and these tips will help you make that icing behave!

I don’t have all the answers but, I have turned my kitchen into a science lab preforming all kinds of experiments trying to get definite answers for us. Or at least come up with some surefire ways to prevent it.

If you want my royal icing recipe, click here for a full batch or here for a half a batch.

How to Make Royal Icing Tips:

  1. Weigh your powdered sugar ever time you make a batch. My results have been nothing but positive since I started weighing.
  2. Keep air away because the icing dries fast. Air will dry the icing and make it form a crust that will stop up your icing tips.
  3. Food Color Gels like AmeriColor or Wilton work best for adding color because they don’t add a lot of liquid.
  4. If you don’t use a sifter, at least mix the powdered sugar with a whisk to help break down the lumps. I use a whisk.
  5. Use a spray bottle to add water when thinning your icing. Gail at One Tough Cookie taught us this and it is a brilliant tip!
  6. When flavoring your royal icing, add pure flavors and not imitations. I know the imitation is much cheaper but so is the flavor.
  7. Make sure anything that touches your royal icing is “oil free!” Oil will cause your icing to separate and do really weird things. For example, if you make butter cream icing in your KitchenAid, you might want to clean the bowl with lemon juice after you wash it with hot soapy water.
  8. Once you decorate you cookies, do not cover them in an airtight container until the icing is completely dry. The icing needs air to dry and if you cover them, they will not dry. Do not rush royal icing. Give it time to dry.
  9. You can re-mix and refresh your icing if you need to. Sometimes my color will separate in the bag overnight or when placed in the refrigerator. So I place it into a bow, mix it and re-bag it. It will be good as new.
  10. I store my icing in the refrigerator when I am not using it. Since meringue powder is dry egg whites, I feel it is safer than leaving it on the counter. I remove it about 30 minutes before decorating to let it get room temperature. Then I mix it well and add it to my piping bags or bottles.
  11. Remember, what works for me, may not work for you. There are many amazing decorators out there that do things different than I do and it works. These are just guideline and tips that may help you find your way.

I hope you have enjoyed my How to Make Royal Icing video. I had fun making it and hope this tips will answer some questions you have about it. Just remember, don’t give up!! You can do it!

Here are more royal icing and decorating tips for you:
Decorate a Cookie with Royal Icing Video
Tips for No Clog “0” and “00” PME Tips
Piping Bags Ready to Decorate
Almost Empty AmeriColor Bottles…
How I Get Icing in Those Little Bottles
How to Make Flood and Outline Icing
Beginners Guide to Cookie Decorating

Happy Creating,

Lisa