Egg White Royal Icing Recipe & Egg Safety

The other day I was making cookies and I ran out of icing. I was almost finished with the set of cookies I was working on, but I had a small problem, I didn’t have any meringue powder. Since I live in the middle of the woods it’s not easy going to the store. You have to stop what you’re doing and spend half the day buying eggs. So what do I do? I make my egg white royal icing recipe. Normally I make royal icing with meringue powder because it’s safer than raw eggs. Sometimes when we don’t have meringue powder it’s good to know we can use egg whites if we needed.

Egg White Royal Icing Recipe by www.thebearfootbaker.com

The reason meringue powder is safer to use is that there is a slight risk of getting salmonella or another food-borne illness from eating raw eggs. As kids, we would fight over who got to lick the spoon when my mom or grandma would make a cake, icing or other desserts that contained raw eggs. In all my years, I have never got sick from them and I don’t know of anyone else who has become sick from eating icing or licking the spoon of some amazing cake batter.

Have you ever had food poisoning? I had it after eating a slice of cheesecake from a very popular food chain that specialized in cheesecake and it made me want to give up cheesecake forever. It is the sickest I’ve ever been in my life and I don’t want anyone else to feel like that so, I want to make sure you understand that raw egg whites can be a bit tricky before you use my or any other egg white royal icing recipe.

Supplies for Egg White Royal Icing:

  • 6 cups of ConFectioner’s Sugar (that’s about 750 grams)
  • 4 Egg Whites
  • 1 teaspoon of Cream of Tartar
  • 1 teaspoon of Pure Vanilla Extract
Egg White Royal Icing Recipe by www.thebearfootbaker.com

Egg White Royal Icing Recipe

Make royal icing with egg whites for decorating cookies and gingerbread houses.
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Ingredients

  • 6 cups of confectioner's sugar that is about 750 grams but you may need more depending on how thick you want your icing
  • 4 egg whites
  • 1 teaspoon of cream of tartar- this is used to stabilize the egg whites)
  • 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract or the flavor of your choice

Instructions

  • Place the confectioner's sugar and cream of tartar in the bowl of an electric mixer.
  • Separate the eggs.
  • Add the egg whites to the sugar, vanilla, and Cream of TarTar. Mix on low-medium speed until the icing is smooth.
  • Use immediately or store in an airtight container in the fridge. It is good for up to one week if kept in the fridge.

Egg White Royal Icing Recipe Video:

There are a few tips that you should know about using raw egg whites that can help keep your food safe.

  • When you make this egg whites royal icing recipe, you should use pasteurized eggs.
  • According to reachers salmonella tends to found in the yolk of the egg. It’s also possible for it to be in raw egg whites so be careful when working with them.
  • If you don’t want to take a chance on eating raw eggs there are other choices you can use to make your royal icing such as meringue powder. If you’re looking for a recipe for royal icing made with meringue powder here is a recipe and post for Antonias Royal Icing and Half a Batch of Royal Icing.
  • Egg substitutes are pasteurized. Do you know how they pasteurize eggs? It’s pretty simple. The eggs are gently heated in their shells to kill all the bacteria. They don’t actually cook the eggs. They just heat them enough to kill bacteria so it’s safe to use them for uncooked or partially cooked food. Isn’t that interesting?
  • Don’t store the eggs in the door of the fridge because when the door is open it lets in heat. Eggs need to say cold so place them on a shelf and not in the door.

Now let’s see how to put this recipe together.

 

Egg white Royal Icing Recipe via www.thebearfootbaker.com

I used my big girl mixer in my recipe videos, but I  want you to know you don’t have to have a stand mixer to make royal icing. I made it with a hand mixer for years before investing in a KitchenAid. As a matter of fact, I made a post pm How to Make Royal Icing with a Hand Mixer to show how simple it is to make. It is easy and I promise the icing will taste the same no matter what mixer you use.

Egg White Royal Icing:

Egg White Royal Icing Recipe with www.thebearfootbaker.com

Last but not least, in the video, I made the icing a little on the thin side. To make a thicker consistency, add more powdered sugar and mix it until the icing is smooth. I have a video coming up soon on how to do that. If you are looking for a Royal Icing Recipe that uses meringue powder, here is Half a Batch of Royal Icing and here is Antonias Royal Icing.

I hope you enjoy this Egg White Royal Icing Recipe. Who knows, this egg white royal icing recipe may save you one morning at 3 am. You know what I’m talking about. If you don’t have meringue powder you’ll be able to finish decorating your cookies with this recipe. I know this recipe really helped me save the day the other day. I hope it helps you.

Bear hugs,

Lisa