corianne.froese@hotmail.com

  • Home
  • Book Preorder
  • Shop
    • Advent Calendar Presale
    • Upcoming Occasions >
      • School & Grad
      • Summer
    • Decorating Kits
    • Recipe Guide
    • Baking Tools
    • Decorating Tools & Supplies
    • Cutters & Molds
    • Icing Mixes & Colorings
    • Meringue Powder & Flavours
    • Sprinkles
    • Stencils & Airbrushing
    • Apparel & Aprons
    • Stickers & Accessories
    • Cookie Packaging
    • CLEARANCE
    • Gift Card
  • FAQS
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Home
  • Book Preorder
  • Shop
    • Advent Calendar Presale
    • Upcoming Occasions >
      • School & Grad
      • Summer
    • Decorating Kits
    • Recipe Guide
    • Baking Tools
    • Decorating Tools & Supplies
    • Cutters & Molds
    • Icing Mixes & Colorings
    • Meringue Powder & Flavours
    • Sprinkles
    • Stencils & Airbrushing
    • Apparel & Aprons
    • Stickers & Accessories
    • Cookie Packaging
    • CLEARANCE
    • Gift Card
  • FAQS
  • Blog
  • Contact

Royal Icing

4/4/2018

 
So you’ve looked up some royal icing recipes and instructions and your head hurts from all this talk of consistencies, piping, flooding, does and don’ts and you’re thinking “what in the world, it’s just icing so how hard can it really be?” And trust me, I was that person and thought the same too until I sat in front of cookies with icing running off the sides and designs that looked like my 5 year old could have done better. Well friends, royal icing is an animal of it’s own and does take time to master, BUT with some practise, patience and the ability to overcome wanting to throw all of your messed up cookies to the dog, you WILL get it and find what works for you!
I love sharing the art of decorating with others, which has naturally led me to teaching and blogging. Some people find so much more joy and meaning in making things themselves and others simply prefer to buy it - kind of how I feel about cooking - give me all the convenience I can get! So for those who wish to learn, I have no problem sharing my Royal Icing Recipe, and many people ask me why. “Aren’t you giving away your secret? You’re going to ruin your business!” - and I don’t feel that way at all. Pretty much all royal icing recipes are the same and like some other things in life, it’s not what it is, but what you do with it! The main difference in my recipe to others is the addition of light corn syrup. Traditional royal icing can dry very hard and almost crunchy, but adding a few tablespoons of corn syrup is going to keep your icing soft to the bite and give it a much glossier finish as an added bonus! Below is the recipe:

Royal Icing Recipe
​1/2 cup of warm water
1/2 tsp flavouring (any extract)
​5 tbsp meringue powder
5 cups powdered sugar
​2 tbsp light corn syrup
Whisk together the water, meringue powder and flavouring in your mixer bowl
​Gradually add in the powdered sugar on low with your mixers paddle attachment.

​Once combined, add the light corn syrup and mix on high for 2-3 minutes - do not overmix as it can lead to issues with your icing not drying.
-This recipe can be tripled in a 5 quart mixer.

“So it’s made... now what do you want me to do with it??”... Unfortunately there is no scientific method for creating Royal Icing consistencies, annoying right? I do have some general guidelines and tips to help you.

I recommend using two consistencies for decorating, pipe and flood consistency. Piping consistency for me is just straight out of the mixer consistency - thick but still flexible and will hold its form when piped. It’s what you're going to use for creating the outlines that will restrict your thinner flood consistency from running over the edge of the cookie. 

When colouring icing, darker colours like red, blue and black need time to develop so should be made in advance with time to deepen. You want to colour your icing when it is at the piping consistency phase. Then you will add some of the same icing to a separate bowl to create the flood. This way you are ensuring the colours are the same as opposed to colouring your consistencies separately.

Now to create your flooding consistency, you will add SMALL amounts of water at a time to your initial piping consistency. A little goes a long way. Once you’ve mixed the water in with your spatula, lift it from the bowl to see how well it runs off. A good flood consistency should be JUST smooth enough to glide perfectly off of the spatula, but not too runny. Am I confusing you yet?? The whole point is that when you apply it to the cookie, you want it to settle on its own flat without any lumps. It should not be even close to liquid form so if you have added too much water, you can simply add small amounts of powdered sugar to your bowl to thicken it back up.

See the video below for a visual guide:
If you struggle with air bubbles in your icing, let it sit covered for about 10 -20 minutes so that the existing bubbles rise to the top and you can pop them prior to using. This makes a HUGE difference.
For those pesky bubbles that do arise, you want to have a scribe tool on hand to pop them, smooth out icing and fix any other mistakes with minimal impact to other areas of the cookie and your sanity.  


What you need to decorate is really quite simple to start - but trust me that you'll soon find a reason to buy allll the other fun stuff too.
​Basics to start: piping bags, clips & a scribe tool. Seriously, that's it! 
You find these and much more in my online shop, Cookie Couture (see the shop page on this website)! 
Picture
I also offer a Decorating Kit, perfect for beginners with everything you need plus a few extras. A copy of both my royal icing and sugar cookie recipe is included!

​Refrigerate your unused icing to repurpose when possible. The shelf life of royal icing is usually around 2 weeks before it loses its structure beyond the point of mixing back together smoothly. If you wouldn’t eat it yourself, it’s time to say goodbye. To repurpose, simply add your older icing into your new one. It will also weigh down your new icing, reducing bubbles and making it nicer to work with!

For more tips and troubleshooting, see my post linked below:
ROYal icing troubleshooting
Now you’re thinking “Wow, really? All this just to make icing for a cookie?”... Trust me, it’s like riding a bike. Sketchy and slightly confusing at first, but once you’ve got it you’re golden! Give it some time and practise and PLEASE don’t decide the night before little Johnny’s birthday that you’re going to whip him up some awesome race car cookies, because I can tell you right now it won’t be pretty. Give yourself some time to master your skills and you’ll be whipping up the coolest cookies on the block in no time! Best of luck!
Picture
See my blog and Instagram for more tips, tutorials and videos to grow your cookie decorating game!
Kay
4/4/2018 09:06:20 pm

Congratulations on your first blog entry! I wish you much success in your business and your blog!

Adriette
4/4/2018 10:29:40 pm

Congrats on the blog! And thanks again for your help on my butter-bleed problem! Looking forward to your next blog post! +

Corianne
4/5/2018 02:36:20 pm

Thank you, I'm glad I could help!

Rose
4/4/2018 11:33:24 pm

Hi Corianne!
This is RoRo’s! I wish I read this blog when I was starting out! It’s informative, practical and fool proof!

Corianne
4/5/2018 02:38:22 pm

Thanks Rose! I wish I had something like this too in then beginning which is why I wanted to do it!

debbie
4/5/2018 05:37:08 pm

Really enjoying your blog. I am self taught, trial and error, and sure would have loved your detail when I started out. Keep up the great work, and thank you!

Bailey
4/5/2018 07:30:55 pm

What is the best way to store royal icing in the fridge? Every time I do, the top layer begins to harden making it impossible to mix and be smooth again.

Corianne
4/6/2018 03:12:10 pm

Hi! You want to make sure your are storing it absolutely airtight. If you are storing in a container with a lid, wrap the container in seran wrap. Otherwise if you are storing short term, instead of a lid you can cover with a wet cloth as long as the cloth is wet, it won’t dry out. Hope that helps!

Nicole
4/7/2018 07:38:29 am

Love the blog!!! I'm still playing around with different royal icing recipes to find one that works well for me. Very interested in trying the light corn syrup, I hadn't read that yet and would definitely love to have that softness! Do you sift your powdered sugar at all? Having lumps has been my biggest issue, even with sifting, and makes piping with tips a huge pain. How do you get rid of the clumps?

Corianne
4/7/2018 10:38:00 pm

Hi and thank you! I don’t sift but I gradually add the powdered sugar and blend in until combined prior to turning the mixer on high. You may also want to look at a different brand of powdered sugar and see if that maybe makes a difference!

Nicole
4/10/2018 11:18:13 pm

Omg, I used this recipe today for a cookie order and I could not be happier!!! I had no issues with clumps, like I was before. It was so smooth and just so perfect!!!! I am in love with amazing it was!!!!!

Ellie Grant
4/8/2018 08:21:00 pm

Hi! Love your recipe for royal icing. How long does it typically take for it to harden up? Thanks! 😊

Michelle
4/13/2018 09:23:19 am

I am interested in trying your recipe. What is flavoring? Vanilla extract? Trying to make sure.

Corianne
5/14/2018 10:14:20 pm

You can use any flavour

Kendra Aguilar
4/14/2018 06:41:51 pm

What kinds of flavoring have you tried that you recommend?

Karina
4/23/2018 02:37:30 pm

Hi Corinne,
Absolutely love your recipe! Could you please tell me how long does it keep and how you store it? Thank you in advance.

Corianne
5/14/2018 10:12:47 pm

Thank you! It is good for about 2 weeks before it starts to separate beyond being able to mix back together. I prefer to store in the fridge for long periods but its also fine on the counter for a day or two as well.

She
4/27/2018 08:46:13 pm

Do you sift your powdered sugar? If so, do you measure it after sifted or before? When you measure the sugar are you spooning it in the measuring cup rather than dipping the cup in the sugar?

Corianne
5/14/2018 10:11:07 pm

I don't sift, I just pour right from the bag to the cup and add it.

Sarah
4/27/2018 09:09:14 pm

Do you sift the 4 cups of icing sugar in?

Corianne
5/14/2018 10:10:02 pm

No, I don't.

Kim link
5/12/2018 05:52:34 pm

Love this blog! Thanks so much for sharing your tips. Do you have any for air bubbles? For whatever reason I always seem to struggle with them in flood icing.

Corianne
5/14/2018 10:09:26 pm

Try letting your icing sit for a bit after mixing! This will allow it time for the existing bubble to rise to the top and you can clear them prior to bagging or bottling.

Jessie
5/22/2018 05:41:21 pm

I gotta tell you, I thought I was alone on the icing running off of the sides of the cookie. After ready this post I felt so much better about it all! I love ready your posts-they give me such hope! I'll be using this recipe from now on.

Katelyn
7/11/2018 08:28:10 am

Do you ever add cream of tartar for humid areas? I tried this recipe last time and my icing never dried :( it was like marshmallow cream texture. Did I beat it too long? Thanks for your blog, I love it!

Patty A
10/8/2018 12:16:36 pm

Mine too! I ended up resorting back to my old recipe. This one was very tasty but didn't dry. I was told that u may have beaten it too long. Also maybe not to use a whisk attachment the recipe I have does not match this one so I wonder what happened. The 1st calls for cream of tartar & clear vanilla & flavoring. This one doesn't. Is this what u had too?

Katelyn
10/8/2018 05:17:30 pm

Ever since I have used cream of tartar, I have never had that issue again. But I also haven't tried this specific recipe anymore :(

Tara
11/28/2018 12:16:45 pm

I'm running into the same issue with this recipe and I think I may be over mixing. Have you tried the cream of tarter this this recipe yet? I'm curious if that will help. I'm also VERY new at learning this so I'm sure its user error! :-)

Carolina
8/9/2018 09:12:27 am

Hi Corianne! Thank you for your blog and your tips; one of the best blogs I have read. I have a question about butter bleeding in my cookies, it makes me crazy!!!!! I don't know what to do, it happens everytime specially with white icing. Most of the time after 2 days it goes back to it's original color and they are perfect but that's a long time to wait to start decorating. No one seems to have the answer for this problem. Do I need a dehydrator, a fan ???? I dry my cookies in a small room with a/c. Help!!

Emma
8/21/2018 08:48:53 pm

Thank you! I will try your recipe for my next batch!
When do you add the dye? Before or after you thin it out? Does the colour fade in the batch that is thinned out?

Sadie
8/25/2018 10:21:58 am

Thanks for the tips!

For the ingredients, what do you mean by flavoring? And is there a vegan substitute for meringue powder?

I am a beginner and dairy/egg free and would love to try to achieve the look and taste without the animal product. Thanks!

Leslee Manderson
9/7/2018 12:47:09 am

Thank you for all your helpful tips! I love your work!
Do you have any suggestions on how to minimize air bubbles in frosting?
How long do you whip the sugar? Do you use clear vanilla? Do you whip the meringue mixture first and then add the sugar or add the meringue mixture to the sugar? I’ve tried different ways and sometimes I have a ton of bubbles and sometimes I don’t. Does it help to prepare in advance and let set overnight? I know it sounds tedious but baking is such a science! Probably the most frustrating and time consuming part of decorating.
Thank you!

jenna nagy
9/22/2018 05:53:30 pm

hey!!! i want to make this so bad!!! curious question, what type of flavoring do you use??

Josefina Arellano
9/29/2018 05:42:46 pm

Tks, first time doing youre icing, lets hope fot the best, please fallow. Tks for everything, show how it ends!! 😬

Ana
9/30/2018 04:25:48 pm

Hello I'm from argentina and I want to know how change the syrup corn for another thing coZ here we don't use that or if here have another name. Thanks and I love your blog and your Instagram page❤

Jess
10/23/2018 05:50:58 am

Hi, thank you for the recipe! Just wondering, I can’t seem to get meringue powder anywhere and so is egg white powder okay to use instead? Thanks :)

LGe
11/7/2018 10:04:03 pm

Hi. Thanks for sharing your icing recipe. Once you’ve iced your cookies, how do you store them to dry? Or do you leave them on the counter (if so, for how long) to dry? I know you’ve mentioned the $5 Michaels bins, but I assume that’s for storage once they’re dry. I’m worried they’ll go stale if left out for too long (??). Thank you!

Marina
11/9/2018 11:51:37 pm

I was really excited to try your recipe and gave it a shot. However after I iced the cookes and let them dry overnight, they were still tacky and the icing was not completely hardened (even after a couple days). So I wasn’t able to paint them since the gel food coloring+almond extract started to dissolve the icing on a couple cookie that did dry down a little. Any idea why this happened? The icing seemed to look the same consistency as is the videos and everything seemed to be working out great.

Lynn Crosier
12/21/2018 02:23:37 pm

You may want to check your almond extract to see if it has oil in it as oil and Royal Icing do NOT like each other. That could be your culprit.

Marjorie
11/16/2018 02:16:22 am

Hello, you are awesome !!!! your blog is fabulous !!!! I just have a quick question, how long can we keep the cookies decorated with the frosting? how long are they good for consumption? Because I wanted to make Christmas for the offer put on the Christmas trees decorating tables and all that! but will they be edible after? In advance, thank you for your answer. Have a good day.

Jessica
11/27/2018 11:37:24 pm

Hello, just looking to try your recipe for royal icing and am wondering what PF water means? purified?

Nancy
12/16/2018 05:46:15 pm

OMG ! About a week or so I said I followed your royal icing recipe to a tee and mine was so dry. My apologies.. I had always used another cookiers recipe and she said to use a 2 lb bag of powdered sugar. When I made your recipe I just figured 5cups was equivalent to the 2lb. bag. I made the royal icing today and decided to measure the 5cups and was I surprised that the bag was almost 8cups of powdered sugar. That’s why my icing was so dry. Anyway, thank you for all the videos and photos you post. I am a casual cookie maker but I still want to do my best.


Comments are closed.

    Archives

    July 2019
    January 2019
    April 2018

    Categories

    All
    Cookiers
    Recipes & Tips

    RSS Feed