No matter what time of year is, you don’t really know when some cookies need to be decorated real quick. There may be some Christmas cookies or birthday sweets, but in either case, you just have to know an easy and quick recipe for royal icing. Many of you already know how to make royal icing, as I read in the comments section, but I noticed that not so many succeeded in making its consistency good for piping or flooding. Therefore, I decided it is time to teach you my sweet secrets about this recipe. Do not worry, it is more about the technique than the extra time or the complexity of the ingredients. Just follow the steps to execute it properly and hassle-free.
Tips For Piping and Flooding
So, if you already know how to make royal icing, but are having trouble getting it runny for flooding your cookies, this step-by-step instruction might be really helpful. As a personal secret, I always start out with stiff royal icing, and then I thin it down with water so it is either soft for piping or runny for flooding. I am truly in love with my sweet recipe and won’t use any other method, since this brought me so much success. And I know you can do it, too!
As a first tip, always remember to cover up your royal icing with either cling film or a wet cloth as this will prevent it to dry out. However, if your icing gets too thick, add water, or if it is too wet, add more icing sugar. Just keep an eye on its consistency to achieve the best result.
If you have a KitchenAid mixer to help and you’re wondering which Kitchenaid attachment for cookies, take a minute to read this guide.
With no further introduction, let’s take a look at the list with the ingredients and tools. After that, we will make this simple and fun recipe together, step by step.
Royal Icing Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 egg whites: I make this recipe using egg whites (pasteurized) since meringue powder and dried egg white powder is not very common here in Denmark. Some of the cake decorating shops may have it though, but I stick to the egg whites as a personal preference.
- 2 lb icing sugar sifted (Not all may be used)
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- Large bowl
- Handheld mixer with hooks or stand mixer with a paddle attachment
- Cling film
Preparation
Step 1: First of all, combine egg whites and lemon juice in a large bowl. Then, you just add some of the sifted icing sugar to the mixture and start the mixer.
Step 2: Keep adding the icing sugar a little at a time.
Here is a key piece of advice: When the mixture looks like thick whipped cream and makes soft peaks the moment you push down the hooks/paddle in it, you can use it for piping.
Step 3: When you have the soft peak icing, start to only add 2 tbsp of icing sugar at a time. Keep in mind that from now on the icing will get stiffer.
Finally, when you can pull out small stiff peaks the icing is ready. Cover the icing with cling film and a lid or wet cloth and store it in the fridge.
Make the Icing Runny
If you want to make runny icing for flooding cookies or making run-outs, here are the steps you have to follow. The previous three steps will be also followed when making the runny icing, so I would just add some more:
Step 4: Take some royal icing (stiff-made) into a bowl and start mixing it with water. Remember to add only a few drops at a time!
RELATED ARTICLES: How to Make Daisy Cookies with Royal Icing
Step 5: Continue this until the icing is thin and liquid. It should be smoothing out when you lift the spoon.
Moreover, feel free to add 1/2 teaspoon of your favorite flavored extract, such as maple, lemon, peppermint, or orange, etc. when you add the water. I also use 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, for some recipes.
Another insight: if you make your icing too watery you can usually fix it by adding more icing sugar. Also, if the term “icing sugar” is new to you, don’t worry! Remember that is just another name for powdered sugar or confectioner’s sugar.
Step 6: Mixing with the water will most likely cause many air bubbles in the icing. In order to reduce that, I always cover up the icing and let it “rest” for 30 min. Then I give it a slow stir and, eventually, the number of air bubbles in my icing decreases.
Finally, you can use this royal icing for cookies! As mentioned before royal icing is great for flooding cookies. So, if you want to learn some decorating techniques, go and read my “How to Flood Cookies with Royal Icing” tutorial. You can also visit my tutorial section if you want to learn how to make other icings and frostings.
Happy Baking!
I hope this piece on how to make royal icing for flooding and other occasions was helpful! I know how tricky it can be to keep your royal icing runny and useable. However, the secret is to keep adding water to the icing to thin it out to the correct consistency. I believe that if you closely follow the previous steps there won’t be any problems. It’s just an easy guide and I’m sure you can do it smoothly.
I know that dry royal icing is a pain to work with and it can be tricky to decorate a cake with icing that isn’t applying right. Perfecting royal icing can take time but don’t get frustrated. You will find out that it is easy to work with, sets quickly, and won’t break your teeth when it dries. It has the most delicious taste and texture and makes decorating sugar cookies a simple and fun Sunday activity.
You might also like similar topics like Fondant Buttons Cake Tutorials, Flower Pot Cake Tutorials, Owl Cake Topper Tutorials, and more on our website’s tutorials section. These will help you become a pro home based baker!
Hiii…My name is Zoona.I make royal icing the same recipe as you used to do and try to pipe,but when piping time 2 ,3 bag teared and also the icing was melts like without any design(smooth and thick like)so can you tell me what can do to bring it to flower designs consistency.Thank you.
nice recipe thanks for sharing.
Comment:I’m attempting me first cake and first royal icing tomorrow.
Please wish me luck.
I am new to using royal icing and have found that your tutorials are so helpful! I grew up making julekage and butter cookies with my bedstemor. Even though she is not with us, I know she would have loved to use this technique. She inspired me and I have been baking her recipes for over 40 years! I can’t wait to try yours and hopefully another 40 years of baking!
Fab recipe with really easy instructions.
I made 1/4 of the recipe with a hand whisk and turned out perfectly. I coloured it red and did this first before adding water in for a runny icing.
Please what can be used to preserve cake for a longer time as ingredient.i heard of whisky but tried and it did’nt go
Hello, I remember years ago buying chocolate cakes that had real hard chocolate icing on it and underneath was a creamy light chocolate. I also had a cake once like this and it was a hard rum icing with the creamy icing under it. Can you please let me know how to make this and what is the name of this hard icing with the soft cream under it called? Haven’t seen it in bakeries anymore. Thank you so much, Donna
I’m not an expert, but I bet that was a chocolate frosting (like buttercream?) with chocolate ganache over the top. Ganache is just melted chocolate with cream, and it gets shiny like glass. With the rum icing–again, I get it’s a buttercream to make the cake smooth (as a crumb coat) and a icing on the top. Check out the “fondant fancies” from the Great British Baking Show / Bake Off season four. You could combine any flavors that you choose!
HI is the lemon juice for royal icing the normal lemon juice we drink? Or from the fruit, lemon? Or where can I get the lemon juice? Thank you!
The real lemon extract. Buy a lemon and squeeze it.
Lemon extract is the oily extract of the lemon. You want juice, from a real lemon, though the bottled, unsweetened version from the grocer will work too. You basically want an acid to help balance out the sweetness of all that sugar, and a fresh citron will add a brightness as well.
Add a tsp of vanilla … Tastes really great!
Thank you it dose taste better
l loved your work so much and l wouid like to see how to decorate the cake.
Hi Louise,
Will this icing work as well if I add liquid colors to it?
I would suggest using gel food coloring, as opposed to liquid, to prevent changing the consistency of the icing.
Is it 2 pounds sugar or should it be one pound for 2 egg whites? I was mixing and at a
Pound it became quite firm…..so I proceeded to outline the cookies and that went well….I am now going to thin it for flooding….I still have about 3/4 pound sifted sugar to yet add
I added 1tsp of eggwhite powder, 3tsp of water and icing sugar to make royal icing. But it is always try to melt and hard to make roses. Could u please help me? Thanks
Yes mine was the same! Seemed perfect after 1 pound… So was wondering if I converted to grams incorrectly, as I am in Australia??
Can I use this to pipe circles for wheels on a carriage? I need them to holds the shape.
Can I use this to pipe circles for wheels on a carriage? I need them to holds the shape.
Hi,pls can I use liquid food colouring for my royal icing if I can’t get gel paste around mi?
Hi i make royal icing candy in advance and put them on top of my frosted cup cakes no matter what kind of icing i use it always melt i even tried to put it on top of a cupcake with the wax paper stil under it and still it melts i do hard work in designing them and its frustrating to see it melt away,what do i have to do for it not to melt?
very nice i will make one and will share my experience 🙂
Hi,
I used your recipe for royal icing, and left the covered cookies for overnight, but the icing didn’t get hard. It is still soft and sticky?
Where did I go wrong?
Thanks
The royal icing didn’t dry because the cookies were covered. Royal icing only dries when exposed to air so that is what went wrong.
Louise,
Do you store your royal icing if you have left overs or in order to make it in advance? What is the best way to store (refrigerator vs. freezer) and for how long does it keep well? Thank you!! 🙂
I am guessing in the refrigerator since it has egg whites in it. 😀
You wouldn’t cover a cake in royal icing unless you want crunchy. I second that the corn syrup helps thin the royal icing and adds shine to the finish. You could also use glycerin .
do you maybe know how i can make wilton ready to use icing softer? they are too thick 🙁
How do you color royal icing?
With gel paste colors.
I’m sorry but I have very little experience with the Wilton products. I’m sure that you can find an answer if you visit the Wilton forum.
How much do u need for a 3 tiered cake? My three tiered cake is gonna be 3″, 6″, 9″ circle!
I have very little experience in covering cakes with royal icing. So I think you will have to search for a good answer elsewhere. Maybe CakeCentral?
I have seen recipes that add corn syrup , what does that do?
Don’t know??? Sorry.
Corn syrup makes the icing soft & gives it a little shiny finish. Hope that helps
I need to make a topper…that is simply an 8 and a 0 for an 80th birthday. She wants it brown…so I thought I’d make royal icing, tint it brown and make 8s and 0s on wax paper with a “peg” to stick in the cake. Have you done this before?
I think it would be much more sturdy if you did it in gum paste. If you want to do it in RI you need to make double of both the 8 and the 0 and glue those together with a flat “peg” in between. Round pegs are not good and I think that it will break.
can you use a spoon if you dont have a mixer?
Of course you can though it can be hard to stir at the end.
Thank you heaps for the unique tutorials & for the wonderful helpful tips…
how long will royal icing keep in covered containers..
You can save for 1 week in the fridge, thats how long I store it. Though I always find freshly made RI the best.
Mange tak for the comprehensive tutorial – your pictures are really good, illustrates the different consistencies well (makes me remember what my grandmother taught me when she had me mixing – by hand and ‘feel’ – the icing for the gingerbread house when I was a small child :-)).
A few remarks, questions: what exactly is the function of the lemon juice (or cream of tartar, or spirit vinegar)? The acid component probably has a function, as it is also often present in recipes for meringue and poached eggs; must be something to do with modifying how eggwhites behave, right? My *guess* would be something to do with moisture/drying – maybe make the finished product more impervious to humidity? Maybe make it dry faster?
I am not a cake decorator, but landed here because I needed to find a way to make glucose ‘sweets’, and seeing the consistency of the glucose being close to ‘flormelis’, thought of the RI of my childhood. But not having the patience – nor the muscular stamina! – of a child anymore, I need to find the right way of using electric tools to help me… so far the results have been atrocious from an esthetic POV: lumpy, runny, far too stiff, drying so hard you get a ceramic sound banging two pieces together… lol, luckily I’m mostly looking for a way to make glucose tablets for medicinal purposes. But I’ll probably be the queen of RI for gingerbreads come next christmas 😉
Just as a comment it is sad to read that you can’t trust unpasteurized eggs in Denmark. Luckily here in Finland there’s still no salmonella in our eggs.
BTW, what is RI called in Danish? (In Swedish it is ‘kristyr’)
And lastly, a small wish/suggestion: as your blog is so popular, and you get so many comments (250+ here, and I read them all!), maybe you could tweak it to show more than 10 comments/page? Maybe 50? Or even 25?
Thank you so much for this fabulous resource; fantastic pics, clear instructions and such a very nice (&useful) comment section!
Adding lemon juice, cream of tartar, vinegar stabilize the icing. I have though made RI without using lemon juice and it still works fine. Now I just use a meringue powder mix as it is much more faster.
Yes, it is very very sad that we cant use fresh eggs here. RI is called glasur in Danish:-)
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Hi dear…
Thank you heaps for these wonderful recipes & for sharing your expertise…
I made this the other day, the pipping was ok but when dried was easily “crushable”… & flooding was also ok at the time, but it never got to dry properly… just stayed loose & sticky & it even made my crunchy cookies a bit soggy…!
any advise please….
Hello, for how long can you store the icing and how do you do it?
Thanks!!!
pawsomeness
Hi, can you tell me how long the whole process took? I am also using a hand held Philips mixer and i can never get to the stiff stage…maybe because i am not beating enough and continue to add more sugar and it all lumps up. Once i get to the soft peak stage how many more mins should i beat it for?
Thanks.
I know you say “icing sugar” is that the same as powdered sugar??
Hi I don’t have any Pasteurized Eggs..can I use any white eggs for this recipe?
Hi,
can you make this without using an electric mixer?
Wanting to know how to make a santa hat that is edible because i would like to use it a cupcake topper ….i was going to make it using ganache but wondering if royal icing is the go pls help any advice would be greatful 🙂
what is the difference between frosting and icing?? =)
Help….I usually cheat and buy ready to roll icing to cover my christmas cake. However this year we are in Panama so I have to make my own. Would this be okay to cover my christmas cake without sliding down the sides?
You are so nice sharing all that! What do you mean when you say “with eggwhites (pasturized)”. We don’t have meringue powder here as well so I will have to use eggwhites like you. So, is there a procedure to pasturise them? Thank you so very very much!!!
i used this recipe about a week ago and it worked perfectly
i am going to use this recipe until the day i die=)
If I want the glazing liquid I have just put some water with powdered sugar and protein and mix
To tint it different colours do you just add a few drops of food colouring?
Hello maam …..Can I add cocoa powder to this …if yes please mention the quantity of it ..
will this icing melt? cos i used the same thing a few months ago and it was like sticky and look like ice cream. i wan it to be stiff after i put it on the cake. is it possible?
Louise, Hi! Is Royal Icing can hold its shaped even it is not in the refrigerator? I mean it will not be runny, when outside the fridge?
can i skip putting lemon juice.. i don’t have lemon right now.. =(
You can. I leave it out now and then too.
Hey, can I ask you something.? is this recipe can make a royal icing so stiff and so sticky.? just making sure THANK YOU :))))))))))
I would not say that it is sticky?? But it can be made very stiff.
how much is 2lb in grams?
I use just about 1 kg (1000 grams) Depending how strong I need the RI to be.
Hi,
What type of lemon juice do you use?And do I just add icing colour to the icing for Colouring?
Fresh or from a bottle. Just add tiny amounts of color at a time.
wooohooo! success! i made this trying to “flood” a cake… and it worked, and was able to add tiger stripes effectively too…. thrilled! Thankyou so much, was so easy too! now to taste it once it sets. 😀
I cannot thank you enough for all of the wonderful tutorials…this will help me so much getting started with all of this…i am so excited to get into all of your information as it is AWESOME AND SO ARE YOU!!!
Thank you SO much for posting this. I love decorating biscuits in a very amateur way and wanted some tips to make them a little more professional, including how to make icing that didn’t get squashed so easily!
am just setting up a small business i make cakes and i wanna learn as many recipes as possible thanx for this one i love it
i will be attempting the royal icing floodng cookie this weekend…wish me luck!
Have fun with the cookies 🙂
hey ,thanks for this easy and wonderful recipe it has helped me with icing…:)
Awesome! But can you use any juice? xx =] – Gloria. Nice and simple too because as I’m 12 don’t want something complicated! =]
You can add 1 tsp lemon juice to the royal icing if you like
thanx for help, my icing was always too runny using the merriwhite powder this is much better ….thanx zzzzzz
I have not been able to work with merri white either 🙂
I think you the best girl!! Self taught I’m starting today.I need traIning but its too expensive for me. Whwao!
Meisie
Lesed food services.
Hi I made shortbread cookies and outlined them and flooded them..they dried fine and the icing looked very smooth and even..now a few hours later, some of the cookies look discolored and blotchy.. what could have happened? please help i have to make thirty five cookies for party favors and i want them to look nice.. like less than half of my cookies now. Thank you
Did you make sure that the colors were well blended/mixed into the royal icing before you started flooding? Also what colors did you use?
is it okay to use ordinary sugar?
Royal icing can only be made with powdered/confectioners sugar.
Thank You so much i have improved on my icing skills now and i have made alot more cakes since i saw this website i enjoy mixing the colours into it the most and i find it so easy to cook thanks so so much!!!
I am going to try to make royal icing for the first time. This site was awsome, showing me step by step thanks. Will be back for more info.
hey thanks im love ur site it has helped me with icing i have made alot of cakes and planning to make more so yeah thank you so much.
OMG, you are my SAVIOUR!! It is so easy to follow, I’m so happy to have found you. I keep trying to learn how to make these nice “eatable” cookies and to decorate them but I keep failing 🙁 I feel so frustrated. I am going to follow your steps one by one, I think you are the one! LOL Thank you so much!!
If you love decorating cookies be sure to check out these fab websites: https://sweetopia.net/ and https://bakeat350.blogspot.com/
Hello, Im just browsing the web and I came across your website. I do have a question for you. I recently purchased powdered sugar and it says on the package that it already has egg whites added. What do i do from there? Do i just add the lemon juice and a few drops of water?
Thanks in advance!
Ok, I have heard of meringue powder (dried egg whites) but never heard about powdered sugar with egg whites in already? Does it says anything on the package? Try and add the lemon juice and a little water and see how it turn out.
Hi Louise,
Do you know why is the icing on my cookie flaky after it is dried? I do not have any problems with other lighter colors, only this as i was trying to achieve a navy blue color using Royal Blue and Black from Wilton.
I hope you can help.
Thanks very much.
Hi Louise, I’d like to try the royal icing recipe but was wondering what the measurements are if I use dry eggwhite powder???
I do not know, I have never worked with dried egg white powder. Are there no directions on the packet?
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Hi louise, is icing sugar the same as confectioner sugar, cause i used confectioner and the flavors came out weird, like it had an after taste… and also i whipped it by hand. Pls tell me what im doing wrong. Thanks!!
Icing sugar, confectioners’ sugar, powdered sugar all can be used to make RI. I have never experienced that the RI had an after taste. Only just very sweet. It should not make a difference that you whipped it by hand. In fact that’s the best way.
Fra: Disqus [mailto:]
Sendt: 31. oktober 2011 20:28
Til: louise@cakejournal.com
Emne: [cakejournal] Re: How to make royal icing
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Thank you SO much Elaine.
Hi Louise!
Im a newbie and was just wondering if you could explain to me the differences and purposes if these: royal icing, fondant, frosting.
Can you use frosting to make roses or is that just with fondant? Can frosting be used for cookies? I’ve read about all these but I don’t know what to use for what. Please help!
– Viri –
Royal icing: for piping, flowers and flooding on cookies, you can also use it on plain cakes if it’s thinned with a little water. Fondant: Rolled fondant icing is used to cover cakes to get a clean smooth surface Frosting: piped as swirls on cupcakes, on cakes, piping flowers borders and more for buttercream decorated cakes.
You can use frosting to make roses like these: https://www.wilton.com/technique/Roses You can also use gum paste and the look of the rose will be completely different. I have not tried to use frosting on cookies, but I guess it’s like woopie pies
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Sendt: 15. september 2011 19:53
Til: louise@cakejournal.com
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Hi Louise
Thanks for the tips. I wanted to ask you about making the royal icing chocolate brown. I don’t like how much coloring I need to use to get it a nice dark chocolate brown, so I started to add a little cocoa to the icing sugar. It gets to a beautiful rich chocolate brown and adds the chocolate lavour. The problem I sometimes have is when the icing dries it sometimes fades and looks cloudy. Is there any way to fix this?
Thanks for any help!
Jody
I have tried the tip with the cocoa powder too and I have not had any real problems with it. Do you add the cocoa powder after or when you make the RI? Like sifting the cocoa and powdered sugar together? If you want dark colors it is always good to let the color mature over night before use. You color it the first day, without using too much color. Let it rest well covered and the next day you can add more color (if it needs more)
Hi! First of all, thank you for the tutorial, it’s very helpful. And I have a question, that might sound very silly, but that it has been on my mind for a while: shouldn’t eggwhites always be very well cooked before eating? As far as I know there is the risk of catching a disease by eating them raw… Could you please explain that to me, please? 🙂
I use pasteurized egg whites. If you can’t get that, you should use meringue powder instead.
Thank you so much for answering that fast! I will remember that and I will definitely be stopping by soon. Best regards.
Hey Louise. I’ve tried a few different recipes and methods for royal icing and I find that each time after a day or so the colours fade and the sugar crystallises. Do you know what I might be doing wrong?
I made henna decorated cookies using your sugar cookie and royal icing recipes. They came out lovely (at least for my first time).
And the photos were a lifesaver.
Will you be making it as a runout/colorflow? And will it be placed on a fondant covered cake? I think that I would make (cut out) the mask out of a very strong gum paste (extra gum added) Let that dry and then decorate with royal icing. If possible place the mask on the cake just before serving. If it is placed on cake and goes into the refrigerator it will not get soft after short time. But it will soften slightly.
Will you be making it as a runout/colorflow? And will it be placed on a fondant covered cake? I think that I would make (cut out) the mask out of a very strong gum paste (extra gum added) Let that dry and then decorate with royal icing. If possible place the mask on the cake just before serving. If it is placed on cake and goes into the refrigerator it will not get soft after short time. But it will soften slightly.
Thank you so much for putting this up for all to see. I wanted to know how to make icing for piping and here it is! Simple instructions with pictures helped a great deal. Again thank you for helping us! 🙂
Thank you for this very helpful tutorial. I have a question, though…for piping the outline, do you set aside some of the “soft peak stage” icing before you proceed to make it stiffer, or do you go ahead, make it stiff, then thin back to soft peak (which seems more complicated than thinning to flooding consistency)?
Most of the time I make stiff peak and then go back to soft and thin stage. But you can also just make soft peak there are not the big difference. It depends on what other things I am making with the RI.
Hello Louise , I live in the uk and for the past few years have bought the Royal Icing Powder in a packet that you just add cold water too. I thought it a lot safer than using raw eggs as my daughter were pregnant. I was wondering if you could give me some help with a three tier wedding cake I am making.Fruit cakes. The wedding is on the 11th June and I would really like the cakes to be finisihed by the wednesday before. How soon can I start the first coat of icing. and then the second coat on them all.? Then I will put the final coat on and decorate it. I would really like to make a start next weekend, 15th but keep thinking it will be too soon. Can you advise me please.? Many thanks
I would like some help please regarding my daughters wedding cakes. The wedding is on 11th June and it is a three tier cake. Fruit. I have made the cakes and was wondering when could I start to marzipan and royal ice them.? I would like to do them as soon as I can as this is my first wedding cake. many thanks
Hi Brenda: I have never tried to make fruit cake with marzipan and royal icing. So I cannot help you on what to do. Maybe some of the UK readers can help us out?
Thanks for sharing! ^^