Royal Icing [Fresh Eggs, Meringue|Liquid Egg Whites Recipes] - Haniela's (2024)

I use Royal Icing to decorate sugar cookies. And it can also be used to create dainty sugar roses, succulents, colorful butterflies or very intricate designs on cakes, cookies or gingerbread houses. In addition to decorating I also use to build all of my Gingerbread Houses and Centerpieces.

JUMP TO RECIPES | PIN IT for later

• TABLE OF CONTENTS
• What is Royal Icing?
• How is royal icing different from buttercream?
• What kind of egg whites can I use to make royal icing?
• Fresh Egg Whites.
• Fresh Eggs in-shell pasteurized .
• Liquid Egg Whites.
• Meringue Powder.
• How to make icing taste better?
• Sift or don’t sift powdered sugar?
• Recipe that uses Meringue powder.
• Make royal icing with fresh egg whites.
• Royal icing made with liquid egg whites.
• My icing is too hard when it dries, can I make it softer?
• How should I store icing?
• How long does icing last?
• Show me how to decorate cookies.
• My icing separates, why?
• Tools you need to make icing.
• Recipes

WHAT IS ROYAL ICING MADE OF?

Royal Icing is hard icing made from egg whites and powdered sugar. Often stabilizers like cream or tartar, lemon juice or vinegar are also added. As well as flavorings.

HOW IS ROYAL ICING DIFFERENT FROM BUTTERCREAM?

Royal icing dries into a hard candy like shell. Buttercream stays soft and creamy.

EGG WHITES

To make royal icing you need egg whites. Depending on what is available to you can use different forms of egg whits to make traditional royal icing.

TYPES OF EGG WHITE YOU CAN USE :

• Fresh Eggs : widely available
• Fresh Eggs in-shell pasteurized : not widely available, check with your local grocery store if they carry in-shell pasteurized eggs, available in the USA.
• Liquid Egg Whites (pasteurized) : widely available in the USA.
• Meringue Powder : consists of dried pasteurized egg whites, cornstarch and stabilizers. Readily available.

1. Fresh Egg Whites

As I’m sure you’ve heard this before. Shell eggs may contain bacteria called Salmonella. It is best to avoid using fresh egg whites when making royal icing for children, pregnant women, or anyone with a weakened immune system. Learn more about Egg Safety.

In my life I’d eaten dozens of raw eggs as a child and I’d never gotten sick. I’m also guilty of eating a raw cookie dough.

Several years ago I suffered a violent food poisoning (not from eggs). And I know how vicious are these symptoms. It took me weeks to fully recover.

So, my conclusion is that if you don’t have any other option but using fresh unpasteurized eggs to make Royal Icing, always make sure to use eggs from credible sources. In the United States new Egg Rule came to effect in 2010.

2. Fresh Eggs in-shell pasteurized

Though sparse, you can find pasteurized in-shell eggs in grocery stores in the United States. Shell of such an egg is stamped with a red or blue P in a circle.

These pasteurized shell eggs, according to FDA are safe to consume raw. You can learn more about Pasteurization process.
Whites of pasteurized shell eggs may appear slightly cloudy compared to fresh shell eggs.

3. Liquid Egg Whites

You can use All Whites Egg Whites, they are pasteurized and safe to use uncooked. You can find Liquid Egg Whites in the refrigerated section of your grocery store, usually somewhere around shell eggs.

4. Meringue Powder

To make icing for cookie decorating I primarily use Wilton Meringue Powder. It has a long shelf life and is safe to use uncooked. Meringue Powder consists of pasteurized dried egg whites, gum, cornstarch, stabilizers.

HOW TO MAKE ICING FOR DECORATING TASTE BETTER?

Because on its own it really doesn’t taste like much I flavor it heavily with extracts and natural flavors.

My favorite icing to use is my Fresh Lemon Royal Icing (made with meringue powder). I like to use fresh lemon juice in addition to Vanilla and Almond extract. Lemon adds a refreshing flavor. And it also cuts down on the sweetness of otherwise very sweet icing.

However if you are not a fan of lemon you can flavor it with other extracts. I prefer to add Vanilla Extract to pretty much everything. Always start with Vanilla Extract and then build it up with flavors to your liking. Use alcohol or water based flavorings.

My personal favorite is a combination of Vanilla, Lemon and Almond. Another popular flavoring is called Cookie Nip.

I also like all Vanilla Icing especially if icing is flavored with Vanilla Extract and Vanilla Bean Paste. It’s absolutely delicious.

CONFECTIONERS’ POWDERED SUGAR

I prefer to use powdered sugar that I don’t have to sift. If your powdered sugar has lot of hard lumps it is best to sift it. Powdered sugar contains a small amount of starch to prevent caking.

RECIPES FOR ROYAL ICING COOKIE AND CAKE DECORATING

Instructions to make Royal Icing are pretty much the same regardless of the egg whites you use.

• I will show you how to make icing using :
• Pasteurized Liquid Egg Whites
• Fresh Eggs ( these can be raw or pasteurized in- shell fresh eggs, process is the same for both)
• Basic Royal Icing using Meringue
• Fresh Lemon Royal Icing Recipe (my personal favorite, using meringue)

CLEAN THE BOWL :

Clean the bowl with vinegar and wipe it clean.

ROYAL ICING RECIPE USING MERINGUE POWDER

• Meringue powder
• Powdered sugar
• Cream of tartar (substitute 1tsp lemon juice)
• Lukewarm water
• Vanilla

Dry ingredients are added to the wet and mixture is beaten on low speed until it thickens. Then flavorings are added and once thick and shiny, royal icing is ready to be used.

In a bowl of you mixer whisk together lukewarm water, meringue and cream of tartar (you can omit if you don’t have, it’s used to further stabilize icing). Whisk until well combined and mixture is foamy. Next, into the bowl add all of the powdered sugar.

Mix icing on low speed. Scrape down the bowl to make sure everything is well combined. Mix until thick. On low speed mix in extracts. Once thick stop mixing and use or store icing immediately.

FRESH EGG WHITES ROYAL ICING

• Fresh egg whites
• Powdered sugar
• Cream of tartar (substitute 1tsp lemon juice)
• Vanilla, Almond, Lemon Extracts

Crack the room temperature eggs and separate egg yolks and egg whites. Into a clean mixer bowl add fresh egg whites ( pasteurized egg whites will look slightly cloudy, this is normal). Next, on low speed beat in cream of tartar and gradually while mixing on low speed add powdered sugar.

Mix till icing becomes think and then add extracts. Mix well and scrape the bowl to incorporate all the ingredients well. Once icing is thick store or use immediately. Store in an airtight container covered with a plastic wrap and covered tightly with a lid.

LIQUID EGG WHITES ROYAL ICING

• Liquid egg whites
• Powdered sugar
• Cream of tartar (substitute 1 tsp lemon juice)
• Vanilla, Almond and Lemon Extracts

Ideally you’d want to use a stand mixer when making icing. That being said when making a batch of icing using 4 1/2 cups powdered sugar it’s okay to use a hand held mixer.

Pour liquid egg whites into a bowl. On low speed beat in cream of tartar. Then gradually add powdered sugar. Don’t add all of the powdered sugar at once. Continue beating after each addition of powdered sugar until icing is thick.

Then beat in extracts. Mixing icing this way should take about 7 minutes or so. Store thick icing or use immediately.

Also, by the time you are done mixing with hand held mixer bottoms (or tops depends on how you look them; part that is exposed to air) of the beaters will be most likely crusted. Be careful not to add crusted bits into the fresh icing.

MY ICING IS TOO HARD WHEN IT DRIES, CAN THIS BE FIXED?

To remedy hard bite of dry icing you can add up to 1/4 cup of corn syrup to the recipe (2lb powdered sugar batch). And half of that amount to smaller batch recipes. Beat the corn syrup in with the extracts.

If making piped flowers and other decoration like butterflies, roses and such, I’d definitely keep the corn syrup out of the recipe.

STORING ROYAL ICING

It is very important that you protect icing from crusting. Thick icing crusts fairly quickly.

It is essential that you cover it with a damp towel or store it in an airtight container covered tightly with a plastic wrap, until ready to use.

HOW LONG DOES ICING LAST?

Icing made with Meringue powder lasts for up to a month at room temperature. I prefer storing icing in the fridge.

Use icing made with pasteurized liquid products without 5 days, store it in the fridge.

Icing made with egg white from fresh eggs should be used immediately.

DECORATE COOKIES

• COLOR YOUR ICING – You can color icing with food colors. I recommend using concentrated food gels. If possible color icing before you thin it with water.

• DECORATING COOKIES – To create smooth designs on cookies icing has be prepared for cookie decorating. You need to thin thick icing to more fluid consistency. This is achieved by adding a room temperature water to the icing. It is best to use a spray bottle to add water. Using a spray bottle helps to control the amounts of water added. When a spoon is used as it is really easy to add too much water all at once. You can learn more in depth about royal icing consistency in my Ultimate Guide to Royal Icing Consistency.

ICING FOR DECORATING SEPARATES

Separation is a common icing phenomenon. Notice in the picture below liquid is settled on the bottom and solids stay atop. This is absolutely normal.

Icing has to be stirred or mixed again to restore the consistency. I usually use a fork or a firm spatula.

TO MAKE ICING AND TO DECORATE YOU NEED

• TOOLS
• Stand Mixer
• Hand Held Mixer
• Spatula
• Bowls
• Measuring Cups
• Measuring Spoons
• Whisk
• Piping Bags
• Food Colors
• My Favorite Cookie Making/Baking tools
• Favorite Decorating Tools
• Favorite Cookie Cutters

USEFUL TUTORIALS :

• Royal Icing FAQ – covers wider range of topics, from coloring, troubleshooting, tips and tricks on drying, bubbles, bleeding and more
• Freezing Royal Icing
• Small Batch Royal Icing
• Royal Icing Consistency
• Fresh Strawberry Royal Icing

PIN IT for later

I updated this post from 2010 with new photos, written text and new recipes.

This post contains affiliate links that earn me a small commission, at no cost to you. I only recommend products that I use and love. Learn more about my affiliate policyhere.