Whether you are trying to create butter cream or royal icing, you are plunging into one of the most popular areas of recipes for icing as they can be used for decorating cakes as well as other baked items easily.
When you know the recipes for icing, you can make almost any of the common cake decorations like flowers, scrolls or borders. Of course, you could also cover the cake with icing.
If you wonder what the important points of difference are, between these two types of recipes for icing, royal icing is considered better than butter cream when you want to create floral designs or give your icing a lace or filigree effect.
The decorations made with royal icing can also be stored in airtight containers in your refrigerator for weeks. One of the safest ways to practice any recipe for icing is to first do it on cookie sheets before trying them on cakes. Before starting to decorate the cake, make sure that the cake is cool enough and there are no crumbs – for cakes such as wedding cakes and Christmas cakes it is a good idea to first cover the cake with marzipan, thus making a smooth, even and solid base for the royal icing to sit on..
The recipe icing for royal icing which makes 7 cups, considered to be enough for applying 3 layers to a 7" cake is as follows.
4 egg whites,
½ tsp. lemon juice,
2 lbs. confectioner's sugar (Icing sugar, powdered sugar) Sifted
(Optional is 2 tsp. glycerin).
Start with a large bowl and an electric whisk on low; Combine the egg whites with lemon juice. Continue gradually adding small amounts of confectioner's sugar until it is completely smooth and forms a peak easily. At this point (it is up to you) you may add glycerin at this stage, if using to frost a cake. This makes cutting through easier.
The icing can be made thinner by adding additional egg white.
Similarly, you can make it thicker by adding more confectioners' sugar.
When using, you need to cover the icing with plastic wrap.
This helps it to dry quickly. Use only a small portion at a time.
Image taken on 2010-06-26 14:59:13 by ComùnicaTI.
