Hi,

I thought royal icing is hard like a rock,at least thats what I think of when royal icing is on a cookie. How does one use royal icing to frost a cupcake? What makes one so hard and the other soft enough to use on cupcakes? Is there something you add to it to make it not hard or what?

Thanks

Mumu

Mumu:
There is something you add to make it soft…it isn’t soft-soft like buttercream…but not hard like what you put on a cookie.  I can’t remember off hand what it is…I have a recipe in Toba Garretts “The well decorated cake”
I think it is glycerine…but not 100% sure.  I will chek my book…but won’t be able to post the answer for sure until next week.  If anyone knows for sure what to add, and in what proportion…please chime in!  But I will post it for you next week.

Yes, page 16 of The Well-Decorated Cake mentions adding glycerine to help keep the interior soft, but the recipes listed on pages 138 and 139 don’t list how much glycerine to use (actually, they don’t list glycerine at all).

    “You can arrest the hard drying by stirring a little glycerine into the icing after it has been beaten. 
    The glycerine will allow the icing to dry on the outside yet remain soft on the inside.”

Patrincia:
Thanks for the posting…one less thing for my lazy self to do!

thanks for the help.  Many of the recipes I have that call for royal icing for cupcakes do not mention glycerin, would the topping still edible with out the glycerin? Would the texture be to hard to eat?

Mumu

MuMu—I just had a thought—are you sure that the cupcake recipes are calling for Royal Icing? Do they call it by name? It does seem like it would be very hard, and not the best choice for putting on top of a cupcake.

I am wondering if perhaps they are using a different frosting with similar ingredients. Looking at my cookbooks, I see that Royal Icing is basically a little bit of egg white and a lot of confectioners’ sugar, beaten together at room temperature. It’s used mostly for decorating because it is hard and not very tasty (other than being very sweet).

If you take more egg white, heat it a bit and beat it with confectioners’ sugar, you get a softer and more fluffy frosting. It’s often called “Seven-Minute Frosting.” That would be a much nicer topping for a cupcake!

If the recipe calls for egg whites, sugar, and butter, then it is a meringue-based buttercream. If the whites and sugar are heated and then beaten, it’s a Swiss Meringue Buttercream. (When you see someone on the forum using the abbreviation SMBC, that’s what they mean.) If the egg whites are beaten and then have very hot sugar syrup poured in, that’s an Italian Meringue Buttercream, or IMBC. Rose’s Mousseline Buttercream that everyone raves about is an Italian Meringue Buttercream. Either of those would also be great on a cupcake!

yes they call it by name royal icing. Ingr. 2 egg white,3 cups powder sugar,1/2 to 1 tablespoon vanilla, almond,or lemon juice,and 1/4 tsp. salt. Frost cakes or cupcakes etc.. Still wondering about the texture,how does this differ from the ones on cookies that dry hard.?

Thanks,
Mumu

MUMU:
  Good afternoon. Royal icing is “FLAT ICING” but with the addition of egg whites. This flat icing is one of the 6 icing choices for a baked product covering.
If you cannot secure Glycerine then just use less egg white in your recipe….it is okay to modify any recipe. Most likely the authors of most recipes cannot tell the differance between royal icing & Fondant anyway.
  Mumu, I hope this helps you to make a decision. Enjoy the rest of the day.

  ~FRESHKID.

so if I dont use glycerin am I right to think I will get a hard icing ? Would it be very hard to bite into or not ? Has anyone else tried royal icing to frost a cake or cupcakes?

Mumu

Mumu—

Yes, that recipe is approximately twice Rose’s recipe for Royal Icing (p. 294-296 in The Cake Bible, at least in the edition I have).  How is it mixed? Do you just mix everything together at room temperature?

You could always try making a small batch (say, about half the recipe) and see how it turns out. You could frost some small cupcakes—maybe spread it on thickly on some of them, thinly on others. If you don’t like the results, just scrape the icing off the cupcakes and frost them with something else instead.

Freshkid, did you take classes in baking once? Were you a professional chef? Where did you learn about the types of frostings and so forth? Is there a textbook you could recommend, or a Web site? I have no desire to take up a new career as a pastry chef but I’d love to learn more anyway.

Happy baking!

Royal icing is used a great deal to frost cakes in many countries outside the US.  A paper thin layer is applied over a marzipan base.  The royal icing dries very hard and gives a porcelain finish.

For what it’s worth, and I’m no expert, but I would never use Royal icing to frost cupcakes, I think it is far too hard.  I would probably use a water icing, just water, icing sugar(confectioner’s sugar) and flavouring and colouring if desired.  Hope this is of interest.

JEANNETTE:
  Good morning to you. I agree with your thoughts. What you described is a simple “DRIZZLE” That is what I employ on top of my fruit pies. Can be used on coffee cakes & coffee buns as well (But no colored flavorings other than a little vanilla extract….simply called VANILLA DRIZZLE).
  Enjoy the rest of the day young lady.

  ~FRESHKID.

BARBARA~A:
  Good afternoon. First off let me thank you for your interest in me. I have attended culinary college. I am a baking science student
I purchase books & read much about that subject. No Barbara, I am not nor was I ever a prof. baker. I am just a simple amatuer home baker. All this is just my hobby & my love & I do look forward in helping the forum members that ask for help & understanding of the “WHY” of their baking mishaps.

Barbara, I will post for your benefit 3, books I believe that would help you in understanding about baking science. Of course their are more books…but these three are a good beginning. I would try the used book stores in your home town browse around from time to time.

#1) Understanding Baking/J Amendola & Nicole Rees.  J.A. was a baking teacher for many years at the “CIA”
Ms. Rees is a prof baker & instructor as well as a recipe developer.

#2) Prof. Baking/Wayne Gisslen 2nd edition. There is a 3rd & 4th edition as well & I have all 3 copies. If you can get the 2nd edition
it is the same as the other two, less info on large bakeries which do not apply to us amatuer home bakers.

#3) Barbara, you may have this volume “COOKWISE” by Ms. Shirley Corriher. Of course there is much more to learn about baking science from Ms. Rose’s volumes as well but I think you may have those volumes.

  If you require more info on baking books,ete. post back. My pleasant moment with you has come to an end, I look forward in posting with you again soon. Enjoy the rest of the day young lady.
Barbara, GO TO:

http://members.nuvox.net/~zt.proicer/index.html

Then hit “ICING RECIPES”

~CASS

thanks every one. FRESHKID THANK YOU for the information on the books ,I too will find these helpful.

Mumu

Mr Freshkid,  Thankyou so much for the compliment in addressing me as “young lady”. If you only knew!!!