A few things learnt about icings

 
Christmas cookies with royal icing
 

I am not sure how much I experimented during the last few days! I had to work a little to find the right consistency of royal icing to decorate my Christmas cookies :)

But let's go in order. I was a bit frustrated with my decorations with royal icing. I could not distribute it evenly on the pastry and get a nice smooth surface. So, browsing the web, I discovered Wimiblog that explains how a royal icing of various textures can be made. I invite you to read his article which is very explanatory, but, in essence, these are the options for decorating the cookies:

1.If you just want to cover the cookies

This is the case when you simply want to glaze the surface or, perhaps, have a base on which to decorate further. You will need a fluid icing that does not retain the shape of the spout of the pastry bag. A glaze of this type is obtained with the following doses:

  • 330 g of powdered sugar

  • 2 egg whites

  • 2 teaspoons of lemon juice

  • 3 teaspoons of water

2.If you want drawings in relief

Typical are the drawings on gingerbread men or gingerbread houses :) In this case, remove the three teaspoons of water from the icing dose. The icing of this consistency is suitable for drawing, but not for covering the surface of cookies (trust me! :)).

3.If you want even more "firmness"!

There is also an even thicker royal icing, used to create decorations such as flowers, leaves ... The percentage of icing sugar is even higher and allows for a firm icing, suitable for 3D edible ornaments. I haven't tried it yet, but ... who knows!

Last note on icing processing

Contrary to what I thought at the beginning, royal icing does not follow the principles of meringues. Of course, the ingredients and processing are in common, but, if the meringue is made stable by the incorporation of the right amount of air (it is a colloidal system :)), the firmness of the royal icing is mainly linked to the percentage of powdered sugar. Indeed, incorporating too much air into the royal icing can compromise its success. In short, the icing should not be whipped too much.