Lesson 5 of 5 · Buttercream & Piping

Royal icing

  • Free video
  • Beginner
  • Frostings, Fillings & Icings
  • 18 min
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Video by JuliaMUsher on YouTube: “How to Make Royal Icing (Plus, Coloring and Consistency Adjustments)” Watch on YouTube ↗

What you'll learn

Lesson 5 of 5

Mix royal icing, color it and adjust its consistency for outlining, flooding and detail work on decorated cookies.

  • Royal icing dries hard and smooth
  • Consistency decides how it behaves
  • Cover it; it crusts quickly

Ingredients for this lesson

Madagascar Vanilla Extract, 4 oz BottleVanillaGoods$19.00
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Tahitian Vanilla Extract, 2 oz BottleVanillaGoods$16.00
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Lesson notes from VanillaGoods

Consistencies

  • Stiff: holds peaks, for flowers and fine details
  • Medium or outline: holds a line, for borders
  • Flood: a line drawn through it disappears in about 10–15 seconds, for filling cookies

Step by step

  • Beat powdered sugar with meringue powder (or egg whites) and water until thick and glossy
  • Color with gel food coloring; colors deepen as they dry
  • Thin portions with water a few drops at a time for each consistency
  • Keep bowls covered with a damp towel or plastic wrap

Watch for

Let flooded cookies dry 6–8 hours or overnight before stacking. A drop of vanilla or almond extract adds flavor; clear vanilla keeps white icing bright.

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Tools for this lesson

The equipment that makes this easier. VanillaGoods vanilla is always our own; these tools are from Amazon.

As an Amazon Associate, VanillaGoods earns from qualifying purchases. We only suggest tools that fit what you're learning.

Put it into practice

Bake along with a VanillaGoods recipe that uses this technique.

Find vanilla frosting recipes

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