Royal Icing Recipe

Ingredients

1 cup of meringue powder (recommend Genie’s Dream and Royal Batch)

2 cups water

6 pounds powdered sugar

3 Tablespoons vanilla extract (vanilla bean paste is even better)

1/4 cup corn syrup (adds sheen and prevents “crunchy” icing)

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons white gel food coloring (optional but vanilla makes icing off-white)

Instructions

*Even a trace amounts of oil will ruin your royal icing, so make sure all equipment and tools are free of it. Dawn direct foam is the best at removing trace amounts of oils.

Whisk meringue powder with water until frothy. On low speed with the paddle attachment of your mixer, slowly add in 2 lbs of powdered sugar. Mix 30 seconds. Add vanilla, corn syrup, salt, white gel food coloring until incorporated. Add the remaining 4 pounds of powdered sugar. Raise speed to medium and mix approximately 3-4 minutes until the icing turns white and has a smooth toothpaste-like consistency. Do not over-mix: the meringue will break down, it will resemble marshmallow fluff and will never dry. Icing will be extremely thick. Thin to desired consistency by spritzing with small amounts of water at a time to reach your desired consistencies, and add gel food coloring if desired. Do not use oil-based food color.

Lemon juice is wonderful at knocking down the outrageous sweetness of royal icing, so you can thin your icing using strained fresh lemon juice. Almond flavoring is a great addition as well.

Speaking of thinning - here’s some information on royal icing consistencies. Drag the tip of a butter knife through the surface of your icing and see how long it takes for the dent to disappear. The number of seconds it takes to smooth out is called the count.