Perfect for finishing off your home made Christmas Cake, Royal Icing offers a traditional method that can be adjusted to suit your desired finish. You can opt for the old style festive look or go for a more modern approach.
Preparation: 15 mins
Resting Time: ideally 24 hours
Ingredients
As a guide, the ingredients below will cover the top and sides of a 9 inch cake with 2 inch deep sides. Adjust to suit the size of your cake.
- 5 Medium or 4 Large Egg Whites
- 1 kg Icing Sugar
- 1 tbsp Lemon Juice
- 2 tsp Glycerine
Method
- Separate the egg whites from the yolk ensuring there is no egg shell
- Whisk the egg whites in a large bowl until frothy
- Sift the icing sugar into a separate bowl
- Add the icing sugar a little at a time into the bowl containing the egg whites and beat thoroughly with a wooden spoon
- Add the lemon juice when half the icing sugar has been added and beat well
- Continue to add the remaining icing sugar slowly, beating as you do until the mixture starts to form ‘peaks’ as you draw it upwards
- Stir in the glycerine which makes the icing softer
- Cover your bowl with clingfilm and leave the icing to rest for 24 hours at an average room temperature
- When you are ready to use, work the icing through before applying to the cake
- Spread the icing over the top and sides of the cake
- Leave to set before adding any piped decoration