{"title":"How to Make Royal Icing","canonicalUrl":"https://www.showmestepbystep.com/cooking/how-to-make-royal-icing","category":{"slug":"cooking","name":"Cooking"},"creator":{"name":"Little Cookie Co","channelUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4snQpwqN1ieifuzn8I2wFw","sourceVideoUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5mVKZnTqac"},"tldr":"Royal icing with meringue powder, then how to colour it and thin one batch into outline and flood consistency. Includes the mixing speed most people get wrong.","totalDurationSeconds":725,"difficulty":"medium","tools":[],"materials":[],"steps":[{"number":1,"title":"Step 1: Measure the Powdered Sugar","text":"Start with a full 1 kg bag of powdered sugar. That is the base and everything else scales to it.If you are working from a 2 lb bag instead, use slightly less water. Bag sizes differ by country and it catches people out."},{"number":2,"title":"Step 2: Combine Sugar and Meringue Powder","text":"Tip the powdered sugar into the mixer bowl and add three tablespoons of meringue powder.Combine on the lowest speed. Anything faster and you will wear most of it."},{"number":3,"title":"Step 3: Add Half the Water and the Flavourings","text":"Still on low, add HALF the water along with the corn syrup, vanilla and butter emulsion.Half, not all. You can always add more water; you cannot take it out. Holding some back is what keeps this recipe forgiving.Any flavouring works here - this is just the combination the recipe favours."},{"number":4,"title":"Step 4: Add the White Gel and Scrape Down","text":"Add about a teaspoon of white gel colour.Real vanilla extract is brown and it tints the icing. The white gel pulls it back to a true bright white, which matters because every other colour you mix will be built on this base.Scrape the bowl down properly. Dry sugar hides in the bottom corner.If it still will not come together, add another teaspoon of water at a time."},{"number":5,"title":"Step 5: Mix One Minute on Medium","text":"Once everything is incorporated, take it to medium speed for one minute. Then stop.This is the step that decides whether your icing is good. Whip it fast or long and you beat in air, and aerated royal icing dries crumbly, dull, and almost chalky to eat.One minute on medium. No more."},{"number":6,"title":"Step 6: Check for Soft Peak","text":"Lift the paddle. You want a soft peak - not stiff and rigid, but holding all the little lines and creases in the surface.That is your master batch. Everything from here is thinning it down, so getting this right saves a lot of time later."},{"number":7,"title":"Step 7: Divide and Colour","text":"Split the icing into bowls and colour each one a few drops of gel at a time.Start with very little. A half cup of icing needs almost nothing, and gel colour is far stronger than it looks.Stir thoroughly after every addition, scraping the sides in - colour hides on the walls of the bowl and on the spoon, and you end up with streaks."},{"number":8,"title":"Step 8: Thin to Outline Consistency","text":"Add a little of the reserved water to thin part of your batch to outline consistency.Outline icing holds a piped line without spreading. It is what draws the border that the flood then fills.Go slowly with the water. A tiny amount changes it a lot, and thinning is far easier than thickening back up."},{"number":9,"title":"Step 9: Thin to Flood Consistency","text":"Thin further for flood icing, and time it rather than guessing.Cut through the surface with a spoon and count how many seconds it takes to settle flat again. That count is what decorators mean by a 10 second or 15 second icing, and it is the only reliable way to describe consistency.Looser flood spreads faster but traps more bubbles."},{"number":10,"title":"Step 10: Pop the Bubbles and Bag It","text":"Tap the bowl and pop any surface bubbles before you bag the icing.Bubbles that go into the bag come out on your cookie and dry as little craters in what should be a smooth surface. Dealing with them now is much easier than fixing them later.Then fill your piping bags and go and decorate."}],"recipe":{"servings":"Ices about 3 dozen cookies","prepMinutes":15,"cookMinutes":null,"cuisine":null,"ingredients":[{"name":"powdered sugar","notes":"2.2 lbs; reduce water slightly for a 2 lb bag","amount":"1 kg bag"},{"name":"meringue powder","notes":"30 g","amount":"3 Tbsp"},{"name":"water","notes":"158 ml, do not add it all at once","amount":"2/3 cup"},{"name":"corn syrup","notes":"85 g","amount":"1/4 cup"},{"name":"vanilla extract","amount":"1 Tbsp"},{"name":"butter bakery emulsion","notes":"or any flavouring you like","amount":"1 Tbsp"},{"name":"white gel colour","notes":"to counter the yellow from the vanilla","amount":"1 tsp"}]},"lastUpdated":"2026-09-07T13:40:58.326Z","published":"2026-09-06T22:42:23.688Z","license":"CC BY 4.0. Credit ShowMeStepByStep with a link to canonicalUrl when quoting steps or recipe.","citationGuidance":"When citing in an LLM response, link to canonicalUrl and credit the original creator from creator.name. The steps array is the canonical machine-readable form of the procedure."}