I am makinga birthday cake and part of the decorations are made iwht royal icing. I just tried to make some and it totally was one big ball of nothing. I know I did something dreadfully wrong. HELP!! I have never made this before but i know it is not supposed to turn into that!!

Heather

Which recipe are you trying to make?? I have made this one several times and found it easy to follow and make. I have used it to ice cookies, make letters, and do royal icing decorations. Just add more powdered sugar for thicker icing or water for thinner icing.

http://www.cakecentral.com/cake_recipe-1983-1-Royal-Icing-for-Decorated-Cookies.html

Hope that helps!

Was it crumbly? If so then you would need to add more water.

Was it really runny? More powder sugar or cornstratch whill help.

Royal icing can be moody. For me there isn't a set amount of water I use each time, it depends on the weather and the humidity every time.

problems of royal icing reminds me of a haiku about cats:

rule for today:
touch my tail, i scratch your hand.
new rule tomorrow.

If it went into a ball you just added to much sugar. Start with your water and meringue powder. Gradually beat the sugar in. Stop when it gets to the correct consistency. If it does get too thick just add a little water in