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Camping out with drop flowers

post #1 of 12
7/25/05 at 2:37pm
Thread Starter 
Hi,

I attempted drop flowers with of course Royal icing for the very first time. I didn't realize I was in for a long ride over the weekend. I started about 1:00pm with 1 lb sugar using Wilton recipe for royal icing. I finished making all the drop flowers about 2:00pm. They we're really bad. I tried air drying them so the following day I checked them and they were still moist. Around 6:00pm the following day they are just starting to dry out a bit, soft to the touch but does not stick to hand. I got really desperate and so I lit my oven (gas) and heat it up a bit, then took it off, put the flowers in there and after about an hour they were much drier. Unbelievable. So I repeated the oven drying thing and low an behold, I could finally remove them from the parchment paper (I didn't have wax paper).

My question is: is the royal icing suppose to take so long to dry out? Also when I was removing from the parchment paper they would kinda crumble, but I still manage to save half the batch.

All your comments are appreciated, please.
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post #2 of 12
7/25/05 at 2:43pm
there may have been too much water in the royal icing, when I have problems it is usually because of that. My flowers are dry to the touch within a couple hours, and I take them off the paper the next day
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post #3 of 12
7/25/05 at 2:44pm
citrusgirl,
I've never had that problem...how much water did you add...do you have really high humidity?
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post #4 of 12
7/25/05 at 2:48pm
Thread Starter 
We have extremely high humidity, but I thought I'd follow the icing recipe to the end just to avoid making any mistakes. If I remember correctly the recipe is 1lb conf. sugar, 3 tablespoon meringue powder and 6 tablespoon water.

citrusgirl
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post #5 of 12
7/25/05 at 2:55pm
Citrusgirl,

I live in Florida and extremely high humidity. I find when using royal icing 5Tbsp of water is plenty. I also have to wait 24-48 hours before they are dry enough to take of wax paper. Next time try less water I start with 4Tbsp and add the 5th if I need it...Hope this helps
Denise
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post #6 of 12
7/25/05 at 2:56pm
That's exactly how I make it too...wow! I can't believe it took so long to dry! Also....I've done them on both parchment paper and waxed paper....seems to work the same either way....I wonder if you should cut down the amount of water you add....Did you mix it for the full recommended time?
"A person is limited only by the thoughts that he chooses." -James Allen
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post #7 of 12
7/25/05 at 3:03pm
Thread Starter 
Thank you all for your responses.

I'll cut down on the water and I'll let you know what happens this weekend! Thank you again.
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post #8 of 12
7/25/05 at 3:03pm
Did you use a bag that was used for buttercream? I heard that the grease residue from the buttercream can mix with the royal icing and cause them to be hard to set. If you use the same bag, my instructor recommends washing it at least 2 times in HOT soapy water.

Joe
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post #9 of 12
7/25/05 at 3:07pm
Thread Starter 
dragonwarlord1969,

I read somewhere about that same information about the grease before, so that is why I used parchment paper. Also because I was doing a little of each color, I manage to save like about 25 of each of the four colours and two from the burgundy. icon_cry.gif
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post #10 of 12
7/25/05 at 3:26pm
Hi Citrusgirl,

It sound slike you used a little too much water to me. I was just throwing the reused bag theory out in case that was it.

Joe
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post #11 of 12
7/25/05 at 3:35pm
Thread Starter 
dragonwarlord1969,

I read somewhere about that same information about the grease before, so that is why I used parchment paper. Also because I was doing a little of each color, I manage to save like about 25 of each of the four colours and two from the burgundy. icon_cry.gif
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post #12 of 12
7/25/05 at 3:55pm
Hi Citrus girl,
I have either read or heard from an instructor (can't remember) that you could POSSIBLY place them in an oven on warm. Don't remember for how long though. I guess if you kept a close eye icon_eek.gif on them, you would be safe. I have never tried this but maybe some of the other ladies may have heard this too and actually have experimented.

I have had trouble with lilies taking a long time to dry, but drop flowers usually tend to dry quickly. I am in the south, so it is humid here too. (probably not as humid as where you are). Maybe if you could find a cool dry place, I dry mine in my spare bedroom closet in a cake box. Humidity is a crazy thing. I hope you figure out a way to make it work for you.

Sorry you had a troubling experience.
Leslie icon_smile.gif
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