I am not getting along with royal icing! I looked so forward to working with it but for some reaseon it is making my flowers mushy looking when I make them. I do not know what I am doing wrong any suggestions?

If they're mushy looking, it may not be thick enough for it to hold it's shape .. maybe trying adding some confectioner's sugar to it for a thick consistency .. that may help some

If it is really humid, you may not be successful at all. Wait for a drier day. Also, make sure that you have either put all your utensils through the dishwasher or rinsed them with vinegar. ALso, don't use anything plastic to store it in. Use glass only.

It can be very frustrating working with royal icing but you will love it once you get the stuff to the right consistency.

Good Luck! Cyndi

I didn't think the humidity was too bad today Everything has been cleaned in the dishwasher I only used glass and aluminum bowls It still was a flop. Next time I will try adding the powdered sugar I did not think of that. What really bites is I needed these flowers to put on my cake in class Tues. Night. I am soo disgusted with them!

I know how you feel!! I ended up remaking all those flowers the day of class. I definitely had a consistency problem... and even when I thought it was stiff enough.. I made it stiffer because they kept melting on me.

Add the sugar and I bet it will work for you! good luck!

Are you mixing your royal icing long enough? It starts out shiny and when gets a dull/matte finish it is ready to pipe or to be thinned for cookies etc. that may take up to 15 minutes. lp

When I did that Wilton class (with my daughter) we both ended up taking one whole Saturday before the Sunday class making our flowers. When we tried doing them in class there was a terrible storm and nobody's icing was working. So I know how you feel. I was so frustrated that I thought I would never use RI again. But I have, and I like.

You can also use some cornstarch. I don't know if it makes any difference, but our instructor told us to use it to thicken.

betycrker is that your real name or just a screen name? My mother knows a Betty Crocker.

Hey!! I went from a newbie to a Junior member. lol Does that make me an addict?

thats funny I am now a regular member

How do you become a Jr or Regular member? Nah, Bety is just my screen name. I'm just plain ole Lori

betycrke just wondered. And I wouldn't say just plain ole Lori. Are any of us plain? After all, we are CC addicts!

As for the JR or Regular member thing I think it must do with postings. But since I am still relatively new, I am not sure.

I just did my first experiment with Royal yesterday as a matter of fact. It does take a while to beat to lose the gloss. My consistency wasn't quite what it should have been so I ended up having to add powdered sugar. (Mental Note: always start with the lower amount of water in the recipe. I used Wilton's recipe.) Once I got the right consistency, I liked it.

I did end up getting it where I think it should be to do drop flowers. They actually look like flowers lol! My cake is baking and my raspberry filling chilling, so hopefully later this PM I can post the results.

In England we use Royal Icing a lot. Most of our wedding cakes ect. seem to be fruit cake covered with marzipan, then either royal icing or sugar paste. When you mix royal icing it has to be done by feel and looks. You will never use exactly the same amount of sugar twice. Start off by putting your egg white or your water and egg white substitute in your bowl. Add your icing sugar gradually beating really well in between each addition. As you get towards the right consistency the mixture will be stiff when you first put the sugar in then slackens as you continue to beat. The way to tell if the mixture is the right consistency to pipe is to press a teaspoon into the icing and pull it up sharply. A peak will be formed. The peak should hold it's shape for a second or two then just the very tip should fall over slightly. Gradually you get to know the feel of the icing and will be able to tell if it's ready. A good tip to dry flowers ect quickly is to put them on a tray in front of a low fire for 10 minutes os so until they crust over then put them in a dry warm place to dry overnight. Run outs made from royal icing should be dried under a reading lamp which gives them a wonderful gloss.

I used the bag of Wiltons mix where you add 5 tablespoons. I am just going to put those ugly flowers on my cake I guess I do not have any more royal icing at the house to retry

The recipe I use is 1 teaspoon meri-white (egg white substitute) 1 1/2 tablespoons water and 4-8 oz of icing sugar (it can vary that much). If you want to make it the old fashioned way use 1 egg white and 1- 1 1/2 lbs of icing sugar

I can really make royal icing with egg whites and powdered sugar?

Yes thats the traditional way to make it.
You put the egg white in a bowl and whisk it sightly then add the icing sugar (which I believe you call confectioners sugar) a bit at a time beating well in between each addition. If you are coating a cake with this you can add glycerine to the mix wich prevents the icing from setting hard thus making it easier to cut but don't add the glycerine if making flowers or run outs as on this occasion you do need the icing to set solid.