Royal Icing Transfer (Rit) Pictorial!
Decorating By cakehelp Updated 18 Jan 2015 , 11:53pm by PattyCakes4All
this is so awesome! would you mind sharing what RI recipe you used? thanks!
aundrea, I try to do them as far in advance as I possibly can. They last for months if you keep them out of the sunlight (in sunlight the colors will fade). I always do fondant cakes, so I know that will hold up without problems. Nothing happens to it on there. With BC I'm not sure how long it would hold up. I guess at some point the grease will make the colors bleed? Maybe someone else can help you.
AKA_cupcakeshoppe, I use meringue powder instead of real egg whites because it makes the RI "better" so that the colors won't bleed into each other as much. Where I live we go by the metric system, and my tbsp is 15 ml (I think it is the same as yours, at least it is the same as some american tbsp that is part of a measuring cup set I have). My recepie is as follows:
2.5 tbsp meringue powder
5 tbsp hot water
mix slowly, carfully with something other than a whisk, I use a fork. The more air you get into it the more fragile it gets and the easier your RIT's will break when handling them (turning and so on).
add 500 grams powdered sugar
mix on slow speed in a kitchen aid type mixer with the paddle attachment for about 10 minutes.
Thats all! I used to store the whole batch in an airtight container, but now i take 5-7 pieces of plastic wrap (cling wrap, saran wrap ?) and put a bit on each and wrap it up. That way I don't have to open up the container each time. Since I make one color at a time and flood, and then move on to the next, I just take from one of my plastic balls a little at the time and when it is finished I move on to the next one. This way my RI stays soft and nice.
Good luck with your projects 
I use & love Antonia74's RI. So, as an experiment I plopped & spread a blob of RI & crusting buttercream onto some wax paper. I let the RI dry completely then put a little RI on the back of the blob & put it on top of the crusted buttercream. I sat it on my counter for 3 1/2 days to see if it would hold up. (I did this as an experiment b/c I was wanting to use it on a cake this week, but went w/ a FBCT instead---just in case). So, after 3 1/2 days it was still fine. No bleeding, no softening, I peeled the RI off (buttercream stuck to it) but it held up just fine. It was still hardened & not affected. So, I hope that answers some questions that have been asked.
This is great!! thank you for share it!! 
I would love to try this for an upcoming Strawberry Shortcake cake that I'll be doing. If I lay the RIT on buttercream would I remove it before cutting and serving the cake?
hey cakehelp, i could really use your help right about now.
im making the smurf, and i just finished outlining in black. my lines are horrible. ugh-frustrating. ill let it harden before i start with the other colors. my first question is: was i suppose to put something on the plastic prior to applying the royal icing? shortening??or cornstarch??
also, once you start filing in the other colors-do i need to re-do the black lines?
you make it look sooooooooooooo easy!
hey cakehelp, i could really use your help right about now.
im making the smurf, and i just finished outlining in black. my lines are horrible. ugh-frustrating. ill let it harden before i start with the other colors. my first question is: was i suppose to put something on the plastic prior to applying the royal icing? shortening??or cornstarch??
also, once you start filing in the other colors-do i need to re-do the black lines?
you make it look sooooooooooooo easy!
audrea, I'm sure it's not as bad as you think. I often think my lines are crooked, hand shaking and so on, but it's less noticable when the whole thing is done. And when you are not looking at it from like 1 inch away It's when you are making it that you see every little flaw. The people who will eat the cake will not notice.
I put nothing on the plastic wrap, just pipe directly onto it. It needs to stick a little otherwise you would not be able to trace the lines.
I usually don't redo the black. When you flood with the other colors your black lines will be partially covered, which also helps with the crookedness. The flooding RI will automatically run out to a smoother line than the one you first draw with the black. When the whole thing is finished later, and dried, if you feel like the lines are very bad I guess you could try to do them over on top of the dried RI, but then your outline will be more noticable (since it is a little higher than the rest)
Hope I could help you some... you could post a pic of what it looks like if you want more specific help. Anyway, I'm sure it is just fine Post a pic of the finished smurf here when it's dried, I'd love to see it! Good Luck!
thanks for replying. i made a total of 4. and of that only 1 is left. but i didnt have yellow color so im not thrilled with her hair. but that is the least of my problems.
i cant seem to get the transfer off of the plastic. three have crumbled. meaning as i tried to get the transfer off it imploaded onto it self.
this is my last one. its way to late to start over. i am thinking maybe just cut around the plastic with exacto knife and place it on a piece of fondant.
but i dont think i can move the piece without it doing the same as the others.
i know this is my first time and with more practice it should get easier.
i really, really want to learn how to make these.
your instructions are great-im just having some major problems.
can you come here and do my smurf transfer??? LOL
thanks for replying. i made a total of 4. and of that only 1 is left. but i didnt have yellow color so im not thrilled with her hair. but that is the least of my problems.
i cant seem to get the transfer off of the plastic. three have crumbled. meaning as i tried to get the transfer off it imploaded onto it self.
this is my last one. its way to late to start over. i am thinking maybe just cut around the plastic with exacto knife and place it on a piece of fondant.
but i dont think i can move the piece without it doing the same as the others.
i know this is my first time and with more practice it should get easier.
i really, really want to learn how to make these.
your instructions are great-im just having some major problems.
can you come here and do my smurf transfer??? LOL
I'm sorry to hear about your problems. When it imploded, had it dried completely? Maybe you tried to remove it from the plastic too soon? When you take the plastic off, the whole piece have to have dried completely or else you will not get it off the plastic. I let mine dry for at least 24 hours, unless they are really, really small.
If you are worried about breaking the last one, I think you can do what you described, leave the plastic on. I would put it on a piece of cardboard or something harder than fondant, maybe gumpaste. You cannot move it until it is completely dry. This is the most difficult part I think, leaving the transfers to dry for 24+ hours in my house without anyone bumping into them... 
And, yes, it is your first try. You learn something every time. I learned last week not to flood the back with red RI (duh, I should have seen that one coming). I was tired and had left over red RI and thought "Hey, why not make the back of McQueen red. That will also look neat on the cake if someone looks at the back..." So I piped the back and rushed off to work. When I get home I find a very sorry looking car. McQueen with a really bad hang over The red had bled into all white areas on him... Luckily I had made 2 and only done the back of the one, so it was no big deal.
I'd love to come and visit you by the way I sooo need a vacation right now! If you pay for my flight and let me crash on your couch I can make you a buch of smurfs 
Just send the plane ticket!
I wish you better luck next time!
/Sara
I would love to try this for an upcoming Strawberry Shortcake cake that I'll be doing. If I lay the RIT on buttercream would I remove it before cutting and serving the cake?
If you just lay it ontop of the cake (not standing up) you will not be able to remove it without breaking it into many pieces. I would cut right through it. It's very thin, it won't be hard to cut through. If you fill in the back you will have a much stronger transfer, and then I think I would pick it off before cutting. Although I never do the back when I lay them on top of the cake.
/Sara
i agree i think ill have to cut around it and place on gumpaste and/or fondant. i definately didnt let them dry long enough....big oh DUH on me!!
im tired and rushing gets you nowhere fast.
i cant thank you enough for taking the time to guide me thru the RIT process. next time i will be better prepared.
sorry to hear about your car's hangover..hehe.
im in need of a vaca...so you come here and make my RIT and ill go there and chill.......sounds good to me!!
thanks again-and ill post a pic when completed.
i got the smurf on the cake!! I did what i said and cut around the plastic and layed it on a piece of 50/50. she did crack and i try to fix the cracks but made it worse. at least the smurf(ette) is on.
NOT AT ALL the way the cake was suppose to look, but after mmmmmm
9 hours working on this cake-ill take it.
why couldnt a 15year old want something that is more available.
geeze.....LOL.
thank-you, thank-you, thank-you sara. next time i will plan better!!
Just wanted to add my thanks for the time and effort it took for you to do this. I love RIT and am always trying to encourage people to do them, the possibilities are endless, but no way could I do a tutorial like this, you've explained everything very clearly and your pictures are wonderful! I saved the entire set of directions to powerpoint and will not only refer to them myself but will share with others! So thanks again for doing it in the first place and then posting them again after they were removed, definately needs to be added to the tutorial/articles sections! Andrea
Is it best to do the outline in black or can it be done in white as well?
Is it best to do the outline in black or can it be done in white as well?
When I do cartoon characters (which is what I usually do) I do a black outline. But you can do any color. I have seen some RIT on CC that had the same color outline as the flood color. That looked really good, I think it was a pregnant lady. If you do same color as you fill with you don't have to wait so long for the outline to dry either since you don't have to worry about the bleeding. With white I guess you have the same issue as the black but reversed, that the other colors might bleed into the white.
/Sara
Just wanted to add my thanks for the time and effort it took for you to do this. I love RIT and am always trying to encourage people to do them, the possibilities are endless, but no way could I do a tutorial like this, you've explained everything very clearly and your pictures are wonderful!
I saved the entire set of directions to powerpoint and will not only refer to them myself but will share with others! So thanks again for doing it in the first place and then posting them again after they were removed, definately needs to be added to the tutorial/articles sections! Andrea
Thanks! Wow, you made a powerpoint of it Well, have fun with it! I'm just happy that people like this. Transfers is the only hope for me since I'm hopeless with fondant modeling... can't make an animal that looks proportional to save my life. I did do Bob the Builder for my nephew many, many years ago when he turned two, and one kid at the party said "Is that Bob? Bob is not that fat!" I thought it was funny, my Bob was really fat. The kid's mom was very embaressed, poor thing. She kept telling me how wonderful the cake was
/Sara
i got the smurf on the cake!! I did what i said and cut around the plastic and layed it on a piece of 50/50. she did crack and i try to fix the cracks but made it worse. at least the smurf(ette) is on.
NOT AT ALL the way the cake was suppose to look, but after mmmmmm
9 hours working on this cake-ill take it.
why couldnt a 15year old want something that is more available.
geeze.....LOL.
thank-you, thank-you, thank-you sara. next time i will plan better!!
Oh, your welcome! I'm happy you got the smurf on the cake anyway, but I know the feeling when it doesn't turn out the way you pictured it. I love the idea of a smurfette cake though I might have to try that some day.
/Sara
hi sara, i just got back from the birthday party. the birthday girl loved the cake. felt bad that it wasnt the original cake she wanted but it tasted good.
i just wanted to thank-you again for all your help. and i will definately be trying RIT in the future. im gonna try and attach a pic here. if not you can see it in my photos.
thanks again,
darlene
hi sara, i just got back from the birthday party. the birthday girl loved the cake. felt bad that it wasnt the original cake she wanted but it tasted good.
i just wanted to thank-you again for all your help. and i will definately be trying RIT in the future. im gonna try and attach a pic here. if not you can see it in my photos.
thanks again,
darlene
Your smurf looks perfect! Like I told you, the flaws you see when you make it is not noticable when it is finished and on the cake. I'm sorry for your trouble with the cake, but of course the birthday girl loved it, how could she not
/Sara
Thank you for sharing this great tutorial. I can't wait to try it!
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