i am having a hard time mastering royal icing. i have been decorating for awhile and havent used it much, mostly cuz when i have tried i cant get the right consistancy and it never dries hard..... any tips. i just tried wilton royal icing the other day, and it was super thick and hard to pipe and never dried hard.......what am i doing wrong? thanks in advance!

Never dries hard? Where are you - in a tropical area? Try putting a half teaspoon full of cream of tarter in your recipe and see if that helps. If you're piping off of the cake (lace or a royal plaque) put the plaque in your oven with the oven OFF, then just turn the oven light on and leave the light on with the plaque in the oven over night. That little amount of heat will dry it hard as a rock by morning. If you're piping royal over buttercream, the royal is absorbing the oil in the buttercream and can't turn hard. If you're piping royal over fondant and it won't harden....................??????? I don't have a clue. You could try making royal with one egg white, a half teaspoon of cream of tarter and powdered sugar.

I use Antonia74's royal icing recipe which is here in the Recipes section. It's easy, and has a great consistency and I've never not had it dry hard. It's the one I use when making sugar cookies.

What recipe are you using? How long are you mixing it for?

i am using the wiltons box royal icing mix. i wanted to get a feel for royal icing and then find a recipe....... maybe i use to much liquid...., but its so hard to pipe, so that makes me feel like i dont have enough liquid. the piping doesnt seem to hold its form. i think im gunna forget hte wilton stuff and use the recipe that has been suggested....

save your money and just make it. The royal mix is a royal pain!!! Use 1lb powdered sugar, add 3 tbsp of meringue powder then 5 tbsp water, mix until it is white, peaky and not glossy, about 8-10 min.

I bought the mix but never tried it. I figured it was alot like the mix they include in the gingerbread houses that always is too soft for me.

I agree with sweetcakes, I use Wilton's recipe and make it myself. Some times you have to adjust the water in the recipe, depending on what the weather is like. It should never be too stiff to pipe with, but you do need it to hold it's peak (think about meringues).

Make sure your bowl and such are grease free. For me if I am using the hand mixer I always have to go the full 10 mins, with a stand mixer I can usually go the 7 to 8, but 9 times out of 10 just set the timer for 10.