HI all,
This is my first post here, though I have been reading avidly for a while!

I am very new to cake decorating, despite wanting to try it for many years. I would like to make my own royal icing and have found info in an old book that says to only use "pure" icing sugar that contains no added starches (cornflour etc) as these soften the icing and it will not set properly and piped work could subside and lose its shape.
As I am in New Zealand I realise that I will not be able to buy US brands, but I would like to know if there is any way to get around this problem as I have been unable to source any "pure" icing sugar.
I have also purchased a "Royal Icing" - just add water mix, that also contains starches, so I am really confused!!!
Any help would be very gratefully received.
Many thanks in advance.
Kind Regards

Terry

Meh. Pure, shmure. I make my royal with egg whites (fresh or carton) and plain old powdered sugar (IDK what you have over there but ours commonly has cornstarch in it but not that much) mixed with the paddle on low, measurements to consistency.

Perhaps if you are doing a lot of extension work (and I don't mean overpiping but that hard core extension work you guys are known for) then the pure sugar matters.

Hi KoryAK,
Many thanks for the quick reply! LOL I doubt I will be trying that "hardcore extension work" for quite a while! I have only iced 2 cakes in my life so extension work is not on the immediate horizon.

I will give my usual icing sugar a go and see what happens!
Thanks again.
Cheers
Terry

Hi,
I am in Australia and for years have bought an icing sugar mixture that has cornstarch in it. Have used it to make royal icing with no problems so I don't think you'll have any probs. Good luck

Hi,
I am in Australia and for years have bought an icing sugar mixture that has cornstarch in it. Have used it to make royal icing with no problems so I don't think you'll have any probs. Good luck

Pure icing sugar in Australia is just labelled icing sugar. Added cornflour is labelled icing mixture. It's probably the same where you are.

As the others have said, though, cornflour is fine for what you're probably wanting to do. Plus, it's so much easier to sift!

Many thanks for the additional replies, very helpful! I was worried that I was about to hit a wall before I even got started with cake decorating LOL.

The actual Royal Icing mix I bought was "Queen" brand, which is made in Australia. The "regular" icing sugar I have is NZ made by Chelsea.
Can fondant be made with my regular icing sugar?