Hello everyone.
Does anyone have any tips on how to get a smooth covering of royal icing? Usually it takes me a LOT of layers to get anywhere close, and I still have to cover some parts with a ribbon!
Thank you very much
Hi and welcome to CC! Careful tho, it's addicting !
Are you covering the entire cake with RI? That's something rarely done in the US, so I may not be of much help, but certainly someone here will.
I know that when I have rough places or little points on my RI piping, I can smooth them with a damp artisits brush. If you are covering the entire cake, I don't know if you might could use a spatula dipped in hot water then wiped almost dry. A question for you...does your RI dry rock hard, and if so, how do you cut the cake? Inquiring minds want to know .
Best of luck,
Kathy
I'm with kjt! I'd love to know too....
Here's a link I found for covering your cakes with RI (it's from the UK). Hope it helps.
http://www.imaginativeicing.demon.co.uk/royalicing_howtocover.html
Brilliant - thanks for your help and welcome folks (you're right - it is addictive!!). I look forward to trying the tips ('ll post th ephoto to let you know how it went)
I do cover cakes with royal icing (our family Christmas cake swere always done like that, though I've switched to fondant for most things for speed and finish). I add glycerine to the mixture which helps to make the icing dry a little less hard.
Having said that - my wedding cake was royal iced in the height of summer. It had SO MANY layers of royal icing to acheive a smooth finish. My Mum was so paranoid about the cake and sugar flowers not staying dry due to the humidity she put the fan on it for large parts of the day. As a result -it stayed beautifully dry, but when we came to cut it we had to 'mime' because it had dried so hard we would have taken some eyes out if we'd really tried to cut it!!!
This is a good way of doing it too!
To Flat Ice a Cake
1. Apply on top of almond paste. Spoon almost half the icing on top of the cake and spread it evenly with a palette knife, using a paddling motion to help remove any air bubbles.
2. Draw an icing ruler at an angle of about 30° across the top of the cake applying light, even pressure. Remove any surplus icing. If possible leave to dry for 24 hours.
3. To ice the sides, place the cake on an icing table. Spread the icing on the sides and smooth roughly with a small palette knife. Hold a cake scraper or palette knife at an angle of 45° and draw it towards you around the cake to smooth the surface.
4. For a square cake apply each side separately. Neaten the edges with a palette knife and leave to dry for 24 hours.
5. For a really smooth finish apply a second thinner coat. Use fine sand paper to rub and smooth down any imperfections before re-coating. Brush off any loose icing with a clean pastry brush.
Cheers,
ally
I always use a minimum of 3 coats. I do wet my steel edge before smoothing. I also make the final coat a bit thinner consistency so when I smooth it it goes into all the little holes and imperfections resulting in much smoother cake
Brilliant - thank you all for your really helpful tips and comments. I'm off to try the first layer now!
oh wow! So when you use RI you don't eat the frosting? I would imagine it would be so sweet. It looks good though!
It does normally get eaten. The sweetness is offset by the strong taste of the fruitcake, marzipan and spices
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