Is it possible to make royal icing w/out using meringue powder? I am doing a cake for my cousin's son who will be two on 2/20. The poor kids is allergic to everything....soy, wheat, dairy, eggs. I found an allergy free cake mix I can use by just adding oil, water, and vanilla. I was also planning on decorating it with MMF. He loves Blues Clues and I wanted to make Blue out of Royal icing but I wasn't sure how it would hold up without meringue powder. Has anyone ever done that? Also I usually ice my cakes with buttercream frosting before I apply the MMF. Since I cannot use that icing on this cake (he can't have shortening either) I was thinking of brushing the cake w/a simple syrup so that the MMF would adhere to the cake. Has anyone ever tried that before or will it seep through the MMF?
Thanks so much for any help you can give!

i recently watched a video where they brushed the buttercream with decorating gel befor adhereing the mmf, however i'm not sure what decorators gel, is made of so that might be out , also without the frosting it may just seep into the cake, but it was a thought

I know some people suggest brushing the cake with warmed apricot jelly to adhere the fondant... Would there be something similar that you could use? Perhaps use marshmallow fluff in place of the buttercream?

I'm not sure about the royal icing... Butter for buttercream is out, and I'm guessing margarine is out as well, since he can't have shortening? Hmm... I seem to remember using a corn syrup/PS frosting before... I'll have to see if I can find that recipe...

Thanks for the ideas....I would have never thought of using marshmallow fluff. I wonder if I could thin it down to consistency that would work. I am not sure how delicate this cake is going to be since there in no egg, gluten, etc. in it. Great ideas though thanks. Maybe I will experiment with the Royal to see if it will work without the meringue. Kasaswolf if you do happen to find that recipe i'd love to have it....

I didn't find MY recipe, but while looking for some poured fondant recipes, I came across these! Hope these help! (I haven't tried any of them, so I can't vouch for their tastiness, but it's a start!)

http://cakecentral.com/cake_recipe-1607-1-Faux-Poured-Fondant.html
http://cakecentral.com/cake_recipe-2395-5-Wiltons-Quick-Poured-Cookie-Icing.html
http://cakecentral.com/cake_recipe-7012-3-Poured-Fondant-Using-A-Food-Processor.html

Marshmallow fluff turns runny on cakes, so I wouldn't use it under the fondant. If there is any fruit jam that he is allowed to have, you can use that on the cake under the fondant.

Egg whites (either fresh or in dried form, aka meringue powder) provide the structure that holds Royal Icing together. Powdered sugar and water by itself will not work. Why not mold Blue out of the MMF?

Thanks for the heads up on the marshmallow prterrell! That would have been messy...I wish I were talented enough to mold blue out of fondant. I just recently started using fondant so I am not that good with it yet.

Do you think if I used just the powdered sugar and water, w/out the meringue powder, and piped directly onto the cake it would hold up? Kind of like using buttercream but with the powdered sugar/water mixture. Or would it just turn into a big mess?

I will check with my cousin on the jam as well. That would be a nice and tasty way to do the fondant!!!

Were you planning to make Blue in 2D or 3D?

If 2D, then I think you could cut out the different colour pieces you needed from MMF and piece it together like a puzzle to get the full picture. Basically use printouts of the image you want, to create a template for cutting out the pieces.

This way, you don't need to model anything but can still get a decent depiction of Blue.

Here is a link to one of sue_dye's pics where she explains how she did this technique (see comments section). Maybe you could try this...it's the technique I'm going to be using when I make a cake for my nephew in a few weeks. HTH.

http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1156119

Thank you so much vlin28! I think that is what I will try to do!! What a great idea to break the picture down into a puzzle. I would have never though of that!!!! I am going to try one this weekend.

Unisteph, 1)please forgive me if I read the post wrong, but didn't you say he can't have shortening? Do you omit your shortening from the marshmallow fondant? It seems to always take at least a few teaspoons of it in most recipes... even if it is just in the kneading process. 2) Simple syrup will help you adhere your cake and fondant together as well, you just have to apply the fondant soon after you have applied the simple syrup.

No, you cannot mix powdered sugar and water together to make something pipeable. I'm not sure what the ingred. in piping gel are, but that might be an option (you can buy a large container of the clear gel and color what you need just as you would icing0.

I just used the fondant cut-out technique that vlin28 described on my son's Sid the Science Kid cake. It turned out even better than I was hoping and it was so easy! Just make sure you leave plenty of time to do it, especially if your picture is detailed, because it can be very time consuming. Good luck!

Might want to double check marshmellow fluff--I just looked at my jar and it contains egg..

Win, the recipe I use for MMF does not call for any shortening. It is just marshmallows, vanilla, powdered sugar. and water.

I check marshmallows and they are ok. They just consist of corn syrup , cornstarch, sugar, etc. No eggs. Thanks Jeannern for the heads up on fluff though. I hadn't check the ingredients on it yet.

I think my best bet is to use the simple syrup and try the fondant cut out technique you guys have described. I am so thankful for all of your input and help. Luke will be two this month and has never been able to eat birthday cake...or any cake for that matter. His mother is so excited that we have found a way to make that happen! So thanks again for all your help. Lukey will be very happy!!!

Win, the recipe I use for MMF does not call for any shortening. It is just marshmallows, vanilla, powdered sugar. and water.

I check marshmallows and they are ok. They just consist of corn syrup , cornstarch, sugar, etc. No eggs. Thanks Jeannern for the heads up on fluff though. I hadn't check the ingredients on it yet.

I think my best bet is to use the simple syrup and try the fondant cut out technique you guys have described. I am so thankful for all of your input and help. Luke will be two this month and has never been able to eat birthday cake...or any cake for that matter. His mother is so excited that we have found a way to make that happen! So thanks again for all your help. Lukey will be very happy!!!