My brother in law asked me to make a cake for his wife's sister who's allergic to raw eggs. The recipe for royal icing I use has egg whites in it but he doesnt like the taste of fondant, and she likes the look of RI roses. Is there another recipe I could use that doesn't have eggs?

I'm pretty sure you can't make RI without egg in some form, I think even the meringue powders have dried egg in...is she allergic to that? Could you make the roses from buttercream?

yea, meringue has dried egg whites. I've never tried making BC roses, I'll have to give it a try this week.

You definately can make roses and most any other flower using b'cream. Find a *crusting* b'cream recipe - and maybe reduce the fat/shortening used by about 1/4 cup to make it dry even more. Then once the flowers are made, let them dry at room temp - uncovered - overnight (at least - maybe longer depending on how humid your area is).

Buttercream roses are fine on tops of cakes. They do fall off the sides if they are full sized.

If the person can have cooked egg, then make a Swiss meringue (egg white and white sugar in double boiler to 160F) and stiffen it with icing sugar until you can pipe the roses. They will dry but not as hard as royal icing.

i'm wondering if they are planning on actually eating the decorations? I don't know many people who look at a RI rose and think "delicious!"--most likely they are put to the side. If they are dead set on eating them, then do the buttercream, but i'd double check to see if that is a requirement.

I'd opt for a gum paste/fondant rose first, then a RI one. Even with an egg allergy, if there is a button of buttercream that can be scraped off with the rose then the RI won't be in contact with the cake that is being eaten. My son has a severe egg allergy (raw and cooked) and I would be comfortable with that approach.

No they wouldn't be eating the roses, but she's so highly allergic to raw eggs she can't eat anything that touches it. Raw eggs in icing = raw eggs touch cake = she can't eat it

........Buttercream roses are fine on tops of cakes. They do fall off the sides if they are full sized......

I disagree with this. I have made 100s of cakes w/b'cream roses on the sides and they don't fall off. You just have to learn how to apply them.
Once the flower is pre-made and dried, pipe an open circle of b'cream icing on the back w/tip 3. It will create a suction when applied to the cake and hold the rose in place.