Ok, I am still really new at all of this but, this dont seem right...I was looking over some websites trying to learn me something new and then I read on a tutorial to icing wedding cakes to pipe 3 or 4 layers of Royal Icing, EWWWW!
That stuff seems far to icky to eat on an entire cake. Does anyone here cover any cake in RI?
http://www.pastrywiz.com/wedding/wedding15.htm

OMG! I would never put RI on a cake. My mother-in-law did on one of her first cakes. She said that everyone crunched away. I can see using RI to add accent details over BC.

I got an armload of books from the local library and read here and there, and it turns out that Royal Icing was or is still used on wedding cakes, more common in the past, and not as common anymore, in the U.S. Hmmm?! My cuz also told me how they had to crack the icing open on the bridal cake at a wedding she attended. I told her, I'd never use Royal Icing on a wedding cake, unless of course if the bride demanded. But somehow, I just couldn't picture myself crunching on a wedding cake.

i think that it is typical to put it over traditional fruit cakes in europe and elsewhere, it keeps it fresh for months...so i hear!

Royal Icing is a lovely coating to work with! With the judicious use of glycerine it can be cut and eaten with no need for power tools and extensive dental work! True it is harder than the fondant coatings but I wouldn't say it is sweeter than fondant. IMHO, it has a superior flavour to most fondant brands available. Re the three or four coats - for the best finish that is true, but we are not talking about 4 coats each a quarter of an inch thick! The foundation coat goes on, over marzipan, and then subsequent coats are applied extremely thinly. Hope this helps.

You know, in all honesty, I couldn't tell you the last time I was a wedding here the the cake WASN'T Royal Iced!!

It just seems to be commonplace here, I have never seen a wedding cake iced in buttercream except on this site but hopefully things will change soon and people will be more open to new things.

Wow, thanks girls for your thoughts. The RI I have had is so very sweet and crumbly I just couldnt see anyone eating it on a cake. I have used it for decorations and IMHO I like it better then BC to pipe floweres/detials, they come out better for me with it.
Maybe it is just more common in some areas vs others. I live in the U.S. and I have been to a few weddings...I dont remember the cake ever tasting like the R.I. I have had.

Thanks again ladies!!

i think the key would be the glycerin like glorioustwelfth mentioned. glycerin adds a measure of elasticity to fondant, so i imagine it would somewhat soften royal.

Just wondering: does the moisture from the marzipan layer help keep the royal icing a little softer?

I thought marizipan went under fondant? I dont know there are so many techniques that I get confused,

Yes, the marzipan goes on first, then the RI over that. I was just wondering if the moisture in the marzipan may affect the RI, and help to prevent it from becoming crusty hard.

Normally when you put the marzipan/almond layer, you let it dry out a bit before putting the RI layer on. It is very common to do cakes this way in England and Australia too.

Yes, you let the marzipan surface dry so the the oils in the marzipan don't leach through and discolour the RI.

I don't see many royal iced cakes these days - seems that fondant is all the rage. And it is quicker to cover a cake in fondant.

meant to add that Glycerine is hygroscopic (?sp) and attracts moisture. I think that is right.

How much glycerine do you add to the RI? I'm doing a friends wedding cake with RI scrolls and anything I can do to make the RI a bit more flexible/softer would be awesome. Does it still dry enough to maintain it's shape? TIA

I have always added a teaspoon of glycerine per pound of icing sugar - but just checked with Lindsay John Bradshaw's book, and he suggests half teaspoon for each pound, added at the last stage of beating. (oh gawd... I've always bunged mine in at the beginning...) PS don't add glycerine to icing for making piped pieces or anything else that requires strength.

So much for being 'judicious'...