I have not done much fondant but have seen some people use royal icing and some use buttercream for piping on the fondant. What is best? I hardly ever use royal and would rather use buttercream if it would be o.k.
What are the pluses of each?
Thanks,
Amy
I have wondered this myself. I think it depends on what type of decoration you are wanting to add. Some stuff is easier in BC and others in RI. Don't ask me which is which though. One of the experts here will have to clarify for us.
If you are attaching larger items to the fondant, royal icing works the best, but if you have smaller items such as pearls or really small flowers, BC can be just as efficient. As for borders and lace, I prefer BC because it does not dry hard and has a much better flavor with the fondant. Much of this will come with experience and your taste preference. 
I think you can really use either, but I do prefer royal. The reason being, I can make my lines look smoother, etc with royal icing. You can just take a small paint brush with water and move & smooth out your lines. It is also works well with stringwork and bridgework. But, I think buttercream would work just fine too. Good luck!!
This particular cake was covered in rolled fondant, and the lace work was done in royal icing. Since the cake was refrigerated, the humidity never let the royal icing to dry, the lace work began to lose its shape and melt. Since that the cake was really delicious, my customer did not say anything. Maybe she did'nt notice...
Hi,
I did a wedding cake sometime back in March that was a replica of a Wilton. For the piping I used Royal icing and the final outcome was very elegant. A plus side to Royal is how nice it looks when brushed with Luster Dust. However, on another note - b/c works very well too and I agree it tastes much better than Royal. They both have their advantages. Eventually you will find a preference between the two. I actually like both it just depends on the design. HTH 
Each has it place. RI tends to be better when you need a crisp design. Most of my designs are fondant over IMBC. IMBC tends to be softer than bc and not as sweet. Sometimes, if I need to pipe a border though, I will add powdered sugar to my IMBC. Works for me.
i think bc would taste good BUT i prefer royal for details because like paula, i love painting it with pearl and luster dust.
fyi, you can put royal decorating cakes in the fridge, just allow it an hour or two to dry before placing it in there and there wont be a problem.
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