I just made the most wonderful icing-

it has egg whites, sugar, cream of tartar and water

My question is- I added the sugar/water mixture to the beating egg whites
while they were mixing and whipped this for a bit- almost "cooking"
the egg whites-

Does this need to be refridgerated?

I was going to color it today and use it Friday.

Also, is this ocnsidered to be raw egg? Can I feed it to kids?

Thanks for the help!

So you made a sugar syrup and heated it to the soft-ball stage and then added that to egg whites and whipped?

Congratulations! You've made Italian Meringue!

Yes, it does need to be in the fridge.

No, the eggs are now cooked. It is safe for everyone to eat.

The ingredients you mentioned are what makes up an Italian Meringue.
Sugar/water cooked on the stove till 240-ish degrees and poured into your soft peeked egg whites? Yes, the egg whites are cooked and I have fed this cake to children. I stored the frosted cake in the fridge.

If you look on the Americas Test Kitchen Web Site for their Cooks Country Show, they have the recipe for it there. I just watched them make it on PBS the other day. They made a Lemon Meringue pie and made Italian Meringue.

Hope this helps.

PS - if you are still nervous about the egg whites, next time make it using pasturized eggs, most grocery stores carry them now, if not, ask the grocery manager about stocking them.

Thanks so much- I have never tried this type of icing and it is truly delish!!!

Can you use it to frost and decorate or is it better just for cupcakes?

I guess you can't get the really polished look with it!

Regarding pasteurized egg whites, I bought them and tried it.
While I was waiting for the soft peeks to form, I read the side of the egg carton and it said "not recommended for meringues and angel food cakes". I did achieve soft peeks, but when I whipped in the hot sugar, it all melted. Yeak.

I tossed it and tried again with the real egg whites...thinking I just screwed up...and it worked fine.

Apparently "not recommended" really means "doesn't work".

I always use meringue powder (which contains pasturized egg whites) to make Italian Meringue. Never had it fail. So that's another option. I use this to ice cakes, but only when the "homemade" look is okay. It's great for coconut, lemon, strawberry, and chocolate.