Hello,

I am a newbie to baking altogether, but tried my hand at royal icing this last weekend. Tried to draw soccer balls using the royal icing onto wax paper. Also did some simple five leaf flowers.

Had lot of problems in that even with following a pattern under the wax paper it was super hard to draw a nice circle and little pentagon shapes. The areas I filled in with thin icing turned out a bit lumpy. Worst of all, at least half of them broke when I was trying to get them off the wax paper.

Is there a trick to getting them off of the wax paper? They seemed really really stuck! I tried a thin knife to release them and that did a better job than trying to hold the shape while peeling wax paper, but I really had to saw them off.

How do people do delicate designs like flowers with thin stems or little butterfly wings? If I had tried this I would not have been able to get anything off without it all breaking.

Any advice would be whole-heartedly appreciated. Cheers!

If you use wax paper, you need to rub on a smear it with some crisco and then wipe it off before beginning to pipe.

To get things off, you need slide the item to the edge of a counter, gently press on the piece, while pulling down on the paper as you slide it off the counter (hope that makes sense, it's hard to describe without seeing it). You're removing the paper by pulling down gently, off the counter.

Some people prefer using saran wrap, pulled tight and taped down. Others use acetate.

HTH
Rae

That is great advice about the smear of shortening on the paper first. I think that would have helped so much. I also read somewhere that you can use a damp paint brush to smooth out any points on the lining icing and fill in little gaps with the filling icing.

I do have another royal icing question. Once I do the outline, do I need to wait for the outline to completely dry before I flood in the shape with the running icing?

You do have to wait until they are completely dry before removing them from the wax paper. I've never had a problem with them sticking. Are you sure you are using wax paper? If you are using parchment paper, they might stick to that.

As far as making designs, it just takes practice. You have to practice getting your royal the correct consistency and practice filling. Try some simple shapes first. Soccer balls are extremely hard to make no matter how you do them.

A note on the shortening. Shortening or any kind of oil can break down your royal icing. I've never used shortening on the waxed paper and never had a problem with sticking. Make sure you use a brand name wax paper so it has a good non-stick surface. I, myself, would not recommend shortening.

I did use wax paper, but its some I have had around for ages. Its not Reynolds and I dont recognize the brand so chances are I picked it up at the 99 cent store or something. I will first try quality wax paper without the shortening.

Yes, soccer balls are very hard. Who knew??? I guess all things considering I didnt do too too bad since at least some of them are recognizable as soccer balls...

Thanks for all of the advice! What a wonderful forum.

Ok, one more question. If I place a royal icing shape I made on top of buttercream, will it soften and wilt? Wondering if the moisture from the buttercream will ruin the royal icing shape. I am thinking of placing the royal icing soccer balls on tops of buttercream swirled cupcakes.

I ONLY use parchment paper available in the same section of the grocery store I use this to line my cake pans as well as bake my cookies on it. It does not require and grease the RI transfers just slide off.

When I make my RI I use meringue powder (do you use fresh egg white?) the lumps are due to your icing consistency probably needed a little more water. As for the waiting for the outline to dry before filling it, if you do so once it dries you will see the line between the 2. If you add the flow while the outline is wet it will not show an outline you need to practice the 2 method to see which you prefer. As for colors running together I've only had this happen using Wilton colors.

When placing a RI transfer on buttercream I've never noticed them get soggy but what almost always happens is they absorb the fat from the butter creating some ugly spots so now I make a fondant disc to place the RI transfer only before adding it to the cupcake.

I print all my templates off my inkjet printer so I get a dark black line and have no problem seeing it to do the outlines.

Wow, thank you a million. I appreciate you taking the time to guide me in this issue.

I pipe things like this on plastic page protectors and they pop right off when they are dried.

I just attempted this tonight without reading any forums first,hopefully not using the crisco beforehand won't ruin all of the work i just did!!

In regards to drawing a shape on the wax paper.....

Underneath the wax paper I put a picture that I drew of a baby carriage and traced it with the icing you could even print something and then trace that as well :)

I put the frosting in the fridge to harden first before I try to remove it...any experts have any other suggestions?

ARoyal icing does not need to be refrigerated to harden. It needs to sit out on the counter to dry.

To remove it from the waxed paper, leave it flat on the counter or table. Gently slide it to the edge of the counter, pulling the waxed paper straight down and letting the royal icing design rest on the flat surface. Peel back the paper slightly less than half way off the design. Turn it around and do the other side. Gently work your way around until its free and can be lifted off. Hard to describe..hope that makes sense.