Two years ago, while taking my second Cake decorating class, I decided that I had enough experience with royal Icing to try to make a house using only powdered sugar, lemon juice and egg whites. I struggled with the walls and roof of the house for hours as they first began to crack then brake causing the entire structure to crumble over and over. By the next day, I had my house, however It had cracks and dents, and an awkward lean that simply deprived me of the satisfaction of truly mastering my latest project. I swore to put the idea of a royal Icing house rest forever more with the excuse that such a project was virtually impossible to create.

Fast forward two years, and I picking up an encyclopedia of a book by an Eddie Spencer called, The Art of Royal Icing.”

Eddie Spencer, the King of cake confections was in charge of making Princess Diana’s wedding cake. He also knew everything there was to know about about royal Icing and used it in every way one possibly could; and there at the end of the book, Spencer relieved the long sought out secret to making a house Royal Icing.

Eddie Spence and Princess Diana’s wedding cake

What did Spencer do differently that had allowed him to get past the royal icing house madness? Reading his book, I soon discovered that he had a secret to making his icing

Tip #1

All royal icing recipes has three components: powdered sugar, egg whites (Or merangue powerder and water) and a couple drops of an acidic substance such as lemon juice or vinegar. Spencer was no different in using only these three ingredients, but he had one trick up his sleeve that made a great deal difference. While most recipes required mixing all of the ingredients together in one step, Spencer separated the egg white from the yolk a let sit overnight. This one extra step caused the egg whites to congratulate strengthening the icing and preventing most cracks and breaks that would otherwise ruin one’s project.

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Tip#2

Although it was not his invention, Spencer always uses royal icing with very specific consistencies for varying purposes. The classic “Off-Peak” method is one of the classic uses for boarders and drop lines. This icing is thicker, dries more easily, and breaks less often, so it is not as frustrating to work with as others. To make Off Peak icing, you simply beat the royal icing until stiff peaks are formed.

The second most useful icing is the run-off Icing. It is used for filling in the boarders. with your icing. To make this, Spencer suggested mixing in 1-2 drops of water at a time until dropping a spoonful of this icing back into the icing, takes 6 seconds before the glob completely disappears.

Tip #3

From Previous encounters with with royal Icing, I’ve often times come across lumps that would clog the pasty bag. This was especially true when tiny #1 or #0 tips were being used. This project requires a #0 tip for the many details on the doors and walls. I soon learned that shifting the powder sugar wasn’t enough to fix the lumpy sugar problem. There are special kinds of powder sugar that can be bought at a specialty baking store that produces Icing that works well with these smaller tips, but it is usually more expensive, and you need to go out of your way to get it. Then again, isn’t this special stuff just well ground powdered sugar? Enters a coffee grinder. Yes, as a matter of fact, all you need to to go get this so called special powder sugar is to throw it in a clean, very clean coffee grinder, and make your icing just the way you normally do, and lumpy royal Icing will be no more! It’s easy to see the difference in the sort of icing that these sugars make.

Pre-ground Post ground

Although it is important to perfect your royal icing in order to build a break-free structure, one moment of mishandling can cause a crack or even a break in a piece made from even the best batch of royal icing. It is important to always make an extra set of those pieces! It also takes time to perfect your royal Icing techniques. Although the gazebo was far better than my first attempt at building an icing house, I have quite a ways to go before I can come close to mastering the talent as Eddie Spencer.

Happy Cake decorating!