All of the following icings were tested on a standard home electric mixer. Heavy duty mixers will require 3 to 4 minutes less beating time per each step. It is important to remember all utensils must be completely free of grease.

Keep in mind that these icings are for decorating and must be stiff. If you are using the proper ingredients there are only two things that would make your icing fail:

1. Not beating long enough

2. A tiny amount of grease in your batch.

Royal icing with meringue powder

Royal Icing is the choice of professional bakers for all phases of cake decorating. It can be easily made from the preparation, Wilton Deluxe Meringue. Royal Icing is used for decorating only, never for the frosting or icing of cakes. It is preferred chiefly because of its stiff, firm consistency-excellent for forming clear, sharp outlines and crisper flowers. Flowers and decorations of Royal Icing can be made, dried and kept without refrigeration for months. There is no waste, ever… add coloring to only what you need and store the balance in a sealed container and refrigerate. When needed, just whip with a beater to restore original consistency. Royal Icing is greaseless and dissolves quickly, thereby eliminating much of the mess of cleaning up.

1/4 cup water

5 teaspoons Meringue

2 cups 10X Confectioners Sugar (Powdered)*

Whip for 5 minutes at high speed. Keep covered with damp cloth. Icing should stand to 3-4 inch peak on spatula knife, if icing begins to fall slightly after lengthy use, simply rewhip.

*3/4 cups of Confectioners Sugar to one pound.

For a lighter icing, add a tablespoon of water and continue beating. The addition of water and continued beating makes this icing even lighter than boiled icing. When your flowers harden from this lightly beaten icing, they must be handled very carefully because the air cells in the icing tend to crumble. Use this icing when you are making up flowers or various decorations in advance. The icing will dry and you may peel it off your waxed paper and place your decorations on cakes, petits fours, etc. without damaging your decorations.

Decorating butter cream

1 cup vegetable shortening

1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar

1/4 cup evaporated milk

Cream at high speed for 5 minutes.

For tastier icing, use half butter and half shortening to thin down the icing for inscriptions and borders, add a few drops of liquid. Store in airtight container in the refrigerator. Whip up before using the second time.

Flowers made up in advance using this recipe should be placed in the refrigerator to harden slightly and become easy to handle.

Boiled icing with meringue powder

(A) 2 level tablespoons of meringue powder 1/4 cup of water

(B) 1 cup of granulated sugar

1/4 cup of water

1/8 teaspoon Cream of Tarter

(C) 1 cup of confectioner's sugar (powdered)

Mix (A) together by pouring water into bowl and adding meringue powder. Beat at high speed for 7 minutes. Place (B) ingredients in saucepan and boil to 240 degrees.

After beating mixture (A) for 7 minutes, turn to low speed and add (C). Beat together 2 minutes at high speed. When (B) reaches 240 degrees add slowly to mixture (A) and (C), and beat together at high speed for 5minutes.

Add 1/2 teaspoon of desired flavoring.

Boiled Icing may be kept for one week or more if placed in an air tight container or sealed with damp cloth over a bowl. To reuse, simply beat, do not add any ingredients. This icing is ideal for flower and border work, as it will never run or weep regardless of weather. To prevent crusting-keep icing covered with damp cloth at all times.