Royal icing consistencies recipes

For a long time I have asked my husband ( Food Engineer ) that if he can order a precipitate glass and a measuring tube to make this post, but  I saw this set of measuring cups, I felt in love with them!!! 

And my inner chemist start to flourish again, I love chemistry and biology, not sure if I have told you this, I  have a degree in Food Biochemistry Engineering, sounds very, very, very, fancy, but is like being a chef with a hard hat.  I loved college and all that I learned, but being a WIFE and a MOM tops it all!!




It is really amazing that in the kitchen every time we prepare something a lot of physical and chemical reactions take place.

You can find here the recipe, and tutorial for the royal icing 

You can use google translate.

I am very precise and I like exact measurements and things like counting weird numbers or looking at a line dissolving in the icing and counting from 1 to 30 is not my thing. 

 And these measuring cups are exactly what I was looking for and I hope will be helpful for all of you. 

If you want to commercialize a product in a factory, you have to be very careful of the amount of ingredients you will add to your batches, if not.... you will be in trouble. 

Ok.... Let's get physical....the chemical part is very interesting as well, but I am not get in to detail, because many reactions happen when you do your royal icing, and when you dilute it as well.

The important part is really how much water you will need to get the right consistency you are looking for. 

To decorate cookies you need 3 different consistencies most of the time, one to make the  border of the cookie
 ( medium consistency ), another one to flood the cookie ( fluid consistency) and one to make details ( firm consistency)  like flowers,ribbons, etc.

Our starting point will be the firm royal icing. 

This is easy, you just follow the recipe and there is no way to fail.

To make your medium consistency, you need a consistency similar to a toothpaste; soft but not runny, you will use this one to make the outline or border of your cookies, they will  make a barrier for your flooding icing.  For this one you will need,  1oz of firm icing  plus 1/4  teaspoon  of water. 

Remember that you have to start adding water little by little, it could be a little less or a little more.

To make the flooding icing you will need more water, obviously, and the consistency you will need will be like heavy cream.

For 15 ml of firm royal icing you will need 3 ml to form a fluid or flooding consistency icing. 

When I am going to decorate a cookie I like that the outline icing and flooding icing marry together so you can see a smooth surface. 

So, let's put it all more clear:

Medium Consistency:
For 1 cup of firm royal icing  you will need 6 teaspoons of water.


Flooding Consistency:
For 1 cup of firm royal icing  you will need 10 teaspoons of water. 

I hope that this recipe will facilitate your cookie decorating time, remember that the humidity of the place you live it is very important too, so start with a little less amount of water and play a little bit with your icing until you find the right amount of water that gives you the right consistency.