Eggless Royal Icing To Decorate Sugar Cookies

I love the look of royal iced cookies but the egg free icings I tried before never even came close to it. The Glaze Icing using Liquid Glucose, Butter Cream Icing and The Sugar Glaze are the methods I tried earlier (click on the names for recipes). And my fourth attempt at royal icing this time has given the best results so far. And this time I tried making a video for the same. Today I will demonstrate the making of royal icing and tomorrow I will show you how to use it for decorating the cookies.

I have written about this magic ingredient so many times but still I am awed at how it replaces egg whites. As you know royal icing uses egg whites and icing sugar. As aquafaba or the chickpea water is the perfect substitute of egg whites, it works best in this recipe too. To know more about Aquafaba and the method of making it at home please read my Homemade Aquafaba post. Click on image or the link for recipe.

In my video you will see that I mix aquafaba and icing sugar with a spoon before beating with a hand beater. There is one reason for this. Icing sugar is so fine that even a small disturbance will cause it to rise into a sugar cloud. So if you directly start beating with a beater, I am sure that yourself and your whole kitchen will be covered in white sugar dust. To avoid this I am gently mixing the icing sugar with aquafaba until there are no dry dust remaining. This will help you make royal icing the mess free way. I have also seen some using a kitchen towel to cover the bowl while beating. Whatever method suits you, go on with that. Final result will be the same. This icing can be easily coloured with gel colours. If you prefer to use liquid colours, then you need to add little bit of icing sugar extra to get the firmness. And if you want to use powdered colours, then do not add them directly to the icing. Mix them in a tbs of water, and then add as needed.

Ingredients:

Extra Fine Icing Sugar or Confectioner’s Sugar – 1 cup, sieved

Aquafaba/ Chickpea Brine – 1 1/2 tbs

Vanilla Essence – 1/2 tsp

Procedure:

In a bowl sift icing sugar.

Add aquafaba and vanilla essence.

Mix with a spoon gently until all the ingredients are incorporated.

With a hand beater, beat the mixture for 2 minutes.

The icing will turn smooth, white, glossy and slightly fluffy.

Transfer to an air tight jar and use it when needed.

If making it ahead, store the jar in fridge and bring it back to room temperature before using.

When ever I post an icing/ frosting recipe, the most common query I get is whether this can be made with home made icing sugar or powdered sugar. My only answer is no. When we powder sugar at home, it is not fine and will have some sugar crystals even after two or three times of sieving. So your icing tends to be grainy and will never be smooth as I have shown. Even the small packs of icing sugar you get at departmental stores are grainy and also expensive. The best icing sugar can be got at whole sale bakery stores as one kilogram packs. Ask for extra fine icing sugar and you will surely love the final result.

Egg Free Royal Icing Recipe

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Ingredients

  

Ingredients

• Extra Fine Icing Sugar or Confectioner's Sugar - 1 cup sieved
• Aquafaba/ Chickpea Brine - 1 1/2 tbs
• Vanilla Essence - 1/2 tsp

Instructions

 

Procedure

• In a bowl sift icing sugar.
• Add aquafaba and vanilla essence.
• Mix with a spoon gently until all the ingredients are incorporated.
• With a hand beater, beat the mixture for 2 minutes.
• The icing will turn smooth, white, glossy and slightly fluffy.
• Transfer to an air tight jar and use it when needed.
• If making it ahead, store the jar in fridge and bring it back to room temperature before using.