Icing a birthday cake, how?

ants_cymru

i agree buttercream icing is easy - just icing sugar and butter, you can use some greaseproof paper to pipe it with

stressedoutmumof1

I've made my own sugarpaste before...

500g icing sugar
1 egg white
2tbsp liquid glucose

Place icing sugar in a bowl and make a well in the centre, tip in the egg white and glucose into the well and stir in with a wooden spoon. Finish binding the icing together with your hands until all the icing sugar is incorporated. It should feel silky and smooth. Store immediately in a plastic bag.

HTH

purpleivy

I've made my own, but will have to go and find the recipe. Don't remember having any problems.

ROyal icing tastes nicer though and is easier to make.

Uniscots97

Doesn't royal icing set rock hard?

nanokitten

If you don't mind the cake being a bit sticky I'd use this recipe http://www.cakescookiesandcraftsshop.co.uk/acatalog/Glace_Icing_Recipe.html
which is for regular sugar and water icing, This is the stcky shiny kind like you get at village fetes and church cake sales etc.
go easy on the water and just add what you need (or use a bit of lemon juice for a lemony cake).
in general one or two drops of food colouring is loads (depending on the colour you want).
spread it on with a knife dipped in boiling water to smooth or the back of a spoon most folk put a ribbon round the edge as its tricky to get the icing to stick and look neat. You can seive with a bit extra icing sugar to help take the stickness out and stck in the fridge to help it set.

for the piping icing same thing but use less water and a dash more colouring, I'd use very hot water and add a tiny bit at a time and mix well after each drop till its the right consistancy.

personally I'd consider butter icing (1 part butter to 2 parts icing sugar) and making into swirls or peaks, you could make chocolate butter icing (with added coca powder/instant hot chocolate powder added to make it brown) for the piping

Uniscots97

purpleivy wrote: »

I've made my own, but will have to go and find the recipe. Don't remember having any problems.

ROyal icing tastes nicer though and is easier to make.

Do you have the recipe?

nanokitten

there's normally a recipe on the pack of icing sugar

linda-ann

Try Delia
http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/royal-icing,1040,RC.html

and instead of making it rough keep dipping the pallet knife in warm water to smooth the icing on the cake

Gingernutmeg

unixgirluk wrote: »

Doesn't royal icing set rock hard?

Not if you add glycerine. That'll make it stay soft and crumbly. If you just use egg white and sugar though, it will set like granite and will get harder the longer you leave it. You can get glycerine from the supermarket, it's usually sold in little bottles near the food colourings (I think it's supercook). Or, you can often get it from chemists.