Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Original poster

Quick! You have 20 mins to decide for me - royal icing or fondant?

40 replies

HarrySnotter · 09/12/2018 09:49

I know, I know, the excitement of it all.

Which of the above for the very first ever Christmas cake I've made?!

OP posts:
ScreamingValenta · 09/12/2018 09:50

Royal every time. It's much more hassle, but worth it. Fondant icing tastes sickly and I quietly leave it if it's on any cake I am given.

WitsEnding · 09/12/2018 09:51

Royal icing tastes much nicer.

PetuliaBlavatsky · 09/12/2018 09:51

Depends what you are after. Royal icing is probably more forgiving (ie, you can spike it up all over and call it 'frosty') but I can't stand eating it. Fondant is hard to get a good finish for beginners but much tastier.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about these subjects:

Baking General food
SoupDragon · 09/12/2018 09:52

Royal icing is far superior and, as has bee said, can be turned into snowy peaks!

Singlenotsingle · 09/12/2018 09:52

Depends. If it's fruit cake it would have to be marzipan and royal icing. Any other sort of cake you could get away with fondant.

SoupDragon · 09/12/2018 09:53

I loathe fondant icing. It tastes horrible to me.

PurpleDaisies · 09/12/2018 09:54

Royal.

YepImafraidIchangeditagain · 09/12/2018 09:54

Royal!

NannyR · 09/12/2018 09:55

Royal definitely! Not as easy but worth it in terms of taste and texture.

AviatorShades · 09/12/2018 09:56

ROYAL ICING,PLEASE!!

Ifailed · 09/12/2018 09:56

Royal, as it's the easier of the two to remove - I like to eat cake, not pure sugar. if you could leave 1/2 the cake un-iced, you'd be my hero!

Original poster
HarrySnotter · 09/12/2018 09:56

It's a very boozy fruit cake with marzipan on it.

I should have mentioned I have literally NO idea how to make royal icing ...

OP posts:
MeetOnTheSIedge · 09/12/2018 09:56

Royal definitely, fondant is sickly and makes home-made cakes taste shop bought.

OnlyFoolsnMothers · 09/12/2018 09:57

Royal icing will look better and pair better with fruit cake

NoLeslie · 09/12/2018 09:58

[Sings]

Its gotta be Royal, Royal
Oh baby its yule. That's Christmassy

OrcinusOrca · 09/12/2018 09:59

Fondant. But it's because it's harder to make it look awesome and I love a challenge Grin

TSSDNCOP · 09/12/2018 10:00

Royal

HildaTablet · 09/12/2018 10:03

Depends how much effort you want to put in, really.

Personally I'd go for royal icing every time, but there have been years when I've found myself staring at the Christmas cake on Christmas Eve and reaching for the fondant because, quite frankly, life is too short Xmas Grin

Royal icing's easy to make, though. You can get 'royal icing sugar' which has dried egg whites added already to help with the texture.

PrivateEggnog · 09/12/2018 10:04

OP you need Tate and Lyle royal icing sugar - comes with egg white already in it so you don't need to use raw egg. Add water, a bit of lemon juice, and if you don't want the icing to be rock hard then a tsp glycerine - then it'll be soft enough to do a snow scene.

Trying to get fondant smooth and flat will drive you to despair (or is that just me?).

ShotsFired · 09/12/2018 10:05

Pro tip: do not make royal icing on Christmas morning after 'some' glasses of champagne.

It does not go well Grin

minniemoll · 09/12/2018 10:07

Royal every time. Fondant is horrible.

Original poster
HarrySnotter · 09/12/2018 10:10

Ok. Outside the supermarket and it looks like hell on earth already. Willing myself to go in.

Have decided on royal icing - snowy peaks here we come! (Well not right now, it'll be 'fuck off out of my way you bastards' for the next 40 mins or so). Then it'll be snowy peaks aplenty!

OP posts:
IsobelKarev · 09/12/2018 10:11

Royal is tastier, but fondant easier. I'd go with fondant because I'm lazy.

AdaColeman · 09/12/2018 10:13

Royal icing for Christmas cake!
Don’t forget to put in a few drops of glycerin to stop it being so rock hard that it breaks your teeth!

Faithless12 · 09/12/2018 10:20

Neither. Proper rolled icing. I can’t stand royal icing it’s so hard to eat and looks a mess.