To not want it really hard

[TheGoldenBowl]

The icing on my Christmas cake, that is...

Basically, I want people to explain to me in words of one syllable how I can achieve a snowy, peaked icing landscape on my Christmas cake that is firm enough but not tooth-breaking.

Do I need glycerine? (I have never worked with this before). Egg white?

I have already marizpanned the cake. It looks mildly shit, but I'm sure that won't matter. I marzipanned it yesterday afternoon and have left it uncovered to dry out. Was that right?

Help!! (Sorry for incorrect forum usage - but I'm very close to the edge.)

I just do icing sugar and water.

Don't ice until Christmas Eve.

I'm one for peaks. And really old decorations.

Yes fondant (regal ice, sugar paste, modelling paste etc) and royal icing are different products made from the same stuff- icing sugar. Royal icing is easy to make at home, fondant icing is much easier to just buy unless you’re an experienced pastry chef and have hours and hours to waste. Fondant gives you that smooth finish you’d expect on birthday cakes/ most commercially available Christmas cakes. The ones with the ribbons round are likely fondant covered, but it is traditional to apply a cake collar to whatever type of icing you use on your Christmas cake. Fondant will dry out eventually, but will take many weeks (I currently have some figures setting that I made with 50% fondsnt and 50% floristry paste and they still aren’t fully hard). But you won’t be able to get the snowy peaked finish unless you’re some sort of wizard with modelling paste (which, incidentally, also sets rock hard due to the tylose/gum tragacanth in it).

The only way to get a peaked snowy type of icing is to use royal icing, which does sadly set rather firm even if you do add glycerin and lemon juice to soften it a bit. However it sets firmer the longer you leave it to set, so if it was left weeks and weeks it would be hideously hard, but at this point the likelihood of a Christmas cake actually hanging around that long is slim so you’ll probably find the royal icing with a little glycerin and lemon juice not too hard if you spread it thickly enough and don’t forget about the cake for weeks on end.

Thank you NoParticular It's very kind of you to explain it all!

Ursula do you mind me asking how hard you like it?

Well that title got you a lot more traffic than if you'd posted about icing a cake in the Christmas thread.
If you want it softer, why not buy ready to roll fondant? Or is that cheating? I hate that brittle icing on Christmas cakes. Nicest if it has a bit of give in it.

And yes OP you are not the only one blinds by science in the icing department if you local supermarket!! I think, not that I’ve ever used it as I find egg whites just as easy, the boxes of “royal icing sugar/powder” contain either powdered egg whites or powdered meringue to make it do the peaks thing. I presume you just add water and beat it, but I’ve never bought it so I wouldn’t know!! But a lot of American recipes for royal icing use powdered egg whites or meringue powder rather than raw egg whites. I think it’s maybe a thing over there!

I love those new pre-mix boxes so I'm not having to make sure I have all the right ingredients in. God bless Silverspoon/tate&lyle/whoever it is that makes them.

And yes, it's powdered egg white allready in there, the clever people.

Maaaaan now I'm craving proper royal icing-covered Christmas cake. Think it would be wrong of me to ask my mum to post me some?!

ginger it's not that it's cheating, it's just what flavour/texture you prefer. For me it has to be royal icing, I'm a bit meh about fondant.

I buy the royal icing box mix and just stir it rather than beating it to buggery, and it doesn't seem to go too hard. Then I can feed it to elderly relatives without worrying about raw egg whites. Though apparently they're fine now and it's raw flour we need to worry about.

I'm another fan of royal icing, really don't like fondant, it's too sickly. Like PP, I just use icing sugar, egg whites and glycerine. I use 4 egg whites (5 small cakes) and enough icing sugar to get peaks.

I haven't done mine yet, I've done the marzipan but need to get my arse in gear and ice them. Snowy peaked effect is the best they get!

Isn't Christmas cake supposed to have rock hard icing?

Have you tried marshmallow icing? It’s fool proof, marshmallows, icing sugar and water in the microwave. Disclaimer, I am shit at making cakes.

Marshmallow icing? Now you tell me - I've just been to Tesco for the glycerine!

You could make a fairly stiff consistency butter cream or swiss meringue buttercream. It would still be far softer and creamier than royal icing but probably hold its shape okay.

It's done!

thought this was going to be a sex thread

That looks suitably, attractively, erm, flaccid? OP.

Gorgeous.

Now I want marshmallow icing. I don't like icing at all - I prefer shedloads of marzipan and then glazed nuts and fruit on top, but DH wants traditional white icing. I wonder if he'd accept the marshmallow idea.

Ummm, anyone want a slice of this lovely flaccid cake?

I thought you meant something else.
Me and my filthy mind.

It was a bit of a low trick on my part... I knew you'd all be clicking on the thread if I sexed it up a little

Great cake OP, like we used to have in the 80s.

This thread made me smile; "yet identify as 'royal icing'..."

See. Why have you iced it now.

I don't mind teeth crunching hard. A good long suck usually softens it up.

I know you're finished now but for future reference, the easiest way up make royal icing is to buy a packet labelled Royal Icing and add water or lemon juice. Then beat the crap out of it. No need to mess with glycerin or egg whites as they are already in the packet.

Mix glucose syrup with icing sugar to form a dough (fondant icing). Roll out and put over the top. Do not leave it 'to dry out'. It's fine if you leave if for a day though, it doesn't dry out that quickly. You may want to reconsider your dried marzipan if it's not too late.

Will you cover it up op? To stop it going too hard?