Royal icing help please

[shoppingbagsundereyes]

Have reposted from food. Am making a muppets cake for dd bday. Have made the muppets out of fondant but think their hair will be best in royal icing. Advice please on how to prevent the icing getting too hard to pipe while I am fannying around mixing colours, washing piping bag etc

Wrap it in cling film, or don't pipe it, mould it like playdough.

Def need to pipe it as I'm doing strands of hair to make Animal from the muppet show.

actually, have had a different thought - how about using butter icing as hair?

not as much faff as royal icing to make and keep, and you could try loading it into a garlic press for multiple strands...

If it dries out too much just add a little water and remould. Baby medicine syringes are good for adding tiny amounts of water.

Garlic press idea is genius! Will give it a go. Actually perhaps I could push fondant through a garlic press, may keep its shape better than buttercream?

fondant would go through a press, no problem

think 'mopatop hair shop' and play doh!

a garlic press is fabulous for this, let it go through and then just trim it off before it falls off and pick it up and stick it on :)

Fondant through a garlic press. Definitely. Add a bit of "trex" (vegetable shortening) to the fondant to make it soft enough to go through easily, and ideally some sugarcel to make it set firmer as well.

Alternatively, invest in one of these

Look on ebay for a "grass nozzle" they're only a couple of pound, so perfect if you only want if for one job

Garlic press worked a treat thanks. Animal is now very hairy and miss piggy looks fab. Dd is delighted :)