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Royal icing recipes

Royal icing

Royal icing

By Mary Berry

Royal icing is a sweet, fluid paste made from whisked egg whites, icing sugar and lemon juice that sets solid. It is traditionally used to cover and decorate dense fruit cakes such as wedding and Christmas cakes.

Recipes for royal icing

Cakes and baking

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Recipes using royal icing

Cakes and baking

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Preparation

Royal icing needs to be used in conjunction with almond paste (marzipan) to achieve a perfectly flat finish. Elaborate decorative effects are then added using specialist decorating tools such as piping bags and nozzles. A good alternative is to lightly glaze dense fruit cakes with melted jam and arrange nuts over the surface.

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