Baking can be fun, challenging, frustrating, and meditative all at once. It’s an activity that will capture your attention for a good hour or two. When you finally get out of the good portion of the baking trance you will find yourself in your kitchen, which now looks like an apocalyptic battlefield.
There’s a lot of things to take into consideration when baking, aside from the procedure of baking itself. Let’s say you’ve finished baking a cake or a batch of your favorite cookies but you still have a ton of unused frosting left.
What can you do with it? How long can royal icing really be kept?
Egg-based royal icing can be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator for a week while meringue-based royal icing can be kept at room temperature for a month. Both can be stored for months in the fridge but must be thawed before use. The longer you keep your royal icing, the more the mixture will separate, this makes it harder to use the icing. Placing it in a mixer will cause it to regain its texture.
Frosting can definitely be one of those things that you make in abundance only to realize that you’ve made way too much frosting for the amount of cookie dough or cake you’ve got. I may be speaking out of experience but that’s what I’ve experienced.
While we’ve made it clear that you can keep royal icing for a couple of days in the refrigerator – I prefer using as much of it as possible within the first couple of days.
But if you were to keep it for a couple of days, or even months in the fridge, I would take a few things into consideration. The better circumstances you provide for the royal icing, the better the results will be.
What Is Royal Icing?
Royal icing has been around for a long time. We’ve found references dating back to the 1600s, where this mixture of egg whites and icing sugar is used. The term “Royal Icing” wasn’t coined until the 1800s when the icing was used to coat Queen Victoria’s wedding cake. The name has, since then, stuck.
Royal icing is a mixture containing egg whites and icing sugar as a base, and sometimes lemon or lime juice too. When mixed together, these ingredients create a paste that’s perfect for decorating cookies, cakes, and other pastries.
Does Royal Icing Go Bad?
Royal icing doesn’t go bad that easily, which I think is quite beneficial as some holidays, such as Christmas, can include several days of baking for some (Yes, we’re a big family).
The reason why royal icing doesn’t go bad very easily has to do with the ratio of sugar to egg.
Bacteria don’t like sugar and there’s a good amount of it in royal icing, this prevents the growth of bacteria, or at least slows it down to a certain degree. Bacteria are the reason why eggs go bad, so without them, the eggs in the royal icing last longer.
Bacteria don’t like salt and highly acidic foods either.
While both egg-based and meringue-based royal icing will go bad eventually, the reason why you don’t want to keep royal icing stored for too long is the loss of efficiency that occurs when royal icing is stored. You should be able to use egg-based royal icing a week after it was made without issue.
Meringue-based royal icing doesn’t contain eggs so it lasts even longer, up to a month at room temperature. Regardless of which icing you’re using, make sure to either mix it or beat it in a bowl or mixer before using to ensure the icing is up to standards.
Can I Make Royal Icing Ahead of Time?
This can be extra useful for periods where you expect to bake a lot but you don’t want to spend time making the royal icing all over again every single time. Instead, you can make a huge batch the first time and keep it for the entire period. You can also make smaller batches and use them within the upcoming week or so – it all depends on how you store it and make it.
Yes, you can absolutely make royal icing ahead of time but depending on when you plan to use it you may have to adjust your method of storage.
- If you plan on using the royal icing within the next week: Make an egg-based or meringue-based royal icing and keep it in an airtight container in the refrigerator (egg) or at room temperature (meringue) for the week. I suggest mixing the icing prior to using it.
- If you plan on using the royal icing within a month: Make a meringue-based royal icing and keep it at room temperature. Alternatively, make egg-based royal icing and store it in an airtight container in the fridge.
- If you plan on using the royal icing within the next couple of months: Make either an egg or meringue-based royal icing and store it in an airtight container in the fridge. Thaw and mix before use.
How Do You Thaw Frozen Royal Icing?
When you take your royal icing out of the freezer it won’t be usable as it’s most likely frozen to a big chunk of icing. You shouldn’t expose the frozen icing to high heat, instead let the icing thaw in room temperature or in the refrigerator.
This can take several hours but it’s the best way to do it. If you’re running low on time, you could put the airtight container or bag in a bath of lukewarm water. This should thaw your icing slightly quicker.
For How Long Can You Freeze Cookies With Royal Icing?
We’ve talked about royal icing by itself but what if it’s applied to a cookie, which it is, most of the time. Does that change the time it can be stored?
Not really no.
You can store frozen cookies with royal icing for months then thaw them at room temperature or in the refrigerator while they’re still in the airtight container you stored them in. In a few hours, your cookies should have thawed completely and they can now be enjoyed.
How Long Does Royal Icing Last in the Fridge?
Storing royal icing in the fridge is advantageous if you’ve made way too much, or if you’ve made a huge batch ahead of time. It can, of course, also be useful for smaller batches. The lifetime of royal icing will extend substantially when you store it in the fridge, compared to the refrigerator, or at room temperature.
As long as it’s kept within an airtight container you can store royal icing in the fridge for up to 6 months without problems.
Can You Put Royal Icing in The Fridge To Set?
Just as you finish mixing your icing, you may notice that it’s way too soft or runny to be applied to cookies, this isn’t rare at all. The icing must harden before it’s applied, and this can be achieved by placing the icing in the fridge right after it’s made.
Within 30 minutes your icing should’ve hardened enough. The hardened icing will help to create a thicker layer of icing on the pastry.
Can You Store Royal Icing in a Squeeze Bottle?
You may be asking yourself “What’s a squeeze bottle?”
I’m sure you’ve seen one. It’s one of those plastic bottles that you often see chefs using for oil, dressings, sauces etc. They’re very cheap and great for homemade sauces, marinade, frosting, and much more.
Squeeze bottles are great for royal icing, they can be used for piping and flooding the royal icing. Some bottles come with interchangeable tips, this can be great when you’re trying to decorate using royal icing.
Royal icing should, preferably, be stored in an airtight container. Very few squeeze bottles are completely airtight, which makes them a less attractive option when storing royal icing long-term. You can, however, store royal icing in squeeze bottles for a couple of days as long as they’re placed in the refrigerator.