Beginner's Guide to Piping and Flooding with Royal Icing
Without a doubt, working with royal icing when you are new cookie decorator, can be intimidating, frustrating and a big learning process. BUT also super satisfying and exciting once you get the hang of it. It's kind of like when you learn to ride a bike, or how to swim. Everything leading up to the "ah-ha" moment feels clunky and weird. But once it all clicks - you are fast on your way, zooming around your neighborhood, or swimming laps.
I'm hoping this blog will help demystify piping and flooding with royal icing, and give you the tips you need for success. But be patient with yourself. The same way you need to actually get in the water to learn to swim, you have to start working with royal icing to get used to how it behaves and get the hang of it. Here are some of my top tips for piping and flooding.
Be Consistent (With Icing Consistency)
Icing consistency is one of the absolutely most important parts of cookie decorating, and whether you are piping details or flooding, you'll have to learn to figure out what works for you. And I know what you are asking yourself - HOW do I know what works for me? Practice and more practice. That's it. Once you have a recipe you like, you will find the consistencies that are good for you.
Now there are universal basics: piping icing needs to be stiffer than flood icing. Florals, like in this picture, need to be done with a very stiff icing. BUT what you prefer to flood with, may be slightly different than what I prefer to flood with. And the only way to learn this is by doing it.
If you use the Cookie Countess icing recipe, you'll have the perfect consistency for flowers and details right out of the bowl. It's stiff but fluffy, and it makes perfect petals.
From there, it's just a matter of just enough adding water and mixing until you achieve the right consistency for your piping or flooding needs. This will take some trial and trial and error. Check out our blog about consistencies here. We also have a super in depth online class all about how to make royal icing and different consistencies available here!
Pro Tips for Consistency, Piping and Flooding
If you spend some time online Googling royal icing, there is an enormous amount of information. It can get pretty overwhelming pretty fast. Below we are breaking it down to 10 top tips that will get you on your way to beautifully decorated cookies.
- Flood consistency icing is very often described in terms of seconds. You'll hear cookiers say that they use a "10-second flood," which means that if you drag the flat edge of a knife through your bowl of icing, it will take approximately 10 seconds to self-heal, and the line will disappear.
- Some cookiers choose to use one single consistency of icing for both outlining and flooding their cookies. This is commonly referred to as "15-second icing." This method does same time in preparing of the icing, the piping/flooding AND the cleanup.
- Others prefer to use two icing consistencies: a slightly stiffer icing to outline, and a thinner icing to flood. In either case, it can be helpful to use a smaller bag of icing (with a smaller opening) for outlining and a larger bag (with a larger opening) for flooding. You'll have more control when outlining your cookies, and you won't have to strain so hard to force flood icing through a smaller hole than necessary.
- If you find that your piped details are crushing or crumbling off of your cookies once dry, or that your line keeps breaking as you try to pipe it, then that probably means you need to add a little more water to your icing to give it a bit more elasticity. There's a fine line between not enough water and too much, though, so use a light hand!
- Icing with more water in it will tend to separate if left to sit for a while. You may be able to massage your piping bag to reincorporate it, or you may have to put it back into a bowl to be remixed. And that's OK!
- Air bubbles will rise to the top of your flood icing, both in the bowl and on the flooded cookie. It's just a fact of icing. Let your freshly mixed flood icing sit (covered) in the bowl for 10-15 minutes, and then use a spatula to lightly scrape the surface of the icing, popping the bubbles before bagging your icing. Use a scribe tool to pop air bubbles in freshly flooded cookies. The less you mix your icing the less air bubbles though, so resist the urge to hand mix a ton when thinning your icing. Only do it JUST enough.
- Although you want to make sure that you have enough icing on the cookie to end up with a smooth, even result, be careful to not overflood your cookies. If you notice that your icing is spilling over the edges of your cookies once they are flooded, then you are likely adding too much icing.
- When flooding, it is best to move quickly, since royal icing begins crusting as soon as it hits the air. Flood the top of the cookie with icing, and use your scribe tool to quickly pop any bubbles and move icing as needed. The longer this process takes, the greater the chance that you'll end up with a lumpy result as you start moving crusting icing around.
- Piping lines is all in the angles. Lead your icing where you want it to go by keeping your tip ahead of the line of icing and using steady pressure until you're ready to end the line. I find it helpful to look at the spot where I want my line to go, as a opposed to just watching it come out.
- There are a million different piping tips out there, and you don't need them all! But some designs are best done with the use of a piping tip: petals, leaves, basketweave, etc.
But HOW do I pipe and flood with royal icing?
Here is a video where I breakdown the basics of piping and flooding. From there it's just a matter of practice. Are you sick of me saying it just takes "practice? ;) It is true though! If you would like to download the rpactice sheet I am using in the video click the button below. I laminated mine, but you could also just print a bunch and practice directly on the paper.
Piping and Flooding Supplies
The world of cookie-decorating supplies is vast and filled with loads of tools that can make a dent in your wallet. It can certainly get overwhelming for a beginner decorator, especially if you are on a budget. Thankfully, piping and flooding have a relatively short must-have supply list! Below you will find a list of absolute must have items, as well as items that I feel are worth investing in.
- Piping bags — This is one thing you absolutely have to have! Whether you plan to use piping tips or not, Tipless Piping Bags are convenient and easy to use. Simply cut the point to the size opening you need. These bags only have one seam (instead of two), so they are less likely to cause your icing to curl as it comes out of the cut end.
- Easy Fill Piping Bag Holder — No more messy, overfilled bags here! Each of these holders is specifically designed to accommodate the correct size of piping bag as you fill them.
- Flexible Silicone Spatulas — Pretty self explanatory, but these tools are a must for moving your icing from bowl to piping bag.
- Piping Tips — Although you really don't need tips for flooding, piping tips can give you a greater degree of control for piping details. Not to mention things like flower petals, leaves, and basketweave designs!
- Couplers — Put these in the take-it-or-leave-it category, but couplers can make it easier to switch quickly and cleanly between piping tips. That being said, it's one more thing to clean at the end of the day.
- Bag Buddy — Cookiers everywhere know the pain of discovering that their piping bag of flood icing has, well, flooded out onto their countertop. This nifty tool props your piping bags tip-side-up to keep the icing from making puddles or icing stalagmites all over your decorating space.
- Scribe tools and/or Thingamagenies — Having something to pop your air bubbles and nudge icing where you want it to go is a must. Toothpicks get lost in the shuffle and can absorb and transfer color. Scribes come in so many different designs and colors, and they are more likely to stand out amidst the craziness of your decorating counter. Thingamagenies are great, too, because their other side is perfect for scraping mistakes away!
💡 Some Royal Advice ;)
One of the most important things you can do, is realize when you're spending too much time trying to make something work that just isn't going to. If you find that you are having to do a whole lot of fiddling with your icing to get it to settle into place on the cookie, you would be much better off dumping your icing back into a bowl, adjusting the consistency, and rebagging. Save yourself the time and frustration and start fresh!
Next Level Cookie Decorating Tools
If your storage space and budget allow it, there are a few more tools that can really make a difference in your final results, but which are not strictly necessary in this cookie biz. But hey, if we're making wish lists, why not aim high?
- Perfect Piping Bag Dispenser — It can be so frustrating to reach for a 10" bag in a jumbled pile only to realize that you are out of the size you need. This organizer is perfect for storing your bags in a way that is super accessible and also makes it easy to see what needs to be restocked.
- Food Dehydrator — The faster your icing dries, the shinier it will be. A good way to achieve that is by popping your freshly-flooded cookies into a dehydrator for 10-15 minutes on the lowest setting. Your best choice is a unit with sliding shelves that can be removed independent from each other; stacking shelves mean you'll have to move one to get to the other, and that can disturb drying icing and result in cracks. Now, if you have a dehydrator that you used to use to make beef jerky, and it has been sitting in your basement storage ever since, don't even think about using it for your cookies--unless you like jerky-flavored cookies, I suppose.
- Fan — This is a similar alternative to a dehydrator, in that you can aim the flow of the fan over your drying cookies to encourage them to dry faster. And just like the dehydrator, don't grab that old fan that's been clanking around in your garage; dust can build up on fan blades, and that will immediately be distributed over your wet icing. Instead, pick up a small table fan that is for dedicated cookie use only, and cover it when not in use.
- Collapsible Drying Rack — If your counter space is limited, this sturdy stainless steel rack is perfect for drying cookies. It can accommodate up to four fully-loaded cookie sheets and makes taking them off and on a breeze. Plus, you can aim your fan directly at the rack and hit multiple trays at once.
- Storage Solutions — Now that you have all these new cookie tools, it can really help to have a place to store them all in an organized way. The Store and Stack collection is customizable and allows you to have a place for everything and everything in its place.
Just like any other new skill, piping and flooding with royal icing does take some practice. Oops I said it again. ;) And learning the type of consistency you prefer, is a matter of trial and error. But I promise, once you get the hang of it, it will feel like second nature. Just like riding a bike.
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