make royal icing hydrangeas for a wedding cake
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Few treats will impress guests as much as cakes and cupcakes decorated with edible icing flowers. Icing-based hydrangeas, in particular, with their seasonal pastel blue and purple hues, are ideal on cakes destined for a springtime garden party or brunch.
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Things You'll Need
- Electric stand mixer
- 1 cup shortening
- 4 cups powdered confectioners' sugar, plus 4 tbsp. as needed
- 3 tbsp. meringue powder
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup warm water, plus 1/4 cup as needed
- Cake-frosting spatula
- 2 mixing bowls, glass or plastic
- Toothpicks
- Purple gel paste food coloring
- Blue gel paste food coloring
- Plastic wrap
- Pastry bag
- Pastry bag tip coupler and coupler cap
- Pastry bag tip, size 2D (large closed star)
- Wax paper
Instructions
Making the icing
1
Beat shortening in the bowl of the standing mixer on medium speed until softened and airy, about two minutes.
2
Turn off the mixer and add the confectioners' sugar and meringue powder to the shortening. Turn the mixer back on and beat on low speed until the ingredients blend together.
3
Add 1/2 cup of water to the shortening, sugar and meringue powder. Beat five to seven minutes, or until the mixture is glossy and stiff peaks form.
4
Check the consistency of the icing by turning off the mixer and lifting the top of the machine out of the bowl. The icing should not be too soft or too firm, or it won't hold or create shapes well. To test the icing's consistency, dip the cake-frosting spatula into the mixer bowl and scoop up some icing. It should stick to the knife but look shiny, or slightly wet. If it's dull and stiff, add water in small portions, up to 1/4 cup, beating for one minute between each addition. If it's too soft, add powdered sugar, 1 tbsp. at a time as needed, up to 4 tbsp., beating for one minute after each addition.
5
Divide the finished icing in half with the cake-frosting spatula and place each half in a separate bowl.
6
Color your icing with the gel pastes. Squeeze a small dollop of the purple gel paste food coloring onto the tip of a toothpick. Stir the toothpick into one bowl of icing, repeating the process until you achieve the color depth you prefer. Color the second bowl of icing with the blue gel paste food coloring, using the same method, continuing until the icing reaches the depth of hue that you prefer. Stir each bowl of frosting once more with a clean cake-frosting spatula to completely distribute colors.
7
Cover both bowls of icing with plastic wrap until you're ready to use the frosting. Icing dries out quickly if it's exposed to air for more than a few minutes.
Making the flowers
8
Assemble the pastry bag, coupler and tip. Unscrew the coupler's cap, and place the coupler inside the pastry bag, pushing the coupler down and through the narrow end of the bag until it protrudes slightly out of the bag. Place the 2D tip through the coupler's cap, so that the tip rests inside the cap. Screw the cap with the tip onto the coupler and bag and tighten so that the tip and coupler are securely attached to the pastry bag.
9
Scoop purple icing with the cake-frosting knife into one side of your pastry bag, and repeat the process on the other side with blue icing. The pastry bag should be only half full from top to bottom, so you may not use all of the icing at once. Keep unused icing covered.
10
Twist the empty top half of your pastry bag shut, and squeeze and push the icing down toward the tip. Continue squeezing until icing just begins to come out of the tip, to ensure that all of the air is out of your pastry bag. Clean tip off with the cake-frosting knife. The small amount of frosting that comes out of the tip during the air-removing process can be returned to either bowl.
11
Make several practice hydrangea blossoms on wax paper before decorating your cake. Hold the pastry bag with one hand at the top of the icing bulge and the other holding the tip. Squeeze down on the pastry bag at the top of the icing while guiding the tip. Pull up slightly and rotate the bag a quarter turn as you squeeze. When you see a hydrangea blossom shape, stop squeezing and quickly pull the bag upward and away.
12
Decorate your cake with icing hydrangeas once you're comfortable with the flower-making process. Place each hydrangea blossom right next to another, for the cluster effect that replicates the flower's natural appearance. Each hydrangea cluster should have eight to 10 separate flowers.
Tips &- Warnings
Find supplies including meringue powder, gel paste food coloring and pastry-bag tips at your local hobbies and crafts store.
You can also make hydrangeas using a single frosting color in your pastry bag, rather than mixing colors. Experiment with other colors, including pink.
Give your hydrangeas a mounded or round look, if you prefer, by squeezing a dollop of frosting onto the cake and placing the hydrangea blooms around and on top of the frosting mound.
Tags: food coloring, paste food, paste food coloring, icing with, meringue powder, your pastry, bowl icingSource: www.ehow.com
