Royal Icing

Sunday Blessings Lovelies

a very thought provoking yet festive morning at church

 as we sang Christmas hymns in praise of the Lord

Back home MrD continued with his wood working 

Family gathered round, icing Christmas cake

Liskeard, Cornwall, England.- December 1941

For me it was time to ice our Christmas Cake..

while listening to the dulcet tones of Mr Bing Crosby..

with festive tunes like this

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen 1942

My preferred icing for my Christmas cake is a very old recipe. Royal Icing from Mrs. Beeton’s Book of Household Management first published in the 1860s. My grandmother used it..as did her mother... so why change a good thing 

You can have a smooth finish to the icing.. and use some in piping if you're so inclined. But I kept it simple and fluffed it up a bit.. in an attempt to make it look like snow. This amount covers a small cake.. you can easily double the amount. And dont forget Royal Icing is brilliant for cookie decorating too

Just remember this piping takes at least four hours to dry hard.. so dont lay anything on top for a while

½  lb. of icing sugar

1 teaspoonful of lemon-juice

1 white of egg.

• Put the white of egg into a basin
• Add the sugar gradually and work well with a wooden spoon. 
• When the preparation presents a smooth, white brilliant appearance add the lemon-juice
• Use as required.
• Leave to dry for at least four hours