Bake Me I'm Yours... Cookie. Lindy Smith

icing

      Royal icing has traditionally been the standard icing for covering cookies. Today, however, it is often just used to add fine piped detail to covered cookies, for example the Winged Beauty designs (p80). Royal icing is available in ready-to-mix packets but it is just as easy, and cheaper, to make your own.

      Add 2.5ml (½ tsp) glycerine to the icing to prevent it setting too hard

       ingredients…

       1 egg white

       250g (9oz) icing (confectioners’) sugar, sifted

      1 Beat the egg white in a bowl until foamy.

      2 Gradually beat in the icing sugar until the icing is glossy and forms soft peaks.

      3 If you are not using the icing immediately, cover it with plastic wrap to exclude the air until you are ready for it.

      buttercream

      Buttercream is used as a sweet covering which is soft, has a rich flavour and can be easily piped. I used it in the birthday cake for Baby’s First Birthday (p58) to add an interesting texture.

      Use white vegetable fat instead of butter to achieve a pure white ‘buttercream’

      1 Place the butter in a bowl and beat until light and fluffy. Sift the icing sugar into the bowl and continue to beat until the mixture changes colour.

      2 Add just enough milk or water to give a firm but spreadable consistency.

      3 Flavour by adding the vanilla or alternative flavouring. Store in an airtight container until required.

       ingredients…

       110g (3¾oz) unsalted (sweet) butter

       350g (12oz) icing (confectioners’) sugar

       15–30ml (1–2 tbsp) milk or water

       a few drops of vanilla extract or alternative flavouring

      piping gel