This simple eggless royal icing recipe works just as well as the kind with egg whites. It's even easier and much cheaper to make too! Use to decorate cookies and cakes.
A simple vegan royal icing recipe made without egg whites. Instead, using the water from a can of chickpeas (yes! trust me, this works).
Use this icing for covering fruit cakes, wedding cakes, gingerbread houses, writing icing etc etc.
How to make royal icing without egg whites
This vegan royal icing is even easier and cheaper than the kind with egg whites!
Ingredients
So if you haven't already heard of aquafaba, it is simply just the liquid you find in a tin of chickpeas, or other tinned legume. Yep, that water that is normally discarded!
This viscous water is able to trap a lot of air which is the perfect for making meringues, mayonnaise and royal icing.
The only other ingredient needed is powdered sugar. Also known as confectioner's sugar, this is just very very fine sugar that won't weigh down the mixture.
An optional ingredient that I recommend is glycerine. This prevents your icing from drying out and setting too hard.
Instructions
Much like making a meringue, it starts with just the aquafaba (egg white substitute) and getting as much air into it as possible.
Then slowly adding in the sugar, until you get a thick icing.
Flavouring & Colouring
If adding colouring and flavouring, be careful about how much. Preferably use just a tiny amount of paste, where possible.
If you want to add vanilla - opt for vanilla paste or use just ½ tsp at a time, to check the consistency.
Use this royal icing with:
Vegan Shortbread / Sugar Cookies
Leave a comment if you loved this recipe, give a rating and tag #WallflowerKitchen on instagram so I can share your creation on my stories!
📖 Recipe
Vegan Royal Icing
This vegan royal icing uses water from a can of chickpeas in place of egg whites, like magic! This batch makes enough to cover a 20cm cake or ice up to 24 biscuits.
Ingredients
- 135 ml / 41⁄2 fl oz (generous 1⁄2 cup) aquafaba
- 500g/1lb 2oz (4 cups) icing (confectioner’s) sugar, plus extra if needed
- 1 tsp vegetable glycerine, optional
Instructions
1. Put the aquafaba in a large mixing bowl and whisk with an electric hand whisk or stand mixer until foamy. Sift in the icing sugar, a little at a time, and continue to mix for about 10 minutes, until the sugar is incorporated and the mixture is thick and glossy.
2. Add the glycerine and keep whisking until soft peaks are formed. It should now be a pipeable consistency. If you need to make it thicker, add more sugar.
3. Transfer to a piping bag and use immediately or store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 weeks. You will need to whip the mixture again to loosen it up, before using.
Melissa says
Thanks so much for this egg free royal icing recipe! I'm so happy with the results! It's so glossy and set perfectly hard on my trail batch of cookies. Look forward to fixing my gingerbread house together ! merry Christmas!
Aimee says
Hi Melissa, that makes me so happy to hear! I wish I got round to making a Gingerbread house too... it's always so much fun. Enjoy and have a great christmas :-)
Pipli says
I tried it but it was not white neither stiff .... It was of outline consistency... couldn't make any rose out of it.. where did I go wrong...and what is the role of glycerin here?
Aimee says
It doesn't become immediately stiff, you need to let it set. Not sure why it wouldn't be white though. What sugar did you use?
Penny says
Hi, can you clarify please: when you say "brine" do you actually mean brine, as in a solution of salts water,,or do you mean the liquid from a tin of chick peas? It is possible to buy chick peas in brine (salt water) but I don't know where it is stocked locally. My husband prefers these and is always on the lookout. I can, however, buy chick peas in water. Is it water or brine that I use?
Thanks
Aimee says
No just regular tins of chickpeas that you would find on a supermarket shelf. The liquid from those tins. Some people call it a brine because it does have preservatives, including salt. But it shouldn't be overly salty like a jar of olives, for example. Hope that helps clarify!
Peter says
I had problems with this because the liquid in the can of chickpeas obviously wasn't thick enough, so 9 tablespoons couldn't make it thick enough unless I used about three or maybe four times the sugar, or maybe it wouldn't have been strong enough to bnind it even then. If it's repacing eggwhite I imagine it needs to resemble eggwhite, so next time I'll boil it down to thicken.
Aimee says
Hi Peter, the liquid from the can of chickpeas doesn't have to be super thick. It doesn't need to resemble egg white to work :-) I've never had to boil it down first, personally but you can try that if you want.
Priya says
Hi Aimee,
Thanks for sharing such wonderful creations. My question is same as Khyla. I wanted to use this recipe for decorating cookies. I stay in a hot and humid climate. Does it harden well and for how long can you store it? and how should you store it? What would be a substitute of glycerine?
Also, not related to this post, but have you tried vegan macarons? I dearly miss them!
Thanks in advance.