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.
Mrs Miggins says
Many Thanks for sharing, I've now tried it twice without clycerine and it really is fabulous ☺
Mrs Miggins says
*Glycerine - spellcheck!
Angela says
Hi, I am really keen to try this recipe as I have an egg allergy. Do piped decorations set hard and how long do the last? Store decorations the same as egg white RI? Thanks
Cipriana muhdi says
Sorry I went through all the comments but I just wanted to ask myself. So the glycerin should not mess with how the recipe hardens correct? And it says to add sugar for thicker and more chickpea water to thin it, so if both are used both thick and thin to edge and fill the cookie should both thick and thin mixtures dry the same?
Barbara says
My icing is still soft after a week .. I have scraped the top down to a thin covering and covered with more sugar on top to absorb. I don't know what went wrong .. I foklowed the instructions but doubled the quantities Used about 1.4 kg icing sugar in total. Better luck next year I guess ....
Isabel says
glycerine keeps icing soft.
anon says
not to be a cow but like....................... icing sugar is expensive, why didn't you do a small batch test to ensure you liked the results, first?
Dorota says
I didn’t know this until I looked it up either but icing sugar is just another name for powdered sugar/confectioners sugar.
Seema says
Icing sugar has corn flour added do it won't becomes lumpy due to moisture
Sue says
First time I’ve ever used aquafaba. I used this recipe to decorate gingerbread cookies and they turned out wonderful. The icing created such a nice smooth beautiful appearance and they dry hard so I could gently stack my cookies without any damage. Thank you! This will be my only icing recipe and now I’m excited to try aquafaba in other recipes.