Covering a Cake with Royal Icing

Covering a cake with royal icing is a much more laborious technique than using sugar paste, as several coats are required to build the icing up to the desired thickness. It sets very firm and is somewhat brittle to slice, but the finished icing has a wonderfully sweet flavour and a clean, architectural finish that is perfect for particular designs, for example the 1950s chic and Art Deco cakes.