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covering cookies

There are a number of edible materials that you can use to cover your cookies, from the classic royal icing to the more contemporary sugarpaste.

sugarpaste (rolled fondant)

This is a sweet, thick, opaque paste that is soft, pliable, easily coloured and extremely versatile. It is simple and inexpensive to make, just follow the recipe below to create 1kg (2¼lb). I used sugarpaste to decorate a range of cookies featured in this book as it is easy to shape and emboss to create stunning effects, such as the Dressed Up cookies on p70.

ingredients…

60ml (4 tbsp) cold water

20ml (4 tsp/1 sachet) powdered gelatine

125ml (4floz) liquid glucose

15ml (1 tbsp) glycerine

1kg (2¼lb) icing (confectioners’) sieved sugar, plus extra for dusting

1 Place the water in a small bowl, sprinkle over the gelatine and soak until spongy. Stand the bowl over a pan of hot (not boiling) water and stir until the gelatine is dissolved. Add the glucose and glycerine, stirring until well blended and runny.

2 Put the icing sugar in a large bowl. Make a well in the centre and slowly pour in the liquid ingredients, stirring constantly. Mix well.

Ready-made sugarpaste is widely available and comes in a spectrum of colours

3 Turn out on to a surface dusted with icing sugar and knead until smooth, sprinkling with extra icing sugar if the paste becomes too sticky. The paste can be used immediately or tightly wrapped and stored until required.

Store sugarpaste in thick plastic bags in an airtight container

edible gums

Small quantities of these can be kneaded into sugarpaste to make it firmer and more versatile for decorating cookies and can be useful for details such as the bows and tassels of The Graduate (p44). The gum allows the sugarpaste to be rolled out more thinly and the soft paste to be modelled more easily. As a guide, add 5ml (1 tsp) gum to 225g (8oz) sugarpaste, less for firmer paste and more for sticky soft paste. You can use either of the following:

gum tragacanth is a natural gum that is excellent if you have time. Ideally, the gum needs time to work before the paste is used. You will begin to feel a difference in the paste after an hour or so, but it is best left overnight.

cmc is a synthetic substitute but has the advantage that it acts instantly. CMC is known by various names including Tylo Powder and Tylose.

royal 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