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Decorating Icing Recipe

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This Decorating Icing recipe is an egg-free substitute for Royal Icing. It can easily be made diary-free as well.

A flower made in decorating icing on a Shrewsbury cake.

I would much rather bake a batch of cookies or a cake than decorate them! For that reason, I make use of what ever I can to help decorate baked goods including toys, hollyhock dolls, and candied flowers. But sometimes piping is still required and that is when I make decorating icing. I think it tastes better than royal icing. It dries hard, but remains a bit moist and shiny.

Decorating Icing Recipe

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 -3 teaspoons milk (or rice milk or almond milk)
  • 2 teaspoons corn syrup or corn syrup substitute
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • a few drops of food dye (optional)

Directions:

  1. In a small bowl, combine all of the ingredients until the icing is smooth and lump free. As much as you may be tempted do not exceed 3 teaspoons of liquid – just keep stirring it will become smooth.
  2. Place in a decorator bag or bottle and pipe on cookies or cake.

It hardens quickly once exposed to air, but remains shiny.

Kitchen Tip:

Keeping icing bag/bottle inverted when not in use makes decorating easier.

I keep my decorating bags and bottles inverted in a cup when not in use. This keeps the icing in the tip and prevents air bubbles from splattering icing when I’m decorating and reduces drips on the counter.

I used this icing on Gluten-Free Shrewsbury Cakes and added Candied Flowers.

Printable Recipe for Decorating Icing

A flower made from decorating icing on a Shrewsbury cake
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Decorating Icing Recipe

Try this simple Decorating Icing recipe that tastes better than royal icing and elevates your baked goods beautifully.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword Decorating Icing Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes
Author Alea Milham

Ingredients

  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 - 3 teaspoons milk or rice milk or almond milk
  • 2 teaspoons corn syrup or corn syrup substitute
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • a few drops of food dye optional

Instructions

  • In a small bowl, combine all of the ingredients until the icing is smooth and lump free. As much as you may be tempted do not exceed 3 teaspoons of liquid - just keep stirring it will become smooth.
  • Place in a decorator bag or bottle and pipe on cookies or cake.

Notes

Yields one cup of icing.

More Icing and Frosting Recipes

Icing and frosting aren’t the same thing!  Frosting is the thick, delicious layer you cover your desserts with liberally – the more liberally the better! – unless you’re on a diet.  Icing is for precise decorating.  It dries to a more solid texture than frosting.  Often we use icing to decorate on top of frosting.

Royal Icing Recipe and Instructions for Decorating Sugar Cookies

Cookies and Cream Frosting

How to Make Fluffy Dairy-Free Chocolate Frosting

Crisco Frosting

Fluffy Buttercream Frosting Recipe

Mocha Fudge Frosting

How to Make Fluffy Dairy-Free Frosting

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About Alea Milham

Alea Milham is the owner of Premeditated Leftovers and the author of Prep-Ahead Meals from Scatch. She shares her tips for saving money and time while reducing waste in her home. Her favorite hobby, gardening, is a frugal source of organic produce for her recipes. She believes it is possible to live fully and eat well while spending less.

Comments

  2. Tadka Pasta says

    Always looking for an easy cookie icing that’s not ‘royal’. This looks quick and pretty, thanks!

    Reply

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Welcome. I'm Alea!

On Premeditated Leftovers I share simple recipes made with whole foods, practical shopping tips, time saving techniques, and meal planning strategies. I also share tips for minimizing food waste, so more of the food that is purchased ends up on the table.

While volunteering as a budget counselor, I realized that food is the element of most people’s budgets where they have the greatest control. I set out to develop low-cost recipes from scratch to prove it’s possible to create delicious meals on a limited budget. Eating well while spending less is about more than just creating recipes using inexpensive ingredients; it’s about creatively combining ingredients so you don’t feel deprived and are inspired to stick to your budget.