How to make icing so that it does not crumble. Aising ("Ice pattern"). Secrets of working with icing

Icing is a sugar-protein drawing mass used for decorating cakes and other confectionery. It can be white or colored if special dyes are added.

icing recipes

There are several recipes for icing, but most often confectioners use the following options for its preparation:

Ingredients:

  • 250 g of powdered sugar;
  • 0.5 tsp lemon juice;
  • 1 egg white.

To prepare the icing, the powder should be sifted, and the protein should be carefully separated from the yolk and beat with a fork until a light foam is obtained. While constantly stirring the mass, it is necessary to pour in the powdered sugar in a thin stream and beat until a stable mixture is formed. Lemon juice is added at the very end, because if you pour it in earlier, the products are more fragile.

Recipe for icing with albumin.

The difference between this cooking method and the previous one is that instead of raw egg white, dry albumin is used, but the time of whipping the mixture increases slightly (from 3-4 minutes when working with raw protein to 6-7 minutes with albumin).

Recipe for icing "Mering pudder".

Ingredients:

  • 450 g of powdered sugar;
  • 3 tbsp powder "Mering pudder";
  • 6 tbsp warm water.

The mixture is whipped with a mixer at low speed for 7-10 minutes. Its consistency is regulated by water. You can buy dry protein in specialized stores.

After preparing the drawing mass, it can be painted with watery or gel paints, and so that the icing does not spread, you need to add a little powdered sugar to it.

Flexible icing

The art of confectionery decoration has reached a new level with the advent of flexible icing. Prior to this, sugar decorations required very careful handling, and work with them was long and meticulous. Such products dried for a long time, broke easily, and in order to give the decor elements the desired shape, they had to be dried on uneven surfaces. Flexible icing (Sugarveil) solved most of these problems.

The main advantages of the Shugavale mix are:

  • kneading for a few minutes by adding the right amount of water;
  • Drawings freeze in half an hour, and from a regular mixture in about 12 hours;
  • Decoration elements are easily separated from parchment or polyethylene, while they are elastic and do not break even if the pattern is very thin;
  • A flat design easily takes the shape of the surface on which it is placed, that is, lace can be glued to the curve of the cake or to its side;
  • Flexible icing decorations can be applied to the product immediately before serving.

It is extremely difficult to draw Shugavale lace by hand, so it is better to use silicone molds with ready-made designs. The solution is poured into the stencil, and then leveled, after which it is easily removed.

You can work with silicone molds only with Shugavale mixture, as it, when it hardens, forms an elastic structure that can be easily removed. Drawings from the usual mass are likely to break during such manipulations. Flexible lace can be used as a full ribbon, or cut out of them as separate decorative elements.

How to work with icing

The technique of decorating cakes with icing is one of the most ancient, sophisticated and expensive. Currently, there are more than 10 ways to decorate confectionery products with sugar-protein mass, but the principle of working with icing remains unchanged.

To prepare an ornament, you need to make a sketch of the product or take a stencil. Then a piece of cellophane is placed on the selected template so that the outlines of the pattern are clearly visible.

After that, a cone-shaped bag with a hole at the base is rolled up from thick paper, which is filled with drawing mass. Then, gently squeezing the icing out of the cone, you need to circle the pattern on the stencil, applying the mass to the cellophane. The resulting sketch is left to dry.

Since icing products for decorating a cake are very fragile, you should make a little more blanks than necessary. To give the decor elements some form, you need to prepare fixtures of the appropriate shape. For example, painted butterflies are dried on a slightly ajar book. In this case, they are not flat, but with raised wings.

To get openwork spherical products, the protein mass should be applied to small inflated balloons lubricated with vegetable oil. After the icing dries, the balls are pierced and carefully removed from the resulting decorations.

Separate parts can be glued together with egg white, previously mixed with powdered sugar.

Depending on the size of the part and the humidity of the air, the drying time of the products also varies. An ordinary flower dries in two days, and huge elements take up to 5-6 days. Blanks can be placed in the oven, but the temperature in it should not exceed 40 ° C.

Icing cake decorations can be placed on the surface of ready-made (baked and cooled) sufficiently dry confectionery products, on chocolate and other sweets that do not require special storage conditions.

Finished decorative blanks can be stored in a box for a long time at room temperature and normal humidity. In no case should you put icing decorations in the refrigerator, as they liquefy under the influence of cold, so pre-cooked products are placed on the cake immediately before serving.

Aising is a sugar icing that is good for drawing patterns and making voluminous figures. This is not the icing that Easter cakes are covered with. The recipe comes from England, just like the name. In the UK, a mixture for painting with sugar is called RoyalIcing - royal icing. It is not intended for smoothing the surface, but for decoration. Cakes decorated in this way look delicate and airy. It seems that only an artist can create such beauty. However, it is not. We will talk about the features of this glaze and give a recipe so that any housewife can make icing jewelry at home.

Aising at home

Ingredients:

  • protein of one egg;
  • 200-250 grams of powdered sugar;
  • lemon juice: 0.5-1.0 teaspoon.

Cooking:

Refrigerate the egg so it beats better. Crack the egg and carefully separate the white. The slightest hit of the yolk will ruin everything. Did not work out? Crack another egg. In the protein you will see clots, kind of strings. Delete them. The protein must be absolutely homogeneous. Add citric acid.

Choose a clean and dry bowl with high sides suitable for whipping. If there are traces of fat on the dishes, a lush protein mass will not work. Beat for no more than a minute.

Particular attention should be paid to the quality of powdered sugar. The best result is obtained from the finest grinding powder. As a rule, this is a factory product. If your powder is too coarse, try to achieve the ideal with a coffee grinder or food processor.

Add the powder to the protein in small portions and beat until stable peaks form. The properties of the drawing mass depend on how long you beat. If you whip to soft peaks, the frosting is perfect for drawing thin lines directly onto the confection. If you work longer, then the mass will whip up to hard peaks. This consistency is optimal for making stencil figurines. Thicker lines are needed there so that the patterns do not crumble when you try to pick them up.

Check the consistency of the icing. Squeeze a thin thread between two fingers. Happened? Holding on? If the mass rolls, or the thread turns out to be intermittent, then the consistency is not thick enough. Add powdered sugar. If the thread is too thick and short, the icing is too thick. Dilute it with a drop of lemon juice. With the right consistency, a thin thread does not break, even if you move your fingers.

You can add dry food coloring at this stage. It's dry. Liquid - will spoil the consistency.

So, we have achieved the correct density. Now we shift the mass into a pastry bag, with which we will draw. Everything that remains, be sure to cover with a film. If this is not done, a crust will form very quickly, and it will no longer be possible to draw with the mixture.

We shift the icing into a storage dish and cover with cling film - a crust forms on the mass very quickly.

How to draw

If you have drawing skills, a stencil is not required. Grab a silicone mat or an ordinary stationery file lubricated with a drop of olive oil and start creating!

If you are not confident in yourself as an artist, use icing stencils that can be downloaded on the Internet. Patterns in colorings for the little ones are well suited.

Place the pattern in the file, wipe it with a cotton swab dipped in oil and trace the outlines. Avoid too thin lines - the product will turn out to be too fragile and will live only a few seconds.

You can draw in stages with several colors. First draw lines of the same color. Let dry. Draw lines of a different color.

How to make voluminous figurines

The simplest example of a three-dimensional figurine is a butterfly spreading its wings.

To prevent the butterfly from being flat, draw according to the file previously placed in the open book. The angle at which the book is opened will make the butterfly voluminous.

To get semi-circular shapes, put the file with the drawn contours on a cylinder or half-cylinder.

A more complex way to make 3D molds is by gluing flat parts together. The complexity of this method lies in the fact that you must first find (or draw) drawings of all the details of the future figure. After the parts dry, proceed to the installation of the whole.

Details are glued either with protein or with the same mixture for drawing.

Patterns made in the form of a ball look very impressive. You can make small balls, or you can make an openwork hemisphere that will decorate a large cake. To create this shape, you will need a regular balloon. Inflate the balloon to the size you want. Gently brush with a cotton swab dipped in olive oil. Apply the pattern, leave in a dry place until completely dry.

It is better to make icing decorations with a margin, with the expectation that some figures will break due to fragility, and some will be eaten by children without having time to ask permission.

Ice Features

Icing patterns are afraid of the refrigerator. Do not decorate baked goods that require storage in the refrigerator. The exception is figurines on wooden skewers. They are fixed on a delicacy immediately before serving. The mass cannot be deposited on the cream - it spreads. It is possible only for dry baked dough such as gingerbread, gingerbread or cookies.

Aising cannot be painted over the glaze - it spreads. If the cake is covered with icing or cream, then icing decorations can be made on a wooden skewer and simply inserted into the cake.

A thicker mixture resembles plasticine in its properties. You can mold it with your hands. Try to make the figurines smaller, otherwise the cake will be eaten long before they dry.

The patterns on the film or silicone mat are dried in the room. The lower the humidity, the faster this happens. Small parts become strong in 1-3 days. Large items can dry for a week.

To give volume to flat drawings, place them on curved surfaces: an open book, semi-cylinders.

You can choose any shape, as long as the drawing does not roll off it.

Aising, the recipe of which we will talk about today, allows you to create a wide variety of styles for decorating desserts.

Aising is inherently a sugar-protein mass, the term of which means nothing more than an “ice pattern”.

In fact, there is more than one recipe for making icing at home. In this MK, we will consider the most common one, where we will learn how to make icing for drawing patterns.

Chicken egg is a useful biological product for human health, and an excellent ingredient for the preparation of confectionery. However, raw eggs carry an acute intestinal acute infection in the form of salmonellosis. Of course, modern poultry farms constantly monitor the safety of derivative products, but no one can guarantee 100% safety of raw eggs consumed.

As you know, in order to disinfect the protein of a chicken egg, it must be processed at a temperature of at least 70 °. But we need protein in its raw form, not in custard (where it lends itself to similar heat treatment).

To disinfect the egg white, prepare a strong solution of soda and water (1 tablespoon of soda / glass of water), where we place the egg for 15-20 minutes.

Ingredients for sugar-protein mass

1 chicken egg white

200 grams of powdered sugar (may need more)

½ teaspoon lemon juice

Inventory

dinner fork and spoon

cling film or damp kitchen towel

food paper

How to cook icing: a master class

Separate the protein from the yolk. We will see nodules in the protein composition, which we also need to carefully remove.

Sift powdered sugar through a sieve, saturating with oxygen.

Beat the protein in a light foam using a fork.

Gradually add powdered sugar to the protein.

Add powder to the composition until a viscous mass is obtained.

In principle, the icing is ready, but in order to get a homogeneous elastic mass that will not spread, beat the composition. We do this at minimum speed using a kitchen mixer for no more than 5 minutes of time.

At this stage of whipping, it is permissible to color the mass in the desired color by adding.

We cover the composition with cling film or a moistened towel. The cream hardens quite quickly, so we need to try not to let it stick before we start working with it.

To make sure that the composition and manufacture of the icing is correct, we will make a strip that should hold perfectly between the stretched fingers. We move our fingers, if the icing is not torn, then we have maintained the correct consistency.

In the absence of a special culinary cornet for working with icing, we will make it ourselves.

We take a sheet of food paper, fold it into a triangle.

We form a glass.

Trim off the excess paper.

We spread the sugar-protein mass in a homemade cornet.

We wrap the glass so that it is possible to squeeze out of it.

We cut off the "nose" of the cup - we maintain a minimum cut in order to get thin stripes when drawing.

And such beauty is able to create a cornet filled with icing.

"Ice" icing patterns on the finished cake

Aising allows you to make truly ice.

And even create figures of extraordinary beauty.

Ice figures freeze very quickly on any surface of the desired shape. The main thing is not to let the composition stick to objects.

Decoration with icing is an original, refined and fairly simple way to make any confectionery product even tastier and more appetizing in appearance. However, in order for the lace icing to turn out to be truly flawless, it is important to follow a few simple recommendations. We will try to highlight the main and most important of them in this article.

Be careful not to beat the icing mix too hard. If you are not yet experienced enough, it is better to use a fork - it is easy enough for it to destroy the integrity of the protein and bring the mixture to a homogeneous state. Another option is to take a mixer, only use it at the slowest speed and not for long. Too much whipped icing becomes fluffy and oversaturated with bubbles, which can affect its strength.

Powdered sugar should be the finest grinding. Do not try to make it yourself with a coffee grinder and sugar - it is better to immediately take the purchase. If the icing turns out with grains, it will be possible to say goodbye to its plasticity, and such a mixture will become useless for making openwork figures.

A good technique that should be mastered by anyone who is going to paint with icing is ironing. It allows you to get rid of air bubbles in the sugar mixture and lies in the fact that before use, a portion of icing is smeared on a clean surface with a pastry spatula. Smoothing is also used if icing is needed a little softer than the standard consistency, because this action releases liquid and the mixture becomes less dense. For smoothing, 7-10 spatula movements in both directions are usually sufficient.

Two useful tricks to check the readiness of icing:

  • Fork. In a bowl with icing, draw a strip. If the mixture is brought to the desired condition, the strip should be clear.
  • Finger. If you dip your finger into the sugar mixture, the icing does not flow back into the bowl, but remains in the form of a hard peak.

Many people are interested in how to choose a package in which to place the icing for drawing. Of course, ideally it is better to use a confectionery syringe, but since not every housewife has it, you have to make an icing bag from improvised materials. It is best to use a tight bag or roll up a bag of thick paper - the main thing is that it is elastic enough and does not bend in your hands when squeezing out the mass. The hole in the bag is better to make smaller.

Regardless of whether you use ready-made icing stencils or draw (print) them yourself, we advise you not to make lace decorations on top of the template itself, but to put cling film or glass between them - this way, the template will become available for reusable use.

We bring to your attention a video that tells you how to make beautiful openwork icing balls:

All lovers of making jewelry from icing are faced with such a problem as ponytails. Tails are small sticking out pieces of the sugar mixture that remain on the part when you stop extruding the mixture at the moment the stencil stroke is completed. Here are a few ways to deal with ponytails:

  • Correct pressure on the mixture bag is important. At the end of the outline of the stencil detail, it is necessary to stop putting pressure on the bag (even a little), and then abruptly tear the tip of the bag off the surface. You can apply a circular tip tear: first to the side at 3 o'clock, and then a semicircle to nine.
  • If the tips still remain, you need to smooth them with a slightly damp brush or just with your finger (without waiting for the icing to dry).
  • An important point is in what sequence to trace the lines of the stencil. If you first draw all the internal lines, their tails can simply be covered with a contour main line drawn at the end.

A separate trick is the manufacture of colored icing. We do not recommend adding food coloring during the preparation of the mixture, as in this case the icing may not whip well. A much smarter option is to paint the finished jewelry by hand using a flat brush with natural fibers. To do this, dilute the food coloring in a small amount of water and, lightly dipping the brush to a barely damp state, begin to gently paint over the surface of the jewelry.

To get a more saturated shade, first wait for the first layer to dry, and only then start painting again.

An interesting idea is to use an ordinary spray gun to spray the diluted dye in the finest dispersion mode.

If you are preparing an icing cake for a specific date, please note that icing products require drying at room temperature (at least overnight, and possibly longer). Aising is afraid of moisture, so it cannot be stored in the refrigerator, especially if there is high humidity - it is best to put jewelry in a cardboard or plastic box. It is better to install icing figurines on a cake covered with protein cream immediately before serving.

If you can’t call yourself an icing master yet, make all the decorative elements in two or even three copies (especially if you have to combine them into a complex three-dimensional structure): often fragile figures often break, and the remaining ones may not be enough for a full-fledged cake decoration.

In conclusion, we suggest watching a video on how to work with icing at home - perhaps everything that has been said will become more understandable.



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