Vegan Royal Icing
Did you know you can make Vegan Royal Icing from chickpeas? I finally tried it and it works.
FEATURED COMMENT
“I just love this recipe!! I’ve substituted with both Swerve and Splenda. I made cute fish cookies for my son’s class that were low sugar and so, so cute!! I also usually make a huge batch of frosting and freeze it in small bags for later use – in case anyone wants to know if you can, sometimes it needs a little added sugar or cornstarch. Thanks for sharing your recipes Hani- Hani- I’ve tried several and yours are always my favorite and my go-to if I’m making cookies for others!!” Anna
HOW TO MAKE VEGAN ROYAL ICING
Few weeks back I made Vegan Sugar Cookies. Today I’m going to show you how to make royal icing without egg whites, using aquafaba.
CHICKPEAS BRINE/AQUAFABA
Who would have thought that chickpeas, an annual legume, could be used to make something sweet? I like chickpeas, and I use them in salads or eat them plain with apples. They are also the main ingredient in hummus.
Little did I know that brine from chickpeas can be used to make Vegan Royal Icing and Vegan Sugar Cookies. Isn’t that awesome?! So next time you drain chickpeas be sure save the brine. And you can also freeze it for later.
Make sure to drain the chickpea brine through a fine mesh sieve. Just in case there are some bean bits in the aquafaba. You don’t want those in your vegan royal icing.
CREAM OF TARTAR
I use cream of tartar/potassium bitartrate in this recipe to stabilize aquafaba. Into aquafaba, add cream of tartar and whip it until foamy. Then you can add all of the powdered sugar.
Fit your mixer with a wire attachment and beat on low speed until thick. I also add a little bit of white food coloring while it’s mixing. It helps brighten the icing and has some stabilizers that can help delay icing from crusting.
HOW TO COLOR ICING
To flavor my royal icing I like to add with Vanilla, Lemon and Almond extracts. I know it seems like an odd combination of flavors but it really works. Of course, nothing is set in stone and you can experiments with other flavors. However I’d recommend that you stick with Vanilla Extract. You can then add other flavors of your choice.
FOOD COLORS
I use gel food colors to color royal icing. Check with the manufacturer if you have further questions about the contents of gel food colorings you are using.
HOW DO YOU BAG ROYAL ICING ?
To bag the icing I mostly use tipless piping bags bags and a tape sealer to seal them. Make sure to get the tape too, as the sealer doesn’t come with it.
DOES VEGAN ROYAL ICING DRY HARD?
Yes, this aquafaba royal icing dries hard. If you’d like it to dry with a softer bite try using little bit of corn syrup or invert sugar.
HOW LONG DO COOKIES DECORATED WITH VEGAN ICING LAST?
10-14 days. I find that vegan cookies tend to dry out a little, and they get crunchier with time. I’ve had some vegan decorated cookies for three weeks and they were crunchy and still delicious. You can add invert sugar to vegan cookies and keep them softer for longer.
CAN I USED VEGAN ICING TO MAKE PIPED FLOWERS?
You’ll need to add extra powdered sugar to make it stiff to pipe roses and such. I find vegan royal icing slightly less flexible than traditional meringue based royal icing and it maybe harder to pipe 3 dimensional flowers with it.
DOES AQUAFABA ROYAL ICING TASTE LIKE CHICKPEAS?
No worries, eggless aquafaba royal icing doesn’t taste like chickpeas at all. Vegan icing is a bit sweeter than traditional meringue based royal icing. It’s also less flexible
CAN I USE HOMEMADE CHICKPEA BRINE TO MAKE ROYAL ICING?
For the best results use liquid from store bought can of chickpeas.
MORE VEGAN RECIPES
- Vegan Cut Out Sugar Recipe
- Chocolate Vegan Sugar Cookies
- Vegan Vanilla Cake via Loving It Vegan
- Valentine’s Day Bee Mine Cookies – decorated with vegan royal icing
Vegan Royal Icing
Ingredients
Vegan Royal Icing
- 6 tbsp strained canned chickpeas brine (90 ml)
- 4-5 cups powdered sugar (480-600grams)
- 1/2 tsp cream of tartar substitute 1/2 tsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp Vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
- 1/2 tsp lemon extract
- 3 drops white food coloring
Instructions
VEGAN ROYAL ICING
- Open a can of store bought chickpeas, drain and strain the brine though a fine mesh sieve.
- Measure chickpea brine (6 tablespoons, 90 milliliters) into a bowl of your stand mixer. Add cream of tartar (1/2teaspoon). Beat with a wire beater until the mixture is foamy. Add all powdered sugar (4-5 cups, 480-600grasms) and continue beating on low speed until thick.Beat in Vanilla Extract (1/2tsp), Lemon Extract (1/2tsp) and white food coloring (3drops). Beat until thick, 5-8 minutes.
Storage
- Store in an airtight container, covered with plastic wrap, and closed with a lid in the fridge for up to 5 days. Let come to room temperature before using.Thin icing with room temperature water to desired consistency.
Color Vegan Royal Icing
- Vegan royal icing can be colored with gel food colors.
Notes
Did you make these Decorated Cookies? Tag @hanielas on Instagram and hashtag it #hanielas
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Worked out great! I did a marble effect on Christmas cookies: used anise and vanilla extracts. I also used aquafaba from my Rancho Gordo chickpeas, and it turned out perfectly. So happy to find a vegan option. It’s also great when you’ve forgotten to buy eggs/egg whites!
Hi Carrie,
that is fantastic.
Merry Christmas!
Hi Hanielas
I am baffled I’ve been making the aquafaba icing but can’t overcome the bleeding of colour I’ve tried letting the base dry overnight and just allowing to crust. I am especially struggling with black and red colour. I don’t know what to do. Please help
Hi Marx,
have you tried using white gel color? What kind of food colors are you using?
Hi Marx,
have you tried adding white gel color? What kind of food colors are you using?
Do you let colored icing rest/mature?
Is it very humid where you are?
Why is the amount of powdered sugar vague? Should it be 4 or 5 cups?
Hi Jocelyn,
If you need to make it a bit stiffer you can add more powdered sugar.
Hi Hanni again! Uhm I was so sure that somewhere in ur page, saw that the vegan royal icing can be stored in the freezer, right? If it’s like that… uhm, in what way u put in in a container, how long lasts? All the tips, because I’m gonna travel soon, but not for so long & I want my icing to be ready to use when I’m back…
Please help ♡
Thanks :)!
Hi Charlotte,
yes, you can store it in the freezer. Let it come to room temperature and check the consistency, if needed add a little powdered sugar to
restore the stiff consistency.
Excuse the language but what mfing sorcery is this!? Fabulous! Thank you for sharing Haniela 💗
Hi Gigi, thank you. I’m glad you like it.:-)♥
Hey, thanks for this!
So far I’ve tried making royal icing using aquafaba, egg replacer powder, I’ve tried adding lemon juice or cream of tartar and whatever else I can find- but it’s taking upwards of four days to dry. It crusts very quickly, but then just stays gooey under the surface…. What am I doing wrong?! I’m following very well known recipes, not eyeballing it.
Hi G,
Where do you source aquafaba? Do you make it yourself or strain it from the canned chickpeas?
Also, please make sure the tools and mixer are grease free. I usually have an opposite problem, where it’s crusting and drying quite fast.
Have you tried working with a vegan royal icing mix to see if you experience the same problem? It’s hard to figure out what could be causing this without
seeing you make it.