Welcome to the Cake Decorators Q&A
Hi Gucci 906, when I saw your question earlier I thought I’d just check up on this with the Food Standards Agency. From what I gather, commercially made cakes with Royal Icing are made with pasturised eggs, but I guess that is from a food safety angle. Since sugar in high quanitities is a preservative, I would think the icing sugar does preserve the egg white, but like any food it does still have a shelf life. I’ve never had any problems with Royal Icing,however, that’s not to say others haven’t. Hope some of this helps.
Thanks for your info..a big help
I used 1 egg white and 250grams of icing sugar. I used about a teaspoon and a half to go over where I had out my dowels to secure the board in place for my second tier. So not really to be eaten. The cake is for Sunday and have put it in my gagarge which is like a cold store room.
Why do they have these recipes in books if they are deemed unsafe??
one of royali icing’s prime components is egg whites,but you shouldn,t use raw egg whites to make the icing although raw eggs yield the same results they may cause food poisoning and should’t be consumed by pregnant women, young children, or the elderly instead use meringue powder or pasteurized egg whites this is correct hope it helps
Gucci 906, the alternative would be to use dried egg white (Dr Oetker) or merri whites which is sold in decorating shops. I find these two products are fine for icing with and for making flowers, but not for making cake collars ( old hat now a days) which need to set strong and hard. For the sake of safety perhaps it might be better to avoid raw whites. I do agree with you about recipes which instruct the use of raw whites and it would be good to get some sort of official guideline.
All of the above is very good info, from collage days up till now I have used pasteurized egg powder. Its the safest way to make royal icing The Food Standards Agency recommend using only pasteurised egg in any food that will not be cooked(or only lightly cooked).
If you decide to use fresh egg white always use Lion mark, which guarantees that they have been produced to the highest standards of food safety.
Eggs can carry bacteria, so always wash your hands before and after handling eggs. Cracked or dirty eggs should not be used.
This info comes from Eddie Spence MBE
Thanks Px
The cake was eaten and no-one ended up in hospital!! It was used more of a glue than an edible item. I only ever by loin stamped eggs and I always refridgerate when I get them home from the supermarket. I’m glad everyone has such confidence in British eggs!! Didn’t Edwina Curry cause this type of panic years ago?! Shame
