This vegan royal icing that is eggless, dairy free, made with only 2 ingredients and perfect for sugar cookies and cakes. It dries hard and shiny, and can easily be colored, and works great as a gingerbread house glue.
Open a room-temperature can of chickpeas, drain off the aquafaba liquid and keep that for the recipe. Measure out 4 tablespoon and set aside. Put the rest in the refrigerator for your next recipe. Also keep the chickpeas for a different use.
Do you want to add lemon juice to brighten the icing's flavor? Replace 1 teaspoon of the aquafaba.
Add powdered sugar to a mixing bowl.
3 cups organic powdered sugar
Add in the aquafaba, glycerin and lemon juice if using, and stir with a hand-mixer until all are dissolved and the frosting is creamy and stiff.
Add a speck of blue food coloring to brighten the white color*. See notes for detail.
Make Icing to Outline Cookies, Gingerbread Men or Write
Use only 3 tablespoon of aquafaba to make a thicker frosting.Fill a baker's frosting bag either fitted with a writing tip or snip off the tiny tip. Use this bag to pipe buttons and lines on gingerbread cookies and other baked goods.
Make Icing to Fill in Designs or Outlines
Use 4 tablespoon of aquafaba to make a thinner frosting.Flood the outlined designs by spooning in the thinner frosting.
How to Color the Icing
For colored icing, set some white icing in a bowl and add a tiny drop of food coloring, and stir. You won't need much extract to create a color, and remember the frosting color will be darker once dry. All types of food coloring work well in this icing recipe.
gel paste food coloring
To Paint with Food Coloring
Mix ½ teaspoon gel food coloring with 1 teaspoon water or vodka (vodka is preferable because the alcohol evaporates and doesn't melt the hardened icing you are painting.
½ teaspoon gel paste food coloring, 1 teaspoon water or Vodka, food grade paint brushes
Store the frosting
Put frosting in baker's piping bag or sealed container and keep for 4 days at room temperature. To keep longer, refrigerate for 1 week or freeze for three months. Once chilled, bring it to room temperature to use again. You may have to stir or knead the bag to make it creamy again.
Video
Notes
Add baker's glycerin to increase shine and help keep the icing from yellowing over a few days once on cookies.Add lemon juice to off-set the sweetness of the sugar.*Whiten the frosting. Both the aquafaba and vanilla add a yellow tinge to the frosting. To brighten the frosting's white color, add a drop of blue food coloring to a spoon, then remove ¾ of it from the spoon with a paper towel. You must remove most of the drop from the spoon or you'll be turning your white frosting blue. My video in the recipe card below demonstrates how little you need. Poke the blue-tinged spoon into the white frosting and blend again.