SC - saving wedding cake was Sweets to the sweet

[Jeff Gedney]

> But if this Royal Icing is so hard, is it eaten? Or is it broken off of the
> cake like a nut's shell and set aside?

Eater's discretion.
Though hard, it pulverizes easily, being frissile, and will dissolve readily
in moisture. 
Usually it is not very flavorful, if no flavoring is added, it tastes like 
sugared chalk. 
Whic I make it, I always add straberry or vanilla flavoring, unless I want a 
truly WHITE icing, then I might add white vanilla powder.

In England, royal icing is often cooked, and is harder.
American royal icing is usually uncooked egg whites beaten with sugar, 
like a thick merange, until it will hold its shape. If crushed, it powders 
readily. It is commonly used for piping decorations. 

One of the most painful weddings I went to had a beautiful cake with 
royal icing decorations on a fondant base. 

It was high summer, and one of those extremely muggy days that 
Connecticut sometimes sees, where the mosture was accumulating
on every surface, and we were all drenched within minutes with sweat 
and moisture. The event occurred at a capmground, in a special chapel 
set up in a wooded area, just for the purposes (Yes it was suits and 
tuxes... ) . We then retired to the screened in dining area, where the 
caterer served the meal. 

What made it "painful" to me was watching the cake run all over the table.
Seems the caterer had got it into his head to freeze the cake (to protect it
from the heat) two days before the wedding, and brought it out before the 
ceremony in the woods. The condensed moisture was literally soaking the
cake! The piped royal icing decorations just dissolved and ran off the cake.

As a cake decorator by hobby, and appreciating the work that went into 
that cake, I cringed almost throughout the dinner, watching the cake
slumping and slurping it self into formlessness.


brandu

I have the top of my wedding cake in my freezer, btw. 


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