Icing Consistencies

In our last blog post, I talked about how to make royal icing. Now, we’re looking at the consistency of the icing itself—and what you can do with it!

The Types of Consistencies

Firstly, you need to know the types of icing there are:

• Base icing is what we mix up in our stand mixer. It’s thick and hasn’t had gel colour or water added yet.

• Thick icing is used for details that need to hold their shape—like leaves, flowers, and textured accents. It’s similar to peanut butter: thick and sturdy.

• Medium icing is perfect for outlining cookies. It creates a wall that keeps your flood icing in place. Think of it as having the texture of toothpaste—it has some shape, but it’s softer than thick icing.

• Thin icing (also known as flood icing) is what you use to fill in large areas. It’s smooth, glossy, and flows easily—like syrup. If it’s too runny, like water, then you’ve added too much water to your base icing.

Mixing to the Right Consistency

I add my gel colour right at the start—especially when I plan to use both medium and thin icing in the same colour. That way, the hue stays consistent across different consistencies.

When thinning your base icing, add water slowly. I use a spray bottle because it lets me add just a little at a time, which gives more control. Once I reach the medium consistency, I scoop some out with a spoon and put it into an icing bag, sealing it right away. Then I continue adding water to the rest of the icing until I reach flood consistency, and bag that as well.

If your icing ends up too thin and starts sliding off the cookie or leaks past the outline, don’t panic. Just add a little of your base icing back in to thicken it. Do not add extra icing sugar — it throws off the egg-to-sugar ratio.

An Example

When making these flower cookies for Mother’s Day, I made three consistencies of icing in a dark burnt orange colour:

• Thick for piping the flowers

• Medium to outline and write the words

• Thin to flood the cookie.

After each stage of adding water, I bagged the icing.

Practice Makes Perfect

Icing consistencies do take some getting used to. As they say—“practice makes perfect!”

Happy icing!