Royal Icing Snowflakes are royal icing transfers in the shape of snowflakes, decorated with sparkling rose gold sugar and a sugar pearl in the center. These can be used to decorate cakes or platters of cookies or other treats. Perfect for Christmas, a winter party, a Nutcracker birthday party, or a FROZEN birthday party.
For my oldest daughter's 3rd birthday, the theme of her party was FROZEN. I made these royal icing snowflakes to decorate her FROZEN Cake, as well as the platters on the dessert table.
When that same daughter decided on a Nutcracker "Sweet" theme for her 10th birthday, I immediately knew I wanted to make these snowflakes again to decorate the Nutcracker Cake.
She chose a Mocha Cheesecake for her cake, so I used these snowflake royal icing transfers to decorate the top and sides of the cheesecake, as well as the serving platters of Snowflake Cookies.
I love using royal icing transfers to decorate cakes, as I did for her Penelope Bird 1st birthday cake. They are an easy way to add another sugar element to cakes, with more details than you can get when piping with buttercream.
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Supplies
- Printed snowflake template
- Waxed paper
- Royal icing (will require meringue powder)
- Small silicone spatula
- Disposable piping bags
- Piping tip, like #5 round tip
- Plastic piping bag tip coupler
- Sparkling rose gold sanding sugar
- White or pink sugar pearls
Prepare the Piping Surface
The easiest way to make these snowflakes is to print a template for the snowflakes and place it under waxed paper as a guide for piping.
Take a flat cookie sheet, place the printed template on top, then place the waxed paper over the template.
After you have piped those 12 snowflakes, you can move the template over to another area of the waxed paper and pipe another 12.
Pipe and Decorate the Snowflakes
You will start by making a batch of Royal Icing.
Take about ½ cup of this stock icing into a small bowl, and use small amounts (around 1 teaspoon at a time) of warm water to thin the icing into outline consistency. This means it is easily pipeable but still holds it shape when piped.
You do not want the icing to be too thin, or when the royal icing dries, it will be too fragile and break.
Fit a disposable piping bag with a small round tip, like a #5. I use a tip coupler to make it easier to switch tips. You may find you need a smaller tip like a #2 or a #3, and having a coupler on the bag makes switching tips easy.
Place the bag with the tip in a tall glass with the tip at the bottom.
Use a small spatula to transfer the icing to the bag. Twist the opening closed and use a twist tie to secure or hold it closed.
Gather the sparkly sanding sugar and sugar pearls so they are ready to immediately apply to the icing once it is piped.
Pipe onto the waxed paper, tracing over the snowflake shapes.
Repeat with several snowflakes.
Immediately sprinkle with sparkly sanding sugar, then add a sugar pearl to the center.
In addition to the snowflakes, I also wanted to make royal icing transfer 10's for her 10th birthday. I printed out the number "10" in a font I liked, then used that as guide under the waxed paper when piping the royal icing.
As with the snowflakes, I immediately covered the wet icing in rose gold sanding sugar.
Once the royal icing transfers have been coated with sugar, just let them dry for several days, the longer the better. The amount of time it takes for them to fully dry will depend on the temperature and the humidity of your living space.
There is no limit to how long they can sit at room temperature.
Once they are completely dry, shake off the excess sanding sugar. Then, very carefully peel them from the waxed paper. You can store them in an airtight container until you're ready to use them.
How to Use the Snowflakes
I used these snowflakes to decorate this Nutcracker themed cheesecake by placing them on top and carefully pressing them into the sides of the cake. I also placed some on the cake platter around the cake.
I added a few snowflakes on the Snowflake Cookie platter as well.
For the FROZEN Cake, I placed the snowflakes standing up into the buttercream.
Storage
Once the transfers are fully dry, you can store them in an airtight container. They last a very long time, so they can easily be made in advance. I have kept some for several years stored this way, and they look the same.
If they are that old, I don't serve them to anyone to eat but rather treat them like birthday candles: put them on the cake and remove before eating.
📖 Recipe
Royal Icing Snowflakes
Equipment
- 1 Printed snowflake template
- Waxed paper
- 1 Small silicone spatula
- disposable piping bags
- 1 Piping tip, like #5 round tip
- 1 Plastic piping bag tip coupler
Ingredients
- ½ cup Royal icing (will require meringue powder)
- Sparkling rose gold sanding sugar
- White or pink sugar pearls
Instructions
Prepare the Piping Surface
- Place a snowflake template on top of a flat cookie sheet, then place a piece of waxed paper on top of the template.
Pipe and Decorate the Snowflakes
- Place the royal icing into a small bowl, and use small amounts (around 1 teaspoon at a time) of warm water to thin the icing into outline consistency. This means it is easily pipeable but still holds it shape when piped. You do not want the icing to be too thin, or when the royal icing dries, it will be too fragile and break.
- Fit a disposable piping bag with a small round tip, like a #5. A tip coupler makes it easier to switch tips. You may find you need a smaller tip like a #2 or #3.
- Place the bag with the tip in a tall glass with the tip at the bottom. Use a small spatula to transfer the icing to the bag. Twist the opening closed and use a twist tie to secure or hold it closed.
- Gather the sparkly sanding sugar and sugar pearls so they are ready to immediately apply to the icing once it is piped.
- Pipe the royal icing onto the waxed paper, tracing over the snowflake shapes. Repeat with several snowflakes. Immediately sprinkle with sparkly sanding sugar, then add a sugar pearl to the center.
- After you have piped the initial 12 snowflakes, you can move the template over to another area of the waxed paper and pipe another 12.
- Once the royal icing transfers have been coated with sugar, let them dry for several days, the longer the better. The amount of time it takes for them to fully dry will depend on the temperature and the humidity of your living space.
- Once the snowflakes have dried completely, very carefully peel them from the waxed paper.
- Store in an airtight container until ready to use.
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