You finally found a great royal icing recipe; now, learn how to store the royal icing you made to maximize freshness.
So you worked up the energy to make royal icing! But now you need more energy to decorate, which is not happening today. It has happened to me over and over. The good thing about royal icing is its extended shelf life, making it easy to store.
You may need more time to continue decorating. Or you want to prepare icing in advance for a cookie class or a project you have coming up. Royal icing can be made in advance.
I am going to share how I store royal icing at room temperature, in the refrigerator and freezer. You can always test how long you feel your royal icing is good for and adjust these times.
This post is all about how to store royal icing storage.
When I first started making royal icing, I would immediately transfer the icing to a covered container, let it sit at room temperature for a few days, and put it in the refrigerator for a few days. Then I would throw it away! Ok shocker, I know we all make mistakes but I was a beginner. Royal icing has a good shelf life!
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Tools needed for storage
What should I use to store my royal icing after it is made?
You can store royal icing in piping bags and deli containers with lids.
How to store royal icing at room temperature?
Make sure your royal icing is in a container with a lid. I like to use small and large deli containers because they hold a nice amount of royal icing. Here is the link for the containers. If I will be decorating over a few days I leave the royal icing at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.
Storage in the refrigerator.
After making your royal icing it can go straight in the refrigerator or freezer. Usually, after my icing is out for 2 weeks at room temperature, or if I know I won’t be decorating, I put it in the refrigerator. It can stay in the refrigerator and remain fresh for another 2 weeks.
Storage in the freezer.
Storing royal icing in the freezer is a great way to preserve the icing for a long period. I freeze my icing for up to 6 months. I probably even used icing that was older than that, but 6 months is a reasonable time frame. After my icing has been at room temp for 2 weeks, then refrigerator for 2 weeks, I have then stored it in the freezer.
To defrost it, is very fast, I sit it out on the counter to thaw, and in 30 minutes it is ready to use. Just give it a good stir. If you want to freeze a used piping bag, you don’t need to put it in an uncut piping bag. I put that used piping bag with icing in a ziplock freezer bag. Regardless if it is cut or not I then freeze it.
If you decide to store your icing on the counter, at room temperature, in the refrigerator, or freezer, it can be stored in piping bags or any freezable container. When I keep my piping bags in the freezer I put the piping bags in ziplock freezer bags. No matter the amount of icing I encourage you to freeze your icing. It comes in handy when you need a little royal icing!
