Royal icing is a hard white
icing, made from softly beaten
egg whites,
icing sugar (powdered sugar), and sometimes lemon or lime juice. It is used on
Christmas cakes,
wedding cakes,
gingerbread houses and many other cakes and cookies, either as a smooth covering, or in sharp peaks.
Glycerine is often added to prevent the icing from setting too hard. When placing icing on cakes,
Marzipan is usually used under the royal icing in order to prevent discoloration of the icing.