If you’ve ever wondered how to prevent air bubbles in royal icing, you’re not alone! We’ve all been there: you’re flooding your cookies with beautiful royal icing, and suddenly—pop! An air bubble appears right in the middle of your design. Or worse, you wake up the next morning to find your gorgeous cookie covered in tiny little craters where air bubbles dried into the surface.
Air bubbles are one of those frustrating cookie decorating problems that seem to pop up (pun intended) out of nowhere. But here’s the good news: they’re totally preventable!
What Causes Air Bubbles?
The culprit is pretty simple: air bubbles form when air gets introduced into your icing during the mixing or bagging process. The more you mix, the more air you’re incorporating. And once that air is in there, it wants to make its way to the surface—usually right after you’ve flooded your cookie.
What Do Air Bubbles Look Like?
When wet, the air bubbles will look like a little lump in the icing. When dry (if they don’t pop), they will look like this (like a little pimple LOL):
If they pop while drying, they will look like this (like holes in your precious icing):
How to Prevent Air Bubbles in Royal Icing
1. Don’t Overmix Your Icing
This is the big one! When you’re mixing your royal icing, resist the urge to crank your mixer up to high speed. I never go above medium speed (about a 4 on my stand mixer) when making royal icing. Yes, it might take a little longer, but you’ll incorporate way less air into your icing. Trust me, it’s worth the extra minute or two!
2. Let Your Icing Rest Before Bagging
Before you bag your flood icing, give it a few minutes to just sit in the bowl (covered, of course!). During this time, any air bubbles that got mixed in will naturally rise to the surface. Once you see them at the top, gently pop them with your spoon or spatula. It’s oddly satisfying! You can also tap the bowl on the counter (placing a towel underneath will reduce the sound).
3. Remove Air Bubbles Before Sealing the Piping Bag
Once your icing is bagged, there are two techniques I swear by for removing remaining air pockets before sealing the bag:
🌀 The “Lasso” Technique
Okay, this one sounds absolutely wild, but stick with me here. Once your icing is bagged, before you close the end with a clip, twist the top of the bag tightly. Then, hold it firmly and spin the bag around like a lasso above your head.
I know, I know—it sounds crazy! But this centrifugal force pushes all those tiny air bubbles up to the top of the bag where they can’t cause problems in your icing. I’ve only had one mishap with this method (lesson learned: make sure you’re holding tight!), and I find it to be the most effective way to remove air bubbles from bagged icing.
💕 The “Love Tap” Method (If Lassos Scare You)
If the idea of spinning your icing bag over your head makes you nervous (fair enough!), there’s a gentler alternative. Once your bag is closed with a clip, simply whack it firmly with the palm of your hand several times. The air bubbles will work their way up to the top of the bag. It’s not quite as effective as the lasso method, but it definitely helps!
5. Pop ‘Em While You Work
Even with all these prevention methods, you might still get the occasional air bubble when you’re flooding your cookies. No worries! Just grab your scribe tool and pop any bubbles you see while the icing is still wet. This is why I always keep my scribe handy while I’m decorating—it’s my secret weapon for those sneaky bubbles that appear out of nowhere.
Just remember: you can only pop air bubbles while the icing is wet, so work quickly and keep an eye out for them!
The Bottom Line
Knowing how to prevent air bubbles in royal icing doesn’t have to be complicated! With these simple techniques—mixing at the right speed, letting your icing rest, and using the lasso or love tap methods—you can significantly reduce (or even eliminate!) those pesky bubbles.
And hey, if a few still sneak through? That’s what scribes are for!
Learning how to prevent air bubbles in royal icing is one of those skills that will make your cookie decorating so much smoother (literally!). Have you tried any of these methods? Do you have your own air bubble prevention tricks? I’d love to hear what works for you!
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Other posts you might be interested in:
- What Is Royal Icing: A Beginner’s Guide
- My Royal Icing Recipe
- My Cookie Recipe
- Royal Icing Consistencies
- How to store royal icing (more detailed instructions)
- Troubleshooting Royal Icing: Common Problems While Cookie Decorating
- How much icing per cookie
- All of my favorite cookie decorating supplies
- Left-Handed Cookie Decorating
- Cookie Decorating Practice Sheets