Antique Clock with Lambeth Overpiping

So this was a first for me in many ways! At 17cm high (ca. 6,7in) it is the largest cookie I ever decorated, it was my first try at Lambeth overpiping, and I tried out a new royal icing recipe (used meringue powder for the first time instead of egg whites, and used finer icing sugar (10X instead of my regular grocery store sugar, which is not graded but definitely coarser)). New edible gold powder as well!

It was lots of fun, and I am thrilled with the result! It was easier than it looks because of the large size of the cookie. The Lambeth overpiping was done by superposing piping with a star tip (Wilton 16), piping with a round Wilton 2 and one or two lines of PME 1 depending on area. My icing was colored a light beige-yellow, which I painted when dry with edible gold powder and alcohol, then dusted the undersides with brown powder to add dimension and to give it a more vintage look. My brown powder is unfortunately very red, which is not the best, but it still comes out OK!

Here are two detail photos of the piping:

Absolutely beautiful work! ❤❤❤

Fantastic!

WOW Annelise! Such precise, fine and gorgeous work!!!! ❤️

Oh Annelise, this is so beautiful! Congratulations on a great job.🥰

Beautiful 

Beautiful!!!

Gorgeous!

Gorgeous!

Stunning!!! Your work is magnificent on this piece @Annelise (Le bois meslé). Such amazing detail and the design is so unique ❤️❤️.

Thanks for all the info on making this clock design. I would like to know what gold powder you used . I've used the 10X powdered sugar before and really like the smoothness of it. I think it does make intricate piping a little easier. Did you add any "softening agent" (glycerin or corn syrup) to your icing for elasticity? That's one ingredient I always like to use so that the icing has a bit of a softer bite to it.

Gorgeous!!!

This is an absolutely gorgeous cookie! I LOVE that you used this opportunity to try out not only the Lambeth piping, but also so many other new things. Your tip choices, color choices and finishing dusts really work here to create a glorious sense of depth and really show off all of the amazing ornate details. What a fabulous addition to the challenge!

Annelise (Le bois meslé) posted:

So this was a first for me in many ways! At 17cm high (ca. 6,7in) it is the largest cookie I ever decorated, it was my first try at Lambeth overpiping, and I tried out a new royal icing recipe (used meringue powder for the first time instead of egg whites, and used finer icing sugar (10X instead of my regular grocery store sugar, which is not graded but definitely coarser)). New edible gold powder as well!

It was lots of fun, and I am thrilled with the result! It was easier than it looks because of the large size of the cookie. The Lambeth overpiping was done by superposing piping with a star tip (Wilton 16), piping with a round Wilton 2 and one or two lines of PME 1 depending on area. My icing was colored a light beige-yellow, which I painted when dry with edible gold powder and alcohol, then dusted the undersides with brown powder to add dimension and to give it a more vintage look. My brown powder is unfortunately very red, which is not the best, but it still comes out OK!

Here are two detail photos of the piping:

I am wondering what noticed any difference between the meringue powder vs. egg whites, and also whether the finer sugar made any difference. Do tell!

Gorgeous ❤️❤️❤️!

@Bakerloo Station @Cookies Fantastique Thank you!  To answer your questions and comments :

- the 10X sugar was a definite improvement on my regular icing sugar. The icing was definitely smoother/less grainy, and was very nice to pipe. Too bad it was only a sample I received at CookieCon and that I will now be going back to my usual coarser sugar. Might have to try to find some in France, but I feel it's going to be expensive.

- the meringue powder, I feel, did not make a huge difference - which is a good thing! I was worried about taste (I had tried egg white powder but found it tasted bad), but this meringue powder was virtually tasteless. And it did not have the gritty bits I had found in my egg white powder. One improvement over regular egg whites : the icing is definitely more stable over time. One issue : the recipe is only given in volume and I weigh my ingredients, and there is no handy guide to converting ⅔ of a cup of meringue powder in grams! I would keep using it occasionnally if it was readily available here, but again, this was a sample I received at CookieCon - Genie's dream meringue powder - and it is not distributed in France.

- the gold dust was Wedding gold by the Sugar Arts. Edible, nice colour, coverage comparable to other edible gold dusts I have tried. 

- I don't add corn syrup to my icing, but I tend to overwhip it a little (or a lot, when I forget it in the mixer) which makes for both a softer bite and a very nice piping consistency, easier on the hands and holds up details well. It does take longer to dry.