Erryday I'm Marblin'
Finally one blog post a lot of you have been waiting for (title credit to my dorky friend, you know who you are!) I know that I've posted quite a few quick videos on my Instagram showing how I decorate marbled biscuits, but here I can explain in detail and hopefully give some tips to those of you who still struggle with this technique.
But before I go into it, one quick thing I'd like to say is no, I did not come up with this technique (can anyone really come up with an original technique these days?) For those of you who have followed me for the past two years, you may remember some 'drama' that came about when I tried this out and posted it on my Insta - insert huge eye roll. Anyway, I never have and never do claim that this is my original idea, I learnt it off someone else just like a lot of you will hopefully learn it from me and to be honest, you see this effect/technique being used in so many different things including food, nails and art. But that being said, I know that a lot of my followers associate this technique with my work as it has become one of my most popular designs and just like with everything else I make and post, I love to share it with you all!
So getting down to what you're all really here for, marbled biscuits! I use my regular biscuit and royal icing recipe that I have up on the blog for this technique but you can give it a go with chocolate too, though when it comes to icing (just like with regular biscuits) I would suggest to only use royal icing, and not just icing sugar mixed with water as you won't get the right consistency and they won't dry well.
As usual, I'll add all my little tips at the end of the tutorial, and just a heads up, this one has a lot of pictures for reference. Also, I really hope the descriptions make sense, this is the sort of tutorial where a video would be easier but for the sake of my blog, I'm going to try and describe it the best I can so I hope it helps!
Marbled Biscuits
Ingredients and equipment:
Shortbread biscuits/any kind of cookie with a flat surface!
Royal icing*
Gel food colours (I use Sugar Flair and Wilton) Cocktail sticks
Scribe tool *optional
Spoon for mixing
Tissue for excess colours
*I use the biscuit and royal icing recipe that's up on my blog!
Method:
1. Water down a bowl* of royal icing in your desired background colour to the required consistency - this should be approx 10 seconds which means that the icing should take about 10 seconds to disappear. If the icing is too runny, it will end up dripping over the edge, and if it's too thick the biscuit may break when trying to lift it so definitely take the time to practice a little so you get the right consistency!
*make sure the bowl is wide enough to fit a biscuit and to be able to lift it out easily too.
(This second picture was after 10 seconds, and the last was after tapping the bowl softly.)
2. Have the cocktail sticks and the food colouring you'd like to use ready, then take one colour and swirl it into the icing.
3. Take your remaining colours and repeat - if you want one colour to be more prominent then add more of that colour, and less of the others.
Tip: wipe the cocktail sticks on a tissue after dipping into the icing, ready for when you need more colour so you don't get icing in your food colours!
4. Hold the biscuit carefully between two or three fingers, and 'drop' it into the bowl of icing - you can keep hold of the biscuit if you like but just make sure that all the edges have been pressed down softly so they're fully covered.
Tip: You'll know if your icing is too runny if the biscuit starts to sink too quickly and you're unable to pick it up easily.
5. Carefully lift the biscuit by gripping the edges softly - it will almost feel like you're peeling it away from the icing but don't lift it completely. You need to shake the excess icing off slightly before lifting it higher, so that you don't get icing that falls over the side. (Note in the last picture, the icing falls back on to the biscuit - if there was too much excess, it would have fallen over the side.)
6. Tap the biscuit against the counter gently to smooth out any uneven icing, then with a scribe tool or a cocktail stick, pop any air bubbles that appear.
8. Repeat step 2 depending on whether you would like to add more colour, but usually I can dip 2/3 biscuits before having to add more - the more colour you use, the more vibrant the design will be.
9. And there you have it! Quick and easy (after a little practise) marbled biscuits!
Optional step 10. If I'm making a set of biscuits where some will have a plain background, I'll always mix the remaining icing to make the perfect neutral shade which matches the marbled effect and that way you're not wasting icing either!
So there it is, in the best way I could describe the steps, how to decorate biscuits with a marbled effect. Personally I find that this is the quickest and easiest way to flood biscuits, but I know that a lot of people struggle to perfect it, so here are a few tips which I hope will help.
1. Yes, I do find having longer nails helps to grip the biscuit (this may sound really silly but I only realised after somebody messaged me on Instagram, asking if it did)
2. Practice achieving the right consistency first. Trust me, it will be so worth it rather than ending up with icing dripping over the edge.
3. It's better to have a thicker consistency than super runny - try using the back of a spoon against the icing, and lift it up to see whether the peak is too stiff or too soft.
4. Let the biscuits air dry just like you would with regular ones.
5. If the colours become a little dull when they dry, that's completely normal! They're always more vibrant when wet so don't worry if you feel like they've lost a little colour when they dry, it shouldn't be too much anyway.
I'm sure there are a few more questions that you all have in regards to this technique, so feel free to comment below or email me and I'll be sure to get back to you! And keep tagging me when you give these a go, I love seeing all of your guys work inspired by mine.
Much love and happy baking~
Sana
