How to color fondant; this is the question that plagues many beginner decorators. Coloring fondant can be a frustrating endeavor; trust me, been there, done that!
You are looking to make a bright frozen character purple and you end up with a greyish dirty purple. This leaves you wondering “what on earth did I do wrong? Thankfully, we’ll draw from years of trial and error and experimentation to help you.
Here are a few tips on how you can get that bright, intense color to make your cakes pop:-
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Table of Contents
Use the Right Type of Food Color
Using the right type of food coloring would enable you to color your fondant right
First off, avoid liquid colors if possible. Liquid colors would impact on the consistency of your fondant and make it sticky. Gel or paste colors on the other hand do not alter the consistency of fondant. So they are considered the best type of food colors for fondant.
A close second best option for coloring fondant is powdered food color.
However, in a situation where all you have is liquid color, you can go ahead and use it. But you would have to add a little extra icing sugar to combat the stickiness.
Check out this video; you’ll learn a thing or two.
Add the Food Color From Scratch
In this method of coloring fondant, you would have to add the color at the beginning while making the fondant from scratch. This method is more viable for situations where you need a large batch of colored fondant to cover a cake and also where you make your fondant from scratch.
Colors like black for instance are less messy and easier to achieve if you add it to your wet ingredients while making the fondant.
But alas this might not work all the time because most times you need several colors in small batches.
The accompanying video is for a marshmallow fondant recipe but the principle would apply for any fondant recipe. Check it out:
Add the Color In Little Drops
Start out by adding your color in drops; that way you’ll not be able to get a darker color than you intend. Drop by drop. It is easier to deepen fondant without needing more fondant than lightening it.
In case you add more color than you intend you can always add white fondant. But you don’t want this to happen all the time; so add your color one drop at a time.
Buy Ready-To –Use Colored Fondant
You can save yourself all the stress by buying already made colored fondant. This may not be a very cost effective idea especially if you are on a tight budget. But in those times when the end result is really important you may have to consider this option.
Combine Different Brands Of Food Colors
One trick that I’ve learnt when trying for intense and vibrant colors is to combine colors from different brands. For example, to get a vibrant Frozen (cartoon character) purple, I use drops of purple gel color from three brands. This works for me but I do not want to give you the names of the brands I use. This is because you may not get them in your region.
However, go ahead and experiment with different brands on your own; you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
Click here to read this article about food colors, it would give you more information. While you are at it, check out some of our previous articles:-
- Natural Food Colors – Healthier Options
- Aleeza Cake Wonders Decorating Set –Indepth Review
- Nurxiovo Stand Mixer-Honest Review
- Best Uses For Food Processors
- Frequently Asked Questions About Stand Mixers- 3 Questions Answered
- Best Food Processors For Vegans – 10 Options To Consider
Finally…
Don’t forget to wear hand gloves when coloring fondant. But if you don’t like wearing gloves slather a generous amount of vegetable shortening on your hands. This would make it easier to wash off the food color from your hands.
Another trick is to use a plastic wrap or ziplock bag while coloring the fondant. Put the drops of color in the middle of the fondant and wrap the fondant around the color. Next place the fondant in the plastic bag/wrap and use the bag to knead the fondant until the color is properly incorporated.
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How To Color Fondant – FAQs
How Do You Color Store Bought Fondant?
Coloring store bought fondant is no different from coloring the one you made at home. Follow all the steps we have enumerated in the main body of the article to get the perfect coloring.
That being said however, one method of coloring fondant that wouldn’t apply to store bought fondant is adding the food color in the process of making the fondant. So if you want to add your color while the fondant is being made, you have to make yours from scratch. Check out this article for recipes of fondant from scratch.
How Do You Make Black Fondant With Primary Colors?
You can color fondant black with the following primary colors:- blue, green and red.
The proportion in which you would mix the color depends greatly on the brand of the food coloring.
You can start out by mixing the colors as follows:-
1 drop of blue
2 ½ drops of green
3 drops of red
Then check the result; if you are not satisfied with the result, you can mix an equal amount of all the colors.
Conversely, you can start out with the equal part mixing of all the colors. These hacks are great to know in case you don’t have your black food coloring at hand.
How Do I Paint Fondant?
You can paint fondant before using it to decorate a cake or paint it after using it to cover a cake.
These two methods of painting on fondant can be applied with different mediums. For fondant decorations, you can get away with painting them and allowing them to dry before using them to decorate the cake. But when you want to paint fondant for the entire cake (that is cover the whole cake with painted fondant), it is best to cover cake with fondant first before you go ahead to paint it.
Our article on cake paints has more information on how to paint fondant. We believe it would enlighten you more on this subject.
How Do You Make Dark Brown Fondant With Food Coloring?
It is best to make dark brown fondant with brown food coloring. But in a situation where you do not have brown coloring on hand, you can mix some colors.
These combinations would give you different shades of brown:- red and green, yellow and purple or orange and blue. Mix any of these combinations in equal proportion.
You can now play around with some additions for different shades of brown.
To get tan (flesh color) mix 1 drop of red to 10 drops of yellow but if you want it deeper, you add a drop of blue.
The truth about mixing colors is that it is something you have to experiment with for yourself; that way, you would know what works for you (based on brand of food coloring and shades of color).
If you want to know how to use natural ingredients to color your fondant, check out our article on natural food colors.
How Do You Make Black Fondant Shiny?
There are several ways of making black fondant shiny and they include the following:-
Use a cake steamer to steam the black fondant; it would make it glossy
You can spray the black fondant with confectioners glaze e.g CK Products Confectioners Glaze
Brush the black fondant with some vegetable shortening- dip a brush with soft bristles in vegetable shortening and then use the brush to sweep all over the black fondant. You can also use glycerine but ensure that you don’t use glycerine if you live in a region with high humidity or else it would melt your fondant.
How Do You Get Cornstarch Off Black Fondant
You can get cornstarch off black fondant by simply using a blush brush to sweep it off your fondant. If the white from the cornstarch remains on your black fondant, you can use a cake steamer or any of the other methods we discussed in the answer to how to make fondant shiny.
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