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Decorating 101: Tinting |
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Anytime you
use a perishable icing or decoration, the baked good must be refrigerated. |
About Color: When
using color with food, it should always look appetizing. It can transmit
different feelings and moods.
Warm colors are yellows and reds and cool colors, greens and
blues.
Dark colors such as black should be avoided as much as
possible because they may give a bitter taste (especially black and red) and
stain or color the inside of the mouth! There are ways to prevent some of this.
See Special Color Notes.
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Professional Strength
Colors & Supplies: |
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Food color
is available in four concentrated forms: liquid, paste, powder and gel,
but there are others. Always apply less color and then blend before
deciding to add more. When mixing wear gloves or
a light coat of shortening on your hands will keep them from getting so
badly stained.
All supplies can be purchased
from a
cake
decorating stores or
from wilton.com or
sugarcraft.com. The
following is information about each type, however always follow the
instructions on the container, as it may differ. And, remember to always
keep any color tightly covered in a dark, cool place where they should
last for about a year. |
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Liquid Food Coloring:
There are three kinds of liquid color: liquid paste,
airbrush colors, and liquid colors that you buy in the grocery store. The
grocery store liquid food coloring, the most often used, comes in
little bottles but give a weaker color compared to the paste or gel color.
A
little of any food coloring goes a long way, so it's best to begin with
only a drop or two, blending it into the mixture being tinted before
adding more. |
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Paste
colors:
Food
coloring paste, which comes in a wider variety of colorsand
are a very concentrated form of color. They give more vivid and deep
colors than gel colors, but should be used in very small quantities.
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Powdered colors: These colors are
highly concentrated and can be used in any icing and also in candy making
since they contain no water or thicken a chocolate coating.
Used for
coloring sugar, coconut for Easter "grass", sand, etc. |
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Gel colors:
which I prefer, are widely
available in specialty stores and through some
online catalogs. They impart a strong color
and are easy to use, blending in more
easily than the paste colors. |
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Icing Whitener of
Liquid Paste (titanium dioxide):
This liquid whitener can be added to tinted icing to soften colors
or to whiten icing made with butter or margarine. |
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Powders, Dusting Chalks
or Dusts: Dusting chalks are also known as powders,
blushers, highlighters, dusts, and chalks and are
the driest form of color available. Variations from the basic colors must
be mixed by the decorator. They are very strong and should be handled
carefully as the powder is very fine and drifts in the air, staining
surfaces, especially porous. Make a small opening in your container to
help contain it. Dusts can be applied
with a soft brush or sponge or a pale wash of color can be painted on the
icing and allowed to dry, then a fairly dry brush can be dragged across to
give a wood grain effect.
Some examples -
Dusting Powders:
Normally these are painted or brushed on adding those highlights of silver
or gold or soft shading for a more realistic flower, leaf or etc.
Petal Dust:
For tinting, petal dust is a very concentrated powdered color
available in a wide range of color. It is first mixed with powdered sugar
and then sprinkled or dusted over the surface for color or definition,
brushed in specific spots or dusted over a stencil. Colored
Luster Powders: are available to brush on after the
Fondant has dried.
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Glycerin:
used to soften dried paste food color. |
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Candy Coatings:
Use
Mercken's Candy Coatings. They come in a myriad of colors and all
you do is melt them. |
 Tinted
icing, will turn darker overnight, especially the red family, so make it 24
hours before a shade lighter than desired. (On the flip side, icing will
fade if exposed to sunlight or heat.) Afterwards, then decide to increase
the color or tone it down, if need be. Remember any additions will darken
over time, too.
However, the color you can
achieve will vary depending on what type you use. I always recommend
practicing with a batch of icing and letting it sit overnight as a test.
(Take notes on the color(s) and the amounts used and how long it sat.)
You'll never be able to
duplicate the same color in another batch, but at least you'll get an idea
about how much the color changes. |
| To adjust the color of the
icing, increase it one toothpick dab at a time. If the color is too dark,
take out half of it and combine the remainder with some of the untinted
icing, previously set aside. You can also use
Icing Whitener. |
Color can be applied to frostings, dried fondant
surfaces, and the like. The general rule is if you want a deeper shade, use more
color. If you want a lighter shade, use less color. But, don't add too much
color at the beginning -- you'll be surprised at how just a little bit goes a
long way. You can always add more color, but harder to take it away, but it can
be done. Remember: colors darken as they sit.
When decorating a cake with tinted frosting more
than enough to begin with, because if you need more, it is almost impossible to
duplicate the same color in a second batch. When using, make sure to keep it in
a covered, as the frosting dries up rather quickly and crusts. I like to use a
damp kitchen or paper towel as a covering, but plastic wrap works well, too.
Keep a cup or two or more of the main icing because you may need it later.
After the cake is decorated, it is best to
store in a cool room out of
direct light. But, if it has perishable icings, you must store in the
refrigerator. In that case, decorate the cake after it is removed from the
refrigerator and allow to warm to room temperature. Then, decorate right before
serving; condensation may form in the refrigerator which can cause colors to
bleed.
If you run out and have to mix more, put a thin layer of icing
of the old batch and then the new right beside it on white paper. Let it dry and
compare.
To dilute the colors,
I prefer to mix them with a small amount of vodka or gin instead of water to
"water" them down.
The variables
in applying color: There are no absolutes in mixing colors because of
the many different things that can affect the color. Some of these variables are
l) Ingredients in the icing: 2) Temperature and humidity: 3) Time: 4) Light.
from
http://www.earlenescakes.com/color.htm
1) Ingredients in the icing: Shortening,
margarine, and butter make colors turn darker, whereas lemon juice bleaches out
or softens colors. If you use salt in your buttercream icing, mix your colors
the night before: because if the salt is not thoroughly dissolved, it will leave
little light spots in your icing. Canned Milk, regular dark vanilla and cream
cheese give an off-white color to “white” icing and also affect other colors:
such as, blue acquires a greenish cast and soft pink will become more of a peach
color.
2) Temperature and Humidity: In icings which
contain shortening, margarine or butter, the temperature of the room, heat of
your hands, and warmth of the liquid you add to your icing can affect your
color. The warmer the room, the softer the frosting gets and color seems to
darken or get deeper. After you fill the bag, the heat of your hands will make
the color deepen even more. The use of hot water to soften colored buttercream
icing that is too firm also seems to make the color deeper. The amount of time
it takes your frosting to dry (or get a crust on it) is controlled by the
humidity. The longer it takes to get dry, the more the colors seem to darken.
3) Time: When using buttercream icing, soft
colors can be made and used immediately and will only darken slightly. But when
you are striving for dark colors, mix in the colors and then let the icing sit
overnight before decorating: and you won’t have to use quite as much color.
Charcoal gray will turn black, and an “almost” red will turn bright red. When
mixing red, I start with a bright orange or pink and add red food color. This
cuts down on the amount of red color needed and helps prevent the bitter taste
associated with too much red color.
4) Light: After your creation (flowers or
total cake) is finished comes the time to protect the colors from fading. Pinks
are especially susceptible to fading out. Hot ink can be reduced to almost white
when exposed to sunlight: purples to blues: blues to gray: black to purple or
green. Just be careful to protect your colored sugar work from sunlight or other
bright lights.
To use the gel or paste
colors, take a flat toothpick to poke a hole through the foil that
tops the color. Dip a clean toothpick into it and streak your icing a couple of
times. Use a new toothpick every time you put it in your container of color.
Otherwise, you will cause it to spoil from the introduction of icing.
It will take you a few
minutes to really mix in the color ,preferably by hand with a spoon or rubber
spatula. Mixing with a mixer or wire whisk will introduce too much air and cause
air bubbles to form throughout the recipe.
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If you tint buttercream, do not add any eggs, or meringue powder. Any
emulsifying agents will not allow the deep color to develop properly. |
Deep colors look best as accent colors only. They
can be
blended:
thoroughly mix in the first color and add the other, one dab at a
time, making sure you mix well after each addition.
Fondant:
Use thick paste colors to color Fondant, as liquid colors will make it too wet.
Set some extra Fondant aside.
Add a touch of food paste color to the finished
recipe or pre-made Fondant. Knead
(with a lot of elbow grease) or mix in a food processor fitted with a plastic
blade. At first it will separate, but it will soon come
together. Intensely color only a handful and then add that to the remainder.
Darken if necessary. Knead more white fondant in if you need to lighten it.
If kneading the color into
the Fondant, make sure you wear thin gloves, because the color will tint your
hands.
Gum
paste dough can be tinted or painted when dried, using any paste or gel
color.
Cookie Dough:
To color cookie dough, when baked, they are always a lighter shade than the
dough. (More about cookie decorating).
I add color to the dough after I mix in 1 cup
of flour and the dry ingredients. Then, the color gets incorporated when mixing
in the rest of the added flour. You may need to still knead it a bit
when almost finished mixing.
Some knead in color to the dough; the only problem with it is that it makes the
dough tough when baked.
Bread Dough: Add color to the dough
while kneading but you won't get vibrant colors after it bakes. Be careful not
to knead the dough more than 8 to 10 minutes while adding color or you'll
overwork the dough. If you do, you'll get a tough and dry loaf when baked.
Tinting chocolate
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Decorator's Color Wheel
Use this to
determine the color you want.
In the center are the primary
colors - Red, Yellow, and Blue.
From these, all others are made.
In the inner ring are
secondary colors - orange, green, violet, made by mixing equal amounts of
primary colors. Mix red and yellow for orange, mix red and blue for violet,
and mix blue and yellow for green.
In the outer ring are the
tertiary colors - achieved by mixing varying amounts of one primary color
with the adjacent primary. Mix a large amount of red with a small amount of
blue and you will get a red-violet color. Do the opposite for blue-violet.
Increase or decrease amounts form many hues in between.
White is an absence of color and black is a collection of
the three primary colors in intense form. |
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SPECIAL COLOR NOTES:
Sometimes lemon juice or cream of
tartar will cause colors to change, i.e. violet will become blue. If the
recipe has one of these ingredients in it, omit.
For black:
Because it takes such a strong concentration of
color to produce black, it is easier to buy black color. Mixing black
color IS possible, but you need to use very strong paste colors and a LOT
of it which makes the recipe bitter. A pinch of salt will help with the
bitterness, but the only way to get a good strong black is with a LOT of
color, especially when using gel color. Be careful with black. It will
stain just about anything it touches.
To make black:
... I usually keep about 2 cups of already mixed
black icing in the freezer and remove what I need. I only use a small
amount. I also do this with strong red color.
Use white icing with a combination of royal
blue, red, orange and lemon. Or, start
with a dark brown color or chocolate icing (made with melted chocolate
and/or black or Dutch process cocoa) and add black. I Just keep
adding more black color SLOWLY until you reach your desired color.
Remember colors darken as they sit.
For small amounts of black icing (for
piping buttons, dots, etc) you can just add enough black food coloring to
your white icing to create black.
For brown:
To make brown, mix red and green gel or paste color
or
melt unsweetened chocolate or use cocoa powder and mix it into
your white icing. Brown color occasionally has a green
overtone to it which occurs with the presence of acid in the icing;
lemon juice or cream of tartar, so omit. Also dissolving brown color
in 1/4 teaspoon water before adding to icing will eliminate the green
tone.
For red:
Making dark red icing can be a challenge. Make your
icing a day ahead of time. That dark pink icing will darken over time and
turn into the red you need if you give it 24 hours.
I like to make my red icing using maraschino cherry
juice as my liquid. This turns my icing a nice pink then I don't
need as much red food coloring. Add 1 teaspoon almond extract and your
icing will taste WONDERFUL!
I usually keep about 2 cups of already mixed red icing
in the freezer and remove what I need. I only use a small amount.
For purple:
If using purple color for
buttercream icing make sure there is milk added for the liquid. You'll
find your icing won't fade blue as it crusts.
For pastels:
add 2 parts of white icing to 1 part of any colored icing |
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COLOR
BLENDING: To make various colors,
the amount of color added is measured in parts. Start with base color and
then add very small amounts of secondary color.
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Color: |
Parts: |
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Apricot |
2 Orange + 1 Golden Yellow |
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Aqua |
5 Sky Blue + 1 Leaf Green |
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Avocado |
4 Lemon Yellow + 1 Leaf Green + touch of black |
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Burgundy |
5 Rose Pink + 1 Violet |
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Chartreuse |
5 Lemon Yellow + 1 Leaf Green |
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Rust |
8 Orange + 2 Red + 1 Brown |
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Copper |
1 Golden Yellow + 1 Brown + 1 Xmas-Red |
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Hunter Green |
Kelly Green + small amount of black |
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Coral |
3 Rose Pink + 2 Lemon Yellow |
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Lavender |
5 Pink + 1 Violet |
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Black |
Mix left over color icing together, then add black skin tone - Use a small
amount of copper |
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Silver (Gray) |
1 Black + 1 Blue |
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Turquoise |
6 Sky Blue + 1 Lemon Yellow |
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Teal |
9 Sky Blue + small amount of Lemon Yellow |
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Dusty Rose |
5 Rose Pink + 1 Violet |
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Mauve |
5 Rose Pink + 2 Orange + 2 Red + 2 Black |
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Plum |
1 Violet + a touch of Christmas Red |
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Gold |
10 Lemon Yellow + 3 Orange + 1 Red |
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Maroon |
4 Red Red + 2 Burgundy |
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Ivory |
Use ivory paste |
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Moss Green |
2 Violet + 3 Lemon Yellow |
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Navy Blue |
1 Sky Blue + 1 Violet |
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Grape |
1 Sky Blue + 6 Rose Pink |
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Raspberry |
3 Rose Pink + 1 Christmas Red |
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Ruby Red |
1 Red Red + 1 touch black |
Charts from www.wilton.com. Some
information from
http://www.earlenescakes.com/color.htm
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