Learn everything there is to know about how to color fondant with gel colors. Follow these tips and tricks and avoid making little cake decorating mistakes.
Today, I am sharing with you all my tips are tricks on "how to color fondant."
As I continue baking and cake decorating, I am LEARNING new things.
And nothing makes me happier than SHARING my knowledge with YOU.
So, I have decided to do even MORE "how to" posts, especially for BEGINNERS.
For instance... how to frost a cake, how to color fondant e.t.c.
If you have any suggestions, feel free to let me know either in the comments or through email.
Want to Save This Recipe? Enter your email & I'll send it to your inbox. Plus, get great new recipes from me every week! By submitting this form, you consent to receive emails from CakeWhiz
Anyways, today's post is focusing on "How to color fondant."
But first, let's briefly talk about fondant.
There are many DIFFERENT brands out there. You can use WHATEVER fondant you like.
But, I normally use marshmallow fondant (MMF) which I make at home.
My recipe is full-proof and tastes GREAT. It's also cheap and easy to make.
Here are some TIPS on how to color fondant:
- When coloring fondant, you should ALWAYS use gel colors.
- DON'T ever use liquid coloring to color fondant. They make your fondant very sticky and insanely difficult to work with.
- Gel colors can be found in the cake decorating aisles at Michaels or Hobby Lobby. You can even order them online from cake decorating sites such as Wilton.
- People think gel colors are pricey. They are actually quite CHEAP... about 2-3 dollars per bottle.
- There are many different brands of gel colors out there. The two brands I use are Wilton and Americolor. Americolor gels are a few cents more expensive than Wilton gels. Americolor gel colors also seem deeper/brighter than Wilton's get colors.
- Gel colors are available in a HUGE range of shades. You can also mix different gel colors to create your own unique shades.
- Gel colors are CONCENTRATED which means a little goes a LONG way. Your bottles will last you a very long time.
- Along with fondant, gel colors can ALSO be used to color gum paste and frostings/buttercream icings.
- Gel colors CANNOT be used to color candy melts or melted chocolate. You need to buy special oil based colors for that.
- I highly recommend wearing disposable GLOVES when coloring fondant, especially if you are making red or blue or any other dark shade. These colors will STAIN your nails and fingers and it takes quite a few washings to get rid of them.
- If your work area gets stained, just wiping with a wet cloth does NOT work well. However, these stains can easily be cleaned with some sort of a cleaning spray. I use Clorox sprays.
- Finally, if you are planning on making a large quantity of the same colored fondant, it's better to just add color when you are making marshmallow fondant. You will already be kneading and mixing the marshmallows and sugar. So, you might as well add color too...just so you don't have to do it later.
The steps for coloring fondant are fairly simple.
This is what you need to do:
Step 1:
Rub your work surface with some shortening.
Bring out your marshmallow fondant.
Knead it a little coz the warmth of your hands will make it more pliable.
Dip a toothpick in your bottle of color and rub it onto your ball of fondant.
Step 2:
Now, use your hands to knead the color thoroughly into the fondant.
It might get sticky. If that happens, rub some shortening on your hands and continue mixing.
Step 3:
Once the color is fully mixed into the fondant, you may feel it's not deep enough.
If that's the case, dip your toothpick in the bottle of color again and mix in more color and knead the fondant until you have the shade you want.
Step 4:
Use your colored fondant immediately or let it sit for a day or two so that the shade becomes deeper.
Fondant dries really quickly. When you are not using it, make sure to wrap it tightly in saran wrap and keep it at room temperature.
And you are done!
Use your colored fondant to cut cut out cool shapes and decorate your cakes and cupcakes.
Hope you found this "How to color fondant tutorial" helpful and if you have any suggestions for my next "how to" post, leave a comment or send an email.
Tata my lovelies!
nicole
hello:
I absolutely love your pictures, ideas, and tutorials. Thanks for sharing, not many would! Do you have a blog? I was trying to find one of your tuts (tool box cake) and could not.
Abeer Rizvi
Hi Nicole! This is my blog: http://www.cakewhiz.com
The tool box cake tutorial you are looking for, can be found here: https://cakewhiz.com/fathers-day-tool-box-cake/
Hope it helps!
Tabitha
Great tutorial! What if you are using a mold? I wanted my fondant to look like legos so I bought the little tray molds. When do I put it into the mold? How long would I leave it in? Do I keep it in mold until I need it? Help!
Abeer Rizvi
If you are using a mold, you need to push your soft fondant into the cavities and scrape off the excess with a knife.Then, remove the piece immediately and place it on a sheet of wax paper to dry and harden. If you use gum paste or 50/50, your leg pieces will dry faster. Hope this helps.
Tabitha
It does help... thanks! If I do it a few days in advance would I leave them stored at room temperature or in the freezer..
Abeer Rizvi
I don't advise anyone to keep fondant pieces in the fridge or freezer coz there is a high possibility of condensation droplets forming on the pieces, when you take them out. That becomes very messy and there's no way to fix that damage. Store the pieces at room temperature, away from moisture and humidity. I hope this helps
Lorita
Hi, love your tutorial. I am just starting to use fondant and I found this tutorial very helpful. Thank you!
Abeer Rizvi
I am so happy to hear that!
Becky
Do you have a chart of how much of each color works well to create other colors?? I have seen these charts with regular liquid food coloring, but have not found one for gel colors (preferably wilton).
Abeer Rizvi
I don't have a chart on my blog but I think Wilton has something similar to what you are looking for. It's a fondant color blending chart, using Wilton gel colors: https://www.wilton.com/decorating/fondant/fondant-color-blending-chart.cfm
I hope this helps!
carol hill
Hi was reading about modelling fondant.You can place it in an air tight bag & place in freezer which I do.Also you can colour chocolate with gel it works fine, you dont have to use choc melts they havnt been around just more expensive I find and taste the same.Thanks
Abeer Rizvi
I use modeling chocolate, mainly for making flowers and cake toppers and not for covering cakes. But, it's good to hear I can freeze it now too. Thanks!
Becky
Do yoi have tips on getting a deeper/darker blue. I cant seem to get my blue to be a dark as in your picture....same with my frosting
Marianne
Can I mix color into my fondant using a Kitchen Aid stand mixer?
Abeer Rizvi
I tried that once and I wasn't very satisfied. The color didn't fully blend in. I would still suggest kneading in the color with your hands but make sure to wear disposable gloves so that you don't stain your hands
angela
just want to clarify when to add color. you say that you can add it while mixing fondant, but the details of the tutorial show adding color once fondant is made. just want to be sure either is correct. thanks.
Abeer Rizvi
Color can easily be added while you are making fondant. But then, you will end up with a big ball of fondant in just 1 color.
I like to prepare my fondant first and then break it up into smaller balls and color each ball a different color. This way, I have a bunch of different colored fondants all ready to use any time.
Hope this helps
angela
yes, thank you!!
lucia martinez
Hello,
I tried adding the same wilson red christmas color to it but it gave me a pink color the more i added the gross it got as a taste in my mouth. What can i do to make it a bright red? I also tried adding the gel when the marshmallow. Was nelted and still got the same color.
Abeer Rizvi
Red fondant and black fondant are both hard to make. A lot of people just buy ready-made red fondant from Satin Ice or Wilton. When you make it at home, you have to add a lot of red gel coloring and unfortunately that can make it taste a little weird. But, if you let your dark pink fondant sit for a week, the color will deepen and turn red.
Leah
wow, i can not wait to try your fondant! your work is amazing... MA
I will try your fondant and let you know my result soon... great job and thanks for sharing with us.
Abeer Rizvi
Thanks Hana! I appreciate your sweet comment and hope you enjoy working with fondant as much as me!
Becky
You should always use a new toothpick every time you get color gel out of bottle to help keep contaminants out of you color gels.
Abeer Rizvi
I agree! I forgot to include that in this post but I will edit it to include this as well. Thanks!
Adriana
Very helpful post. I'm having a problem with my colored fondant, instead of darkened it has gotten lighter by various shades (started with pink but end up with a very pale almost white pink). Do I need to let the color sit to develop before I use it? Do it loose color if left outside at room temperature without covering? I'm making a none edible "cake topper" with little flowers which I leave on my counter as I work my way to finish it.
Thanks in advance for any feedback!
Abeer Rizvi
If your fondant in exposed to sunlight, the color will fade. I think that's what's happening in your case. When you are waiting for the pieces to dry, make sure to keep them in a cardboard box or a cupcake box but don't seal the box. Just put the cover on loosely so that they are not exposed to any light.
jen
How can I store cake toppers after they are made? And how would I so so? I
Abeer Rizvi
I keep them in a cardboard box or even a big cupcake box. Make sure to keep the box in a place that's not exposed to moisture or sunlight.
kelly
Hi,
Can I use fondant already coloured to colour white fondant? hope that makes sense!
Abeer Rizvi
Yes, you can use pre-colored fondant to color white fondant. But you will end up with a lighter shade... almost like pastel colors, which is quite pretty. If you want bright colored fondant, you will have to use gel colors. Hope this helps
Talia
Hi!
I love this website- so helpful, thank you!
I know you shouldn't keep MMF in the fridge after it is made, but I know you said that MMF that was placed on a cake should not sit out for more than 6 hours... if I want to put my MMF on a cake for Sunday night on Saturday night or Sunday morning, can the cake (with MMF) go in the fridge?
Abeer Rizvi
It's nice to hear you are finding my postings helpful.
A few cake makers have a separate fridge where the temperature is set up very close to room temperature (around 60-65 degrees). This way, when the cake is removed from the fridge, there is not much condensation and no mess at all.
That could be something you can do to prevent your cakes from going bad and still maintain its freshness.
Wildaomaris
Hi! I recently had my first baby and Im looking forward to do his first cake. I use before fondant but its hot in PR and it gets sticky. What fondant you think I should use the marshmallow one or the regular. Is theirs any tip you can give to avoid the effect of humidity? Thanks!!!!!
Abeer Rizvi
Congrats on your baby! Fondant tends to get sticky in humidity, regardless of what type of fondant you use... homemade or store-bought! You can, however, make fondant more manageable by rolling out fondant on cornstarch instead of powdered sugar. Also, I highly recommend decorating the cake in an air conditioned kitchen so it doesn't start sweating! Let me know if you need to know anything else