Colouring sugar paste

COLOURING YOUR SUGAR PASTE

I always mix my own colours even the deep vibrant shades it's not as hard as people think. And will save you £££.

My preferred choice of colouring is "Rainbow dust" progel colours I can't stress enough how fantastic these colours are I LOVE THEM

The tubes store easily and cleanly.

No toothpicks needed just squeeze the required amount straight from the tube.  They also wash off your hands much better leaving minimum staining.

To begin make sure your fondant as been kneaded so it is nice and pliable and rub a little trex into your hands this will form a barrier on your hands keeping them from becoming too stained. 

1: Flatten your fondant out on the work surface and add a few Drops of your chosen colour ( if adding CMC/tylo powder do this after your fondant as been coloured ) 

2: Fold your fondant over so the colour is inside and keep kneading inwards and turning over; this will ensure the fondant is coloured from inside out and will help keep the colour away from your hands.

3: If you require a deeper colour continue adding a few drops at a time and kneading in thoroughly. 

Once coloured wrap your fondant in some cling film and and pop into a zip lock bag to keep it air tight.  Leave for a few hours for the colour to develop.  You can then add your CMC powder if using, and add a little more colour if needed.

If you are adding tylo/cmc powder to your fondant to make modelling paste add 1/2 teaspoon of powder per 250gms of fondant and knead in well.  Wrap in cling film and pop in a zip lock bag to keep it from drying out.  It's best to leave the modelling paste over night before you start modelling but it can be used straight away. 

MIXING COLOURS

Progel colours come in a whole array of amazing colours but sometimes a more customised colour is required especially for wedding cakes "matching colours to the wedding bouquet or dress etc" 

The best way to do this is to colour the fondant in individual colours to begin with this will give you greater control over the shade you are after allowing you to add a controlled amount of colour if it's not quite the right shade. Start by adding less then you think you will need and continue with small amounts until the required shade as been achieved.

Just remember to make enough to finish the whole cake as customised colours are very hard to remake to the same shade but not impossible. 

While progel are my favourite; there are other makes on market Sugar Flair & Wilton to name a few. just be sure the brand you choose is designed specifically for colouring fondant. 

It's a good idea to have a little play with colour.  I made this wheel from just red, yellow and baby blue ( primary colours) I then added 50/50 of each to make the secondary colours orange purple & green then the tertiary colours. 

Once you have your 12 basic pure hues (colours) you can alter them in 3 ways by either tinting, shading or toning. 

TINTING 

You can lighten any of the 12 colours by adding white this will create a tint (pastel colour.) 

SHADING

To darken any of the colours add black; this will create a shade. (use black sparingly) and add a little at a time it's very hard to undo if too much black is added and you will probably have to start again. 

TONING 

To make softer more subtle colours you simply add black & white (grey) to any of the colours; this creates the tone.  Tones are more complex and visually more pleasing to the eye. 

For more complex colours you can mix any primary or secondary colours with tertiary colours before tinting, shading or toning to create an infinite array of colours. 

DESIGNING COLOUR SCHEMES 

It's a good idea to download a good colour wheel or make your own to help in your design it will enable you to choose ascent colours or add a splash of a bold complimentary colour.

I use a great website called ABODE COLOR CC it's mobile friendly and absolutely great especially if you need to match colours to a specific item ie wedding bouquet or dress.  Just take a pic of the item and it will give you a colour chart to use in a flash which can be saved to your phone or pc for easy reference. 

Have a play your be surprised at the colours you can create.... 

Rainbow dust progel colours can be found in the shop 😀

Americolor gel food colouring are excellent too I've used these to colour sugar paste for modelling but Please note that these gel colours are not UK/EU approved for use with food as they use sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate as preservatives, some also contain the colour E127 which is restricted in food products.  So any models made must clearly be labelled as non-edible.  If in any doubt check with trading standards or your local EHO.