Colouring Sugarpaste and Buttercream

When it comes to adding a touch or colour to your sugarpaste  and butercream there are a wealth of products available and it can be difficult to know what to choose. It is generally best to avoid the cheap liquid colours from the supermarket as you will need to use a great deal to get the colour you want and they will change the consistency of the icing you are colouring.

To colour sugar paste and buttercream, it is usually best to use paste food colours , which come in small re-sealable pots in every colour under the sun. They are great value because a little goes a long way and they will last you a long time. It is always best to add a small amount at a time with a cocktail stick or small knife because the colours are highly concentrated and will be very intense, they also continue to darken a little after you add them so it is always best to colour your icing a shade lighter to begin with.

 

 

There are also several products you can use to brush onto your icing once it has hardened a little. Edible glitter is great for adding sparkle to cupcakes and sugar paste decorations. Take a tiny amount of glitter on the tip of a teaspoon, hold it fairly high above your cupcake or decoration and then tap the top of the teaspoon gently to sprinkle the glitter evenly. If you want the glitter to stick in a certain place then apply a little edible glue first.

 

 

Edible pens come in a variety of colours and are great for adding small details to sugar models, flowers and decorations. Use them to add eyes to figures, veins on leaves and fine details to flower petals.

 

 

If you want to add sheen to decorations then edible lustre dusts will do the trick. Brush them onto a cake or decoration once the icing has dried a little or mix them with some rejuvenator liquid to make an edible paint. This is great for adding gold and silver effects to cake borders and details.