Let's Talk About Color!!

Cake Decorator’s Color Wheel 

Primary Colors: Red, yellow and blue
In traditional color theory (used in paint and pigments), primary colors are the 3 pigment colors that cannot be mixed or formed by any combination of other colors. All other colors are derived from these 3 hues.

Secondary Colors: Green, orange and purple
These are the colors formed by mixing the primary colors.

Tertiary Colors: Yellow-orange, red-orange, red-purple, blue-purple, blue-green & yellow-green
These are the colors formed by mixing a primary and a secondary color. That's why the hue is a two word name, such as blue-green, red-violet, and yellow-orange.

Mixing Color In Icing

Begin with white icing and use concentrated icing color which will not affect your icing consistency. Using standard food colors can thin down your icing and affect your ability to pipe certain decorations. If you are tinting icing dark brown or black, begin with chocolate icing – your icing will not have the aftertaste that large amounts of these icing colors may produce. If you are tinting a large area red, use No-Taste Red.

Dip a toothpick into the color, then swirl it into the icing. Add color a little at a time until you achieve the shade you desire. Always use a new toothpick each time you add color; you want to avoid getting icing into your jar of color to make it last longer. Blend the icing well with a spatula.

Consider the type of icing you are using when mixing color. Icing colors intensify or darken in buttercream icing about 1-2 hours after mixing. Royal icing requires more color than buttercream icing to achieve the same color intensity.

Always mix enough of any one icing color for your entire cake. For example, if you are going to decorate a cake with pink flowers and borders, color enough icing for both. It is difficult to duplicate an exact shade of any color, an important fact if you want to keep color consistent on the cake.

Wilton Color Chart

When mixing color always mix a small amount of color to experiment. Start with base color and then add very small amounts of secondary color. Be sure to mix enough color for the cakes to be decorated as it is difficult to match an exact color ANTIQUE GOLD Add just an extremely small touch of Leaf Green to Golden Yellow

Aqua	Sky Blue and Leaf Green
Avocado	Use Moss Green Color
Black	Our paste color or Royal Blue,Christmas Red, Orange and Lemon
Chartreuse	9 parts Lemon Yellow, 1 art Leaf Green
Coral	Creamy peach and a touch of pink or orange and a touch of pink
Flesh	Add just an extremely small touch of Copper to white icing.  Ivory can also be used.  Light pink with a small amount of brown.
Gray	Add just a touch of Black to white Icing.
Hunter Green	Kelly Green and a touch of Black
Jade	Leaf green, Royal Blue and a touch of Black
Lavender	Pink and Violet
Marigold	Lemon Yellow and Orange
Maroon	Burgundy and Red Red
Mauve	Touch of Burgundy with very little Black
Misty Green	Leaf Green, Royal Blue and a touch of Black
Moss Green	Our paste color or Violet and Lemon Yellow
Mulberry	Mix Rose with a touch of Royal Blue
Navy Blue	Royal Blue and Black
Periwinkle	Royal Blue and Violet
Plum	Use Violet with a touch of Christmas Red.
Raspberry	Pink and Red Red
Rust	Orange, Red Red and Brown
Silver	We do not advise attempting to simulate silver color in icing.  Instead, add silver leaves or other silver accessories to the cake.
Teal	Use teal paste color or Lemon Yellow and Sky Blue
Turquoise	Sky Blue and Lemon Yellow
Warm Gold	Use Golden Yellow with just a touch of brown

 

Tips on Colors

Color Tips

Wilton paste food color is concentrated, giving vivid or deep colors without changing consistency. Add paste color to icing, in small amounts with a clean toothpick or spatula.

Deep colors: When making deep colors, such as black, brown, or red use Wilton paste food colors in larger amounts than normal. It can take as much as 1 oz. paste food color per one cup to obtain deep colors. Deep colors are recommended for accent colors only.

Darken and deepen: Colors deepen in buttercream icings upon setting; color icing 1-2 hours before decorating. Colors fade slightly in royal, boiled or Color Flow icing as they set.

Fading colors: Sunlight or fluorescent light will cause some colors to fade. After the cake is decorated, it is best to keep in a cool room and out of direct light.

Lemon juice: 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 it. In addition, some water (from various geographical areas) tends to cause color changes. If buttercream icing is made with water, use milk instead.

Bleeding: Usually, "bleeding" colors on a decorated cake is a result of improper storage. It is not recommended to ice cakes while they are still frozen, as the cake needs to "breathe" while it thaws. Allow the cake to defrost before icing to help prevent the colors from bleeding. An air tight cover on cake stored at room temperature may encourage condensation to form which can cause colors to bleed.

Stain removal: All deep colors in nature stain, like blueberries, but none of them are harmful. Paste colors can stain teeth and skin; however, simply washing skin area with soap and warm water will remove color. Bleach can be used on counter tops. Lukewarm water should be used first to spot stained color. Rinse thoroughly, allow to dry. If color is still visible use a commercial cleaner on garment, carpet, upholstery, etc. In the case of a color that has Red 3 as an ingredient use an acid such as vinegar or lemon juice to soak stain first. Proceed with lukewarm water and then allow to dry before using a commercial cleaner.

 

Notes About Wilton Paste Colors

Red

There are three different reds - Christmas Red, a blue-toned red; Red-Red, an orange toned red; and Red-No Taste, a blue toned red.
It can take as much as 1 oz. of red paste color to one cup of icing to get a deep red.
When icing is colored deep red, a bitter aftertaste may be detected. Red No-Taste should be used when a large portion of red coloring is used on the cake. Red No-Taste does not contain red 3 which causes the bitter taste.

Green

Leaf Green is a brighter green with more yellow than Kelly Green. Both of these greens require very little color, how much color added depends on the tone of the green you want.

Hot Pink

Rose paste color will obtain hot pink with good results. Rose Petal is a soft, muted rose color. Pink is a traditional pastel with a slight yellow tone.

Blue

Royal Blue has a red tone. Sky Blue has a yellow tone.

Daffodil Yellow

Daffodil Yellow is an all natural food coloring and does not contain yellow #5. (Many people are allergic to this). Daffodil Yellow currently contains alcohol which all other colors do not have present.

Black

When white buttercream is tinted dark black, it also can have a bitter taste. Use dark chocolate icing with a small amount of black color added.

Brown

Brown color occasionally has a green overtone to it. This usually occurs with the presence of acid in the icing; lemon juice or cream of tartar. Omit the acid if tinting icing brown. Also dissolving brown color in 1/4 teaspoon water before adding to icing will eliminate the green tone.

White-White

White-white is used for lightening icing that has been colored too dark. Also use it for making white buttercream made with butter or margarine. 

Bag Striping Effects

You can easily pipe two-tone decorations just by adding a different color inside the bag before you put in your tinted icing. This way, you can pipe flowers with natural light and dark tones or a rainbow-colored clown suit to brighten up the party.

Brush Striping

Produces more intense multiple colors because it is done with straight icing color brushed into the bag. Apply one or more stripes of icing color with a decorating brush, then fill the bag with white or pastel-colored icing. As the icing is squeezed past the color, decorations will come out striped.

 

 

 

Spatula Striping

Produces two-tone and realistic pastel tones in flowers and figure piping. It is done with pastel-colored icing, striped inside the decorating bag with a spatula. After striping, fill the bag with white icing or another shade of the same color as the striping. Squeeze out decorations with soft contrasts.

 







                           Images & Wilton logo courtesy of Wilton Products, Inc.