I have used Luster dust on fondant and gum pste by painting it on the dried surfact with vodka, usually.

But this time I need to decorate a 50th anniversary Buttercream cake. I am wondering if any of you have tried mixing into buttercream for accents, borders etc? I keep reading that it is non-toxic, but nobody recommends eating this.

I am planning to decorate with both white and gold accents, so there will not be alot of dust that anyone actually eats.

Also on another forum, someone suggested painting the buttercream after it crusts. This worries me, because I think the paintbrush would poke right through the BC even after it crusts.

Any advice? Thanks in advance - Karen

I am not sure about mixing the luster dust into the buttercream, never heard of that before, but, I do let the bc crust well then paint the dust directly onto it. Just add a tiny amount of lemon extract or vodka to you dust then start painting. It works beautifully and only takes a light touch to the bc so there is no need to worry about messing it up.
HTH's

Mixing it in will not work, you just won't be able to see it. If you are using a crusting recipe, then yes paint on it after it crusts. You can also put it in the fridge to firm up if you are worried about it getting poked. There is no problem with eating the dusts... even a cake that has "a lot" doesn't really have much.

As long as you are using a crusting BC and using a really soft brush, you can paint on the BC very easily.

If there are accents that you want to pipe on, you can use the following recipe to do luster piping:

2 teaspoons 10X sugar
2 teaspoons Luster Dust
clear alcohol (gin or vodka or lemon extract)
1 teaspoon piping gel

mix the sugar and luster. Add a few drops of alcohol and mix to make a stiff paste. Add piping gel, a little at a time, until a piping consistency is reached.

Being non-toxic, the dusts are fine. They are consumable in Europe and big name decorators use dusts all the time here in the US. But, it is really a decision that you would need to make as to whether you would want to use them. Me personally, can not live without them!