I want to paint on fondant and I'm wondering what is the best mixture to make. Do you use gel food coloring and mix it with alcohol or extract or water? Or should you start with powdered food coloring?

The time I tried painting on fondant, I mixed almond extract and gel colors. The deeper colors bled after a few hours, so I'm sure I didn't do something right. I'd like to hear what people have to say about this too.

Use petal or pearl dust mixed with either vodka or lemon extract. You want something with a high alcohol content to evaporate quickly. Don't mix them in a paste though, put some dust on one side of the plate and a squirt of vodka on the other side and slowly mix them with a brush and then paint on the cake. Hope that helps some!

What do you mix it with ? Do you just add a little liquid until you get the consistency you want?

I mix vodka with gel colors and haven't had a problem with any of the colors I've tried so far.

Good grief, I just wrote an entire paragraph and only two words got printed! As I was saying, mix with either Vodka or lemon extract (something with a high alcohol content which will evaporate quickly). DO NOT mix them together right away, put some dust on the side and slowly add the vodka to the other side and mix them slowly with a brush then paint on the cake.

I know this might sound stupid, but does it smell like alcohol or does it evaoprate after awhile ?

Ok, thanks - I will definitely try this method.

The vodka does evaporate and the cake neither smells nor tastes like vodka. I have noticed a lemon aftertaste in using the lemon extract though.

Ditto. No alcohol is present in after it has dried.

WOW I would have NEVER thought of that! I always wondered why Duff had bottles of booze in his kitchen. ROFL.

You can use your gels with vodka too.. Depending on how strong you want the colors to be, you add more or less vodka.