I'm working on a Lightning McQueen cake and have added quite a bit of no taste red and still have pale red frosting. Do I need to keep adding more and more red color? (buttercream with butter and shortening) Is there any trick to getting that really bright red color?

Thanks!
Becky

I find that Americolor red works good. But more importantly, you need to let your buttercream sit for awhile and it will darken. You'll be surprised that it will actually become a deeper shade of red as it sits.

yep, thats what i do. keep adding red and also, the color does get redder as it sits. hth

Take some out and let it sit. Dark colors sort of ripen as they sit. See if that does the trick. If not there will be more tips...

Alot of coloring is needed to achieve a rich red icing. I learned the hard way to let it set. The longer it sits, the more it sets. I made a ladybug cake a long time ago for my daughter. The red just wasnt coming so I just kept adding. When cake time came, everyone had RED teeth and lips. I was mortified! I wish now I would have gotten everyone together for a picture!

It took me almost 3 bottles of no taste red from Wilton to get the right colour for the Lightening Mcqueen cake I did..(in my photos if you wanna see) Then I figured ot if you start with pink it doesn't take as much! I do agree let it sitt for a bit as it will darken then go back and add more if need be.
HTH

Thanks for all the help! You were right, the color did get better as it sat. I think my lighting made a difference, too, because when I held the icing over by the window, it looked more red.

I was pleased with the cake and the customer was very pleased.
Wish I could post a picture but I don't have a digital camera yet. As soon as more orders come in, that's first on the list!

Becky