Hi Everyone,
I am a cake newbie (have made 18 cakes so far) and I exclusively use and make my own MMF. Here is my issue, I am having difficulty colouring dark colours (red, black, navy blue etc.) as the amount of Wilton's gel I have to add to achieve such dark coours is causing my fondant to crumble and lose it's "stretch". It's ok for piece work but, can't roll it and cover a cake with it. I've tried adding more crisco, more water, more icing sugar................am I missing something? Or should I be using some other kind of food colouring? Or am I destined to have to buy crappy tasting pre-made fondant?

Thanks for reading and I am greatful for any advice!

~ Alica

Sometimes it helps to add the color in just after you melt the marshmallows, as long as you don't mind having an entire batch of the same color. To make brown or black you can add cocoa powder in place of some of the powdered sugar, as long as a chocolate flavor would be acceptable. Also, if you can get some Americolor super red, it doesn't take nearly as much to make your fondant red.

What kind of pre-made fondant have you tried. If it's only Wilton then yes it is indeed crappy tasting .

I think it's easier to buy the darker pre-made colours but if you don't mind the chocolate in your MMF then start with the darkest chocolate you can and then add the black. For red maybe you could start with the strawberry marshmallow's? I personally like MFF (Michele Foster's Fondant - found in recipe section) better than MMF especially when I add white chocolate to it.

I almost always add my color to the marshmallows before the powdered sugar. Of course, I make it darker so the sugar will bring it to the shade I want. If I don't need an entire batch, I'll just make a partial.

Americolor colors make coloring so much easier than wilton. they have a little squeeze bottle, and I find that I don't need as much. At least it seems so.

Another vote for Americolor Super Red, Super Black and Navy Blue. It still takes some pretty generous squirts to get dark colors but not nearly as much as Wilton requires (I've never been able to achieve dark colors with Wilton even when using a ton of it). I also add the color to the melted marshmallows before adding the powdered sugar. MUCH easier than kneading it in! I have no problem making a half or even a quarter batch if I need less than a whole batch of a dark color. For really small amounts it's not too hard to knead the color in. The powdered sugar will lighten the color somewhat but after a few hours and especially overnight, Americolor will deepen in color. Allow for this. I learned it the hard way. I used to add color until I got the shade I needed. By the next day, it was darker than what I wanted. Good luck!

I've also had the same problem with my MMF not being stretchy enough. When I first make it, it's fine but the next day, it doesnt want to stretch as much. The recipe I use doesnt tell exactly how much water to use and I sometimes wonder if maybe I'm not using enough. Also, this is off the subject just a bit but I have a problem with my MMF sticking to my counter top when I roll it out even tho I'm putting a tremendous amount of powdered sugar under it. I'm having to roll it out 3 or 4 times before I'm finally able to get it to not stick to my counter top. Does anyone have any suggestion?

Use Crisco on your counter top to keep it from sticking. I only use 2 Tablespoons water to 16 oz. marshmallows. I find it much easier to work with if I don't add all 2 pounds of powdered sugar. I end up using about a pound and a half, maybe a little more until it gets to be the right consistency. I used to try to work in all the sugar and it was too hard to work with.

Thank you so much. I'll def. try these tips.

Thanks so much for all the replies! My cake supply shop does carry Americolor so I'll go get some and add it to the melted stage.......... right from the get go I haven't been happy with Wilton! Also, great idea about the cocoa powder, I have used it to make chocolate MMF but, it never occured to me to use it as a base for darker colours - thanks!
Also, I did see Michelle's Fondant recipe and was thinking of trying it! As far as cost comparison, what does one batch of her recipe cost?

Thanks again,
Alica

i add the color when i melt the marshmallows.

Or you might be able to mix black (or any other color you desire) pre made fondant with your mmf to help darken the mmf without using so much coloring. That way you get freat tasting fondant along with the color you want.

I haven't tried it but americolor supposedly is better than wilton colors for black and red (so i've heard )

HTH

Hi all,
Just wanted to send out a big thanks -- adding the colour to the melted stage worked awesome!! Used the Choc fondant recipe and my black actually tastes great (choc) and I didn't get that chemical taste!!! Also, I made a great red -- I added the liquid (cheap) red food colouring to my marshmellows before I melted in place of the water then added the gel to the melted stage -- what a difference!!

Thanks again,
Alica

P.S ~ I do use the basic MMF, haven't tried any different recipes yet!!

If you don't mind strawberry flavoured marshmallows you could always use them to make red fondant as it's easier to get red starting from pink than from white.