How To Get Gray Fondant?

Decorating By HarleyDee Updated 2 Apr 2014 , 3:34pm by leydavak

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HarleyDee Posted 27 Jan 2010 , 5:08pm
post #1 of 18

I have to have some gray fondant for a cake tomorrow, and I didn't think it would be any big deal.. until I read the post about Wilton black gel turning purple icon_surprised.gif

So.. not sure what to do. It's obviously too late for me to get some Americolor black, as I would have to order it online. Would adding the Wilton black in as I'm melting the marshmallows help any? Or I also have some liquid black food coloring, could I put that in the marshmallows instead of the water?

Ack, I can't have purple fondant on an elephant cake icon_smile.gif

17 replies
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hluterbach Posted 27 Jan 2010 , 5:18pm
post #2 of 18

i just used grey fondant today. never had a problem with it. i use Satin Ice fondant and just added black gel coloring. never turned purple at all. try it on a small piece of fondant first.
heidi

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muddpuppy Posted 27 Jan 2010 , 8:24pm
post #3 of 18

Don't use Wilton's black.. if you can get americolour or spectrum gel it's actually black.. I think Wiltons is all thier colours mixed together which is why sometime it makes green, or purple..

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hluterbach Posted 27 Jan 2010 , 8:26pm
post #4 of 18

the coloring i used was wilton's. worked fine.
heidi

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Renaejrk Posted 27 Jan 2010 , 8:38pm
post #5 of 18

Just do a test piece with the Wilton's - it may work sometimes - I'm not sure what you can do if it turns purple, though, since you can't get Americolor right now.

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saffronica Posted 27 Jan 2010 , 8:44pm
post #6 of 18

Personally, I think a hint of purple would be perfect for elephant skin -- but not too much purple, of course. If it's too purple you can balance it out with a little yellow. Or you could try mixing the pre-colored black Wilton fondant into your white -- I don't know if it will have the same color issue or not, but it's worth a shot.

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HarleyDee Posted 27 Jan 2010 , 10:35pm
post #7 of 18

Alright.. and if worse comes to worse, I have some black spray color for the airbrush, which I'm going to have to use for the highlights anyway.. I can always do a light spray.

And normally a light purple elephant wouldn't matter, except that it's an Alabama cake for my husband icon_biggrin.gif

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_Jamie_ Posted 27 Jan 2010 , 10:40pm
post #8 of 18

Aw heck Harley...don't color it at all. Hit the whole thing with grey spray, then highlight over with a bit darker.

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HarleyDee Posted 27 Jan 2010 , 10:48pm
post #9 of 18
Quote:
Originally Posted by _Jamie_

Aw heck Harley...don't color it at all. Hit the whole thing with grey spray, then highlight over with a bit darker.




I was reeeally hoping someone would say that icon_biggrin.gif

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_Jamie_ Posted 27 Jan 2010 , 10:51pm
post #10 of 18

Totally what I would do.

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Darthburn Posted 28 Jan 2010 , 12:09am
post #11 of 18

Use a little cocoa powder in the melted marshmallows to tint it brown a bit, then ad your Wilton black in small amounts gradually. I've done it before when turning it black and it turns grey before getting darker.

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HarleyDee Posted 29 Jan 2010 , 7:32pm
post #12 of 18

I ended up airbrushing it all, and it turned out really nice! I was afraid it would get too dark, but I don't think it did.

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HarleyDee Posted 29 Jan 2010 , 7:33pm
post #13 of 18

And I'll attempt to add the pic in here..
LL

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_Jamie_ Posted 29 Jan 2010 , 7:41pm
post #14 of 18

Hey! That's great! That elephant looks like it's ready to charge someone! Glad to hear it worked out for ya.

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leydavak Posted 30 Jan 2014 , 5:08pm
post #15 of 18

This question was asked a few years ago, but I thought that I would answer in case someone has a similar issue with Wilton's black gel color. If you add a bit of brown gel to the black, it tones down the purple and you get grey. Again, this is only if your are using Wilton's black and brown gel colors against a white surface!

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KitchenEmpress Posted 1 Apr 2014 , 8:28pm
post #16 of 18

Thank you for answering this laydavak. I'm needing to make gray for a cake this week and don't have time to order anything online. I do have brown and black wilton icing color in my home arsenal.  Will try tonight! 

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melimel00 Posted 2 Apr 2014 , 3:16pm
post #17 of 18

to get grey fondant: a little black plus (here's the hint) YELLOW! works every time! ;-D I use Americolor gel paste, but I'm sure any food coloring will work. Just add little bits at a time until you get the shade of grey you want

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leydavak Posted 2 Apr 2014 , 3:34pm
post #18 of 18

Huhhhh - Interesting. I'll sure give this suggestion a try soon and see if it works with Wilton's gel colors too.

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