I made a cake a while ago with a gold bottom tier (just wanted practice) I tinted the buttercream slightly yellow, then sprayed it with Duff's gold spray, then used luster dust just to ensure extra shimmer and shine. The cake looked gold to me and everyone I asked, but at the restaurant it didn't appear so. Not sure if it had to do with lighting.  I will attach a picture: 

i believe the gold dust was more of a Aztec gold. 

Would it be better to just use luster dust instead of the spray? Or does it look fine and it was just the lighting?  I've bought a lighter, shinier gold for a cake that has been ordered. Just feeling a little nervous about making sure it looks gold.

thanks!

Sorry it didn't attach.

Looks gold to me! I will say, the gold shows differently in different colors. Try experimenting with various background colors.  Gold really pops on black fondant, for instance  

It looks good to me, too, but you could always dust it with gold dust, too, or better even, why not place real gold leaves on it? They are obviously expensive but if you can charge for this, why not use the proper stuff?

What was the difference in the lighting? Was it a lower light and perhaps did not pick up the sheen of the color? It looks gold to me :) Gold leaf is a bit expensive, but you can absorb it in the cost and it will definitely be gold. Beautiful work!

Lighting makes a huge difference. Also remember that most gold colors are NOT fda approved for food use, they're considered non-toxic, not edible. You shouldn't add them to buttercream or spray buttercream cakes with them. 

@costumeczar  Thanks for the heads up. I made sure they were both food safe edible and non toxic. 

@decadenz   It was a pretty dark restaurant which I'm sure was the problem just wanted to make sure I don't do something wrong to change it. 

So, that is gold on BUTTERCREAM?  I need to do a wedding cake in buttercream with gold decorations.  Not sure where to start. I know the bride would like an all gold layer, but I thought I would have to cover it in fondant first and she doesn't want fondant.  Can it go into the fridge after it is gold?  Would you mind sharing the products and technique you used?

Thanks!

@Elizabeth68  it's buttercream tinted to a light yellow (I used egg shade). I put this on my cake that was already crumb coated with a white buttercream. I let it crust and sprayed it with duff goldman's gold edible spray but I'm sure you could use another brand. I let it dry a bit and then used gold luster powder to dust over it and smooth anything out. The cake was refrigerated for about 30-45 minutes and was fine. I don't know if longer would affect it or not. The gold spray is more of an Aztec gold, I will be trying it again Saturday and dusting with a different gold to see if it makes a difference. 

The gold spray I recently used seems to be oil based, so it stood up well to being in the fridge, transported, even resisted light fingerprints and smudges.  It's pretty durable stuff, surprisingly! I just got the Wilton cans available at craft stores.

New question! :)  The bride also likes this cake.  What do you think the topper is made from?