Hi! I need to make a bright red buttercream for a Clifford the dog cake. Red is so hard to make. Mine never turns out bright red. Does anyone have some suggestions on the best gel color and technique? ~Ila
Color your buttercream as pink as you can and let it sit overnight, then add red. That is the easiest for me, the Mickey Cake in my photos was done this way. But this is with me using Wilton colors, I've heard the Americolor red is fantastic!
Adding some cocoa powder really helps darken the red. I like using Sugarflair extra Red or the Rainbow Dust Progels.
I just use AmeriColor super red and start a few days ahead of time. Initial coloring is dark pink and then the next day (or at least several hours later) I will add a couple more drops of red and then I have the perfect shade of red. Doesn't take much with AmeriColor super red. My husband swears he can taste the Wilton red in frosting...
One other idea is to use UNsweetened Kool Aid :) If flovoring the icing is o.k. it is a great way to get a nice red. Black cherry or strawberry is what I usually used. It does take time for the color to develop as leah said so mix it up the night before needing. When you take it out the next day there might be many, many dots of dark color and you'll think I lead you wrong........just give the icing a good stir and all will be fine :) Depending on what shade/tone red needed, always tint white icing yellow, orange or pink before adding red paste color - that way you use much less red paste so the bitter taste isn't overwhelming. I almost never added cocoa.
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