Color Flow

Decorating By carflea Updated 2 Feb 2012 , 4:11pm by TexasSugar

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carflea Posted 9 Mar 2006 , 8:35pm
post #1 of 16

Is there anyway we could get a tips and tricks on how to use this fabulos stuff called Colorflow? I want to make stand up designs. Something that won't melt into the cake. I'm very interested and can't seem to find what i'm looking for.

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15 replies
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thyterrell Posted 9 Mar 2006 , 8:40pm
post #2 of 16

It's a powdered substance that you mix with water, similar to royal icing in consistency. If you will tape a piece of parchment paper over the design you want to use, you just use a small tip in a bag filled with the color flow and outline and then fill in the design. You color it just like you would any thing else. It needs about 48 hours to dry and it's very delicate, so you would need to make extras in case of breakage.

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TexasSugar Posted 10 Mar 2006 , 4:53am
post #3 of 16

Cut and pasted from: http://www.wilton.com/recipes/recipesandprojects/icing/colorflow.cfm

Wilton Color Flow Icing Recipe

Color Flow Icing Recipe: (full-strength for outlining)
Ingredients:
1/4 cup plus 1 teaspoon water
1 lb. (4 cups) sifted confectioners sugar
2 tablespoons (6 teaspoons) Color Flow Mix
With electric mixer, using grease-free utensils, blend all ingredients on low speed for 5 minutes. If using hand mixer, use high speed. Color flow icing ?crusts?quickly, so keep bowl covered with a damp cloth while using. Stir in desired icing color.

Makes approx. 2 cups color flow icing.

Thinned Color Flow
In order to fill an outlined area, the recipe above must be thinned with ½ teaspoon of water per ¼ cup of icing (just a few drops at a time as you near proper consistency). Use grease-free spoon or spatula to stir slowly. Color flow is ready for filling in outlines when a small amount dropped into the mixture takes a count of ten to disappear.

**To outline and fill in a Color Flow design, follow the steps outlined below:

l. Tape pattern and waxed paper overlay to your work surface. Waxed paper must be free of wrinkles.

2. Outline pattern with full-strength Color Flow Icing and tip 2.

3. Let outline dry a few minutes until it crusts.When filling in an area with a different color from outline, let dry 2 hrs.

4. To fill in an outline, soften icing by adding water to 1/4 cup icing, 1/2 teaspoon at a time. As you near proper consistency, add just a few drops of water at a time. Stir slowly by hand in a figure-8 motion to prevent whipping in air bubbles.

5. Test the consistency of the Color Flow Icing by dropping a small amount of icing into the mixture. If it takes a full count of ten to disappear, the icing is the right consistency.

6. Fill a parchment cone no more than half full of icing. (Do not use a tip as it might break outline). Cut a tiny hole at the end of bag. If filling in a large area, have 2 half-full bags ready; otherwise, icing could crust before you finish filling in the pattern.

7. Begin filling in outline along the edges first by gently squeezing and letting the icing flow up to the outline almost by itself. Work quickly, filling in pattern from the outside edges in and from top to bottom.

8. When all outlines are filled in, let dry thoroughly for at least 24 hours. For quick drying, use a heat lamp: position lamp 2 ft. away from decoration for 2 hours. Remove lamp and air dry for 12 hours.

9. Remove the Color Flow from waxed paper by placing it near the edge of the counter. Slide the piece slowly over the counter's edge while carefully peeling half of the waxed paper away. Turn piece around and repeat.

Color Flow Information
Color Flow Technique

Wilton color flow mix contains dried egg whites and sodium laurye sulfate, a whipping agent. When stored at room temperaturein a dry place it will last at least one year.

The color flow decorating technique is a special decorating method used to make detailed icing decorations for cakes. Itis "drawing", using a special icing, parchment bags, and tips.

When mixing color flow icing, set mixer at low speed to avoid whipping in too much air. Use medium or high speed if using a hand-held mixer.

Only use parchment bags. Never fill the bag more than half full.

For color flow decorating, you need a flat, level and firm work surface.

Use full strength icing for outlining and overpiping; softened color flow for filling in. Color flow is softened by adding small amounts of water.

Use grease-free utensils and bowls, as any trace of grease will cause the icing to break down.

Paste food colors work best and do not affect icing consistency. Colors fade slightly when a dried color flow piece is exposed to sunlight.

Attach all icing outlines by blending smooth with a slightly dampened art brush so that there are no "breaks" which allow softened color flow to leak out and ruin your decoration.

If outline and fill-in are the same color icing, let outlines dry a few minutes until they "crust". If outline and fill-in are made from different color icings, let outlines dry thoroughly (1-2 hours) before filling-in.

Outlines that are flat indicate soft icing or touching surface with tip while drawing outline. Remember, outlines are piped with the tip held above the surface to give a rounded line.

Color Flow designs take a long time to dry, so they should be created at least 2-3 days in advance. Occasionally, color flow takes even longer to dry, and may not ever dry. This is almost always due to humidity. Wilton's color flow mix contains dried egg whites, and it is very unlikely that the mix varies from one batch to the next.

A heat lamp can be used to dry the color flow piece more quickly. The heat lamp should be placed two feet away from the color flow for two hours. Afterwards, the piece should air dry for 12 hours. This method produces a piece with a high shine.

If a number of colors are used, finish all of the sections of one color first, before starting on the next.

If placing the color flow piece on a frozen cake, let the cake defrost 6-8 hours to be certain it is dry. Moisture will break down the decoration quickly.

To make a curved color flow decoration for the side of the cake, tape the pattern and wax paper onto the curved surface of a cake pan or on cake side formers. Then follow the basic outlining and filling-in procedures.

Prick tiny air bubbles with a pin while Color Flow piece is still wet. Beating the icing at an overly-high speed may cause air bubbles.

When filling-in, the icing should have a "pillowed" effect.

If icing runs up and over the outline, you may be squeezing too much; the outline may be too flat; or the icing may be too thin.

Are Color Flow Decorations Edible?
Color Flow decorations are edible, however, they are usually not eaten because they are hard and very sweet.

Color Flow Decorations/Storage:
Color Flow pieces should last indefinitely, if stored properly. A cool, dry cupboard would be a good storage place. Do not put the color flow piece on a refrigerated or frozen cake. If the cake has been refrigerated or frozen, allow it to come to room temperature before placing the color flow decoration on the cake.
Allowing the cake to come to room temperature should help prevent the color flow piece from bleeding which is due to moisture. Color flow pieces can be set on sugar cubes to eliminate possible bleeding.

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carflea Posted 10 Mar 2006 , 2:05pm
post #4 of 16

Thanks Texas Sugar. That helps alot. Have you tried this? Do you like to use it?

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stephanie214 Posted 10 Mar 2006 , 2:22pm
post #5 of 16

I've only tried Colorflow once in my Course 2 and the birds came out looking like birds that had a disease icon_lol.gif

Can someone tell me why this happened...my instructor sure couldn't.

I was so disappointed that I never tried again icon_cry.gif

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carflea Posted 10 Mar 2006 , 2:35pm
post #6 of 16

Stephanie.... I'm just starting cake decorating and i really don't like to write and do shells but my husband just tells me that i need to do it more..... I have heard colorflow is kind of difficult but it looks way to cool.

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stephanie214 Posted 10 Mar 2006 , 2:50pm
post #7 of 16

I'm with you, the pieces are beautiful when done right.

I even have problems with my royal icing fill-ins...no problem when making the flowers...can't understand this icon_cry.gif

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KHalstead Posted 10 Mar 2006 , 2:58pm
post #8 of 16

stephanie are you talking about those little spots that you get sometimes/????? I was wondering the same thing....look at these cookies I did, If you look closely you can see some of them are spotted "diseased" as welll....I couldn't figure out what happened....guess it happens with royal icing too LOL
LL

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stephanie214 Posted 10 Mar 2006 , 3:02pm
post #9 of 16

Yep, that's it.

Take a look at my course 2 cake in my photos and you can see my diseased birds icon_lol.gif

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carflea Posted 10 Mar 2006 , 3:16pm
post #10 of 16

They look like they still need to dry.... Not so bad. Still very attractive. Maybe it's in the mixing? I'm sure i'll find out sooner or later.

Those cookies are great. I love that writing so beautiful.

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KrisD13 Posted 13 Mar 2006 , 9:50am
post #11 of 16

Stephanie, I just finished my course 2, so I'm no expert. It looks like the colorflo wasn't thin enough, and started drying on you as you were filling in. Can anyone else suggest any ideas?

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prettycakes Posted 13 Mar 2006 , 8:14pm
post #12 of 16

Well, I must say your lettering looks great.

Here are a few tips I have learned from experience. I use the Wiltons method and have a Kitchen Aid stand mixer and am having good results.

The directions say to mix for 7 minutes. You must mix for at least 7 minutes. I don't know why, but it works.

The recipe is for stiff consistancy color flow. I add my water to thin my color flow after the 7 minutes is up. I use the mixer to stir in my water until I get the consistancy I need. That is, I add water, mix, stop, count to see how long it takes for the color flow to smooth out, and repeat as necessary.

When I first started using color flow, I would fight getting it into the pastry bags without making a mess. I would end up with color flow everywhere. This was very frusterating for me. Then, I read on here somewhere about using the squeeze bottles in the candy making area of the craft store. Wow, have these things changed my life. I have several of them now so that I can get all of my colors ready and pour them into the handy bottles. Now, I can make color flow pieces with several colors and not make a mess. I use these to flood my sugar cookies as well. Talk about a time saver.

Also, tooth picks are your friend for those very small areas where the color flow just won't flood. Just dip the tooth pick into the color flow and drag it where you need it.

It is always a good idea to make more than you need just incase something breaks or your design ideas change.

Have fun!

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carflea Posted 13 Mar 2006 , 8:17pm
post #13 of 16

Thank you so much. That is really helpful. I'm thinking of doing a dragon cake with that..... Hmmm we'll see.

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Daniellesdelights Posted 31 Jan 2012 , 8:53pm
post #14 of 16

I had the same thing happen to my cookies with the spots it looked fine when I made them but next morning had they spots. The frosting had been made the day before I'm guessing it messed with the mixture or I didn't mix enough the next day because the ones I made the first day with the frosting didn't spot only the next day ones

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Rusti Posted 1 Feb 2012 , 10:52pm
post #15 of 16

I know from class that colorflow smells but I was wondering if anyone has tasted it?

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TexasSugar Posted 2 Feb 2012 , 4:11pm
post #16 of 16

It is just sweet. You could flavor it, using water or alcohol based flavorings, not oil based ones. Just add in the flavoring and leave out a little of the water.

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