i'm starting to think i'm doing something wrong in my coloring of MMF...please help, I know you CC pals know something I don't about this...

i just got done coloring two small pieces of MMF. i had made one batch of MMF, divided it in half and put one half away immediately. from there, I broke it into probably 1/3's. i wanted to color one of the 1/3's a fushia-type color and one 1/3 a purple. want these to be bright colors. so i broke off a palm sized piece and went to work - add color with toothpick, knead, add color, knead, microwave cause it's getting cold, knead, etc. it seems like FOREVER till i get the small piece the color i am going for...but now i know i've got to knead it into the rest of the 1/3, making it lighter...

am i doing something wrong here? i did the same thing for 2 colors - which were each 1/3 of 1/2 of the batch - not a lot of MMF, I think, certainly not enough to cover a cake (i'm making ribbons with them).

i've probably spent the good part of 2 or 3 hrs doing just this...argh...my back hurts and hands hurt and now my hands are also dyed purple and fushia. there's got to be a better way!

It takes colour the best when it is just melted marshmallows (before you put inthe powdered sugas)...I also figured out (after having the same problems as you) that you can put it back in the micro in a bowl(after you have made the MMF), completely melt it and put the colour in then. Just make sure you let it sit for a bit to cool and also make sure you have put shortening in the bowl you are re-melting the fondant in so nothing sticks!

The only time I have ever had to color it I have put the color in before the powdered suger and I was a great color. But, I suppose if you are only doing little pieces of it you are doing the right thing. It probably does take forever. Sorry I'm no help LOL

thanks for the comments...i will try the melting technique.

I use color paste and knead it in after the sugar is added without any problems. What type of coloring are you using??


Daniela

same gel color as i use for icing - wilton's brand. is there something different i could be using? i have heard about other colorings but i'd have to buy them from the specialty cake store here.

ps - this is my 2nd try at fondant. my 1st try is in my pics - the star-shaped girl and the baby with blanket - both of those were lighter colors and not as bad, but still i was amazed at how long it took me to add the color.

i just noticed something, you say you add it after the sugar is added - i have been waiting the hour or more that the directions say to let it sit before working with it - might this have something to do with it?

I'm not sure but I don't think so because I made mine last night and colored it last night also. And I even colored some today. I don't know what the problem is.....................how is the texture?? is it dry or...??



Daniela

I'm still very new at all this, but I think Wilton gel color is pretty worthless. I just used a few drops of food dye for my mmf. I hear that Americolor is a much better product.

the texture is...maybe getting dry? because i'm kneading it so much to get the color in, it ends up adding more and more powdered sugar from the p.s. on my hands and on my surface so it doesn't stick. once it gets cooled off it gets pretty hard, so i microwave for 5 seconds and then it's almost melting.

...maybe i'm just a wimp and stink at kneading 'dough'

NO, you're not a wimp! I have the same problem and was wondering if there was a better way. It seems sooooo time consuming for just small amounts of MMF....it almost makes me want to just stick to one color. I might have to try adding it in before the powdered sugar.....my only question is does the color fade after you put in the powdered sugar?

I put my color into the melted marshmallows and stir it up. Then, I poor the colored marshmallow mixture into the powdered sugar. I have tendonitis, and this is SOOO easy. I even do half batches and quarter batches if I don't need that much. I just add more powdered sugar as I go when I see if the marshmallows are too sticky. Good luck.

boysmomintx, thanks...don't know why i didn't think of that. both times i have made the mmf i have way too much since i'm not covering the cake yet. maybe this'll solve my problemo!

im with boysmomintx i just add the color when the marshmellow are melted and i always start with a 16 oz bag of marshmellows if i dont need the whole batch to be the same i split it .... then i add the suger in it is so fast and easy... to me this way ..It has never taken me more than 15 minutes to make a batch.... oh and i find that 3lbs of 10x suger is perfect for a 16 oz bag

rainbow,

I was going to give up on my first mmf attempt b/c it was sooo dry. Put crisco on the counter instead of cornstarch-much better results!

my first batch of mmf that i did a few weeks ago, i used all 2lbs. way too dry so i used grease upon grease and that worked out okay. then i re-read the instructions here and this batch (my 2nd), i only kneaded about 3/4 of the 2nd lb. into the mmf. so i don't think the tooo dry was a problem this time, i was very happy with the results and mixing the 2nd time around.

thanks for the replies everyone