Red Icing!! Must Be A Better Way!
Decorating By lolobell Updated 30 Jul 2010 , 12:51pm by nana_marta
Hi all!
when mixing colors, i most always use Americolor.....sometimes i use Wilton.
I really dislike making red icing..i find that i use almost a whole bottle to achieve the right "red" and it seems soo gross to me!!! can anyone tell me how to get that "red" color without the whole bottle?! i have this issue as well when mixing color for my marshmallow fondant...
i have an elmo to do next week and i'm dreading the color mixing portion!!
thanks in advance!
Marianne
Hi Marianne!
Red is always a harder color to get just right. I'm guessing you use Americolor soft gel paste. You might want to pick up a different brand of red, something thicker like a paste. I use Chefmaster paste colors for everything just cause I can get it easier than the others where I live and they are the 1st and only ones I have ever used. I don't think you will have to put as much red in cause of the thick paste verses a soft gel paste. Another option if you have it I would do the Elmo in white and airbrush it red, that of course only works if you have one. I'm not a fan of eating a cake iced in a bright colored buttercream but we work with what we got! Good luck I hope it goes well for ya!
~Jessica
I read this in another post before and tried it and it works GREAT!!!!
First, dye the fondant/buttercream with Americolor Egg Yellow, then add one drop of fuschia, and then add red Americolor. It gives you a bright vivid red without using a whole bottle of red. Hope this helps! 
I was watching a show the other night and they used strawberries and blue berries with purple coloring because of the same problem you might be able to do that with just red berries plus I would imagine that it tastes amazing.
When I think about a red cake, this is what automatically comes to mind:
http://cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1537867
Right?
I mean, it couldn't be any redder if it tried!
And the solution was a box of red jello mix, who knew?
that was just a box of jello that made it that red. Oh my gosh!
marcz
WOW!!!! excellent work!!!!
so, excuse the dumb question but did you use the powder straight from the box or did you mix it first?
lolobell, as much as I would LOVE to take credit for that marvelous cake, I'm afraid the genius behind it is CC member AngelFood4. She says in order to make the red fondant, simply mix the jello powder in with the marshmallows once they are melted (this, of course, is through the MMF recipe of your choice!) Then you add Wilton no taste red gel coloring as you knead the mixture, once the PS has been added.
If you want, visit her Facebook page and under the 'notes' tab, you'll find all the instructions! Check out her profile on CC for all the information 
I wish you the best of luck!
Can you get powdered colours there? Here in Australia, I can get very concentrated black and red powders to colour my fondant.
http://cakedeco.com.au/product.asp?productID=3012
Great tips. I had this very problem with red this week when I made buttercream "ketchup.' I used Wilton's No Taste Red, but had to use all of it and I still felt it had a chemical taste. Do you guys think a little of the jello could be added with PS in buttercream for a red color??
Can you get powdered colours there? Here in Australia, I can get very concentrated black and red powders to colour my fondant.
http://cakedeco.com.au/product.asp?productID=3012
I was tipped off to the powder colors years ago and this is the best way I've found to make rich colors without changing consistancy. I use some gel color and add the powder color. I do this with BC and fondant. If your local cake shop doesn't have them, order from GSA. They've come to my rescue. I Love GSA.
Sandy
Yes, the powders are great Sandy.
I noticed under her picture (the Ferrari cake) that she says she still needed to use a whole bottle of gel colour to get it that red.
A whole bottle? I wonder just how much color the jello added or if it just added flavor? I've obtained vivd red with a small amount of gel and powder. The powder is very concentrated. It is what I used on my flag cake, roses, and other cakes.
Sandy
Anybody have an answer to my question about the jello and PS being mixed together for BC?? Thanks.
Still no answer. Oh well. I'll give it a try and see what happens.
Well I didn't answer 3LittleBeesCookies, because we don't have Jello in our country. We have Jelly Crystals, which would probably not dissolve in fondant or buttercream.
Others may not have answered because they probably don't know, so wouldn't be confident in recommending it.
Why don't you give it a go? No harm in trying hey?
Yeah. I figured what the heck. I'll just make a small batch in case it tastes gross.
It sounds like it would taste wonderful with the jello flavor but it probably wouldn't work with any ole cake.. it would have to go with the cake flavor. i'm making a super hero cake this upcoming week and i'm going to try the yellow and fushia idea
I'm going to try the red jello BC in the next day or so to make a cake for nephew. Will let you know if it works.
lolobelle- do tell! Guava! how weirdly wonderful! Tell us more about it. Would you need a darker guava which I think would be orange with a touch of pink or light guava which would be a peach with a touch of pink?
I read this in another post before and tried it and it works GREAT!!!!
First, dye the fondant/buttercream with Americolor Egg Yellow, then add one drop of fuschia, and then add red Americolor. It gives you a bright vivid red without using a whole bottle of red. Hope this helps!
i do something similar, by only using hot pink or fuschia, then the red. stange i know, but it works for some reason
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