I am making a "crimson red" wedding cake but have never made that particular shade before. Has anyone made this color or do you have any suggestions as to what colors to used to achieve it? I was thinking red with a touch of black? Thanks!

Do you have an example of the color? I'm decent with color but "crimson" can mean a couple of different colors depending on who you ask.

as above not sure about the exact colour you are trying to achieve perhaps a poinsettia flower colour?

Thanks for the replies. : )

The bride wants a dark red, "crimson" color for her cake. It doesn't have to match anything (thank goodness!) She is letting me pick the specific shade.

I did a red cake. Marbled the fondant and made crimson roses for it. It's in my photos.

You could go red with a touch of black, but I prefer adding either purple or a dark indigo if I'm going for a cooler shade or brown for a warmer shade, and then add some black if I need it. You use less black that way and to me, you get a deeper or more complex color. The downside is that it can be harder to replicate if you need to make more later.

The issue I run into with black is that a) black is really hard to compensate for if you put a tad too much in, and b) black can to mute or saturate colors because it is a neutral shade. Yellow + black is an example of not usually getting the color you're looking for. Red + black is okay, just use the black in the smallest of increments, and don't be afraid to use a violet, indigo, or brown shade to cool or warm the color as needed. To me, the color is more important than the black aspect.

I did a quick browse through the gallery for maybe some examples

http://cakecentral.com/gallery/1248916 This one to me looks like red with burgundy and then some brown or black.

http://cakecentral.com/gallery/1988175 This one looks to be just a really intense red.

http://cakecentral.com/gallery/207683 This one seems to be red with a brown or gold mix. This is a warmer crimson, compared to the first example.

http://cakecentral.com/gallery/1510633 This seems to be a red (possibly mixed with some hot pink/wilton rose color to add some intensity) and black, with some really light black airbrush in parts.

This is probably over complicating things. Short version is that you could probably just add a little black, but if you want some complexity, I'd play around with adding bits of brown or purple depending on whether you want to go warm or cool.

http://cakecentral.com/gallery/836243

Sandy, your roses are gorgeous..and you really achieved a rich shade of red. : )

Ummeiko, thank you so much for the links! It is helpful to look at the those different shades of red. I am getting excited to make this cake. I just hope my fondant doesn't misbehave *too* much with all that food gel!

Thank you. The trick is powder color. Use some gel and some powder, and you will get a rich red. Then, when your flowers are completely dry, lightly dust them over with the red dry color and they will be so beautiful.

Sandy