Hello, 

I have a request to gold-paint cupcake decorations without using alcohol. There are a lot of substitutes I have researched; water, lemon, etc. What substitutions have worked best without giving it a dull appearance? Thank  you!

idk the best one but what I would do is just plain brush it on -- lemon extract has alcohol too, actually a greater amount than any other extract if memory serves so read your labels unless you go with just brushing it on -- you're not going to get the real flash of bright metallic gold using edible golds so keep that in mind too

Clear vanilla worked just fine for me

I find metallic paint is best used without thinning. But if it's too thick for you, use plain water.

vanilla has alcohol usually

I will try water! Thank you for your replies. 

Why do my replies keep getting eaten? 4th time lucky! Here goes!

I can't use alcohol at all to mix my paints either, so I've experimented with a few things and what worked best for me was alcohol free extracts. These are made with ethylene or monopropylene glycol as solvents rather than alcohol.

The brand I used is called SAC, made in Karachi, Pakistan and I do know they export their essences to other countries. They don't have their ingredients on the label, so I calles them and they assured me all their products are alcohol free. I tried the lemon and peppermint extracts and they both worked like a charm, on fondant and royal icing. I even had to keep adding more extract to my powder as it kept evaporating, just like alcohol. The peppermint is hella smelly though! Stick to lemon! Unfortunately their vanilla contains brown food colouring to mimic the look of bourbon (madeira?)

The Foster Clark's essences sold here are also clearly labelled Alcohol free. I haven't used them to mix paint yet, but I'd think they'd work since they contain monopropylene glycol instead of alcohol. Do check the label though, as the products sold here are manufactured specifically for the Middle East and they may have a different formula for other countries.

Try going to a Middle Eastern/ Indian/ Pakistani grocery store and see if they carry extracts there. They'll most likely be alcohol free if it's a halal store.

I've also tried rose water and the paint mixed well, but didn't dry completely so I wasn't too happy with that.

People also use olive oil, but that doesn't dry at all so you have to handle the pieces very carefully afterwards. 

Anyway, hope this all helps! 

I used the SAC lemon for the letters and the cookies. The cookies were the first pieces I did, so my paint wasn't thick enough. Still worked pretty well, though.

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This is great!! I don't like SAC Vanilla but I have never tried the other extracts. Thanks for letting me know it works, your cakes do look fabulous!

Thanks so much!

I hope one of the other extracts work out for you! Good luck