Let's talk about Color!

This is just a simple post-- but with so many food colors on the market,

a lot of people never know for sure how to obtain certain hues.

For instance, the other day, a student of mine asked me how to achieve

the blue of the Tiffany boxes.

I just use teal and works great for me.

Here is a color chart to help with some colors.

Color Chart

ANTIQUE GOLD: Add just an extremely small touch of Leaf Green to golden yellow

APRICOT: 2 parts Orange, 1 part Golden Yellow

AQUA: Sky Blue and Leaf Green

AVOCADO: Use Moss Green color or 4 parts Lemon Yellow, 1 part Leaf Green, Touch of Black

BLACK: Our paste color or Royal Blue, Christmas Red, Orange and Lemon Or
                mix left over color icing together, then add Black

BRICK RED: Red and Brown

BURGUNDY: 5 parts Rose Pink, 1 part Violet

CHARTREUSE: 9 parts Lemon Yellow, 1 part Leaf Green

COPPER: 1 part Golden Yellow, 1 part Brown, 1 part Christmas Red

CORAL: Watermelon makes a very attractive coral color. Or bright Creamy Peach
              Or 3 parts Rose Pink, 2 parts Lemon Yellow

DUSTY ROSE: 5 parts Rose Pink, 1 part Violet

EGGPLANT: Mix Navy Blue into the amount of icing you are going to use for your project.
                      Then mix Super Red into a smaller amount of icing. Add the Super Red icing
                       to the Navy Blue icing until you get the eggplant color you want.
                      You can also try it with Royal Blue instead of Navy Blue, depending on the
                      shade of eggplant that you want.

FLESH: Add just an extremely small touch of Copper to white icing.
             Ivory can also be used. Light pink with a small amount of brown

GOLD: 10 parts Lemon Yellow, 3 parts Orange, 1 part Red

GRAPE: 1 part Sky Blue, 6 parts Rose Pink

GRAY: Add just a touch of Black to white icing

HUNTER GREEN: Kelly Green and a touch of black

IVORY: Use Ivory paste

JADE: Leaf green, royal blue and a touch of black

LAVENDER: Pink and violet Or 5 parts Pink, 1 part Violet

MARIGOLD: Lemon Yellow and orange

MAROON: Burgundy and Red Red Or 4 parts Red Red, 2 parts Burgundy

MAUVE: Touch of Burgundy with very little black Or 5 parts Rose Pink, 2 parts Orange, 2 parts Red, 2 Parts Black

MELON: 1 part orange and 3 parts bakers rose

MISTY GREEN: Leaf Green, Royal Blue and a touch of black

MOSS GREEN: violet and lemon yellow Or 2 parts Violet, 3 parts Lemon Yellow

MULBERRY: Rose with a touch of Royal Blue

NAVY BLUE: Royal blue and black Or 1 Part Sky Blue, 1 part Violet

PERIWINKLE: Blue and purple

PERSIMMON: 1 part orange and 1Part bakers rose

PLUM: 1 part Violet, a touch of Christmas Red

RASPBERRY: Pink and Red Red Or 3 parts Rose Pink, 1 part Christmas Red

RUBY RED: 1 part Red Red, a touch of Black

RUST: Orange, Red Red and Brown Or 8 parts Orange, 2 parts Red Red, 1 part Brown

SEA GOLD ( SEA GREEN): 2 parts Sky Blue and 1 part Leaf Green

SILVER: We do not advise attempting to simulate silver color in icing. Instead,
               add silver leaves or other silver accessories to the cake.
               Or 1 part Black, 1 part Blue

SKIN TONE: 12 part Orange and 4 part Bakers Rose and 1 part Royal Blue

TEAL: Use teal paste color or lemon yellow and sky blue Or 9 parts Sky Blue, small amount of Lemon Yellow

TURQUOISE: Sky Blue and Lemon Yellow Or 6 parts Sky Blue, 1 part Lemon Yellow

WARM GOLD: Use Golden Yellow with just a touch of brown

WINE: 3 parts Christmas Red and 2 parts Rose Pink


Keep in mind that some colors are already available in the market. For example, Wilton  has
a beautiful Moss green.  Sometimes the base on some colors is different. Once I bought  a black
from Wilton that gave me a base of green instead of grey.

Just play with your colors and have fun with them.  Sometimes there is more than one way to
achieve the same color. You can try it on a small batch of buttercream to make sure
is the right shade you are looking for.

And never forget...Buttercream turns darker as it dries. A perfect shade of  deep red
on a non-crusted buttercream, can turn almost a burgundy once it's dry. If you are not
sure, spread some on a plate and let it dry before you put it on the cake.

As for fondant, the tendency is to dry in a lighter color.

Hope this helps!


Edna De La Cruz- 2010- All rights reserved.
Edna's Website- Design Me A Cake

Photography and Material in this post by Edna De La Cruz.
This may not be reproduced without permission from the author/photographer.