How to Color Fondant: A Complete Guide
Kate Motter
In This Guide
- What Type of Food Coloring to Use
- The Basic Coloring Method
- How to Achieve Difficult Colors
- How Much Fondant Does Color Affect?
- Coloring Large Batches
Coloring fondant properly is a skill that makes a big difference in the finished look of your cake. Here's everything you need to know to get accurate, consistent color without ruining your fondant's texture.
What Type of Food Coloring to Use
Always use gel food coloring (also called gel paste food color) when coloring fondant. Never use liquid food coloring.
Here's why:
- Liquid food coloring adds water to the fondant. This softens and weakens its structure, making it sticky and difficult to work with. To get a deep color, you'd need so much liquid that the fondant becomes unusable.
- Gel food coloring is highly concentrated and adds almost no moisture. A small amount gives a strong, vibrant color without affecting texture.
For very deep, saturated colors (black, red, navy), use extra-concentrated gel colors specifically formulated for deep shades. Standard gel colors can only go so dark before you're adding too much color and affecting the taste.
The Basic Coloring Method
- Start with white fondant. Pre-colored fondant limits your control. White fondant gives you a clean base.
- Knead the fondant until warm and pliable. Cold fondant doesn't accept color evenly and will streak.
- Add a small amount of gel color. Use a toothpick to add color – a little goes a very long way. Start with less than you think you need.
- Fold and knead until the color is fully incorporated. Fold the fondant over itself and press down, then rotate and repeat. The color should be uniform with no streaks.
- Check the color under natural light. Colors appear darker when freshly mixed and can lighten slightly as the fondant dries. Mix slightly deeper than your target shade.
- Add more color if needed, in small increments. It's much easier to deepen a color than to lighten it.
Wear gloves. Gel food coloring stains skin and is very difficult to wash off.
How to Achieve Difficult Colors
Black
Black is the hardest color to achieve in fondant. To get a true black:
- Start with dark gray (mix of black and other dark colors like brown or purple) rather than adding black gel to white fondant. Starting from near-black is far more efficient.
- Use a concentrated "super black" gel color designed for deep shades.
- Allow the fondant to rest overnight – black often deepens significantly after 24 hours.
Red
Similar to black – true red requires a lot of color. Start with a warm pink or terra cotta base, then add red gel. Use a gel labeled "Christmas red" or "no-taste red" for the best results.
White
Standard fondant has a slight cream or ivory tint. For true white, add a tiny amount of bright white gel color or titanium dioxide powder to the fondant.
Pastels
Start with an extremely small amount of gel – the tip of a toothpick – and knead thoroughly. Pastel colors are easy to overshoot.
How Much Fondant Does Color Affect?
For most standard colors (soft pinks, blues, yellows, greens): color has minimal impact on the fondant's structure and workability.
For very deep or saturated colors (black, red, dark navy): large amounts of gel color can make fondant slightly softer and stickier. If this happens:
- Knead in a small amount of CMC (tylose) powder to firm it back up.
- Allow the fondant to rest for 30–60 minutes before using.
- Dust with cornstarch when rolling if it's sticking.
Coloring Large Batches
If you need a large amount of one color (to cover an entire tier, for example), mix it all at once. Matching fondant color across two separate batches is very difficult – slight variations in the amount of color added will show.
Tips for large batches:
- Mix more than you think you'll need. Leftover colored fondant keeps well; running out mid-tier is a bigger problem.
- Use a stand mixer with a dough hook for large quantities (500g+). Kneading a large batch by hand for long enough to fully incorporate the color is exhausting.
- Test the color by rolling out a small piece and letting it dry – the dried color is what matters, not the freshly mixed color.
Watch our free tutorials:
